“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh quote

 

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

​

“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Living Buddha, Living Christ

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

 “The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

 “When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, wisdom quotes from Teachings on Love

 “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Stepping into Freedom: Rules of Monastic Practice for Novices

 “My actions are my only true belongings.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual quotes from Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology

 “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Being Peace

“Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Power

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

 “Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

 “Life is available only in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hahn quotes from Taming the Tiger Within: Meditations on Transforming Difficult Emotions

 “Our own life has to be our message.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology

 “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.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

 “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The simple act of becoming a vegetarian will make a difference in the health of our planet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, wisdom quotes from The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology

 “For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

 “Suffering is not enough. Life is both dreadful and wonderful...How can I smile when I am filled with so much sorrow? It is natural--you need to smile to your sorrow because you are more than your sorrow.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “If you love someone but rarely make yourself available to him or her, that is not true love.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Living Buddha, Living Christ

 “The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 “I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

 “When you say something really unkind, when you do something in retaliation your anger increases. You make the other person suffer, and he will try hard to say or to do something back to get relief from his suffering. That is how conflict escalates.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

 “When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“I have noticed that people are dealing too much with the negative, with what is wrong. ... Why not try the other way, to look into the patient and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“Compassion is a verb.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. (21)”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“If you suffer and make your loved ones suffer, there is nothing that can justify your desire.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Art of Power

“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful

“The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come. ”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Living Buddha, Living Christ

“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“It is said that God has created man in his own image. But it may be that humankind has created God in the image of humankind.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers

“The secret of Buddhism is to remove all ideas, all concepts, in order for the truth to have a chance to penetrate, to reveal itself.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment

“You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

“It is my conviction that there is no way to peace - peace is the way.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Art of Power

“If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers

“Root out the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology

“In true love, you attain freedom.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

“The true miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Teachings on Love

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Being Peace

“To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the futurre. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about hte past or worriees about hte future. i fyou are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. you can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, mystic quotes from The Art of Power

“When we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Breathing in, there is only the present moment.  Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“Around us, life bursts with miracles--a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere. Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles. Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings. When we are tired and feel discouraged by life's daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

“To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual quotes from Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living

“I am determined to practice deep listening. I am determined to practice loving speech.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

“To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

“In modern society most of us don't want to be in touch with ourselves; we want to be in touch with other things like religion, sports, politics, a book - we want to forget ourselves. Anytime we have leisure, we want to invite something else to enter us, opening ourselves to the television and telling the television to come and colonize us.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom. Our practice is to make ourselves ready for the kingdom so that it can manifest in the here and the now. You don't need to die in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, you have to be truly alive in order to do so.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“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.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Being Peace

“Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sounds. By such means, ...awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. If we get in touch with the suffering of the world, and are moved by that suffering, we may come forward to help the people who are suffering.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“You are not an observer, you are a participant.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Being Peace

“I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight... I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“A real love letter is made of insight, understanding, and compassion. Otherwise it's not a love letter. A true love letter can produce a transformation in the other person, and therefore in the world. But before it produces a transformation in the other person, it has to produce a transformation within us. Some letters may take the whole of our lifetime to write.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh: 365 days of practical, powerful teachings from the beloved Zen teacher

“The fact is that when you make the other suffer, he will try to find relief by making you suffer more. The result is an escalation of suffering on both sides.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

“Our notions about happiness entrap us. We forget that they are just ideas. Our idea of happiness can prevent us from actually being happy. We fail to see the opportunity for joy that is right in front of us when we are caught in a belief that happiness should take a particular form.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Those who are without compassion cannot see what is seen with the eyes of compassion.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“I am inviting you to go deeper, to learn and to practice so that you become someone who has a great capacity for being solid, calm, and without fear, because our society needs people like you who have these qualities, and your children, our children, need people like you, in order to go on, in order to become solid, and calm, and without fear.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake. Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Being rich is an obstacle to loving. When you are rich, you want to continue to be rich, and so you end up devoting all your time, all your energy, in your daily life to stay rich.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

“There is a story I would like to tell you about a woman who practices the invocation of the Buddha Amitabha's name. She is very tough, and she practices the invocation three times daily, using a wooden drum and a bell, reciting, "Namo Amitabha Buddha" for one hour each time. When she arrives at one thousand times, she invites the bell to sound. (In Vietnamese, we don't say "strike" or "hit" a bell.) Although she has been doing this for ten years, her personality has not changed. She is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time.

