Remembering Thich Nath Hanh

We want to celebrate our thankfulness for the light sparked by the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nath Hanh, who left his bodily shape one month ago on January 22.

Working for reconciliation and humanitarian help during the Vietnam's war, he was arrested and tortured, and many of his students were killed and persecuted by both sides.

He did not stop to work for peace and reconciliation. His ability to overcome the enormous pain inflicted by the conflict  costed him also the exile from his country after the war for not taking sides.

He taught how being present can transform suffering in understanding and compassion. How happiness and peace are depending on freedom from greed and anxiety - tragic and counterproductive strategies forged in disconnection from reality. The Kingdom of God, is available here and now, in our hearts. The question is if we are available. Peace starts from ourselves.

One of his interviews:
https://onbeing.org/programs/remembering-thich-nhat-hanh-brother-thay/

Quotes:

"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."

"My actions are my only true belongings."
― From '50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology'.

"For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them."
―From 'Being Peace'

"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."
― From 'The Miracle of Mindfulness'

"It is my conviction that there is no way to peace - peace is the way."
"Many people think excitement is happiness. But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace."
― From 'The art of power'.

"In true love, you attain freedom."
― From 'True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart'