Quotessence
Home / Authors / Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thích Nhất Hạnh Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllMindfulnessZenBuddhismCompassionHappinessLetting GoLoveMeditationPeaceWork

Famous Thích Nhất Hạnh Quotes

“*Breathing in, I know this is my in-breath. Breathing out, I know this is my out-breath.* It's very simple, but very effective. When we bring our attention to our in-breath and our out-breath, we stop thinking of the past; we stop thinking of the future; and we begin to come home to ourselves...Don't think this practice doesn't apply to you. If we don't go home to ourselves, we can't be at our best and serve the world in the best way... Our quality of being is the foundation for the quality of our actions. *Breathing in, I'm aware of my whole body. Breathing out, I'm aware of my whole body.* Breathing mindfully brings us back to our bodies. We have to acknowledge our bodies first because tension and suffering accumulate in the body. Breathing in this way, we create a kind of family reunion between mind and body. The mind becomes an embodied mind. ...We can't do our best if we don't know to release the tension and pain in ourselves. *Breathing in, I'm aware of the tension in my body. Breathing out, I'm aware of the tension in my body.* When we look at the suffering around us, at poverty, violence, or climate change, we may want to solve these things immediately. We want to do something. But to do something effectively and ethically, we need to be our best selves in order to be able to handle the suffering... *Breathing in, I am aware of a painful feeling arising. Breathing out, I release the painful feeling.* This is a nonviolent and gentle way to help our bodies release tension and pain. It is possible to practice mindful breathing in order to produce a feeling of joy, a feeling of happiness. When we are well-nourished and know how to create joy, then we are strong enough to handle the deep pain within ourselves and the world.”

MeditationZen
Book:Good Citizens: Creating Enlightened Society
Create image

“Có một thi sĩ làm thơ hô hào những nhà sáng tác, những ca sĩ từ bỏ lối sáng tác và ca hát đau thương đứt ruột. Ông ta viết những câu này, tôi còn nhớ: Đừng kể nữa những mảnh tình tan tác, Hãy đứng lên, nhạc sĩ, với tôi đi! Tôi ghét anh ưa giọng hát sầu bi, Và tung mãi những tâm hồn thường trụy lạc. Hãy đứng dậy! Vứt chiếc cầm áo não! Tôi cần nghe những khúc nhạc rất hùng, Thét ngựa lòng phi mãi chẳng chồn chân, Sáng như gươm tuốt, mạnh như luồng bão. Ôi nhạc sĩ! Thật anh người thậm tệ! Quan hoài chi những khúc hát mê ly, Những câu ca không đẹp lại không thi Của kỹ nữ vọc cuộc đời ê trệ? Hãy cung kính nhượng những người tuổi tác, Những bản đàn nhịp hát thiếu tinh thần. Hãy ra xem sõng vỗ với mây vần, Và sáng chể cho tôi vài điệu khác. Nếu chúng ta cứ hát những bài khóc gió than mây và cứ nghe những bài độc huyền thì có thể ‘vận cái rủi’ vào số mạng của mình, tưới tẩm những hạt giống đau buồn, điều đó không tốt.”

PoetryMusicBuddhismZenArts
Book:Thả một bè lau
Create image

“The function of mindfulness is, first, to recognize the suffering and then to take care of the suffering. The work of mindfulness is first to recognize the suffering and second to embrace it. A mother taking care of a crying baby naturally will take the child into her arms without suppressing, judging it, or ignoring the crying. Mindfulness is like that mother, recognizing and embracing suffering without judgement. So the practice is not to fight or suppress the feeling, but rather to cradle it with a lot of tenderness. When a mother embraces her child, that energy of tenderness begins to penetrate into the body of the child. Even if the mother doesn't understand at first why the child is suffering and she needs some time to find out what the difficulty is, just her acto f taking the child into her arms with tenderness can alreadby bring relief. If we can recognize and cradle the suffering while we breathe mindfully, there is relief already.”

