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
We ourselves need love; it's not only society, the world outside, that needs love. But we can't expect that love to come from outside of us. We should ask the question whether we are capable of loving ourselves as well as others.
A smile can change the situation of the world.
You are like fireworks. You go out into your children, your friends, your society, and the whole world.
To make peace, our hearts must be at peace with the world.
Peace in ourselves, peace in the world.
Each breath we take, each step we make, each smile we realize, is a positive contribution to peace... a necessary step in the direction of peace for the world.
They criticize the silent ones. They criticize the talkative ones. They criticize the moderate ones. There is no one in the world who escapes criticism.
As a population, if a large number of people make even small moves to eat less meat and more plant-based foods, the livestock industry will shrink. Over time, farmers will find other crops to support their livelihoods. Through such collective awakening we can make a difference in our world.
The most important thing that we can do for the healing of our world is to hear inside ourselves, the sounds of the earth crying.
We may not have done anything but when we are relaxed, when we are peaceful, when we are able to smile and not to be violent in the way we look at the system, at that moment there is a change already in the world.
Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world.
If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace.
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.
When we change our daily lives - the way we think, speak and act - we change the world.