Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism in China, how much merit he had earned by building temples all over the country. Bodhidharma said, “None whatsoever.” But if you wash one dish in mindfulness, if you build one small temple while dwelling deeply in the present moment – not wanting to be anywhere else, not caring about fame or recognition – the merit from that act will be boundless, and you will feel very happy.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

We have the impression that our family, place of work, and society rob us of all our time.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

It is my prayer that nations will no longer send their young people to fight each other, not even in the name of peace. I do not accept the concept of war for peace, nor of a ‘just war,’ in the same way that I cannot accept the concepts of ‘just slavery,,’ ’just hatred, or ’just racism.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

1. Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn the truth upside down. 2. Don’t exaggerate. 3. Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to another for selfish or manipulative reasons. 4. Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse, or condemnation.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Sorrow, fear, and depression are all a kind of garbage. These bits of garbage are part of real life, and we must look deeply into their nature. You can practice in order to turn these bits of garbage into flowers. It is not only your love that is organic; your hate is, too. So you should not throw anything out. All you have to do is learn how to transform your garbage into flowers.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

You cannot remain yourself.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

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?

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Certain wondrous phenomena respond to the human need to know the infinite, truth, beauty, goodness. Others, deliberately enigmatic, remain inaccessible to our brains and hearts. Humans are much too accustomed to penetrating the universe with a narrow and limited mind, ignoring the eighty-thousand doors that are always open, at our disposal.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

But the path back home is not long. 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 mindful breathing, we begin to tidy up our homes.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Make the practice pleasant, that is what I beg you to do.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

If we stop being joyful and stop singing, we are caught in a kind of prison. The stars in the sky never build prisons.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Our world does not lack people willing to throw themselves into action. What we need are people who are capable of loving, of not taking sides so that they can embrace the whole of reality as a mother hen embraces all her chicks, with two fully spread wings.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Compassion is mindfulness. If you can maintain that awareness, you are protected. Your seeds of irritation and anger will not be watered and you can listen for one hour without being affected by what she says. You don’t want to correct her, even if her speech is full of wrong perceptions and accusations – you feel only compassion, “Oh dear, she is the victim of so many wrong perceptions.” You don’t want to punish or criticize her because you have compassion.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

A person who practices Zen meditation does not have to rely on beliefs in hell, nirvana, rebirth, or causality; they have only to rely on the reality of their body, their psychology, biology, and their own past experiences or the instructions of Zen masters who have preceded them.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

The sea is either calm or stormy. If one wants a calm sea one cannot get it by suppressing the stormy sea. One must wait for this same sea to become calm.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Several years ago I was in Seoul, South Korea. The police had blocked traffic so that we could have a walking meditation in the city. When the time came to lead the walking meditation, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t walk, because hundreds of journalists and people with cameras were closing in. There was no path to walk. So I told the Buddha, “Dear Buddha, I give up, you walk for me.” The Buddha came right away. He walked and people made a path for the Buddha to walk.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

In traditional Chinese medicine, doctors often offer their patients something healing that is delicious to eat. And just by eating, you begin to heal in a pleasant and relaxed way. The same thing is true with the practice. While you practice sitting, you enjoy sitting. While you practice breathing, you enjoy the breathing. And if you are able to enjoy yourself, then healing and transformation will take place.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

In Vietnam, we staged nonviolent action and brought down a government – not with guns or bullets. We must rely on ourselves and organize ourselves so that we can perform the peace work of transformation and healing within our family, group, and community. Then such action can be taken. When the whole world focuses its attention on you, that action is very powerful. If Gandhi was able to succeed, you will also succeed.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Drinking tea or coffee can be one of our daily pleasures if we partake of it fully.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

The teachings of the Buddha were not to escape from life, but to help us relate to ourselves and the world as thoroughly as possible. The Noble Eightfold Path includes Right Speech and Right Livelihood. These teachings are for people in the world who have to communicate with each other and earn a living.

— Thich Nhat Hanh
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