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Nhat Hanh Quotes - Page 13

All Quotes Acceptance Acting Adversity Anger Anxiety Art Attitude Awareness Beauty Being Happy Being Yourself Belief Birth Blame Buddhism Caring Change Children Christianity Communication Community Compassion Consciousness Country Desire Determination Drinking Earth Effort Empathy Energy Enlightenment Environment Fame Family Fear Feelings Fighting Focus Forgiveness Freedom Future Giving Gratitude Growth Happiness Happy Hate Hatred Healing Heart Helping Others Home Hope House Hurt Ignorance Inspirational Inspiring Jesus Joy Karma Kindness Kissing Laughter Learning Letting Go Life Listening Love Lying Meditation Mindfulness Mom Monk Moon Morning Motivational Mountain Nature Opportunity Pain Past Peace Perception Positive Positive Thinking Positivity Purpose Quality Rain Reality Regret Running Sacrifice Separation Serenity Silence Smile Sorrow Sovereignty Spring Struggle Suffering Sunshine Tea Teaching Time Today Transformation Truth Understanding Vegetarian Violence Waiting War Water Well Being Wisdom Worry Writing Yoga

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

Inspirational, Time, Tea Drinking

Thich Nhat Hanh (2016). “The Miracle of Mindfulness, Gift Edition”, p.29, Beacon Press

We talk about social service, service to the people, service to humanity, service to others who are far away, helping to bring peace to the world - but often we forget that it is the very people around us that we must live for first of all. If you cannot serve your wife or husband or child or parent - how are you going to serve society? If you cannot make your own child happy, how do you expect to be able to make anyone else happy? If all our friends in the peace movement or of service communities of any kind do not love and help each other, whom can we love and help?

Children, Husband, People

If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

Flower, Peaceful, Benefits

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Being Peace”, p.2, ReadHowYouWant.com

No thought about the past or future can pull you away from your present peace and joy. The universe exists in this present moment. No desire can pull you away from this present peace, not even the desire to become a Buddha or the desire to save all beings. Know that to become a Buddha and to save all beings can only be realized on the foundation of the pure peace of the present moment.

Peace, Future, Past

Various, Ledi Sayadaw, Bhikkhu Khantipalo, Nyanaponika Thera, Padmasiri de Silva (2012). “Collected Wheel Publications Volume XVI: Numbers 231–247”, p.109, Buddhist Publication Society

Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere, any time.

Baby, Eye, Sunshine

Thich Nhat Hanh “Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings”, Orbis Books

A bodhisattva doesn't have to be perfect. Anyone who is aware of what is happening and who tries to wake up other people is a bodhisattva. We are all bodhisattvas, doing our best.

People, Perfect, Trying

Thich Nhat Hanh (2005). “Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living”, p.73, Parallax Press

Listening is a very deep practice. You have to empty yourself. You have to leave space in order to listen especially to people we think are our enemies - the ones we believe are making our situation worse. When you have shown your capacity for listening and understanding, the other person will begin to listen to you, and you have a change to tell him or her of your pain, and it's your turn to be healed. This is the practice of peace.

Pain, Believe, Thinking

Simple practices like conscious breathing and smiling are very important. They can change our civilization.

Mom, Simple, Practice

Thich Nhat Hanh (2005). “Wisdom from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life”, p.35, Peter Pauper Press, Inc.

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.

Happiness, Smile, Peace

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Being Peace: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition”, p.11, ReadHowYouWant.com

If we take the time to look deeply, we see that understanding and compassion arise from suffering. Understanding is the understanding of suffering, and compassion is the kind of energy that can transform suffering. If suffering is not there, we have no means to cultivate our understanding and our compassion. This is something quite simple to see

Mean, Simple, Compassion

There are always some people who are ready to embrace a doctrine, a notion, a dogma, and they miss the real teaching.

Real, Teaching, People

Thich Nhat Hanh (2000). “Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers”, p.21, Penguin

Smile, breathe and go slowly.

Inspirational, Life, Positivity

If you suffer and make your loved ones suffer, there is nothing that can justify your desire.

Peace, Truth, Compassion

The reason we might lose love is because we are always looking outside of us, thinking that the object or action of love is out there. That is why we allow the love, the harmony, the mature understanding, to slip away from ourselves.

Love Is, Thinking, Understanding

"Building a Community of Love: bell hooks and Thich Nhat Hanh". Interview with bell hooks, plumvillage.org. January 1, 2000.

We have to learn to die in every moment in order to be fully alive.

Order, Alive, Moments

By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person.

Leadership, Understanding, Listening

Thich Nhat Hanh, Sherab Chodzin Kohn (2011). “True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart”, p.37, Shambhala Publications

When you have a toothache, you think that not having a toothache will make you very happy. But when you don't have a toothache, often you are still not happy. If you practice awareness, you suddenly become very rich, very very happy.

Thinking, Practice, Rich

Thich Nhat Hanh “Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings”, Orbis Books

There is a paradise of form and colors in the world. And because you have eyes still in good condition, you can get in touch with the paradise. So when I become aware of my eyes, I touch one of the conditions of happiness. And when I touch it, happiness comes.

Eye, Color, World

"Oprah Talks to Master Thich Nhat Hanh, the beloved buddhist Vietnamese monk: The Oprah's Exclusive Interview". Interview with Oprah Winfrey, onmogul.com.

Before practicing meditation, we see that mountains are mountains. When we start to practice, we see that mountains are no longer mountains. After practicing a while, we see that mountains are again mountains. Now the mountains are very free. Our mind is still with the mountains, but it is no longer bound to anything.

Practice, Meditation, Mind

Thich Nhat Hanh (2010). “The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion”, p.67, Parallax Press

A bodhisattva is someone who has compassion within himself or herself and who is able to make another person smile or help someone suffer less. Every one of us is capable of this.

Compassion, Suffering, Able

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Be Free Where You Are: A Talk Given at the Maryland Correctional Institute: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition”, p.42, ReadHowYouWant.com

An emotion is only an emotion. It's just a small part of your whole being. You are much more than your emotion. An emotion comes, stays for a while, and goes away, just like a storm. If you're aware of that, you won't be afraid of your emotions.

Storm, Emotion, Small Parts

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

Buddhist, Suffering, Mutual Understanding

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Being Peace: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition”, p.98, ReadHowYouWant.com

Sometimes you have a flash of insight, but it's not strong enough to survive. Therefore in the practice of Buddhism, samadhi is the power to maintain insight alive in every moment, so that every speech, every word, every act will bear the nature of that insight. It is a question of cleaning. And you clean better if you are surrounded by those who are practicing exactly the same.

Strong, Buddhism, Practice

"Building a Community of Love: bell hooks and Thich Nhat Hanh". Interview with Bell Hooks, www.lionsroar.com. March 24, 2017.

Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice... No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out.

Practice, Steps, Given

If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.

Life, Smile, Peace

Thich Nhat Hanh (2010). “Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life”, p.6, Random House

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