How to See Quotes

“We have an idea of happiness. We may believe that only certain conditions will make us happy. But it is often our very idea of happiness that prevents us from being happy. The conditions for happiness are already there, available inside and around us. We have eyes that can see, legs that can walk, lungs that can breathe. All the wonders of life are available in the present moment—the sunshine, the fresh air, the trees, the multitude of colors and forms all around us. The essential thing is to be aware. If we open our eyes, we will see.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“One day a farmer went to the field and found that his horse had run away. The people in the village said, “Oh, what bad luck!” The next day the horse returned with two other horses and the village people said, “What good fortune!” Then the farmer’s son was thrown from one of the horses and broke his leg. The villagers expressed their sympathy, “How unfortunate.” Soon after, a war broke out and young men from the village were being drafted. But because the farmer’s son had a broken leg, he was the only one not drafted. Now the village people told the farmer that his son’s broken leg was really “good luck.” It is not possible to judge any event as simply fortunate or unfortunate, good or bad, as this age-old story shows. You must travel throughout all of time and space to know the true impact of any event. Every success contains some difficulties, and every failure contributes to increased wisdom or future success. Every event is both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate and unfortunate, good and bad, these concepts exist only in our perceptions.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“One day a farmer went to the field and found that his horse had run away. The people in the village said, “Oh, what bad luck!” The next day the horse returned with two other horses and the village people said, “What good fortune!” Then the farmer’s son was thrown from one of the horses and broke his leg. The villagers expressed their sympathy, “How unfortunate.” Soon after, a war broke out and young men from the village were being drafted. But because the farmer’s son had a broken leg, he was the only one not drafted. Now the village people told the farmer that his son’s broken leg was really “good luck.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“Whether we are happy or whether we suffer depends largely on our perceptions. It is important to look deeply into our perceptions and recognize their source.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“Nothing can exist on its own. Everything in the world is interrelated.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“Impermanence means transformation at every moment. Therefore we can say, “Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“Like the surface of a lake on a windy day, the image we see is distorted. Our perceptions are often erroneous, and cause us to suffer and cause others to suffer.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“Looking deeply at a human being, we see that an individual is made of many more elements than what we normally see. These include the person’s parents, ancestors, education, society, and culture. If we don’t see all these elements, we haven’t fully seen that person.”
― Nhat, How to See

“Love enables us to see things that cannot be seen without love.”
― Nhat, How to See

“Whenever we don’t get what we want, we suffer. But the truth is that sometimes we do get what we want and yet we suffer even more. Maybe it’s not what we thought it was, it doesn’t have the desired effect, or it changes something else in our lives for the worse.”
― Nhat, How to See

“Looking deeply into our suffering, we can ask ourselves how we have contributed to it. This doesn’t mean our suffering isn’t real, just that we have the capacity to lessen it instead of adding to it, and that we can even transform it.”
― Nhat, How to See

“We are quite sure that our perception of reality is correct. We may think someone hates us or wants to hurt us but this may be nothing more than a creation of our mind.”
― Nhat, How to See

“When we believe something to be the absolute truth, we cannot be open to new ideas. Even if the truth comes knocking at our door, we will not let it in. We need to remain open so that truth has a chance to enter.”
― Nhat, How to See

“THE NATURE OF CRAVING AND HAPPINESS Much of our suffering depends on our perceptions and desire. Whenever we don’t get what we want, we suffer. But the truth is that sometimes we do get what we want and yet we suffer even more. Maybe it’s not what we thought it was, it doesn’t have the desired effect, or it changes something else in our lives for the worse. Sometimes, after we get the thing we thought we wanted, we don’t treasure it anymore, and we want something else instead. People tend to think of happiness in terms of having plenty of fame, power, wealth, and sensual pleasures. But we know that craving these objects can bring a lot of suffering. So we need to have a very different understanding of happiness. If we cultivate peace in ourselves, then clarity, compassion, and courage will arise. We have to look deeply in order to see the true nature of the object of our craving. When we recognize it clearly, it will lose its appeal, and we will be free.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See

“our afflictions, such as craving, anger,”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to See