Thich Nhat Hanh citations

“Le miracle c'est de marcher sur la terre.”

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.”

“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.”

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

“Many people think excitement is happiness…. But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.”

“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.”

“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”

“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.”

“There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.”

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

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”

“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.”

“If you love someone but rarely make yourself available to him or her, that is not true love.”

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

“Compassion is a verb.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.”

“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.”

“Enlightenment is always there. Small enlightenment will bring great enlightenment. If you breathe in and are aware that you are alive—that you can touch the miracle of being alive—then that is a kind of enlightenment”

“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness”

“One included all, and all were contained in one.”

“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.”

“Your first love has no beginning or end. Your first love is not your first love, and it is not your last. It is just love. It is one with everything.”

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”

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