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Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

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Famous Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

“But if conceptual knowledge is fallible, what other instrument shall we use in order to grasp reality? According to Buddhism, one can only reach reality through direct experience. Study and speculation are based on concepts. In conceptualizing we cut up reality into small pieces which seem to be independent of one another. This manner of conceiving things is called imaginative and discriminative knowledge (vikalpa) in the Vijnanavada Mahayanist sect. The faculty which, on the contrary, directly experiences reality without passing through concepts is called non-discriminative and non-imaginative Wisdom (nirvikalpajnana). This Wisdom is the fruit of meditation. It is a direct and perfect knowledge of reality, a form of knowledge in which one does not distinguish subject and object, a form of Inowledge that cannot be conceived by the intellect and expressed by language.”

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Book:Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice
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“As for the world of phenomena, we are inclined to believe that it is illusory, separate from reality. And we think that only by ridding ourselves of it shall we be able to reach the world of True Mind. That, too, is an error. This world of birth and death, this world of lemon trees and maple trees, is the world of reality in itself. There is no reality that exists outside of the lemon trees and the maples.”

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Book:Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice
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“Transforming our suffering is like becoming an organic gardener, one who does not discard the unwanted scraps from the kitchen or the yard. Instead, the gardener composts these scraps so that they can nourish the flower. You can transform the unwanted garbage in you—your depression, fear, despair, or anger—into the nourishing energy of peace and joy. Don’t throw away or deny your suffering. Touch your suffering. Face it directly, and transformation is within your reach.”

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Book:Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
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“The revolution of 1963 against Diem brought a new vitality to Vietnam, indicating that the people had the power to overturn a government that they disapproved of, but this vitality has been dissipated by the fact that the overwhelming power of the United States is directed against any faction in South Vietnam that expresses itself as having a will for peace.”

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Book:Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire
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“To practice is not to practice for ourselves alone. We practice for everyone. We should be proud to say, Violence, it may come from somewhere else, but not from me. Hatred, discrimination, it may come from somewhere else, but not from me.”

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Book:The Ultimate Dimension : An Advanced Dharma Retreat on the Avatamsaka and Lotus Sutras
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“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.”

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Book:At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk's Life
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“When I was in Vietnam, so many of our villages were being bombed. Along with my monastic brothers and sisters, I had to decide what to do. Should we continue to practice in our monasteries, or should we leave the meditation halls in order to help the people who were suffering under the bombs? After careful reflection, we decided to do both--to go out and help people and to do so in mindfulness. We called it engaged Buddhism. Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what is the use of seeing?”

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Book:Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
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