Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

As practitioners of meditation, we should never accept anything on blind faith, regarding it as absolute, unchanging truth. We should investigate and observe reality with mindfulness and concentration, so our understanding and faith can deepen day by day.

The Third World War will not be unleashed by the great powers; it will break out first in the zones of famine and oppression.

Much of our thinking is unnecessary.

Si sólo te fijas en tu sufrimiento, perderás el paraíso. No ignores tu sufrimiento, pero no te olvides tampoco de disfrutar de las maravillas de la vida, en beneficio tuyo y en el de todos los seres.

If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise.

Whenever you find yourself judging your partner, go back to your in-breath and out-breath and ask, How can I see this differently? Can I look more deeply to better understand her suffering and her difficulties?

Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.

Life is short; it must not be spent in endless metaphysical speculations which will not be able to bring us the Truth.

True love requires deep understanding. In fact, love is another name for understanding. If you do not understand, you cannot love properly. Without understanding, your love will only cause the other person to suffer.

Words and ideas are only useful if they are put into practice.

When you plant a tree, if it doesn't grow well, you don't blame the tree.

When you abstain from eating and drinking animal products, fewer animals are slaughtered, and you contribute less to climate degradation.

Live in a way that brings you joy and happiness, and then you'll be able to offer it to another person.

Con comprensión y compasión serás capaz de curar las heridas de tu corazón y las del mundo.

Without the qualities of solidity, freedom, peace, and joy, fine manners are not really fine manners. They are just a camouflage called false Zen (a false sign of meditation practice).

Love doesn't just mean the intention or willingness to make someone happy, but the capacity to do so. That capacity to love is something you have to learn and cultivate.

Each of us, for the most part, continues his daily life, contributing to the maintenance and consolidation of the machinery of production and consumption. We eat, drink, work, and divert ourselves, as if nothing is going to happen.

In the second turning, we "Encourage" ourselves to practice this path. This is realized by learning, reflecting, and practicing. As we learn, whether by reading, listening, or discussing, we need to be open so we can see ways to put what we learn into practice. If learning is not followed by reflecting and practicing, it is not true learning.

The concept of "emptiness" here is not a form of nihilism as some early Western scholars of Buddhism thought; it simply means that all things are empty of an inherent, unchanging, and permanent nature—no thing exists independently and remains fixed, but arises due to a set of constantly changing causes and conditions. This is the insight of interbeing.

There is a power called kshanti, or capacity, and we all have it. The capacity to be happy is very precious. Someone who is able to be happy even when confronted with difficulties, has the capacity to offer light and a sense of joy to herself and to those around her. When we are near someone like this, we feel happy, also. Ask yourself, "Am I like that?" At first glance, you might think not. The seed is there. Practice joy.

I urge you to write this phrase down on a card and put it up on the wall of your room: "Are you sure of your perceptions?

Home is inside us. Going home requires only sitting down and being with yourself, accepting the situation as it is. Yes, it might be a mess in there, but we accept it because we know we have left home for a long time. So now we're home. With our in-breath and our out-breath, our mind- ful breathing, we begin to tidy up our homes.

As I breathe in I say, "Breathing legendary breaths," and as I breathe out I say, "Living legendary moments, wonderful moments." Happiness is there at every step, and I know that tomorrow I will have no regrets.

The teaching of the Buddha relieves us of suffering. The basis of suffering is ignorance about the true nature of self and of the world around you. When you don't understand, you are afraid, and your fear brings you much suffering. That is why the offering of nonfear is the best kind of gift you can give, to yourself and to anyone else.