Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

"I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live."
— Thich Nhat Hanh (Anger)


"Suffering is not enough. Life is both dreadful and wonderful...How can I smile when I am filled with so much sorrow? It is natural--you need to smile to your sorrow because you are more than your sorrow."
— Thich Nhat Hanh


"It is my conviction that there is no way to peace - peace is the way." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (The Art of Power)

"My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology)

"If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life)

"I am determined to practice deep listening. I am determined to practice loving speech." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart)

"There is no enlightenment outside of daily life." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"In modern society most of us don't want to be in touch with ourselves; we want to be in touch with other things like religion, sports, politics, a book - we want to forget ourselves. Anytime we have leisure, we want to invite something else to enter us, opening ourselves to the television and telling the television to come and colonize us." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life)

"When we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth... Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"You are not an observer, you are a participant." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"I am inviting you to go deeper, to learn and to practice so that you become someone who has a great capacity for being solid, calm, and without fear, because our society needs people like you who have these qualities, and your children, our children, need people like you, in order to go on, in order to become solid, and calm, and without fear." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contact and visits, images, sounds. By such means, ...awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. If we get in touch with the suffering of the world, and are moved by that suffering, we may come forward to help the people who are suffering." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth."

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"Those who are without compassion cannot see what is seen with the eyes of compassion." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (The Miracle of Mindfulness)

"Smile, breathe and go slowly." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen monk, author and peace activist. " 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"Being rich is an obstacle to loving. When you are rich, you want to continue to be rich, and so you end up devoting all your time, all your energy, in your daily life to stay rich." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart)

"You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"The electron is first of all your concept of the electron." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"An oak tree is an oak tree. That is all it has to do. If an oak tree is less than an oak tree, then we are all in trouble." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"Know that life can only be found in the present moment." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life)

"Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life)

The first practice is Face-to-Face-Sitting." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

"May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

‎"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

‎"Breathing in, there is only the present moment. 

Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh

‎"Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha)

‎"The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching)

‎"Many people think excitement is happiness.... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (The Art of Power)

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

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

"The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching)

‎"Because you are alive, everything is possible." 

— Thich Nhat Hanh (Living Buddha, Living Christ)


"We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness."
— Thich Nhat Hanh


"When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love."
— Thich Nhat Hanh


"Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."
— Thich Nhat Hanh (Stepping into Freedom: Rules of Monastic Practice for Novices)


"Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love."
— Thich Nhat Hanh (Teachings on Love)


"For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them."
— Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)


"The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom. Our practice is to make ourselves ready for the kingdom so that it can manifest in the here and the now. You don't need to die in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, you have to be truly alive in o...rder to do so."
— Thich Nhat Hanh


"Compassion is a verb."
— Thich Nhat Hanh