Nhat Hanh
Nhat Hanh
Thích Nhất Hạnh; born as Nguyen Xuan Bao on October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. He lives in Plum Village in the Dordogne region in the south of France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term "Engaged Buddhism" in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. A long-term exile, he was given permission to make his first return trip to Vietnam in 2005...
NationalityVietnamese
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth11 October 1926
CountryVietnam
Looking deeply into the wrong perceptions, ideas, and notions that are at the base of our suffering is the most important practice in Buddhist meditation.
The most important thing is that we need to be understood. We need someone to be able to listen to us and to understand us. Then we will suffer less.
To be or not to be is not the question. The question is whether you can transcend these notions.
Seeds can produce seeds Seeds can produce formations. Formations can produce seeds. Formations can produce formations.
An emotion is only an emotion. It's just a small part of your whole being. You are much more than your emotion. An emotion comes, stays for a while, and goes away, just like a storm. If you're aware of that, you won't be afraid of your emotions.
You are a Buddha, and so is everyone else. I didn't make that up. It was the Buddha himself who said so. He said that all beings had the potential to become awakened. To practice walking meditation is to practice living in mindfulness. Mindfulness and enlightenment are one. Enlightenment leads to mindfulness and mindfulness leads to enlightenment.
If you find yourself in some difficulty, step aside, and allow Buddha to take your place. The Buddha is in you.
We will not just say, "I love him very much," but instead, "I will do something so that he will suffer less." The mind of compassion is truly present when it is effective in removing another person's suffering.
What you are looking for is already in you...You already are everything you are seeking.
When you have a stomach ache you don't tell your stomach to go away.
Even if we cannot be completely non-voilent, by being vegetarian we are going in the direction of non-voilence
I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life
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.
Peace in the world starts with peace in oneself. If everyone lives mindfully, everyone will be more healthy, feel more fulfilled in their daily lives and there will be more peace.