Thich Nhat Hanh

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, swelling in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.

If we are too busy, if we are carried away every day by our projects, our uncertainty, our craving, how can we have the time to stop and look deeply into the situation-our own situation, the situation of our beloved one, the situation of our family and of our community, and the situation of our nation and of the other nations?

Peace and happiness are available in every moment. Peace is every step.

Real strength is not in power, money or weapons, but in deep, inner peace.

If I am incapabe of washing dishes joyfuly, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will be equally incapable of enjoying my dessert.

When you understand, you cannot help but love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.

You know a smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face. Wearing a smile on your face is a sign that you are master of yourself.

Most of the time, we think too much, and mindful breathing helps us to be calm, relaxed, and peaceful.

The foundation of happiness is mindfulness.

The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source.

When you let go mentally, you relax physically, because the body and the mind are two aspects of one reality.

Concentration means you keep the insight alive for a long time. It’s not just a flash; that’s not enough to liberate you. So in your daily life, you keep that insight of nonself, of emptiness, of impermanence alive.

A feeling is just a feeling. And you are much more than that feeling. We shouldn’t let ourselves be carried away by a feeling, even a pleasant one, much less an unpleasant one. We just practice recognition of the feeling.

Nirvana literally means cooling, the putting out of flames; in Buddhism, it refers to extinction of the afflictions brought about by our wrong perceptions.

Don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed by despair. You can make good use of every minute and every hour of your daily life.

The more we practice, the more we are gentle with our fear and are able to embrace it, the more the fear goes away.

The Buddha taught that when we call up and get in touch with the truth that we cannot escape old age and death, our fear—and the foolish things we do to try not to feel it—will cease.

It’s okay to make a wish, to have an aim. But we shouldn’t allow it to become something that prevents us from living happily in the here and now.

The most precious thing we can give to one another is our presence, which contributes to the collective energy of mindfulness and peace.

Nonthinking is an art, and like any art, it requires patience and practice.

Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in. Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out. (In. Out.)

But it’s not enough that you *want* to be free. You have to give yourself enough space and quiet to become free.

We have a natural tendency to want to run away from suffering. But without any suffering, we can’t fully develop as human beings.

Silence is essential. We need silence, just as much as we need air, just as much as plants need light. If our minds are crowded with words and thoughts, there is no space for us.

To fully experience this life as a human being, we all need to connect with our desire to realize something larger than our individual selves. This can be motivation enough to change our ways so we can find relief from the noise that fills our heads.

Our mind is filled with noise, and that’s why we can’t hear the call of life, the call of love. Our heart is calling us, but we don’t hear. We don’t have the time to listen to our heart.

I’ll use the term ‘mindfulness’ to refer to keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality.

To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used.

The meditation on interdependence is to help one penetrate reality in order to be one with it, not to become caught up in philosophical opinion or meditation methods. It isn’t to be carried around on your shoulders. The finger which points at the moon isn’t the moon itself.

When you realize you’re irritated, half-smile at once. Inhale and exhale quietly, maintaining the half smile for three breaths.

If you cannot serve your wife or husband or child or parent—how are you going to serve society?

Don’t worry if those around you aren’t doing their best. Just worry about how you can make yourself worthy. Doing your best is the surest way to remind those around you to do their best.

Breathing in, I calm body and mind, Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

Deep looking can dismantle these kinds of notions. There is no birth and death; everything dies and renews itself all the time. When you get that kind of insight, you no longer tire yourself with anxiety and aversion.

If, however, we are preoccupied with the fear and despair in us, we can’t help remove the suffering of others. There is an art of suffering well. If we know how to take care of our suffering, we not only suffer much, much less, we also create more happiness around us and in the world.

It is mindfulness that makes the present moment into a wonderful moment, into a happy moment. The practitioner is an artist; she knows how to bring happiness into the here and now, with her practice.

Every life has its trials and tribulations. We can navigate them more skillfully when we don’t waste time and energy shooting ourselves with a second arrow—such as dwelling on how much greener the grass in our neighbor’s yards looks, compared to ours.

The most precious thing you can offer the person you love is your presence. It’s not something you can buy in the supermarket.

If you want to experience what the end of suffering will feel like, it is in the here and now with this breath. If you want nirvana, it’s right here. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I smile.

To stay in the present moment takes concentration. Worries and anxiety about the future are always there, ready to take us away. We can see them, acknowledge them, and use our concentration to return to the present moment. When we have concentration, we have a lot of energy.

If we can learn to see and skillfully engage with both the presence of happiness and the presence of suffering, we will go in the direction of enjoying life more. Every day we go a little farther in that direction, and eventually we realize that suffering and happiness are not two separate things.

Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud.