The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

by Thich Nhat Hanh

The teachings of the Buddha were not to escape from life, but to help us relate to ourselves and the world as thoroughly as possible.

If you think that Buddhism says, “Everything is suffering and we cannot do anything about it,” that is the opposite of the Buddha’s message.

There are things that even a child can see but we ourselves cannot see because we are imprisoned by our notions.

Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace, and love.

all views are wrong views. No view can ever be the truth.

shamatha — stopping, calming, resting, and healing.

When Thich Quang Duc made himself into a human torch, people all over the world had to recognize that Vietnam was a land on fire,

Our words are very powerful. They can give someone a complex, take away their purpose in life, or even drive them to suicide. We must not forget this.

We do not have the right just to express our own suffering if it brings suffering to others.

To practice mindfulness of speech, sometimes we have to practice silence. Then we can look deeply to see what our views are and what internal knots give rise to our thinking.