Quotessence
Home / Authors / Nhat Hanh
Nhat Hanh

Nhat Hanh Quotes

Monk

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsSufferingMomentsPracticeWayMindfulnessCompassionPeoplePeace Is Every StepUnderstandingNeedsPresent MomentThinkingHelpingPersonsBuddhistKnowsWorldLooksMeditation

Famous Nhat Hanh Quotes

“A bodhisattva is someone who has compassion within himself or herself and who is able to make another person smile or help someone suffer less. Every one of us is capable of this.”

PersonsHelpingAbleSufferingCompassionCapableBodhisattva
Book:Be Free Where You Are: A Talk Given at the Maryland Correctional Institute: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition
Create image

“Recognize that it is not really possible to steadily help others when we ourselves are not in good physical, mental, or emotional state. We may be able to carry on for a while, but sooner or later we end up feeling depleted, discouraged, or weak. We cannot keep on giving when we are running on an empty tank. We need to be solid.”

NeedsGivingMayEndsStatesHelpingFeelingsMotivationalRunningAbleEmotionalEmptyWeakHelping OthersSooner Or LaterDiscouragedTanks
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self, feeling guilty or proud of that self, and he offered revolutionary teachings that resounded like a lion's roar, like a great rising tide, helping people to wake up and break free from the prison of ignorance.”

PeopleRealSelfHelpingFeelingsBreakSawsTeachingIgnoranceProudWake UpPrisonNotionGuiltyRevolutionaryRisingLionsTidesTrappedHelping PeopleMuch LoveReal PowerFeeling Guilty
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“A summer breeze can be very refreshing; but if we try to put it in a tin can so we can have it entirely to ourselves, the breeze will die. Our beloved is the same. He is like a breeze, a cloud, a flower. If you imprison him in a tin can, he will die. Yet many people do just that. They rob their loved one of his liberty, until he can no longer be himself. They live to satisfy themselves and use their loved one to help them fulfill that. That is not loving; it is destroying.”

PeopleIfsLoveTryingHelpingUseDiesLibertyFlowerSummerCloudsBelovedDestroyingLoved OnesBreezeRefreshingTinTin CansSummer Breeze
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“If you have a friend who suffers, you have to help him.«My dear friend, you are on safe ground. Everything is okay now. Why do you continue to suffer? Don't go back to the past. It's only a ghost; it's unreal». And whenever we recognize that these are only movies and pictures, not reality, we are free. That is the practice of mindfulness.”

IfsHelpingRealityPastSufferingPracticeFriendsSafeMindfulnessOkayDearGhostMovieUnrealDear Friend
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“Meditation is not meant to help us avoid problems or run away from difficulties. It is meant to allow positive healing to take place. To meditate is to learn how to stop—to stop being carried away by our regrets about the past, our anger or despair in the present, or our worries about the future.”

HelpingProblemRunningPastHealingWorryLearningMeditationRegretFutureDespairDifficultyAngerRunning AwayCarried Away
Book:Walking Meditation
Create image

“We humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves.”

ThinkingKnowsShouldHumansWellsHelpingFeelingsBeautifulNatureKnowledgeKnow HowTreeExampleProduceFlowerSmartRespectSpeciesNobleButterflyBowsShellsPalmsMonarchsSnailOrchidsMagnoliasMonarch ButterflySymmetrical
Book:Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings
Create image

“You only need to walk in mindfulness, making peaceful, happy steps on our planet. Breathe deeply, and enjoy your breathing. Be aware that the sky is blue and the birds' songs are beautiful. Enjoy being alive and you will help the living Christ and the living Buddha continue for a long, long time.”

NeedsLongHelpingBeautifulTimeSongEnjoyChristWalksStepsAliveSkyPlanetsWalkingMindfulnessLong TimeBirdBlueBreatheHappyPeacefulBreathingOur PlanetMaking PeaceBird Song
Book:Living Buddha, Living Christ 10th Anniversary Edition
Create image

“It is difficult to explain to children in the "overdeveloped" nations that not all children in the world have such beautiful and nourishing food. Awareness of this fact alone can help us overcome many of our own psychological pains. Eventually our contemplation can help us see how to assist those who need our help so much.”

WorldNeedsChildrenFactsHelpingPainBeautifulNationsPeaceDifficultAwarenessOvercomingPsychologicalContemplationPsychological Pain
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. Every act, every breath, and every step can be practice and can help us to become more ourselves.”

ThinkingHelpingSpiritualTalkingStepsPracticeMeditationEatingSittingBreathsDrinkingTouchingEvery StepSpiritual PracticeMeditation Practice
Book:Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh: 365 days of practical, powerful teaching s from the beloved Zen teacher
Create image

“It is often said that the Buddha's teaching is only a raft to help you cross the river, a finger pointing to the moon. Don't maistake the finger for the moon. The raft is not the shore. If we cling to the raft, if we cling to the finger, we miss everything. We cannot, in the name of the finger or the raft kill each other. Human life is more precious than any ideology, any doctrine.”

