Quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh

The most precious inheritance parents can leave their children is their own happiness. Parents' happiness is the most valuable gift they can give their children

Don't make a great effort, or struggle, or fight as you sit. Let go of everything. This prevents backache, shoulder-ache, or headache. If you are able to find a cushion that fits your body well, you can sit for a long time without feeling tired.

Making an effort at the wrong time or place dissipates our energy.

If we lose the present moment, we lose life.

The mind tends to dart from one thing to another, like a monkey swinging from branch to branch without stopping to rest.

Living the holy life, transcending time and space, you are revered by both men and gods.

Many of us think of our daily nourishment only in terms of what we eat. But in fact, there are four kinds of food that we consume every day. They are: edible food (what we put in our mouths to nourish our bodies), sensory food (what we smell, hear, taste, feel, and touch), volition (the motivation and intention that fuels us), and consciousness (this includes our individual consciousness, the collective consciousness, and our environment).

When we're sitting, we're truly there in the present moment; we have come home, we have arrived. We are present in that time and place; we're not pulled away by the past, the future, or by anger or jealousy in the present.

When you plant a tree, if it doesn't grow well, you don't blame the tree.

While washing the dishes, you might be thinking about the tea afterwards, and so try to get them out of the way as quickly as possible in order to sit and drink tea. But that means that you are incapable of living during the time you are washing the dishes.

To "love our enemy" is impossible, because the moment we love him, he is no longer our enemy.

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight. When you see in yourself the wish that the other person stop suffering, that is a sign of real love.