Top 500 Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes (2026 Update)
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351. “If one person keeps calm and smiles at a provocation, the whole world will have a better chance for peace.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

352. “We must begin to live fully and truly, every moment of our daily lives.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

353. “To love is, first of all, to accept ourselves as we are.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

354. “We fall back into the past, we jump ahead into the future, and in this we lose our entire lives.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

355. “The most basic precept of all is to be aware of what we do, what we are, each minute. Every other precept will follow from that.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

356. “Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

357. “Ignorance is in each cell of our body and our consciousness. It’s like a drop of ink diffused in a glass of water.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

358. “To be a friend means to offer happiness. If love doesn’t offer happiness, if it makes the other person cry all the time, then it’s not love; it’s the opposite.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

359. “Words can travel thousands of miles. May my words create mutual understanding and love. May they be as beautiful as gems, as lovely as flowers.3.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

360. “One day my left hand was holding a nail and my right hand a hammer. I was trying to hang a picture and I was not very mindful. Instead of pounding on the nail I pounded on the finger. Right away my right hand put the hammer down and took care of my left hand as if she were taking care of herself.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

361. “Compassion doesn’t mean that you have to love that person who’s so difficult. But if you stop and look deeper, you’ll see that person’s difficulties. If you can accept him, then you can love him.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

362. “In us, there is a river of feelings, in which every drop of water is a different feeling, and each feeling relies on all the others for its existence. To observe it, we just sit on the bank of the river and identify each feeling as it surfaces, flows by, and disappears.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

363. “The energies of wisdom, compassion, inclusiveness, fearlessness, patience, and non-discrimination – never disparaging anyone – are all the qualities of awakened beings. Cultivating.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

364. “The notions and ideas we have about happiness can entrap us. We forget that they are just notions and ideas. Our idea of happiness may be the very thing that’s preventing us from being happy. When we’re caught in a belief that happiness should take a particular form, we fail to see the opportunities for joy that are right in front of us.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

365. “Just as a flower is made only of non-flower elements, Buddhism is made only of non-Buddhist elements, including Christian ones, and Christianity is made of non-Christian elements, including Buddhist ones.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

366. “A few years ago, I asked some children, “What is the purpose of eating breakfast? One boy replied, “To get energy for the day.” Another said, “The purpose of eating breakfast is to eat breakfast.” I think the second child is more correct.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

367. “A person who looks at the table and can see the universe is a person who can see the way.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

368. “When a person’s speech is full of anger, it is because he or she suffers deeply. Because he has so much suffering, he becomes full of bitterness. He is always ready to complain and blame others for his problems. This is why you find it very unpleasant to listen to him and try to avoid him.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

369. “Our idea of happiness may be the very thing that’s preventing us from being happy.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

370. “If we can heal our wounded child, we will not only liberate ourselves, but we will also help liberate whoever has hurt or abused us. The abuser may also have been the victimg of abuse.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

371. “If you know how to go back to her and listen carefully every day for five or ten minutes, healing will take place.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

372. “There are those who say that in their heaven there is no suffering. But if there is no suffering, how can there be happiness? We need compost to grow flowers, and mud to grow lotuses.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

373. “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.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

374. “To practice aimlessness is to identify what it is you’re looking for, waiting for, or running after, and let it go. By removing these objects of seeking that are pulling you away from the here and now, you will discover that everything you want is already right here in the present moment. You don’t need to “be someone” or do something in order to be happy and free.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

375. “The problem is whether we are determined to go in the direction of compassion or not. If we are, then can we reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I lose my direction, I have to look for the North Star, and I go to the north. That does not mean I expect to arrive at the North Star. I just want to go in that direction.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

376. “Whatever views we hold, we should be careful not to get caught up in thinking that our view is the “best” and that only we have the truth.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

377. “When we surround ourselves with people who are committed to understanding and loving, we’re nourished by their presence and our own seeds of understanding and love are watered. When we surround ourselves with people who gossip, complain, and are constantly critical, we absorb these toxins.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