A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, so one afternoon when she had just lit the incense, invited the bell to sound three times, and was beginning to recite "Namo Amitabha Buddha," he came to her door, and said, "Mrs. Nguyen, Mrs. Nguyen!" She found it very annoying because this was her time of practice, but he just stood at the front gate shouting her name. She said to herself, "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will ignore that," and she went on, "Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha."

The gentleman continued to shout her name, and her anger became more and more oppressive. She struggled against it, wondering, "Should I stop my recitation and go and give him a piece of my mind?" But she continued chanting, and she struggled very hard. Fire mounted in her, but she still tried to chant "Namo Amitabha Buddha." The gentleman knew it, and he continued to shout, "Mrs. Nguyen! Mrs. Nguyen!"

She could not bear it any longer. She threw away the bell and the drum. She slammed the door, went out to the gate and said, "Why, why do you behave like that? Why do you call my name hundreds of times like that?" The gentleman smiled at her and said, "I just called your name for ten minutes, and you are so angry. You have been calling the Buddha's name for ten years. Think how angry he must be!”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

“Some people live as though they are already dead. There are people moving around us who are consumed by their past, terrified of their future, and stuck in their anger and jealousy. They are not alive; they are just walking corpses.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

“Ff your love is only a will to possess, its not love”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”
― Thich Nhat Hanhquotes, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“Please don't wait until the doctors tell you that you are going to have a baby to begin to take care of it. It is already there. Whatever you are, whatever you do, your baby will get it. Anything you eat, any worries that are on your mind will be for him or her. Can you tell me that you cannot smile? Think of the baby, and smile for him, for her, for the future generations. Please don't tell me that a smile and your sorrow just don't go together. It's your sorrow, but what about your baby? It's not his sorrow, its not her sorrow.”
― Thich Nhat Hanhquotes, Being Peace

“It is possible to live twenty-four hours a day in a state of love. Every movement, every glance, every thought, and every word can be infused with love.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Only the present moment contains life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Being Peace

“May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“An oak tree is an oak tree. That is all it has to do. If an oak tree is less than an oak tree, then we are all in trouble.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

“A human being is like a television set with millions of channels.... We cannot let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to recover our own sovereignty.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh: 365 days of practical, powerful teachings from the beloved Zen teacher

“The problem is whether we are determined to go in the direction of compassion or not. If we are, then can we reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Being Peace

“Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“We have negative mental habits that come up over and over again. One of the most significant negative habits we should be aware of is that of constantly allowing our mind to run off into the future. Perhaps we got this from our parents. Carried away by our worries, we're unable to live fully and happily in the present. Deep down, we believe we can't really be happy just yet—that we still have a few more boxes to be checked off before we can really enjoy life. We speculate, dream, strategize, and plan for these "conditions of happiness" we want to have in the future; and we continually chase after that future, even while we sleep. We may have fears about the future because we don't know how it's going to turn out, and these worries and anxieties keep us from enjoying being here now.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives

“Smile, breathe and go slowly."
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If you touch one thing with deep awareness, you touch everything.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Anyone can practice some nonviolence, even soldiers. Some army generals, for example, conduct their operations in ways that avoid killing innocent people; this is a kind of nonviolence. To help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction, we have to be in touch with them. If we divide reality into two camps - the violent and the nonviolent - and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact.

It never helps to draw a line and dismiss some people as enemies, even those who act violently. We have to approach them with love in our hearts and do our best to help them move in a direction of nonviolence. If we work for peace out of anger, we will never succeed. Peace is not an end. It can never come about through non-peaceful means.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

“Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“We who have touched war have a duty to bring the truth about war to those who have not had a direct experience of it. We are the light at the tip of the candle. It is really hot, but it has the power of shining and illuminating. If we practice mindfulness, we will know how to look deeply into the nature of war and, with our insight, wake people up so that together we can avoid repeating the same horrors again and again.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“As long as you find something beautiful, good, and true to believe in and abide by, you have the equivalent of God in your life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World

“You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.
Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.
Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.
If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea.
You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.

