Quotessence
Home / Books / Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

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

Book by Thich Nhat Hanh · 15 quotes · Mindfulness, Love, Compassion

Filter quotes by topic

AllMindfulnessLoveCompassionPeaceHappinessIfsJoyLifePeace Is Every StepPresent MomentBuddhistInspirationalKnowsLove IsLove YouOur LovePeace And JoyPresenceSufferingUnderstanding

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

“If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.”

IfsKnowsWayLifeMindChildrenImportantJoyPeaceKnow HowAwarenessSourceAdultsDeterminationSmileProfitAwakeningPeacefulDaily LifeAwakenedBetter WaysStart The DayPeace And JoyPeace Is Every Step
Book:Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Create image

“We have to find ways to nourish and express our compassion. When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.”

LoveCompassionMindfulnessGolden Rule
Book:Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Create image

“When we want to understand something, we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it in order to really understand. If we want to understand a person, we have to feel his feelings, suffer his sufferings, and enjoy his joy. The word "comprehend" is made up of the Latin roots cum, which means "with," and prehendere, which means "to grasp it or pick it up." There is no other way to understand something.”

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

“We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her. From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, 'Darling, do I understand you enough? Or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly. I don't want to make you suffer, and if I do so because of my ignorance, please tell me so that I can love you better, so that you can be happy." If you say this in a voice that communicates your real openness to understand, the other person may cry. That is a good sign, because it means the door of understanding is opening and everything will be possible again. Maybe a father does not have time or is not brave enough to ask his son such a question. Then the love between them will not be as full as it could be. We need courage to ask these questions, but if we don't ask, the more we love, the more we may destroy the people we are trying to love. True love needs understanding. With understanding, the one we love will certainly flower.”

HappinessUnderstandingTrue LoveThich Nhat Hanh
Book:Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Create image

“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?”

ActionMeditationMindfulnessActivismVietnamVietnam War
Book:Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Create image