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Thinking Quotes by Nhat Hanh

40 Thinking quotes by Nhat Hanh

All Thinking quotes Nhat Hanh’s page

Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that peace isn’t just the lack of war but can grow when big powers put down weapons. He likens anger to a wild flame that devours our calm, urging us to watch it burn out. He also shows how a gardener can turn trash into rich compost, turning waste into life.

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I think, therefore I am ... not here.

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Anger is like a flame blazing up and consuming our self-control, making us think, say, and do things that we will probably…

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I think Buddhism should open the door of psychology and healing to penetrate more easily into the Western world.

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I am in the present. I don't think of the past. I don't think of the future.

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I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world,…

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If you think that peace and happiness are somewhere else and you run after them, you will never arrive.

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When we change our daily lives - the way we think, speak and act - we change the world.

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You do not suffer because things are impermanent. You suffer because things are impermanent and you think they are permanent.

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Don't think you have to be solemn to meditate. To meditate, well, you have to smile a lot.

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Sometimes we believe that happiness is not possible in the here and now, that we need a few more conditions to be…

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Fear is born from ignorance. We think that the other person is trying to take away something from us. But if we…

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When you have a toothache, you think that not having a toothache will make you very happy. But when you don't have…

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I realize that many elements of the Buddhist teaching can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam. I think if Buddhism can help,…

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To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is. A…

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There is no birth, there is no death; there is no coming, there is no going; there is no same, there is…

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Meditation is not to avoid society; it is to look deep to have the kind of insight you need to take action.…

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Our mind is the foundation of all our actions, whether they are actions of body, speech, or mind, i.e., thinking. Whatever we…

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Meditation is to be aware of what is going on - in our bodies, in our feelings, in our minds, and in…

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If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert,…

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Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the…

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Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to…

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The terrorists, they have the wrong perception. They believe that the other group is trying to destroy them as a religion, as…

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We have the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast. But in the name of freedom, people have done a lot of…

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If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything. When a child presents himself to you with…

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The organic gardener does not think of throwing away the garbage. She knows that she needs the garbage. She is capable of…

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We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could…

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In all the practice centers in the tradition of Plum Village whenever the phone rings or the clock chimes in the dining…

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Without collective awakening the catastrophe will come. I think people in the mass media, journalists, film makers and others, you can contribute…

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The reason we might lose love is because we are always looking outside of us, thinking that the object or action of…

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As long as we think our lives are not good enough (materially), we will not have happiness. As soon as we realize…

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Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. Every act, every breath, and…

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We may think that justice is everyone being equal, having the same rights, sharing the same kind of advantages, but maybe we…

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It is best if we do not listen to or look at the person whom we consider to be the cause of…

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We humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows…

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When you climb a ladder and arrive on the sixth step and you think that is the highest, then you cannot come…

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The way we live our daily lives is what most effects the situation of the world. If we can change our daily…

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Listening is a very deep practice. You have to empty yourself. You have to leave space in order to listen especially to…

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If we are not empty, we become a block of matter. We cannot breathe, we cannot think. To be empty means to…

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I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world,…

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Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge. You have to be able to…

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More by Nhat Hanh

Happiness is the cessation of suffering.

We need enlightenment, not just individually but collectively, to save the planet.

If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile?

Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.

Our joy, peace and happiness depend very much on our practice of recognizing and transforming habit energies. There are positive habit energies that we…

I vow to live fully in each moment.

Silence is something that comes from your heart, not from outside. Silence doesn't mean not talking and not doing things; it means that you…

Freedom is the real foundation of happiness.

Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon to be preserved in a museum. Only when a practitioner finds the spring of wisdom in…

We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace.…

If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower,…

If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will…

When we have anger in us, we suffer. When we have discrimination in us, we suffer. When we have the complex of superiority, we…

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in…

It is best if we do not listen to or look at the person whom we consider to be the cause of our anger.…