Life is like that.
If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone.
You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life.
It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished.

Learn from it and let it go.
The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.
Worrying is worthless.
When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment.
Then you will begin to experience joy in life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her.

From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, 'Darling, do I understand you enough? Or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly. I don't want to make you suffer, and if I do so because of my ignorance, please tell me so that I can love you better, so that you can be happy." If you say this in a voice that communicates your real openness to understand, the other person may cry.

That is a good sign, because it means the door of understanding is opening and everything will be possible again.

Maybe a father does not have time or is not brave enough to ask his son such a question. Then the love between them will not be as full as it could be. We need courage to ask these questions, but if we don't ask, the more we love, the more we may destroy the people we are trying to love. True love needs understanding. With understanding, the one we love will certainly flower.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“The problem that faces us is the problem of awakening. What we lack is not an ideology or doctrine that will save the world. What we lack is mindfulness of what we are, of what our situation really is. We need to wake up in order to rediscover our human sovereignty. We are riding a horse that is running out of control. The way of salvation is a new culture in which human beings are encouraged to rediscover their deepest nature.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“I always encourage them to practice in a way that will help them go back to their own tradition and get re-rooted. If they succeed at at becoming reintegrated, they will be an important instrument in transforming and renewing their tradition.
...

When we respect our blood ancestors and our spiritual ancestors, we feel rooted. If we find ways to cherish and develop our spiritual heritage, we will avoid the kind of alienation that is destroying society, and we will become whole again. ... Learning to touch deeply the jewels of our own tradition will allow us to understand and appreciate the values of other traditions, and this will benefit everyone.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Living Buddha, Living Christ

“Know that life can only be found in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

“Earth will be safe when we feel in us enough safety.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems

“Happiness does not come from consumption of things.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World

“Being vegetarian here also means that we do not consume dairy and egg products, because they are products of the meat industry. If we stop consuming, they will stop producing. Only collective awakening can create enough determination for action.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual quotes from The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom

“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The raft is used to cross the river. It isn't to be carried around on your shoulders. The finger which points at the moon isn't the moon itself.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual quotes from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Your true home is in the here and the now.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh: 365 days of practical, powerful teachings from the beloved Zen teacher

“I will practice coming back to the present moment...not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past or letting anxieties, fears, or cravings pull me out...”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Each time you look at a tangerine, you can see deeply into it. You can see everything in the universe in one tangerine. When you peel it and smell it, it’s wonderful. You can take your time eating a tangerine and be very happy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“During the last 2,500 years in Buddhist monasteries, a system of seven practices of reconciliation has evolved. Although these techniques were formulated to settle disputes within the circle of monks, i think they might also be of use in our households and in our society. The first practice is Face-to-Face-Sitting."
― Thich Nhat Hanh, wisdom quotes from Being Peace

“In true dialog, both sides are willing to change.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If you know how to be happy with the wonders of life that are already there for you to enjoy, you don't need to stress your mind and your body by striving harder and harder, and you don't need to stress this planet by purchasing more and more stuff. The Earth belongs to our children. We have already borrowed too much from it, from them; and the way things have been going, we're not sure we'll be able to give it back to them in decent shape. And who are our children, actually? They are us, because they are our own continuation. So we've been shortchanging our own selves. Much of our modern way of life is permeated by mindless over-borrowing. The more we borrow, the more we loser. That's why it's critical that we wake up and see we don't need to do that anymore. What's already available in the here and now is plenty for us to be nourished, to be happy. Only that kind of insight will get us, each one of us, to stop engaging in the compulsive, self-sabotaging behaviors of our species. We need a collective awakening. One Buddha is not enough. All of us have to become Buddhas in order for our planet to have a chance. Fortunately, we have the power to wake up, to touch enlightenment from moment to moment, in our very own ordinary and, yes, busy lives. So let's start right now. Peace is your every breath.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives

