Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

You end up sacrificing quality time with family and friends, and you end up sacrificing time with yourself. Often you even sacrifice your health.

When you practice building a home in yourself, you become more and more beautiful. You radiate your inner peace, warmth, and joy.

The people who wrote down the Bible and the people who wrote down the Mahayana sutras were artists. They used images to express their insights.

The Kingdom of God is a treasure. Once you have touched that treasure, you know that the things you previously considered to be conditions for your happiness are just obstacles.

Love can bring us happiness and peace as long as we love in such a way that we don't make a net to confine ourselves and others. We can tell the correct way to love because, when we love correctly, we don't create more suffering.

To practice the Four Noble Truths, you yourself have to touch deeply the things that bring you peace and joy. When you do, you realize that walking on the Earth is a miracle, washing the dishes is a miracle, and practicing with a community of friends is a miracle. The greatest miracle is to be alive.

People often ask if it is difficult to be a celibate monk or nun, but to practice mindfulness as a monastic is in many ways easier than to practice as a layperson. To refrain from sexual activity altogether is much easier than to have a healthy sexual relationship.

We ride on the wave of birth and death, and we are free from birth and death.

Never in all history has man had to face such terrible dangers. He is at the point where he is no longer sure of being able to control the situation. The economic, political, and military systems he has established have turned against him and imposed themselves upon him.

Part of the beauty of the monastic life lies in the ability to live simply with few desires and to consume only what you need.

The horse is our habit energy pulling us along, and we are powerless. We are always running, and it has become a habit. We struggle all the time, even during our sleep. We are at war within ourselves, and we can easily start a war with others.

When desire stops, there is no more fear. We are then truly free, peaceful, and happy.