IfsHumansSaidHelpingLife IsNamesTeachingMissingMoonRiversCrossesFingersDoctrineIdeologyHuman LifeShorePointingPointing Fingers
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart. Even if he says things that are full of wrong perceptions, full of bitterness, you are still capable of continuing to listen with compassion. Because you know that listening like that, you give that person a chance to suffer less.”

IfsKnowsGivingHeartKindPersonsStillsHelpingPurposeSufferingChanceCompassionListeningPerceptionCapableEmptyBitternessCompassionateContinuingDeep Listening
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”

NeedsPersonsDoeHelpingTruthSufferingPeaceCompassionMessagesYogaLibertarianPunishmentBuddhistEye OpeningSpillingPeace Is Every Step
Book:The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
Create image

“The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.”

PersonsHelpingActionJoySufferingRealizingLove IsSourceHelping OthersOne WordDeep LoveBeautiful LifePeace Is Every Step
Book:Wisdom from Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Create image

“Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.”

PeopleIfsWorldWayMayMeanHelpingRealityEyeSufferingSoundLosesExistenceAwarenessMovedIncludingContact
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“‎"The earth is so beautiful. We are beautiful also. We can allow ourselves to walk mindfully, touching the earth, our wonderful mother, with each step. We don't need to wish our friends, 'Peace be with you.' Peace is already with them. We only need to help them cultivate the habit of touching peace in each moment."-”

NeedsMomentsHelpingEarthBeautifulMotherWishWalksStepsWonderfulHabitTouchingWonderful Mother
Book:Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings
Create image

“We talk about social service, service to the people, service to humanity, service to others who are far away, helping to bring peace to the world - but often we forget that it is the very people around us that we must live for first of all. If you cannot serve your wife or husband or child or parent - how are you going to serve society? If you cannot make your own child happy, how do you expect to be able to make anyone else happy? If all our friends in the peace movement or of service communities of any kind do not love and help each other, whom can we love and help?”

PeopleIfsWorldFirstsKindChildrenHelpingAbleHumanitySocialParentCommunityForgetWifeMovementHusbandFar AwayService To OthersHelping Each OtherService To HumanitySocial Service
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“Through your love for each other, through learning the art of making one person happy, you learn to express your love for the whole of humanity and all beings. Please help us develop the curriculum for the Institute for the Happiness of One Person. Don't wait until we open the school. You can begin practicing right away.”

PersonsArtWholeHelpingSchoolHumanityWaitingPleaseBuddhistInstituteCurriculum
Book:Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living
Create image

“We have to understand in order to be of help. We all have pain, but we tend to suppress it, because we don't want it to come up to our living room. the most important thing is that we need to be understood. We need someone to be able to listen to us and to understand us, then we will suffer less, but everyone is suffering, and no one wants to listen. We don't know how to express ourselves so that people can understand. because we suffer so much, the way we express our pain hurts other people, and they don't want to listen.”

PeopleKnowsWayWantNeedsImportantHelpingAblePainSufferingOrderHurtRoomsKnow HowListeningEmpathyUnderstoodImportant ThingsCome UpLiving Room
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“The therapist does not treat patients by simply giving them another set of beliefs. He or she tries to help them see which kinds of ideas and beliefs have led to their suffering. Many patients want to get rid of their painful feelings, but they do not want to get rid of their beliefs, the viewpoints that are the very roots of their feelings.”

WantGivingTryingKindDoeIdeasHelpingFeelingsSufferingBeliefRootsTreatsPatientPainfulTherapistsViewpointsPainful Feelings
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“Dealing with our overweight - or with any of our life's difficulties, for that matter - is not a battle to be fought. Instead, we must learn how to make friends with our hardships and challenges. They are there to help us; they are natural opportunities for deeper understanding and transformation, brining us more joy and peace as we learn to work with them.”

MatterHelpingMotivationalJoyOpportunityUnderstandingNaturalChallengesOur LivesBattleDifficultyTransformationDeeperHardshipOverweightDeeper Understanding
Book:Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
Create image

“Understanding and Love are not two separate things, but just one. To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you cannot help but love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.”

PeopleWayLoveTwoHelpingEyeSufferingUnderstandingCompassionPracticeLove YouAnd LoveBuddhistJust OneInspirational LoveUnderstanding And LoveUnderstanding You
Author:Nhat Hanh
Create image

“We can help many people suffer less and realize a lot of happiness without being rich or influential. If love and compassion are in out hearts, every thought, word, and deed can bring about a miracle”

PeopleIfsHeartHelpingHappinessSufferingRealizingCompassionRichMiracleDeedsInfluentialLove And CompassionBeing Rich
Book:Awakening of the Heart: Essential Buddhist Sutras and Commentaries
Create image