“Your breathing should flow gracefully, like a river, like a watersnake crossing the water, and not like a chain of rugged mountains or the gallop of a horse. To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Sometimes it is better not to talk about art by using the word "art". If we just act with awareness and integrity, our art will flower, and we don't have to talk about it at all.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

‎"The earth is so beautiful. We are beautiful also. We can allow ourselves to walk mindfully, touching the earth, our wonderful mother, with each step. We don't need to wish our friends, 'Peace be with you.' Peace is already with them. We only need to help them cultivate the habit of touching peace in each moment."
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“The Three Kinds of Pride are: (1) thinking I am better than the other(s); (2) thinking I am worse than the other(s); and (3) thinking I am just as good as the other(s).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

“When our beliefs are based on our own direct experience of reality and not on notions offered by others, no one can remove these beliefs from us.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ

“Life is a miracle, and being aware of simply this can already make us very happy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Peace can exist only in the present moment. It is rid iculous to say "Wait until I finish this, then I will be free to live in peace." What is "this"? A diploma, a job, a house, the payment of a debt? If yo u th ink that way, peace will never come. There is always another "this" that will follow the present one. If you are not living in peace at this moment, you will never be able to. If you truly want to be at peace, you must be at peace right now. Otherwise, there is only "the hope of peace some day.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“Birth is okay and death is okay, if we know that they are only concepts in our mind. Reality transcends both birth and death.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

“The electron is first of all your concept of the electron.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“Anxiety, the illness of our time, comes primarily from our inability to dwell in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The miracle is to walk on the earth.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“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.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.

This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.

There is only the tea, and me, converging.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“You would not cry if you knew that by looking deeply into the rain you would still see the cloud.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear

“If you do not know how to take care of yourself, and the violence in you, then you will not be able to take care of others. You must have love and patience before you can truly listen to your partner or child. If you are irritated you cannot listen. You have to know how to breath mindfully, embrace your irritation and transform it. Offer ONLY understand and compassion to your partner or child - This is the true practice of love. ”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World

“You are what you want to become. Why search anymore? You are a wonderful manifestation. The whole universe has come together to make your existence possible. There is nothing that is not you. The kingdom of God, the Pure Land, nirvana, happiness, and liberation are all you.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“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.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Words and thoughts concerning compassionate action that are not put into practice are like beautiful flowers that are colorful but have no fragrance.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World

“To be beautiful means to be yourself.  You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Power

“You have an appointment with life, an appointment that is in the here and now.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Only your compassion, your attention and your gentleness are invincible and without limits.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“When you look deeply into your anger, you will see that the person you call your enemy is also suffering. As soon as you see that, the capacity of accepting and having compassion for them is there.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Due to attachment, anger, and foolishness, I have committed numberless mistakes in speech, deed and thought. I bow my head and repent. I vow from today to begin anew, to live day and night in mindfulness, and not to repeat my previous mistakes.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“The roots of war are in the way we live our daily lives -- the way we develop our industries, build up our society, and consume goods.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk. We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do?”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Art of Mindful Living: How to Bring Love, Compassion, and Inner Peace Into Your Daily Life

“Peace ca n exist only in the present moment. It is rid iculous to say "Wait until I fi nish this, then I will be free to live in peace." What is "this" ? A diploma, a job, a house, the payment of a debt? If yo u th ink that way, peace wi ll never come. There is always another "th is" that wi ll fo llow the present one. If you are not living in peace at this moment, you will never be able to . If you truly wa nt to be at peace, you must be at peace right now. Otherwise, there is only "the hope of peace some day.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“We will not just say, "I love him very much," but instead, "I will do something so that he will suffer less." The mind of compassion is truly present when it is effective in removing another person's suffering.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Preventing war is much better than protesting against the war. Protesting the war is too late.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peac

