Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

"If I don't understand you, I may be angry at you, all the time. We are not capable of understanding each other, and that is the main source of human suffering."

"We do so much, we run so quickly, the situation is difficult, and many people say, "Don't just sit there, do something." But doing more things may make the situation worse. So you should say, "Don't just do something, sit there." Sit there, stop, be yourself first, and begin from there."

"Meditation is to be aware of what is going on: in your body, in your feelings, in your mind, and in the world."

"The most basic precept of all is to be aware of what we do, what we are, each minute . Every other precept will follow from that."

"I would not look upon anger as something foreign to me that I have to fight... I have to deal with my anger with care, with love, with tenderness, with nonviolence."

"Understanding and love aren't two separate things, they're just one."

"No argument, no reasoning, no blame, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change."

"My joy is like Spring, so warmit makes flowers bloom all over the Earth. My pain is like a river of tears,so vast it fills the four oceans. Please call me by my true names,so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,so I can see that my joy and pain are one."

"Please don't wait until the doctors tell you that you are going to have a baby to begin to take care of it. It is already there. Whatever you are, whatever you do, your baby will get it. Anything you eat, any worries that are on your mind will be for him or her. Can you tell me that you cannot smile? Think of the baby, and smile for him, for her, for the future generations. Please don't tell me that a smile and your sorrow just don't go together. It's your sorrow, but what about your baby? It's not his sorrow, its not her sorrow."

"If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work."

"Guarding knowledge is not a good way to understand. Understanding means to throw away your knowledge."