Thich Nhat Hanh: Use

Thich Nhat Hanh is Religious leader and peace activist. Explore interesting quotes on use.
Thich Nhat Hanh: 338   quotes 65   likes

“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

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

Happy , Peaceful , Freedom , Heart

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Being Peace

“In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Quoted in Engaged Buddhist Reader: Ten Years of Engaged Buddhist Publishing (1996) by Arnold Kotler, p. 106

Hate , People

“Self, person, living being, and life span are four notions that prevent us from seeing reality.
Life is one. We do not need to slice it into pieces and call this or that piece a "self." What we call a self is made only of non-self elements.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

The Sun My Heart (1996)
Context: Self, person, living being, and life span are four notions that prevent us from seeing reality.
Life is one. We do not need to slice it into pieces and call this or that piece a "self." What we call a self is made only of non-self elements. When we look at a flower, for example, we may think that it is different from "non-flower" things. But when we look more deeply, we see that everything in the cosmos is in that flower. Without all of the non-flower elements — sunshine, clouds, earth, minerals, heat, rivers, and consciousness — a flower cannot be. That is why the Buddha teaches that the self does not exist. We have to discard all distinctions between self and non-self.

Life , Reality , Personality

“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
love , For Him , For Boyfriend , Love

“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

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

People , Jealousy , Past , Future

“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

Source: Teachings on Love

Peaceful , World , Peace , Chance

“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 Hanh

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

Page 15

Life

“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

“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

Source: Living Buddha, Living Christ

Reality

“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

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

Art , Flowers

“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.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

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

Freedom

“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

“Life is a miracle, and being aware of simply this can already make us very happy.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Life , Happiness

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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