“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.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The miracle is walking on the earth, not walking on water or fire. The real miracle is walking on this earth.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what's the use of seeing?”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will blossom like flowers”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“The present moment is the only moment available to us and it is the door to all other moments.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“ To meditate with mindful breathing is to bring body and mind back to the present moment so that you do not miss your appointment with life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

“Mindfulness is like that—it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life”

“Just by breathing deeply on your anger, you will calm it. You are being mindful of your anger, not suppressing it...touching it with the energy of mindfulness. You are not denying it at all. When I speak about this to psychotherapists, I have some difficulty. When I say that anger makes us suffer, they take it to mean that anger is something negative to be removed. But I always say that anger is an organic thing, like love. Anger can become love. Our compost can become a rose. If we know how to take care of our compost...Anger is the same. It can be negative when we do not know how to handle it, but if we know how to handle our anger, it can be very positive. We do not need to throw anything away," (50).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life

‎"The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“A teacher cannot give you the truth
The truth is already in you
You only need to open yourself –
body, mind and heart-
so that his or her teachings
will penetrate your own seeds
of understanding and enlightenment
If you let the words enter you,
the soil and the seeds
will do the rest of the work”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Here is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“I have lost my smile, but don't worry.  The dandelion has it.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, swelling in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Love has no meaning without understanding”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, Art of Mindful Living: How to Bring Love, Compassion, and Inner Peace Into Your Daily Life

“If you abandon your two glasses of wine, it is to show your children, your friends, and your society that your life is not only for yourself. Your life is for your ancestors, future generations, and also your society. To stop drinking two glasses of wine every week is a very deep practice, even if it has not brought you any harm. That is the insight of a bodhisattva who knows that everything she does is done for all her ancestors and future generations... In modern life, people think that their body belongs to them and they can do anything they want to it... This is one of the manifestations of individualism. But, according to the teaching of emptiness, your body is not yours. Your body belongs to your ancestors, your parents, and future generations. It also belongs to society and to all other living beings. All of them have come together to bring about the presence of this body--the trees, clouds, everything. Keeping your body healthy is to express gratitude to the whole cosmos, to all ancestors, and also not to betray the future generations," (64-65).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Mindful consumption is the object of this precept. We are what we consume. If we look deeply into the items that we consume every day, we will come to know our own nature very well. We have to eat, drink, consume, but if we do it unmindfully, we may destroy our bodies and our consciousness, showing ingratitude toward our ancestors, our parents, and future generations (66).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes, For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life

“I vow to ingest only items that preserve well-being, peace, and joy in my body and my consciousness... Practicing a diet is the essence of this precept. Wars and bombs are the products of our consciousness individually and collectively. Our collective consciousness has so much violence, fear, craving, and hatred in it, it can manifest in wars and bombs. The bombs are the product of our fear... Removing the bombs is not enough. Even if we could transport all the bombs to a distant planet, we would still not be safe, because the roots of the wars and the bombs are still intact in our collective consciousness. Transforming the toxins in our collective consciousness is the true way to uproot war (72-73).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life

“Let us look at wealth and poverty. The affluent society and the deprived society inter-are. The wealth of one society is made of the poverty of the other. "This is like this, because that is like that." Wealth is made of non-wealth elements, and poverty is made by non-poverty elements. [...] so we must be careful not to imprison ourselves in concepts. The truth is that everything contains everything else. We cannot just be, we can only inter-be. We are responsible fo everything that happens around us.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

‎"We have a lamp inside us. The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, and our peaceful smile. Our practice is to light up the lamp.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

“He saw that the key to liberation would be to break through ignorance and to enter deeply into the heart of reality and attain a direct experience of it. Such knowledge would not be the knowledge of the intellect, but of direct experience.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, wisdom quotes from “Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha”

“We have to restore the meaning of the word 'love.' We have been using it in a careless way. When we say, 'I love hamburgers,' we are not talking about love. We are talking about our appetite, our desire for hamburgers. We should not dramatize our speech and misuse words like that. We make words like 'love' sick that way. We have to make an effort to heal our language by using words carefully. the word 'love' is a beautiful word. We have to restore its meaning (31).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, mystic quotes from “For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life”