SufferingDepressionMindfullness
Book:No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
Create image

“But work is life only when done in mindfulness. otherwise, one becomes life the person "who lives as though dead." We need to light our own torch in order to carry on. But the life of each one of us is connected with the life of those around us. If we know how to live in mindfulness, if we know how to preserve and care for our own mind and heart then thanks to that our brothers and sisters will also know how to live in mindfulness.”

HeartCareWorkAliveMindfulness
Book:The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
Create image

“One day the Buddha was sistting with some of his monks in the woods. They had just come back from an almsround and were ready to share a mindful lunch together. A farmer passed by, looking distraught. He asked the Buddha, "Monks, have you seen some cows going by here?" "What cows?" the Buddha responded. "Well," the man said, "I have four cows and I don't know why, but this morning they all ran aay. I also have two acres of sesame. This year the insects ate the entire crop. I have lost everything: my harvest and my cows. I feel like killing myself." The Buddha said, "Dear friend, we have been sitting here almost an hour and we have not seen any cows passing by. Maybe you should go and lookin the other direction." When the farmer was gone, the Buddha looked at his friends and smiled knowingly. "Dear friends, you are very lucky," he said. "You don't have any cows to lose.”

Letting GoMindfulnessInner Peace
Book:No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
Create image

“Fifteen years ago, a business manager from the United States came to Plum Village to visit me. His conscience was troubled because he was the head of a firm that designed atomic bombs. I listened as he expressed his concerns. I knew if I advised him to quit his job, another person would only replace him. If he were to quit, he might help himself, but he would not help his company, society, or country. I urged him to remain the director of his firm, to bring mindfulness into his daily work, and to use his position to communicate his concerns and doubts about the production of atomic bombs. In the Sutra on Happiness, the Buddha says it is great fortune to have an occupation that allows us to be happy, to help others, and to generate compassion and understanding in this world. Those in the helping professions have occupations that give them this wonderful opportunity. Yet many social workers, physicians, and therapists work in a way that does not cultivate their compassion, instead doing their job only to earn money. If the bomb designer practises and does his work with mindfulness, his job can still nourish his compassion and in some way allow him to help others. He can still influence his government and fellow citizens by bringing greater awareness to the situation. He can give the whole nation an opportunity to question the necessity of bomb production. Many people who are wealthy, powerful, and important in business, politics, and entertainment are not happy. They are seeking empty things - wealth, fame, power, sex - and in the process they are destroying themselves and those around them. In Plum Village, we have organised retreats for businesspeople. We see that they have many problems and suffer just as others do, sometimes even more. We see that their wealth allows them to live in comfortable conditions, yet they still suffer a great deal. Some businesspeople, even those who have persuaded themselves that their work is very important, feel empty in their occupation. They provide employment to many people in their factories, newspapers, insurance firms, and supermarket chains, yet their financial success is an empty happiness because it is not motivated by understanding or compassion. Caught up in their small world of profit and loss, they are unaware of the suffering and poverty in the world. When we are not int ouch with this larger reality, we will lack the compassion we need to nourish and guide us to happiness. Once you begin to realise your interconnectedness with others, your interbeing, you begin to see how your actions affect you and all other life. You begin to question your way of living, to look with new eyes at the quality of your relationships and the way you work. You begin to see, 'I have to earn a living, yes, but I want to earn a living mindfully. I want to try to select a vocation not harmful to others and to the natural world, one that does not misuse resources.' Entire companies can also adopt this way of thinking. Companies have the right to pursue economic growth, but not at the expense of other life. They should respect the life and integrity of people, animals, plants and minerals. Do not invest your time or money in companies that deprive others of their lives, that operate in a way that exploits people or animals, and destroys nature. Businesspeople who visit Plum Village often find that getting in touch with the suffering of others and cultivating understanding brings them happiness. They practise like Anathapindika, a successful businessman who lived at the time of the Buddha, who with the practise of mindfulness throughout his life did everything he could to help the poor and sick people in his homeland.”

