Nhat Hanh Quotes About Compassion

Quotes about: Compassion

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Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Nhat Hanh

Life, Buddhist, Morning

FaceBook post by Thich Nhat Hanh from Dec 18, 2015
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Nhat Hanh

Moving On, Depression, Letting Go

Joseph Emet, Thich Nhat Hanh (2015). “Mindfulness Meditation: For a Quieter Mind, Self-Awareness and Healthy Living”, p.125, Souvenir Press
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.

Nhat Hanh

Peace, Buddhist, Truth

Thich Nhat Hanh (2015). “The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation”, p.196, Harmony
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

Nhat Hanh

Inspirational, Beauty, Beautiful
Compassion is a verb.

Nhat Hanh

Sympathy, Wisdom, Compassion
Understanding and Love are not two separate things, but just one. To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you cannot help but love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.

Nhat Hanh

Love, Buddhist, Eye
It is my conviction that there is no way to peace - peace is the way.

Nhat Hanh

Peace, Truth, Yoga
A bodhisattva is someone who has compassion within himself or herself and who is able to make another person smile or help someone suffer less. Every one of us is capable of this.

Nhat Hanh

Compassion, Suffering, Able

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Be Free Where You Are: A Talk Given at the Maryland Correctional Institute: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition”, p.42, ReadHowYouWant.com
Those who are without compassion cannot see what is seen with the eyes of compassion.

Nhat Hanh

Eye, Compassion

Thich Nhat Hanh (2016). “The Miracle of Mindfulness, Gift Edition”, p.105, Beacon Press
But if we have the energy of compassion and loving kindness in us, the people around us will be influenced by our way of being and living.

Nhat Hanh

Kindness, Compassion, People
My actions are my only true belongings.

Nhat Hanh

Peace, Buddhist, Truth

Thich Nhat Hanh (2006). “Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology”, p.227, Parallax Press
Our own life has to be our message.

Nhat Hanh

Inspiring, Peace, Truth

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition”, p.1, ReadHowYouWant.com
When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.

Nhat Hanh

Love, Buddhist, Compassion

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Transformation and Healing”, p.67, ReadHowYouWant.com
Only your compassion and your loving kindness are invincible, and without limit.

Nhat Hanh

Love, Inspirational, Kindness

Nhá̂t Hạnh (Thích.), Thich Nhat Hanh, Anh Huong Nguyen (1992). “The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajñaparamita Diamond Sutra”, Parallax Pr
Let us fill our hearts with our own compassion - towards ourselves and towards all living beings.

Nhat Hanh

Heart, Compassion
The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the other. We "go inside" their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the subject of our observation. When we are in contact with another's suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."

Nhat Hanh

Love, Buddhist, Mean
To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

Nhat Hanh

Peace, Truth, Reality

Thich Nhat Hanh (2016). “The Miracle of Mindfulness, Gift Edition”, p.52, Beacon Press
If you do not know how to take care of yourself, and the violence in you, then you will not be able to take care of others. You must have love and patience before you can truly listen to your partner or child. If you are irritated you cannot listen. You have to know how to breath mindfully, embrace your irritation and transform it. Offer ONLY understand and compassion to your partner or child - This is the true practice of love.

Nhat Hanh

Children, Compassion, Irritation

Thich Nhat Hanh (2004). “Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World”, p.129, Simon and Schuster
Human beings are not our enemy. Our enemy is not the other person. Our enemy is the violence, ignorance, and injustice in us and in the other person. When we are armed with compassion and understanding, we fight not against other people, but against the tendency to invade, to dominate, and to exploit.

Nhat Hanh

Ignorance, Fighting, Compassion

Thich Nhat Hanh (2001). “Anger”, p.130, Penguin
Though we all have the fear and the seeds of anger within us, we must learn not to water those seeds and instead nourish our positive qualities - those of compassion, understanding, and loving kindness.

Nhat Hanh

Kindness, Fear, Anger
Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath. Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body. Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: with mindfulness, you can see that they are unhappy and suffering. You can see their wrong perceptions. You'll feel motivated by a desire to say or do something to help the other person suffer less. This means compassionate energy has been born in your heart. And when compassion appears, anger is deleted.

Nhat Hanh

Wisdom, Mean, Home
Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.

Nhat Hanh

Baby, Jesus, Buddhist

Thich Nhat Hanh (1996). “The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation”, p.61, Beacon Press
The more compassionate you are, the more generous you can be. The more generous you are, the move loving friendliness you cultivate to help the world.

Nhat Hanh

Moving, Compassion, World
If we know how to create the energy of love, understanding, compassion, and beauty, then we can contribute a lot to the world.

Nhat Hanh

Beauty, Compassion, Understanding

Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition”, p.72, ReadHowYouWant.com
If you suffer and make your loved ones suffer, there is nothing that can justify your desire.

Nhat Hanh

Peace, Truth, Compassion

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Born: October 11, 1926
Occupation: Monk
Cite this Page: Citation

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