Quotes from Le Ly Hayslip

The past, for everyone, is full of missed chances, surviving to understand them, if not set them straight, is one of the things that makes the next breath worth taking.

In the West, for example, people believe they must 'pursue happiness' as if it were some kind of a flighty bird that is always out of reach. In the East, we believe we are born with happiness and one of life's important tasks, my mother told me, is to protect it.

I can only say what I myself have learned: that life's purpose is to grow. We have time in abundance- an enternity, in fact- to repeat our mistakes. We only need to correct them once, however- to learn our lesson and hear the song of enlightenment- to break the chain of vengeance forever. If we can do this personally, no matter how many others follow, our hearts will at least find peace.

Hating people who wronged me only kept me in their power. Forgiving them and thanking them for the lessons they taught me, on the other hand set me free to continue on my way.

The difference, I think, is that in Vietnam, people seem to have no choice about the kind of house they live in. They may want to fix the roof, but they can't do much about it, so they fight each other for a dry spot on the floor away from all the leaks.

The special gift of that suffering, I have learned, is how to be strong while we are weak, how to be brave when we are afraid, how to be wise in the midst of confusion, and how to let go of that which we can no longer hold. In this way, anger can teach forgiveness, hate can teach us love, and war can teach us peace.

Don't wonder about right and wrong. Those are weapons as deadly as bombs and bullets. Right is the goodness you carry in your heart—love for your ancestors and your baby and your family and for everything that lives. Wrong is anything that comes between you and that love.

The past, for everyone, is full of missed chances, surviving to understand them, if not set them straight, is one of the things that makes the next breath worth taking.