"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."
— Siddhartha Gautama
No One Saves Us But Ourselves
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
About this quote
This rendering is drawn from Dhammapada Verse 165, which in the Pali reads: "Attanā hi kataṃ pāpaṃ, attanā saṃkilissati; attanā akataṃ pāpaṃ, attanā va visujjhati" — roughly, "By oneself is evil done; by oneself one suffers. By oneself evil is left undone; by oneself one is purified." The popular English version ("No one saves us but ourselves...") is a poetic paraphrase by Paul Carus (1896), who expanded the verse and added the image of walking the path. It is one of the most authentically sourced of the popular "Buddha quotes," faithfully conveying the Dhammapada's emphasis on personal responsibility.
Source
Dhammapada, Verse 165
