On Death

"One day as I was about to step on a dry leaf, I saw the leaf in the ultimate dimension. I saw that it was not really dead, but that it was merging with the moist soil in order to appear on the tree the following spring in another form. I smiled at the leaf and said, 'You are pretending.' Everything is pretending to be born and pretending to die, including that leaf. The Buddha said, 'When conditions are sufficient, the body reveals itself, and we say the body exists. When conditions are not sufficient, the body cannot be perceived by us, and we say the body does not exist.' The day of our 'death' is a day of our continuation in many other forms."
-- Living Buddha, Living Christ

Spirituality is No Longer a Luxury

"It has been said that the twenty-first century will be a century of spirituality, and I think it must be a century of spirituality if we are to survive. . . . Spirituality is something we can cultivate. To be spiritual is to be solid, calm, and peaceful, and to be able to look deeply inside and around us. It means having the capacity to handle our afflictions — our anger, craving, despair, and discrimination. It means being able to see the nature of interbeing between people, nations, races, and all forms of life. Spirituality is not a luxury anymore; we need to be spiritual in order to overcome the difficulties of our time."
Friends on the Path

Gratitude

"Your body belongs to your ancestors, your parents, and future generations, and it also belongs to society and all other living beings. All of them have come together to bring about the presence of this body. Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything."
Touching Peace

On Love

"If you really love someone, you have to be fully present for him or her. A ten-year-old boy I know was asked by his father what he wanted for his birthday, and he said, 'Daddy, I want you!' His father was too busy. He had no time for his family. His son knew that the greatest gift his father could offer was his true presence.

"When you are concentrated — mind and body at one —anything you say can be a mantra. It does not have to be spoken in Sanskrit. It can be uttered in your own language: 'Darling, I am here for you.' If you are fully present, this mantra will produce a miracle. You become real, the person you say it to becomes real, and life becomes real in that moment. You bring happiness to yourself and to the other person. This is the greatest gift you can offer your loved one. To love is to be there for him, for her, and for them."
Teachings on Love

True Peace

"True peace is always possible. Yet it requires strength and practice, particularly in times of great difficulty. To some, peace and nonviolence are synonymous with passivity and weakness. In truth, practicing peace, to make peace alive in us, is to actively cultivate understanding, love, compassion, even in the face of misperception and conflict. Practicing peace, especially in times of war, requires courage."
Creating True Peace

Joy of a New Day

"Daybreak
does not resemble a new page in a book.
It is a symphony to rebirth,
with its full array of sounds and colors.
Each dawn is an ode
to twenty-four brand new hours."
Call Me by My True Names

Touching a Religious Tradition

"On the altar in my hermitage in France are images of Buddha and Jesus, and every time I light incense, I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors. I can do this because of contact with these real Christians. When you touch someone who authentically represents a tradition, you not only touch his or her tradition, you also touch your own. This quality is essential for dialogue."
Living Buddha, Living Christ

Jesus' Manifestations

"Jesus Christ is manifesting himself in many thousands of ways. He is manifesting himself all around you. We need to be alert in order to recognize his manifestations. If you are not mindful or attentive you will miss him because you will miss his manifestations. In the morning when you practice walking meditation you may receognize his manifestation as a flower, as a drop of water, as a bird song or as a child playing in the grass. We have to be careful not to miss these things."
No Death, No Fear

Everyday Spirituality

"There are so many practices we can do to bring awareness into our everyday lives: breathing between telephone calls, walking meditation between business meetings, practicing meditation while helping hungry children or war victims. Buddhism must be engaged. What is the use of practicing meditation if it does not have anything to do with our daily lives?"
Being Peace

Breathing

"Breathing in, I experience calm in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the calm in me.
Breathing in, I experience joy in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the joy in me.
Breathing in, I experience equanimity in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the equanimity in me.
Breathing in, I experience openness in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the openness in me.
Breathing in, I experience happiness in me.
Breathing out, I smile to the happiness in me."
Creating True Peace

Institutional Violence

"Several autumns ago, I walked up to the pine tree in my backyard and asked it one question: 'What is institutional violence?' The tree did not answer right away. So I sat at its roots and waited. The backyard was covered with brilliantly colored leaves, the air was fresh, and suddenly I forgot that I was waiting for an answer. The tree and I were just there, enjoying ourselves and each other. After sitting for a long time, I turned to the tree, smiled, and said, 'I no longer need an answer.' Then I thanked it and awarded it the Grand Transnational Peace Prize."
Love in Action

Respect for All Species

"We humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves."
Love in Action

On Home

"You have to be able to look at the cypress tree, breathing in, breathing out, smiling, and tell the cypress, 'Darling, you are my home.' Touch deeply the earth that you tread: 'Darling, you are my home.' The Earth can be a mother, she can be a sister. Why do you have to run to find your home? Your home is here, your home is now. Recognize it. Everything, everyone is part of your true home. You have a lot of space. You are not isolated. You are us and you can embrace us as your home. Us means a cypress tree, a deer, a rabbit, and so on.

"Every one of us needs a home. The world needs a home. There are so many young people who are homeless. They may have a building to live in, but they are homeless in their hearts. That is why the most important practice of our time is to give each person a home. Be a home for them. Each of us has to serve as the home for others. When we look at something or someone, be it a person, a tree, or anything, look at it in such a way that we touch them as part of our home.
Going Home

In the Hermitage

"You should go home to your hermitage; it is inside you. Close the doors, light the fire, and make it cozy again. That is what I call 'taking refuge in the island of self.' If you don't go home to yourself, you continue to lose yourself. You destroy yourself and you destroy people around you, even if you have goodwill and want to do something to help. That is why the practice of going home to the island of self is so important. No one can take your true home away."
Peace Begins Here

Everything Is in Transformation

"Garbage can smell terrible, especially rotting organic matter. But it can also become rich compost for fertilizing the garden. The fragrant rose and the stinking garbage are two sides of the same existence. Without one, the other cannot be. Everything is in transformation. The rose that wilts after six days will become a part of the garbage. After six months the garbage is transformed into a rose. When we speak of impermanence, we understand that everything is in transformation. This becomes that, and that becomes this."
Present Moment Wonderful Moment

The Good News

"The good news
they do not print.
The good news
we do print.
We have a special edition every moment,
and we need you to read it.
The good news is that you are alive,
that the linden tree is still there,
standing firm in the harsh winter.
The good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to touch the blue sky.
The good news is that your child is there before you,
and your arms are available:
hugging is possible.
They only print what is wrong.
Look at each of our special editions.
We always offer the things that are not wrong.
We want you to benefit from them
and help protect them.
The dandelion is there by the sidewalk,
smiling its wondrous smile,
singing the song of eternity.
Listen. You have ears that can hear it.
Bow your head.
Listen to it.
Leave behind the world of sorrow,
of preoccupation,
and get free.
The latest good news
is that you can do it."
Call Me by My True Names

More quotes by Thich Nhat Hanh