LifeHappinessPoliticsSexUnderstandingWorkWealthCompassionPowerBuddhismFameMindfulnessEntertainmentZenBusiness Management TrainingCompaniesSufferingsThich Nhat HanhBusinesspeople
Book:Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World
Create image

“This love meditation is adapted from the Visuddhimagga by Buddhaghosa, a 5th century C.E. systematization of the Buddha's teaching. We begin by practicing the love meditation on ourselves ("May I"). Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be much help to others. After that, we practice them on others ("May he/she/they") - first on someone we like, then on someone neutral to us, and finally on someone who makes us suffer. May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit. May I be safe and free from injury. May I be free from anger, afflictions, fear and anxiety. May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of of understanding and love. May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself. May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in myself. May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day. May I be able to live fresh, solid, and free. May I be free from attachment and aversion, but not indifferent. Love is not just the intention to love, but the capacity to reduce suffering, and offer peace and happiness. The practice of love increases our forbearance, our capacity to be patient and embrace difficulties and pain. Forbearance does mean that we try to suppress pain.”

PeaceMindfulnessReconciliationLovingkindnessMetta
Author:Thích Nhất Hạnh
Create image

“Resistenza, alla radice, deve significare qualcosa di più di semplice resistenza alla guerra. Si tratta di resistenza a qualsiasi cosa somigli alla guerra [...]. Allora, forse, resistenza significa opposizione: non lasciarsi invadere, occupare, assassinare e distruggere dal sistema. Lo scopo della resistenza, in questo caso, è cercare di guarire sé stessi in modo da imparare a vedere con chiarezza [...]. Io credo che le comunità di resistenza dovrebbero essere luoghi dove ritornare più facilmente a sé stessi, luoghi che permettano a ognuno di guarire e recuperare la propria dignità.”

Quotes About LifeCitazioniMonacoCitazioneCuraResistenzaResistereComunitàThích Nhất Hạnh
Author:Thích Nhất Hạnh
Create image

“Ngày vừa sinh nhật ngoại gia, Trên hai đường dưới nữa là hai em. Tưng bừng săm sửa áo xiêm, Biện dâng một lễ xa đem tấc thành. Gia đình Thúy Kiều về bên ngoại ăn sinh nhật. Kiều ở nhà, cố nhiên là cô lấy cớ: 'Con nhức đầu. Con xin ở nhà.' Đây là cơ hội để đi gặp anh chàng. Nhà lan thanh vắng một mình, Ngẫm cơ hội ngộ đã đành hôm nay. Thời trân thức thức sẵn bày, Gót sen thoăn thoắt dạo ngay mái tường. Kiều nấu vài món thật ngon, chạy ra chỗ hai người đã gặp và thề thốt. 'Thời trân' là những món ăn trong mùa. Mùa nào có thức ăn của mùa đó. Ví dụ mùa Xuân có rau tía tô, kinh giới (thì làm xuân quyện), mùa hè có rau xà lách, bông bí...Những món ăn trong mùa thì tươi và ngon ('thời trân'). Không nhằm mùa mà mua ăn (hay ăn đồ hộp) thì không ngon nữa. Một thi sĩ Việt Nam trong nhóm Xuân Thu Nhã Tập có câu: 'Đáy đĩa mua đi nhịp hải hà'. Bốn mùa đi ngang qua đáy đĩa theo nhịp của sông và biển. Mùa nào ăn món ngon của mùa đó, chỉ có ý ấy mà nói một cách rất 'điệu'. trang 50, 51 - 'Thả một bè lau - Truyện Kiều dưới cái nhìn Thiền quán' - Thích Nhất Hạnh”

RauThơThiên NhiênThức ăNTruyện Kiều
Book:Thả một bè lau
Create image