In a rare burst of creative energy, the Tricycle team went a step further when it came to illustrating Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s article “Lost In Quotation,” a piece about what we miss when we don’t read the whole sutta. We actually created the art ourselves:

We know. Artistic genius.

In all seriousness, the amount of “fake Buddha quotes” in circulation, especially on the Internet, is staggering. Those Post-It note quotes might look nice on your refrigerator and in your day-planner, but they can actually be problematic. People end up formulating their perception of what the Buddha said based on these snapshot quotes that are often totally made up.

A friend of Tricycle’s recently sent us a blog whose mission it is to take these quotes and figure out whether or not the Buddha actually said them: Fake Buddha Quotes. It’s like a Buddhist scriptures Myth Busters!

The blog is written by Bodhipaksa, a Buddhist teacher based in New Hampshire who also runs the blog Bodhi Tree Swaying and the website Wildmind. He takes quotes attributed to the Buddha that are being shared on social media and delves into the scriptures to see if the quotes have any basis. Sometimes, the quotes pass the test. But other times, we’re left with hilarious images like this one:

Buddha Quote

Practical and hilarious.

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