Thich Nhat Hanh citations

Page 5

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

“Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath.”

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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”

“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.”

“Birth is okay and death is okay, if we know that they are only concepts in our mind. Reality transcends both birth and death.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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…”

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

“To love without knowing how to love wounds the person we love.”

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

“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.”

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