Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

You must do whatever is necessary to be able to do this: recognize the presence of the person you love several times each day.

one, I know that you are here, and it makes me very happy.

When St Francis looked deeply at an all day treatment in winter and asked it to speak to him about God, the tree was instantly covered in blossoms.

We practice stopping and observing to arrive at liberation. We live as if we're in a dream. We're dragged into the past and pulled into the future. We're bound by our sorrows, agitation, and fear, and we hold on to our anger, which blocks communication.

In Buddhism, the energy that helps us to touch life deeply is called smrti, the energy of mindfulness.

My friend, things appear and disappear according to causes and conditions. The true nature of things is not being born, and not dying. Birth and death are nothing more than concepts. Our true nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death, and we must touch our true nature in order to be free.

The most precious inheritance parents can leave their children is their own happiness. Parents' happiness is the most valuable gift they can give their children

When we practice Right Mindfulness, we see the seed of Buddhahood in everyone, including ourselves. This is Right View. Sometimes it is described as the Mother of All Buddhas (prajna paramita), the energy of love and understanding that has the power to free us. When we practice mindful living, our Right View will blossom, and all the other elements of the path in us will flower, also.

When your mind is liberated your heart floods with compassion: compassion for yourself, for having undergone countless sufferings because because you were not yet able to relieve yourself of false views, hatred, ignorance, and anger; and compassion for others because they do not yet see and are still imprisoned by false views, hatred, and ignorance and continue to create suffering for themselves and others.

The absolute silence that is nirv??a is the release from a world of suffering.

O monks, in the world there is birth, being, made, and conditioned. But there is also no birth, no being, the not-made, and the not-conditioned; for these are the way out of birth, being, made, and conditioned.

L'abitante di un villaggio mi scrutava Disperato eppure senza paura, Risponde: "Odio entrambe le fazioni. Non ne seguo nessuna. Voglio solo andare Dove mi lascino vivere E i aiutino a vivere". Vita ! quanta infelicità

This is real meditation. In this particular meditation, all at once there is love, compassion, joy, and freedom—the four constituents of the true love of which the Buddha speaks.

The Buddha spoke about the practice of samtusta, recognizing that we have enough conditions to be happy right here and right now. We don't need to obtain any more. Samtusta has been translated as realizing that one is satisfied with little.

and agony. Are you consuming like a Hungry Ghost?

When our mind experiences pleasure, the five desires arise. The real hero quickly puts an end to these desires.

Whenever everyone's eyes are fixed on the earth—looking at the trees, plants, hills, mountains, or each other—then we know we are in the historical dimension, the world of birth and death. But when everyone's eyes look into space then we have entered the ultimate dimension, the unborn and undying world.

You must always check things out by going to the person in question and asking for his or her help: "Dear one, I am suffering so much, help me please.

Buddha nature is the ability to understand and touch our real nature.

Compassionate listening is a very deep practice. You listen not to judge or to blame. You listen just because you want the other person to suffer less.

Suchness [...] means that reality is as it is. You cannot say anything about it; you cannot describe it. Nirvana is the same. Nirvana is the removal of all notions and concepts so that reality can reveal herself fully to you.

May we eat only foods that nourish us and prevent illnes.. May we accept this food for the realization of the way of understanding and love.

This is the path that goes to the shore of no-birth and no-death, leading to the end of suffering and calamity. On the spiritual path, there is no longer the discrimination between friend and enemy. You do not need to know who has worldly power or who has not.

True love includes a sense of responsibility and accepting the other person as she is, with all her strengths and weaknesses. If you only like the best things in a person, that is not love. You have to accept her weaknesses and bring your patience, understanding, and energy to help her transform. This kind of love brings protection and safety.