“Is this a Shriekback reference, or is the Shriekback song “Gunning for the Buddha” a reference to the same something else that this is a reference to?”
– Buddha (attr.)
(Kidding aside, the question stands!)
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because his teachings were very clearly written down.
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Don’t forget, "The central message of Buddhism is not 'Every man for himself!"
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Well… not that Buddha’s quotes or teachings are actually essential to Buddhism. That’s not what it’s about and that itself is kind of the point.
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The most concise statement of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism is probably “if you meet the Buddha in the road, kill him.”
It bears much meditation.
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He’d definitely enjoy a hot dog…
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Because you’ll continue to purchase and consume hot dogs and buns on a rolling basis.
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All together now: Can you make me One with Everything?
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tl;dr .
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Thank you, didn’t know that.
I’m just a modern guy, far from satori 
In case anyone’s interested, here’s a live version of the Shriekback song I mentioned.
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This is kind of a perennial problem with historical quotes to the point where even if I think it’s likely the attribution is correct, I usually say “attributed to X.” (If I think the attribution is likely incorrect but I can’t find an accurate source for the quote, I don’t quote it at all. But I’m weird that way.)
The unfortunate thing where Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism are “quoted” is the magpie tendencies of Western seekers is often verging on (if not actually crossing the line completely) disrespect.
I’m not talking about disagreeing with Buddhism, for example. That’s not inherently disrespectful IMO. But if you’re passing off something as Buddhist that either isn’t Buddhist or is extremely deprived of context, I think that’s pretty disrespectful.
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Happy Songkran, all…
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And, “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
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As it happens, just before he died, George Carlin screamed every one of these aphorisms in an hour long outburst of suppressed smarm.
Makes you think, huh?
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Man who walk dog in snow end up with frozen pupcicle – Confucious
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My take on it is different. If you’re deliberately fabricating a quote, yes, but if you are just passing along something you saw somewhere, there are other factors in play.
The average Westerner knows little about Buddhism except for a vague idea that it is about peace, humility, and simplicity, and these values resonate with many people. When they see a quote that seems to fit in with that philosophy, they find it inspiring and are predisposed to believe it is genuine. If anything, the problem is an excess of respect getting in the way of critical thinking.
Of course, not bothering to get better informed can be seen as disrespectful, but everyone has many claims on their time.
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Of course, you’ve had it in the ear before?
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I don’t really disagree. Maybe I would say … Passing the quote on without checking the source is an honest mistake but one we should be careful of. Particularly if it’s about a belief system we aren’t very familiar with.
(And while someone can honestly make a mistake by misattributing in a graphic a few times, being called on it should be a wake up call. 
That said, I’m not a member of a faith that’s oft misquoted by noon-members so it’s not my place to argue against anger at made up quotes.)
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Noooo what does it say???
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Rumi gets misquoted constantly, too.
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