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Buddhism is much more than an ordinary moral teaching. Morality is only the preliminary stage on the Path of Purity, and is a means to an end, but not an end in itself. Conduct, though essential, is itself insufficient to gain one's emancipation. It should be coupled with wisdom or knowledge (pañña). The base of Buddhism is morality, and wisdom is its apex.

— Narada Maha Thera Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

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More quotes by Narada Maha Thera

Buddhism does not totally deny the existence of a personality in an empirical sense. It only attempts to show that it does not exist in an ultimate sense.

Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

The Buddhas point out the path, and it is left for us to follow that path to obtain our purification.

Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

According to Buddhism mind is nothing but a complex compound of fleeting mental states.

Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

A Buddhist is aware of future consequences, but he refrains from evil because it retards, does good because it aids progress to Enlightenment (Bodhi).

Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Here mere belief is dethroned and is substituted by confidence based on knowledge, which, in Pali, is known as Saddha.

Buddhism in a Nutshell (1933)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Narada Maha Thera (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.