At the time I started writing my blog, I was also of the habit of perusing websites which listed famous quotes. I love reading inspirational words of modern and historical figures. I try to get an idea of how they succeeded in life through their words and thoughts. As you may have noticed, there are a few quotes at the top of my blog, reminders to me of the frame of mind I like to keep, or ideas which inspire me. One of these quotes is: "All that we are is the result of what we have thought". I copied and pasted it straight from a quote website, including who said it, which was Sartre.
The other day I was browsing the Project Gutenberg website as I often do, searching for something good to read. (If you have never been to Project Gutenberg, I highly recommend it. All of the books are in the public domain and free to download and read. You will doubtless find something there of interest.) I ended up opening the Dhammapada, which is one of the sacred texts of Buddha. As I started reading I was shocked to find the first line: "All that we are is the result of what we have thought".
I was horrified with my discovery. I had misrepresented a quote which was on my blog header. If anyone familiar with the Dhammapada had looked at my blog, they would see my ignorance immediately, and my lack of research. Better late than never, I thought.
My research began with looking up Sartre, who was an Existentialist. I discovered that this quote is the very basis for his philosophy. Man is responsible for where he is, there is no excuse or blame put on anything else such as God, parenting, environment, etc. Man is free to probably stay as he is, but with limitless possibilities to reach great heights. (Understand this is a very elementary explanation and there is so much more to his philosophical views, but I'm not writing a philosophy paper here.)
With research concluded, I come to the understanding of how this could be considered a quote of Sartre, but let us recognize that Buddha said it first.
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