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Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes
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169 Quotes to Find Wisdom and Guidance for a Happier Life

Explore Thich Nhat Hanh's wisdom through inspiring quotes. Discover insights on self-acceptance, mindfulness, and self-care for a happier, fulfilled life. Get guidance from this renowned spiritual leader.

Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, author, poet, and teacher who founded the Plum Village Tradition. He played a crucial role in introducing mindfulness to the Western world and is known as the "father of mindfulness." Co-founding the School of Youth for Social Services and creating the Order of Interbeing, Nhất Hạnh actively opposed the Vietnam War and spent years in exile for his beliefs. He established numerous monasteries and practice centers worldwide and emphasized deep listening as a nonviolent approach to conflict resolution. In 2022, he passed away at the age of 95.

Born in Huế, central Vietnam, in 1926 as Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh was part of the Nguyễn Đình lineage. His father served as an official under French administration while his mother was a homemaker. At a young age, Nhất Hạnh felt drawn to Buddhism after encountering images of Buddha's serenity and visiting a hermit on a school trip who inspired him with their peacefulness. At 12 years old, he expressed his desire to become a monk, ultimately attaining permission from his parents at age 16 to pursue his calling. Throughout his life, Thích Nhất Hạnh significantly impacted Buddhism's understanding in the West and dedicated himself to fostering global peace through mindfulness practices.

✵ 11. October 1926
Thich Nhat Hanh photo
Thich Nhat Hanh: 169   quotes 65   likes

Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

“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
Anger , Night

“We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

Understanding , Knowledge , Reality , Learning

“Know that life can only be found in the present moment.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Variant: Life is available only in the present moment.
Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Life

“To be loved means to be recognized as existing.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

Love

“Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Being Peace

“Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

People

“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
Learning , Time , Help

“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

Source: The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

Baby

“Earth will be safe when we feel in us enough safety.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems

Feeling

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

Thich Nhat Hanh
Thinking

“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

Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Universe , Time , Happiness

“It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available—more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Being Peace

Future , Happiness

“You would not cry if you knew that by looking deeply into the rain you would still see the cloud.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: No Death, No Fear

Cry

“Life is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

Life , Way

“Be Yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be.”

Thich Nhat Hanh
Life , Search , Happiness

“Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Home , Time , Help , Happiness

“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

Source: The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

“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

Source: The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

Death , Birth , Reality

“The main affliction of our modern civilization is that we don’t know how to handle the suffering inside us and we try to cover it up with all kinds of consumption.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

Affliction , Suffering

“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

Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Love , Understanding , Change

“When you love someone, you have to offer that person the best you have. The best thing we can offer another person is our true presence.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

Love , Personality

“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

Source: Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Fear , Past

“What you are looking for is already in you… You already are everything you are seeking.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

“Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

Love , Way , Suffering

“Preventing war is much better than protesting against the war. Protesting the war is too late.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Being Peace

War

“The Buddha also counseled the monks and nuns to avoid wasting any precious time by engaging in idle conversation, oversleeping, pursuing fame and recognition, chasing after desires, spending time with people of poor character, and being satisfied with only a shallow understanding of the teaching.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991) Parallax Press ISBN 81-216-0675-6

People , Understanding , Time

“Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991) Parallax Press ISBN 81-216-0675-6

“The leaf and his body were one. Neither possessed a separate permanent self. Neither could exist independently from the rest of the universe.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991)

Universe

“The same clouds that Buddha had seen were in the sky. Each serene step brought to life the old path and white clouds of the Buddha. The path of Buddha was beneath his very feet.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991) Parallax Press ISBN 81-216-0675-6

Life

“When you understand the roots of anger in yourself and in the other, your mind will enjoy true peace, joy and lightness”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Teachings on Love (2005) Full Circle Publishing ISBN 81-7621-167-2

Peace , Understanding , Light , Joy

“Seeds can produce seeds
Seeds can produce formations.
Formations can produce seeds.
Formations can produce formations.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Understanding Our Mind (2006) Parallax Press ISBN 978-81-7223-796-7

“When you feel anger arising, remember to return to your breathing and follow it. The other person may see that you are practicing, and she may even apologize.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Teachings on Love (2005) Full Circle Publishing ISBN 81-7621-167-2

Feeling , Personality , Anger

“Venerable Svasti and the young buffalo boys were rivers that flowed from that source. Wherever the rivers flowed, the Buddha would be there.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991) Parallax Press ISBN 81-216-0675-6

Boy

“Freedom from suffering is a great happiness.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Old Path White Clouds : Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha (1991) Parallax Press ISBN 81-216-0675-6

Freedom , Suffering , Happiness

“The quality of our life
depends on the quality
of the seeds
that lie deep in our consciousness.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Understanding Our Mind (2006) Parallax Press ISBN 978-81-7223-796-7

Life , Lie , Dependency

“Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself — if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself — it is very difficult to take care of another person.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Quoted on his official website (30 December 2008) http://www.plumvillage.org/

Love , Personality

“The present moment
contains past and future.
The secret of transformation,
is in the way we handle this very moment.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Understanding Our Mind (2006) Parallax Press ISBN 978-81-7223-796-7

Secret , Way , Past , Future

“You are a miracle, and everything you touch could be a miracle.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Episode of the National Public Radio program Speaking of Faith : "Brother Thay: A Radio Pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh" (2003)

“Going vegetarian may be the most effective way to fight global warming. Buddhist practitioners have practiced vegetarianism over the last 2000 years. We are vegetarian with the intention to nourish our compassion towards the animals. Now we also know that we eat vegetarian in order to protect the earth…”

Thich Nhat Hanh

"Letter from Thay", Blue Cliff Monastery http://www.plumvillage.org/HTML/news/letterfromThay.html (12 October 2007)

Way , Animals , Fight

“We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

The Sun My Heart (1996)

Feeling , Nature , Tree , Help

“It's wonderful to be alive and to walk on earth.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Talk at Stonehill College (2002)

“Undoubtedly, even for enlightened men, however determined they may be, it is very difficult to go against the system. The question posed today is what must we do to prevent ourselves from being taken over by the system? Engaging in political or economic conflict does not seem to be the answer.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Zen Keys (1994), p. 150

Men , Question

“Birds' songs express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally. The trees, the water, and the air don't ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy them. By destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993), p. 131

Tree , Beauty , Universe , Animals

“The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.”

Thich Nhat Hanh
Dependency , Freedom , Happiness , Heart

“By living deeply in the present moment we can understand the past better and we can prepare for a better future.”

Thich Nhat Hanh
Understanding , Past , Future

“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

Source: The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation (1999) Page 61