To meditate means to go home to yourself. Then you know how to take care of the things that are happening inside you, and you know how to take care of the things that happen around you. – Nhat Hanh
The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions. – Nhat Hanh
Anyone who is practicing understanding and compassion can exemplify true power. Anyone can be a Buddha. – Nhat Hanh
Buddhism teaches us not to try to run away from suffering. You have to confront suffering. You have to look deeply into the nature of suffering in order to recognize its cause, the making of the suffering. – Nhat Hanh
We have the tendency to run away from suffering and to look for happiness. But, in fact, if you have not suffered, you have no chance to experience real happiness. – Nhat Hanh
In Buddhism, we talk of meditation as an act of awakening, to be awake to the fact that the earth is in danger and living species are in danger. – Nhat Hanh
I realize that many elements of the Buddhist teaching can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam. I think if Buddhism can help, it is the concrete methods of practice. – Nhat Hanh
Meditation is to get insight, to get understanding and compassion, and when you have them, you are compelled to act. – Nhat Hanh
When you have enough understanding and compassion in you, then that amount of understanding and compassion will try to express itself in action. And your practice should help you to cultivate more understanding and compassion. – Nhat Hanh
We are looking for happiness and running after it in such a way that creates anger, fear and discrimination. So when you attend a retreat, you have a chance to look at the deep roots of this pollution of the collective energy that is unwholesome. – Nhat Hanh
If we chew every morsel of our food, in that way we become grateful, and when you are grateful, you are happy. – Nhat Hanh
Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace. – Nhat Hanh
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. – Nhat Hanh
People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom? – Nhat Hanh
Total relaxation is the secret to enjoying sitting meditation. I sit with my spine upright, but not rigid; and I relax all the muscles in my body. – Nhat Hanh
With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment. – Nhat Hanh
We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don’t allow our bodies to heal, and we don’t allow our minds and hearts to heal. – Nhat Hanh
The happiest moments are when we sit down and we feel the presence of our brothers and sisters, lay and monastic, who are practicing walking and sitting mediation. – Nhat Hanh
