There is a great deal of hatred and anger and discrimination. How is it possible, in such a state, for people to practice deep looking with the aim of achieving a deep knowledge... So it is necessary to practise mindfulness. It could be Buddhist or Christian, but it is necessary to bring mindfulness to our everyday life. If you are a journalist, a teacher, or a filmmaker you should practise mindfulness for the sake of your own calm and your own happiness, but also for that of other people as well. Because we need your calm, your compassion, your understanding. So we should be mindful as individuals but also as a community, as a family, as a nation. Thich Nhat Hanh (True Love, chapter: Everybody Should Practise Mindfulness)

Relief, Peace, well-being, joy and better relations with others will be possible if we practice mindfulness in our everyday life. I am convinced that everybody can practice mindfulness, even politicians, political parties, even the Congress. This is a body that holds the responsibility for knowing the nation's situation well, and knowledge of this kind requires the practice of looking deeply. If our elected officials are not calm enough, do not have enough concentration, how can they see things deeply? Thich Nhat Hanh Taken from True Love (Chapter: Everybody Should Practice Mindfulness)

You are yourself, and you have acquired some peace. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life. Thich Nhat Hanh

It proves that you are being gentle with yourself, that the sun of awareness is shining in you, that you have control of your situation. Thich Nhat Hanh

To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem. To meditate means to observe. Your smile proves it. Thich Nhat Hanh

The Buddhist Sutra of Mindfulness speaks about the meditation on the corpse. Meditate on the decomposition of the body, how the body bloats and turns violet, how it is eaten by worms until only bits of blood and flesh still cling to the bones. Meditate up to the point where only white bones remain, which in turn are slowly worn away and turn into dust. Meditate like that, knowing that your own body will undergo the same process. Meditate on the corpse until you are calm and at peace, until your mind and heart are light and tranquil and a smile appears on your face. Thus, by overcoming revulsion and fear, life will be seen as infinitely precious, every second of it worth living. Thich Nhat Hanh

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. Thich Nhat Hanh

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace. Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. Thich Nhat Hanh

The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions. Thich Nhat Hanh

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar. Thich Nhat Hanh

Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos. The trees, the clouds, everything. Thich Nhat Hanh

Everyday we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment we are alive. Thich Nhat Hanh

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." Thich Nhat Hanh

So if we love someone, we should train in being able to listen. By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person. Thich Nhat Hanh [True Love. A Practice for Awakening the Heart.]

Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice. Thich Nhat Hanh [Shambhala Sun March 2006 ]

Training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice deep looking directed toward the other person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love. If you cannot understand, you cannot love. That is the message of the Buddha. Thich Nhat Hanh - True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change. Thich Nhat Hanh

People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom? Thich Nhat Hanh

We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. Thich Nhat Hanh