Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes

Not suffering another existence is reaching the Way.

Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either.

And the Buddha is the person who's free: free of plans, free of cares.

The highest happiness is when one reaches the stage of liberation, at which there is no more suffering.

The goal of our life’s effort is to reach the other shore, Nirvana. Prajna paramita, the true wisdom of life, is that in each step of the way, the other shore is actually reached.

Meditation is not passive sitting in silence. It is sitting in awareness, free from distraction, and realizing the clear understanding that arises from concentration.

To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings.

Whoever realizes that the six senses aren't real, that the five aggregates are fictions, that no such things can be located anywhere in the body, understands the language of Buddhas.

To meditate is to familiarise our mind constantly and thoroughly with a virtuous object.

Nirvana is not the blowing out of the candle. It is the extinguishing of the flame because day is come.

People suffer because they are caught in their views. As soon as we release those views, we are free and we don't suffer anymore.

Buddhism teaches us not to try to run away from suffering. You have to confront suffering. You have to look deeply into the nature of suffering in order to recognize its cause, the making of the suffering.

To a Buddhist, contradictions only exist in a mind that has been forced to cultivate them.

Through meditation and by giving full attention to one thing at a time, we can learn to direct attention where we choose.

A good meditation, even when it is interrupted by occasional nodding, is much more beneficial than many outward religious exercises.

There are techniques of Buddhism, such as meditation, that anyone can adopt.

Remember that breath walking - as with any meditation technique - should not be pursued with a grim determination to 'get it right.' The point is to cultivate openness, relaxation and awareness, which can include awareness of your undisciplined, wandering mind.

My people are gone into captivity for want of knowledge.

You cannot turn your brain off or stop your thoughts, but you can try while meditating not to become too invested in them. This is called transcendental meditation, which is the kind I practice.

Being enlightened is just being aware. It's just being aware of something that you weren't aware before.

The time of wisdom cannot be measured, and for me, wisdom is the garden. There is no time in the garden.

I am interested in suffering and, in particular, the Buddhist idea that in pain, you can find beauty.

Every practice at some point will become a hindrance. No practice can ever take you there, to freedom, to liberation. That's important to realize.

This Ariyan Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation.

I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, tranquil, excellent, beyond the reach of mere logic, subtle, and to be realized only by the wise.