Three Things Cannot Be Long Hidden

While this quote circulates widely under the Buddha's name, it is not a direct translation from the Pali Canon. A genuine canonical source exists — in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha contrasts things practiced in secret (such as wrong view) with things that "shine openly" like the sun, the moon, and his own teachings — but the original meaning is that the Buddha's Dhamma is openly accessible to all, not a general proverb about truth being revealed over time. The popular wording as a pithy saying first appears in print in a 2003 book; scholars classify it as a paraphrase rather than a quotation.