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Nhat Hanh

Nhat Hanh Quotes

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Famous Nhat Hanh Quotes

“We are determined not to take as the aim of our life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure, nor to accumulate wealth while millions are hungry and dying. We are committed to living simply and sharing our time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.”

NeedsEnergyWealthPleasureMillionsOur LivesDyingMaterialsFameResourcesAimProfitCommittedDeterminedHungrySensualOur TimeConsumerismOverconsumptionSensual Pleasure
Book:Being Peace
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“When we say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," we should also understand that "The Buddha takes refuge in me," because without the second part the first part is not complete. The Buddha needs us for awakening, understanding, and love to be real things and not just concepts. They must be real things that have real effects on life. Whenever I say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," I hear "the Buddha takes refuge in me."”

NeedsShouldFirstsRealUnderstandingEffectsConceptsAnd LoveAwakeningBeing RealRefugeReal ThingsUnderstanding And Love
Book:Being Peace
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“We should be able to bring the practice of meditation hall into our daily lives. We need to discuss among ourselves how to do it. Do you practice breathing between phone calls? Do you practice smiling while cutting carrots? Do you practice relaxation after hard hours of work? These are practical questions. If you know how to apply meditation to dinner time, leisure time, sleeping time, it will penetrate your daily life, and it will also have a tremendous effect on social concerns.”

IfsKnowsNeedsShouldHardAbleSocialHoursSleepPracticeKnow HowMeditationCuttingEffectsConcernPhonesDinnerPracticalsBreathingDaily LifeHallsLeisureRelaxationPenetratePhone CallsCarrotsLeisure TimeDinner Time
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“Our role as gardeners is to choose, plant and tend the best seeds within the garden of our consciousness. Learning to look deeply at our consciousness is our greatest gift and our greatest need, for there lie the seeds of suffering and of love, the very roots of our being, of who we are. Mindfulness...is the guide and the practice by which we learn how to use the seeds of suffering to nourish the seeds of love.”

NeedsLooksUseLyingSufferingConsciousnessRolesPracticeMindfulnessGardenRootsPlantSeedsGuidesWho We AreGardenerGreatest Gifts
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“The organic gardener does not think of throwing away the garbage. She knows that she needs the garbage. She is capable of transforming the garbage into compost, so that the compost can turn into lettuce, cucumber, radishes, and flowers again...With the energy of mindfulness, you can look into the garbage and say: I am not afraid. I am capable of transforming the garbage back into love.”

ThinkingKnowsNeedsLooksDoeTurnsEnergyFlowerMindfulnessCapableThrowingNot AfraidGarbageTransformingGardenerLettuceCucumbersCompostThrowing AwayRadishes
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“You need the practice of mindfulness to bring your mind back to the body and establish yourself in the moment. If you are fully present, you need only make a step or take a breath in order to enter the kingdom of God. And once you have the kingdom, you don't need to run after objects of your craving, like power, fame, sensual pleasure, and so on. Peace is possible. Happiness is possible.”

IfsNeedsMindMomentsBodyRunningOrderPleasureStepsPracticeObjectsFameMindfulnessBreathsKingdomsSensualCravingKingdom Of GodSensual Pleasure
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“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
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“The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom. Our practice is to make ourselves ready for the kingdom so that it can manifest in the here and the now. You don't need to die in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, you have to be truly alive in order to do so.”

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Author:Nhat Hanh
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“The problem that faces us is the problem of awakening. What we lack is not an ideology or doctrine that will save the world. What we lack is mindfulness of what we are, of what our situation really is. We need to wake up in order to rediscover our human sovereignty. We are riding a horse that is running out of control. The way of salvation is a new culture in which human beings are encouraged to rediscover their deepest nature.”

WorldWayNeedsHumansProblemRunningFacesOrderCultureHuman BeingsSituationMindfulnessHorseWake UpSalvationAwakeningDoctrineIdeologyRidingSovereigntySave The WorldNew Cultures
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“I am inviting you to go deeper, to learn and to practice so that you become someone who has a great capacity for being solid, calm, and without fear, because our society needs people like you who have these qualities, and your children, our children, need people like you, in order to go on, in order to become solid, and calm, and without fear.”

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“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

InspirationalNeedsMeanSelfBeautifulCompassionAcceptingBeautySelf EsteemSelf HelpAcceptanceSelf LoveWise WordsWords Of WisdomPositivityVariousCaringSelf ConfidenceAcceptedSelf WorthEsteemBuddhistBeing YourselfSelf AcceptanceLove YourselfBe YouSelf CareTrue SelfLoving YourselfLoving LifeTrue BeautySelf CompassionJust Be YourselfAccepting YourselfSelf HealingSelf Esteem And ConfidenceLotusesConfidence In YourselfSelf ConfidentJust Being YouAcceptance Of OthersInspirations Being YourselfMy Self WorthPeace Is Every StepYour BeautifulJust Love YourselfConfidence And LoveLove Yourself FirstSelf LovingLove Yourself MoreYourself And LoveLove And AcceptanceSelf Worth And LoveCompassion For YourselfGreat Self EsteemConfidence LoveConfidence In OthersInspiring YourselfLove AcceptanceSelf InspirationalAccepting LoveBeauty Inside AndBeing Yourself And HappyGood Morning BeautifulBecoming YourselfConfident In Yourself
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“‎"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."-”

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Book:Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings
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“A teacher cannot give you the truth The truth is already in you You only need to open yourself – body, mind and heart- so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work”

IfsNeedsGivingMindHeartBodyUnderstandingTeacherTeachingTruth IsEnlightenmentSeedsSoilHeart And MindPenetrate
Book:The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering Into Peace, Joy, & Liberation : the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, & Other Basic Buddhist Teachings
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“To be beautiful means to be yourself.You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.”

PeopleIfsWantNeedsTryingMeanBeautifulLyingSufferingUnderstandingBornAcceptingAcceptanceFlowerFitAcceptedRecognitionBeing YourselfBe YouCraveTrue HappinessTrue LifeAccepting YourselfChange YourselfLotusesConfidence In YourselfTrue PowerMagnoliasLotus FlowerUnderstanding Yourself
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”

KnowsWayNeedsYearsHardMomentsJobsRememberHappinessJoyHouseWalksStepsKnow HowAliveSacrificeCarWillingTenYogaDifficultyBreathsFilledVery GoodAvailableBreatheAwakeningAwakeMealsAbundancePresent MomentSerenityPreparingLive In The PresentEvery StepDiplomaPeace Is Every Step
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding.”

IfsKnowsLoveNeedsTryingWellsLooksMayPersonsDoeReasonProblemCareGrowsUnderstandingWaterKnow HowSunEffectsPositive ThinkingArgumentBlamePlantTrue LoveTake CareMeaningfulReasoningFertilizerLettucePeace Is Every StepBlaming OthersDeep MeaningBuddhist Monk
Author:Nhat Hanh
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“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.”

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Author:Nhat Hanh
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“To reconcile conflicting parties, we must have the ability to understand the suffering of both sides. If we take sides, it is impossible to do the work of reconciliation. And humans want to take sides. That is why the situation gets worse and worse. Are there people who are still available to both sides? They need not do much. They need do only one thing: Go to one side and tell all about the suffering endured by the other side, and go to the other side and tell all about the suffering endured by this side. This is our chance for peace. But how many of us are able to do that?”

PeopleIfsWantNeedsHumansStillsAbleSufferingSidesChanceAbilityPartySituationImpossibleOne ThingListeningAvailableBoth SidesReconciliationReconcile
Author:Nhat Hanh
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