Self-Love Advice From The Buddha

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha 

Self-love is vital for health and happiness. It’s a powerful, positive energy that’s necessary for a healthy balance between mind, body, and spirit. But we can’t display unconditional love for others unless we have it for ourselves. When you genuinely believe you’re worthy, your life will reflect it.

If you need help improving your self-love and compassion, the wisdom of Buddhism can help. Self-compassion is emphasized often in Buddhist teachings and can lead us to love ourselves in a natural, organic, and healthy way. 

This article will share some of the best quotes from the Buddha on self-love and self-compassion. It will also discuss how to incorporate self-love practices into your daily life to improve your health and well-being.

Key takeaways

• Buddha’s wisdom has inspired millions of individuals to practice self-love and compassion. 
• By using daily self-affirmations of positivity and love, you can avoid unhealthy negative self-talk and hollow words.
• Buddha reminds us to refrain from comparing ourselves to others. If you compare your life to someone else, you might fail to appreciate the good moments in life.
• Cancer survivor Anita Moorjani attributes her complete recovery and remission status to embracing the power of self-love.
• Incorporating guided meditations on self-love into your daily routine can help you feel inner peace and happiness.

What does Buddhism teach about self-love?

Buddhism is rooted in the teachings of the Buddha, or Gautama Buddha. His real name was Siddhartha Gautama, and up until age 29, he lived a luxurious life as the son of a leader in India. But after four unique visions, Gautama Buddha was inspired to give up his worldly possessions and left home to study meditation. 

Gautama Buddha didn’t keep personal belongings, meditated frequently, and helped individuals understand how to achieve Nirvana. Part of this journey to freedom and understanding was self-love. 

Here is what the Buddha taught about self-love:

Act with care

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care.” – Buddha

At first glance, you might assume that Buddha refers to how we speak to others. However, he’s also referring to our self-talk. 

Self-talk is our innermost thoughts, which can sometimes be hypercritical. We may believe that tough love (being hard on ourselves) will help motivate us to achieve our dreams. But in reality, the opposite is true.

If your best friend has a bad day, you’ll likely support them by encouraging them and lifting their spirits rather than putting them down. But if you have a bad day, your mind might race with everything you did wrong. 

These thoughts can leave you feeling hopeless and unworthy, but you deserve the same love and compassion that you would give to your loved one. That’s why Buddha advises that we choose our words with care — including the words we speak to ourselves. 

Work toward your goals and make positive changes, but remember to love and forgive yourself when life doesn’t work out as planned. 

Discover hundreds of guided self-compassion meditations to heal and practice self-love. Or explore how to be kind with the Yogic wisdom of Ahimsa.

Choose love 

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.” – Buddha

According to Anita Moorjani’s book Dying To Be Me, making decisions based on love rather than fear is the healthiest thing we can do for ourselves. 

Moorjani went through a near-death experience and learned that a lack of self-love may have contributed to her illness. Despite a four-year-long cancer battle, she baffled healthcare providers, returned from the brink of death, and made a complete recovery — all with the power of self-love, she claims. 

While Moorjani’s situation is extreme, it serves as an excellent reminder for everyone else. Here are a few examples of ways you can incorporate self-love into your life: 

• taking conscious breaks 
• getting a massage 
• enjoying free time without distractions 
• focusing on enjoyable hobbies

You can also practice meditations specifically to embrace self-love. Loving-kindness meditations are especially great for this task.

Your medical and mental health, in combination with your social life, affects your overall well-being. But don’t just take our word for it — it’s also a model of biomedical studies.

Do you struggle to make decisions from a place of love? Try Melissa Ambrosini’s similar approach of shifting from a place of fear to love to help you heal.

Use affirmations 

“Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” – Buddha

What does Buddha mean when he says “hollow words?” Maybe you’ve heard some of them before: 

• “It will get better.” 
• “You’ll overcome this situation.” 
• “You’ll get it next time.”

Most of the time, these phrases don’t help, which is what makes them empty. Buddha teaches that everyone in the entire world deserves self-love and compassion — and you are no different.

In Louise Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life, she recommends repeating positive phrases like mantras, also known as affirmations, and writing them down. 

Leave post-it notes around your workspace, kitchen, bedroom, or anywhere that you’ll see them. This can help you subconsciously pick up on the self-affirmation messages. Even just writing “I approve of myself” or “I accept myself just as I am” helps affirm these truths within ourselves. 

Louise Hay also suggests staring at yourself in the mirror and saying “I love you” until you see an amazing person full of love looking back at you. 

Only you know what self-affirmations you need. Try creating your own and practice repeating them daily.

Discover hundreds of free guided affirmation meditation practices to improve self-love, positive thinking, and self-empowerment.

