Nhat Hanh
Nhat Hanh
Thích Nhất Hạnh; born as Nguyen Xuan Bao on October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. He lives in Plum Village in the Dordogne region in the south of France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term "Engaged Buddhism" in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. A long-term exile, he was given permission to make his first return trip to Vietnam in 2005...
NationalityVietnamese
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth11 October 1926
CountryVietnam
Don't think you have to be solemn to meditate. To meditate, well, you have to smile a lot.
Science and mindfulness complement each other in helping people to eat well and maintain their health and well-being.
Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what's the use of seeing?
If we practice mindfulness, we always have a place to be when we are afraid.
With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.
In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake. Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.
There is no enlightenment outside of daily life.
The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.
Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves.
Only the present moment contains life.
People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
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.
I love to sit and eat quietly and enjoy each bite, aware of the presence of my community, aware of all the hard and loving work that has gone into my food.
To be a monk is to have time to practice for your transformation and healing. And after that to help with the transformation and healing of other people.