 “In Asia, we say that there are three sources of energy--sexual, breath, and spirit...You need to know how to reestablish the balance, or you may act irresponsibly. According to Taoism and Buddhism, there are practices to help reestablish that balance, such as meditation or martial arts. You can learn the ways to channel your sexual energy into deep realizations in the domains of art and meditation. The second source of energy is khi, breath energy. Life can be described as a process of burning. In order to burn, every cell in our body needs nutrition and oxygen...Some people cultivate their khi by refraining from smoking and talking, or by practicing conscious breathing after talking a lot...The third source of energy is than, spirit energy. When you don't sleep at night, you lose some of this kind of energy. Your nervous system becomes exhausted and you cannot study or practice meditation well, or make good decisions. You don't have a clear mind because of lack of sleep or from worrying too much. Worry and anxiety drain this source of energy. So don't worry. Don't stay up too late. Keep your nervous system healthy. Prevent anxiety. These kinds of practices cultivate the third source of energy. You need this source of energy to practice meditation well. A spiritual breakthrough requires the power of your spirit energy, which comes about through concentration and knowing how to preserve this source of energy. When you have strong spirit energy, you only have to focus it on an object, and you will have a breakthrough. If you don't have than, the light of your concentration will not shine brightly, because the light emitted is very weak," (35-36).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“All love may begin by being passionate, especially for younger people. But in the process of living together, they have to learn and practice love, so that selfishness--the tendency to possess--will diminish, and the elements of understanding and gratitude will settle in, little by little, until their love becomes nourishing, protecting, and reassuring," (41).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from “For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life”

“Dear friends, do you know that you are lucky people? You don't have any cows to lose.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, spiritual quotes from”The Art of Power”

“Sometimes we don't need to eat or drink as much as we do, but it has become a kind of addiction. We feel so lonely. Loneliness is one of the afflictions of modern life. It is similar to the Third and Fourth Precpets--we feel lonely, so we engage in conversation, or even in a sexual relationship, hoping that the feeling of loneliness will go away. Drinking and eating can also be the result of loneliness. You want to drink or overeat in order to forget your loneliness, but what you eat may bring toxins into your body. When you are lonely, you open the refrigerator, watch TV, read magazines or novels, or pick up the telephone to talk. But unmindful consumption always makes things worse (68).
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life

“No one can practice the precepts perfectly, including the Buddha... Boiled vegetables contain dead bacteria. We cannot practice the First Precept or any of the precepts perfectly. But because of the real danger in our society--alcoholism has destroyed so many families and has brought about much unhappiness--we have to do something. We have to live in a way that will eradicate that kind of damage. That is why even if you can be very healthy with one glass of wine every week, I still urge you with all my strength to abandon that glass of wine (76).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from “For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life”

“To stop the drug traffic is not the best way to prevent people from using drugs. The best way is to practice the Fifth Precept and to help others practice. Consuming mindfully is the intelligent way to stop ingesting toxins into our consciousness and prevent the malaise from becoming overwhelming. Learning the art of touching and ingesting refreshing, nourishing, and healing elements is the way to restore our balance and transform the pain and loneliness that are already in us. To do this, we have to practice together. The practice of mindful consuming should become a national policy. It should be considered true peace education... Those who are destroying themselves, their families, and their society by intoxicating themselves are not doing it intentionally. Their pain and loneliness are overwhelming, and they want to escape. They need to be helped, not punished. Only understanding and compassion on a collective level can liberate us (78-79).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, famous quotes from For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life

“We have to look deeply at things in order to see. When a swimmer enjoys the clear water of the river, he or she should also be able to be the river.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

“Everyday we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child - our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“Machine thinking is the opposite of mindfulness. If we're really engaged in mindfulness when walking along the path to the village, then we will consider the act of each step we take as an infinite wonder, and a joy will open our hearts like a flower, enabling us to enter the world of reality.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“The teachings of the Buddha could be summarized in four short sentences. ... [The Buddha] said ...
The bad things, don't do them.
The good things, try to do them.
Try to purify, subdue your own mind.
That is the teaching of all buddhas.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh quotes from The Art of Power

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