Feel gratitude 

“Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate that which they already have.” – Buddha

You can practice feeling gratitude by journaling three things you’re grateful for, no matter how small they may seem. You can do this in the morning to start your day or at night to reflect. By beginning a gratitude practice, you have the opportunity to look back and appreciate various aspects of your life.

If you need help finding parts of your life that you’re grateful for, explore the gratitude meditations available through Insight Timer! These meditations can help you discover unique aspects of yourself and your life that you cherish. 

Whether you have a good or bad day, you should still show yourself self-compassion and love. 

Learn more about the transformational power of giving thanks for our well-being from meditation and mindfulness teacher Manoj Dias.

See the big picture 

“Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.” – Buddha

Suffering is a natural experience in human life. Still, it’s important to acknowledge our pain while being mindful. Any obstacles you may encounter should be met with love, not with comparison. When we compare ourselves to others, we create disconnection and separation. But when we allow ourselves to step back and see the bigger picture, love is more likely to appear.

What is the big picture? We are all living beings with the same beginning and end. Comparing our lives to others doesn’t benefit anyone. And at the end of the day, no one will ever live your life just like you won’t live someone else’s.

Meditate 

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha

Some people seek material possessions as a means of participating in self-care. While this may feel temporarily satisfying, it’s likely not the answer to lasting peace.

Meditation, on the other hand, can help us access self-love, leading to inner peace. Through regular meditation practice, you can move toward real peace and happiness.

Your practice can be as simple as deep breathing or as involved as listening to guided meditations. Consider these guided meditations by Kathryn Remati to increase self-love. And remember:

 “You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.” – Buddha

Essentially, you can’t travel on the path of love until you truly love yourself. Meditation that encourages self-love and self-compassion can help you successfully move down that path.

Explore our free library of unconditional love meditations to help you find happiness, peace, and love.

Buddha’s quotes on self-compassion and self-love

Looking for the inspirational quotes from Buddha mentioned in this article? Here are all the self-love quotes in order of appearance: 

• “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” 
• “Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care.” 
• “You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.”
• “Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” 
• “Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate that which they already have.” 
• “Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.”
• “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” 
• “You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.”

You can learn more about the Buddha by exploring Buddhism meditation sessions and talks on Insight Timer. 

Where can I find Buddha’s teachings on self-compassion and self-love? 

There are many recordings of Buddha’s teachings — the most widely read text being the Dhammapada.

If you’re looking for a more hands-on approach, Insight Timer has a library of over 200,000 free meditations. There are many on Buddhist beliefs and techniques for practicing self-love and compassion. You can listen to these meditations before work, during your lunch break, or before bed.

Apply self-love and self-compassion to your life 

Siddhartha Gautama wanted us to appreciate the world around us while also loving and affirming ourselves. His aim was to spread kindness, love, and gratitude through affirmations and various forms of meditation. 

If you need help harvesting self-love and self-compassion, explore these guided meditations on unconditional love. You can improve your life tremendously by listening to and following one of these guided meditations for just five minutes a day. 

Learn how to accept and appreciate yourself more through the six pillars of self-love.

FAQs

What has Buddha said about the self?

“Don’t believe false doctrines. Don’t follow the way of the world.” – Buddha

Buddha believed that everyone should choose love and feel gratitude to themselves and others. At times, this means going against the current, especially in a society that emphasizes criticism and callousness.  

What did Buddha say about love?

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care.” – Buddha

While Buddha inspires people to love one another, he also preached that individuals should love themselves. This includes eliminating negative self-talk and choosing the words we say to ourselves with care. 

Can you provide a Buddha quote on the importance of loving oneself?

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha 

The Buddha realized that people are harsher toward themselves than they are toward others. With evidence of our mental health and social life affecting our physical being (the biopsychosocial theory), it’s important to heed the Buddha’s wisdom and practice self-love and compassion. 

Can you share a Buddha quote on self-compassion? 

“Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.” – Buddha

Self-compassion includes not comparing yourself to others. The Buddha emphasized that everyone has a different time to shine. And comparing ourselves to our peers is a fruitless exercise. Be proud of your own achievements and show yourself compassion when you feel like you’re not progressing as quickly as those around you.

What is a unique quote for self love?

“Do not dwell in the past. Do not dream of the future. Concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha

You cannot change the past, but you can heal and move forward from it. Self-love helps us relish in the present moment instead of our past mistakes.

References

Moorjani, A. (2022). Dying To Be Me. Hay House UK LTD.

Wade, D. T., & Halligan, P. W. (2017). The biopsychosocial model of illness: a model whose time has come. Clinical rehabilitation, 31(8), 995–1004. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215517709890 

The death of the Buddha (Parinirvana): Pakistan (Ancient Region of gandhara): Kushan period. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38452