Page 13 - Understanding Buddhism

and energy to further spread knowledge
about suffering, how to conquer it, and “[The
how to lead righteous lives. Buddha] is
Supposedly, with his fi nal breath undoubtedly
the Buddha said, “Decay is inherent one of the
in all things. Work out your own salva- greatest
tion with diligence.” In this way, he re-
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minded his followers that each person’s gures in
destiny is shaped mostly by his or her history.” 13
own thoughts and actions. He or she — Modern Indian
can learn to both live and die as a good statesman and
person who respects others and treats philosopher
Sarvepalli
them justly. Summing up the Buddha’s Radhakrishnan
enormous infl uence on large sectors
of humanity during many generations,
the late modern Indian statesman and philosopher Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan wrote, “He belongs to the history of the world’s
thought, to the general inheritance of all cultivated men. For,
judged by intellectual integrity, moral earnestness, and spiritual
insight, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest fi gures in history.”
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