You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time.
Nhat HanhWhen you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there?
Nhat HanhWhen we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
Nhat HanhWhen we are angry, our anger is our very self. To suppress or chase away our anger is to suppress or chase away ourselves. When anger is born, we can be aware that anger is an energy in us, and we can change that energy into another kind of energy. If we want to transform it, first we have to know how to accept it.
Nhat HanhEach moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world.
Nhat HanhDuring the last 2,500 years in Buddhist monasteries, a system of seven practices of reconciliation has evolved. Although these techniques were formulated to settle disputes within the circle of monks, i think they might also be of use in our households and in our society.The first practice is Face-to-Face-Sitting.
Nhat HanhIt is difficult to explain to children in the "overdeveloped" nations that not all children in the world have such beautiful and nourishing food. Awareness of this fact alone can help us overcome many of our own psychological pains. Eventually our contemplation can help us see how to assist those who need our help so much.
Nhat HanhThe buddha called suffering a holy truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation. Embrace your suffering and let it reveal to you the way to peace.
Nhat HanhThe bad things, don't do them. The good things, try to do them. Try to purify, subdue your own mind. That is the teaching of all buddhas.
Nhat HanhIn Buddhism, mindfulness is the key. Mindfulness is the energy that sheds light on all things and all activities, producing the power of concentration, bringing forth deep insight and awakening. Mindfulness is the base of Buddhist practice
Nhat HanhThe Seven Factors of Awakening are mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, diligence, joy, ease, concentration, and letting go.
Nhat HanhThe joy of life is born of concentration. When you are having a cup of tea, the value of that experience depends on your concentration. You have to drink the tea with 100 percent of your concentration.
Nhat HanhThe most important thing that we can do for the healing of our world is to hear inside ourselves, the sounds of the earth crying.
Nhat HanhLive in such a way that you embody true peace, that you can be peace in every moment of your daily life. It is possible for everyone to generate the energy of peace in every step.
Nhat HanhShallow understanding accompanies poor compassion; great understanding goes with great compassion.
Nhat HanhYou cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to wake up, to sprout, and to grow.
Nhat HanhAnxiety, the illness of our time, comes primarily from our inability to dwell in the present moment.
Nhat HanhNo single tradition monopolizes the truth. We must glean the best values of all traditions and work together to remove the tensions between traditions in order to give peace a chance.
Nhat HanhLetting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.
Nhat HanhWords can travel thousands of miles. May my words create mutual understanding and love. May they be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers.
Nhat HanhTo abandon the present in order to look for things in the future is to throw away the substance and hold onto the shadow.
Nhat HanhOur role as gardeners is to choose, plant and tend the best seeds within the garden of our consciousness. Learning to look deeply at our consciousness is our greatest gift and our greatest need, for there lie the seeds of suffering and of love, the very roots of our being, of who we are. Mindfulness...is the guide and the practice by which we learn how to use the seeds of suffering to nourish the seeds of love.
Nhat HanhThe more we see, the more we understand. The more we understand, the easier it is for us to have compassion and love. Understanding is the source of love. Understanding is love itself. Understanding is another name for love; love is another name for understanding.
Nhat HanhDealing with our overweight - or with any of our life's difficulties, for that matter - is not a battle to be fought. Instead, we must learn how to make friends with our hardships and challenges. They are there to help us; they are natural opportunities for deeper understanding and transformation, brining us more joy and peace as we learn to work with them.
Nhat HanhYou need the practice of mindfulness to bring your mind back to the body and establish yourself in the moment. If you are fully present, you need only make a step or take a breath in order to enter the kingdom of God. And once you have the kingdom, you don't need to run after objects of your craving, like power, fame, sensual pleasure, and so on. Peace is possible. Happiness is possible.
Nhat HanhArtists have to show us what is not going well within the person and within the society, not try to cover it up.
Nhat HanhWhen we look deeply into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos in it. Without clouds there could be no rain, and without rain there would be no flower.
Nhat HanhWhen 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.
Nhat HanhAs we cultivate peace and happiness in ourselves, we also nourish peace and happiness in those we love.
Nhat HanhI clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath.
Nhat HanhIt is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.
Nhat HanhFreedom is the basic condition for you to touch life, to touch the blue sky, the trees, the birds, the tea, and the other person.
Nhat HanhThe raft is used to cross the river. It isn't to be carried around on your shoulders. The finger which points at the moon isn't the moon itself.
Nhat HanhTo dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of inquiry, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment.
Nhat HanhA human being is like a television set with millions of channels.... We cannot let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to recover our own sovereignty.
Nhat HanhAt any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.
Nhat HanhWe can help many people suffer less and realize a lot of happiness without being rich or influential. If love and compassion are in out hearts, every thought, word, and deed can bring about a miracle
Nhat Hanh