Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.

When we enter the present moment deeply, our regrets and sorrows disappear, and we discover life with all its wonders.

Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.

True self is non-self, the awareness that the self is made only of non-self elements. There's no separation between self and other, and everything is interconnected. Once you are aware of that you are no longer caught in the idea that you are a separate entity.

If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.

If you come to Plum Village in the summertime, you see many lotus flowers. Without the mud the lotus flowers cannot grow. You cannot separate lotus flowers from the mud. It is the same with understanding and love. These are two kinds of flowers that grow on the ground of suffering

Real love means loving kindness and compassion, the kind of love that does not have any conditions.