--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we come into contact with the other…" description: "\"When 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 thin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/nhat-hanh-515_accepting_when-we-come-into-contact-with-the-other_3191231.png" --- # When we come into contact with the other person, our… ![“When 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.” quote by Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/nhat-hanh-515_accepting_when-we-come-into-contact-with-the-other_3191231.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/nhat-hanh-515_accepting_when-we-come-into-contact-with-the-other_3191231.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/nhat-hanh-515_accepting_when-we-come-into-contact-with-the-other_3191231.png) > “When 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 Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassionate presence means acting kindly toward others even when they are difficult, recognizing love isn’t conditional on their behavior. **In simple terms:** Show love without conditions, even to hard people. Key Takeaway Practice unconditional compassion. Themes compassion mindfulness relationships Mood calm empathetic Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal relationships - therapy - team leadership Key Concepts Buddhist ethics emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain boundaries while being compassionate? - What practices help you stay centered in conflict? A Different Perspective Unconditional love can be emotionally draining without self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-practice-4707568/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-person-1605283/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lovable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovable/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Contingent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-contingent-5887139/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-compassion-2151309/) [Our love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-love/) [Our thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-thoughts/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Thoughts and actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-actions/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Don't believe a teaching just because you've heard it from a man who's supposed to be holy, or because it's contained in a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/don-t-believe-a-teaching-just-because-you-ve-heard-it-from-a-man-who/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Understand that you, yourself, are no more than the composite picture of all your thoughts and actions. In your relationships with others, remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/understand-that-you-yourself-are-no-more-than-the-composite-picture/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The first step in spiritual life is to have compassion. A person who is kind and loving never needs to go searching for God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/the-first-step-in-spiritual-life-is-to-have-compassion-a-person-who/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-jersild/compassion-is-the-ultimate-and-most-meaningful-embodiment-of/) [Arthur Jersild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-jersild/) > [Remember that you don't have to like or admire someone to feel compassion for that person. All you have to do is wish for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thanissaro-bhikkhu/remember-that-you-don-t-have-to-like-or-admire-someone-to-feel/) [Thanissaro Bhikkhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thanissaro-bhikkhu/) > [“Because sometimes tragedy brings about compassion that another person needs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bertauski/because-sometimes-tragedy-brings-about-compassion-that-another-person/) [Tony Bertauski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bertauski/) > [“A person is loved for the risk he or she takes for someone else, be it a mother, a father, a child, a lover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buket-uzuner/a-person-is-loved-for-the-risk-he-or-she-takes-for-someone-else-be-it/) [Buket Uzuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buket-uzuner/) > [With genuine love and compassion, another person's appearance or behavior has no affect on your attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/with-genuine-love-and-compassion-another-person-s-appearance-or/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [What we really need is compassion of the mind - compassion for others that is directed intelligently and produces truly compassionate results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/what-we-really-need-is-compassion-of-the-mind-compassion-for-others/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Be a lamp unto yourselves! Work out your liberation with diligence! Fill your mind with compassion!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/be-a-lamp-unto-yourselves-work-out-your-liberation-with-diligence/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“A mind without compassion is like the rose without the scent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansul-noor/a-mind-without-compassion-is-like-the-rose-without-the-scent/) [Ansul Noor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansul-noor/) > [It's very rare to be in a state where there's nothing in, where you have no attachment to any idea or concept about yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-glassman/it-s-very-rare-to-be-in-a-state-where-there-s-nothing-in-where-you/) [Bernie Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-glassman/) > [The well taught philosophic mind To all compassion gives; Casts round the world an equal eye, And feels for all that lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/the-well-taught-philosophic-mind-to-all-compassion-gives-casts-round/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [Fear, hatred, and suspicion narrow your mind - compassion opens it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/fear-hatred-and-suspicion-narrow-your-mind-compassion-opens-it/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Hatred, jealousy and excessive attachment cause suffering and agitation. I feel compassion can help us overcome these disturbances and let us return to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/hatred-jealousy-and-excessive-attachment-cause-suffering-and/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More by Nhat Hanh > [Happiness is the cessation of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-is-the-cessation-of-suffering/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We need enlightenment, not just individually but collectively, to save the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-need-enlightenment-not-just-individually-but-collectively-to-save/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-really-know-how-to-live-what-better-way-to-start-the-day-than/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/contemplating-the-bowl-it-is-possible-to-see-the-interdependent/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Our joy, peace and happiness depend very much on our practice of recognizing and transforming habit energies. There are positive habit energies that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/our-joy-peace-and-happiness-depend-very-much-on-our-practice-of/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [I vow to live fully in each moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/i-vow-to-live-fully-in-each-moment/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/silence-is-something-that-comes-from-your-heart-not-from-outside/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Freedom is the real foundation of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/freedom-is-the-real-foundation-of-happiness/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon to be preserved in a museum. Only when a practitioner finds the spring of wisdom in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/wisdom-is-a-living-stream-not-an-icon-to-be-preserved-in-a-museum/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-may-think-of-peace-as-the-absence-of-war-that-if-the-great-powers/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-are-capable-of-brushing-your-teeth-in-mindfulness-then-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-i-am-incapable-of-washing-dishes-joyfully-if-i-want-to-finish-them/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [When we have anger in us, we suffer. When we have discrimination in us, we suffer. When we have the complex of superiority, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-we-have-anger-in-us-we-suffer-when-we-have-discrimination-in-us/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/every-morning-when-we-wake-up-we-have-twenty-four-brand-new-hours-to/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [It is best if we do not listen to or look at the person whom we consider to be the cause of our anger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/it-is-best-if-we-do-not-listen-to-or-look-at-the-person-whom-we/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) [Explore all 507 Nhat Hanh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When 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. 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