Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes
Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.
The present moment
contains past and future.
The secret of transformation,
is in the way we handle this very moment.
Freedom from suffering is a great happiness.
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.
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.
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.
One included all, and all were contained in one.
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
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. Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive.
It's wonderful to be alive and to walk on earth.
The quality of our life
depends on the quality
of the seeds
that lie deep in our consciousness.
Your smile affirms your awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. How many days slip by in forgetfulness? What are you doing with your life? Look deeply, and smile. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.
Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.
If you touch one thing with deep awareness, you touch everything.
The leaf and his body were one. Neither possessed a separate permanent self. Neither could exist independently from the rest of the universe.
You are a miracle, and everything you touch could be a miracle.
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.
You don't have to run into the future in order to get more happiness. It is possible to live happily in the here and the now.
To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.
Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality, or race.
Smile, breathe and go slowly.
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.
When you understand the roots of anger in yourself and in the other, your mind will enjoy true peace, joy and lightness.
This capacity of waking up, of being aware of what is going on in your feelings, in your body, in your perceptions, in the world, is called Buddha nature, the capacity of understanding and loving.
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
When we are angry, our anger is our very self. To suppress or chase away our anger is to suppress or chase away ourselves. When anger is born, we can be aware that anger is an energy in us, and we can change that energy into another kind of energy. If we want to transform it, first we have to know how to accept it.
We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.
If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it.
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.
Reality is reality. It transcends every concept.
Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.
Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything.
