Buddha Quotes
One who does not rouse themself when it is time to rise, who, though capable, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle person will never find their way to true knowledge.
Müller, F. Max, translator. The Dhammapada. Clarendon Press, 1881, p. 69.
See Robert Burton {596290} for an earlier view with which Jefferson was probably familiar.
The Buddha (also known as Siddhattha Gotama or Siddhārtha Gautama or Buddha Shakyamuni) was a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious leader who lived in what is now Nepal and India (c. 5th to 4th century BCE). He is revered as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism, and recognized by most Buddhist schools as the Enlightened One who is believed to have transcended Karma and escaped the cycle of birth and rebirth. He taught for around 45 years and built a large following, both monastic and lay. His teaching is based on his insight into duḥkha (typically translated as "suffering") and the end of dukkha—the state called Nibbāna or Nirvana.