378. “Our practice is to water the flower in our loved one, and not bring them more garbage.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

379. “What are you ruminating on? Old suffering?”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

380. “I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

381. “When this body was just born, it was very light. As we grow, we tend to get weighed down by worries and lose our freshness and beauty. Mindful eating helps us regain this freshness, nourishing our spirits as well as our bodies. Eating with appreciation of our own bodies, we eat with more relaxation and joy.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

382. “Even if we have time, we don’t come home to ourselves. We try to keep ourselves constantly entertained – watching television, socialising, or using alcohol or drugs – because we don’t want to experience that suffering all over again.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

383. “You have to protect yourself and your beloved ones by practicing selective watering.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

384. “Suppose we give something to someone. With the wisdom of nondiscrimination, we see that there is no giver and no receiver. If we still think that we’re the giver and the other person is the receiver, then that’s not perfect giving. We give because the other person is in need of what we’re giving and the act is very natural. If we’re really practicing generosity, we won’t say, “He’s not grateful at all.” We won’t have these kinds of ideas.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

385. “Why wander all over the world looking for something you already have? You are already the richest person on Earth.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

386. “The only moment to be alive is in the present moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

387. “The best position for practicing this is lying down. You focus your attention on a part of your body, such as your heart. As you breathe in, you become aware of your heart, and as you breathe out, you smile towards it. You send it your love, your tenderness.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

388. “It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

389. “During the moment one is consulting, resolving, and dealing with whatever arises, a calm heart and self-control are necessary if one is to obtain good results. Anyone can see that. If we are not in control of ourselves but instead let our impatience or anger interfere, then our work is no longer of any value.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

390. “Sorrow, fear, and depression are all a kind of garbage. These bits of garbage are part of real life, and we must look deeply into their nature. You can practice in order to turn these bits of garbage into flowers. It is not only your love that is organic; your hate is, too. So you should not throw anything out. All you have to do is learn how to transform your garbage into flowers.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

391. “When conditions are sufficient, we manifest in a particular way. When conditions are no longer sufficient, we no longer manifest in that way. This doesn’t mean that we don’t exist. If we’re afraid of death, it’s because we don’t understand that things do not really die.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

392. “Often our perceptions are incorrect. We get in touch with an object and think that it embodies love, happiness, a self, or purity. We tend to think that love is something sentimental that will fill the emptiness inside us. We blame our suffering on another person or group, or on bad luck, but outside conditions are not the reason it appears. Our suffering was already there.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

393. “Suppose you want something very much. You think that if you don’t get that something, happiness won’t be possible. You get caught in that idea. But, in reality, there are people who have that thing who are miserable, and there people who don’t have that thing who are perfectly happy.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

394. “We’re all searching for a place where we feel safe and comfortable, a home where we can be truly ourselves. As we become more skilled in mindfulness and lay down the roots of fidelity, we can truly relax with our partner. All the restlessness and searching inside dissipates when we find our true home.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

395. “When you touch deep understanding and love, you are healed.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

396. “Everyone wants to be happy, and there is a strong energy in us pushing us toward what we think will make us happy. But we may suffer a lot because of this. We need the insight that position, revenge, wealth, fame, or possessions are, more often than not, obstacles to our happiness. We need to cultivate the wish to be free of these things so we can enjoy the wonders of life that are always available – the blue sky, the trees, our beautiful children.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

397. “Since we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

398. “1. Tell the truth. Don’t lie or turn the truth upside down. 2. Don’t exaggerate. 3. Be consistent. This means no double-talk: speaking about something in one way to one person and in an opposite way to another for selfish or manipulative reasons. 4. Use peaceful language. Don’t use insulting or violent words, cruel speech, verbal abuse, or condemnation.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

399. “Our appointment with life is in the present moment.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

400. “During the past few years I have avoided tiring myself and losing my breath. I must take care of my body, treat it with respect as a musician does his instrument. I apply nonviolence to my body, for it is not merely a tool to accomplish something. It itself is the end.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh