The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the other. We "go inside" their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."
Nhat HanhWe try to live every moment like that, dwelling peacefully in the present moment, and respond to events with compassion.
Nhat HanhTo be a monk is to have time to practice for your transformation and healing. And after that to help with the transformation and healing of other people.
Nhat HanhHatred and fear blind us. We no longer see each other. We see only the faces of monsters, and that gives us the courage to destroy each other.
Nhat HanhWe humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves.
Nhat Hanh