Thich Nhat Hanh, affectionately known as Thay is a global spiritual leader, peace activist, and poet. He revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings, as well as bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. His key teaching is actually that, through mindfulness, we can learn how to live happily in the now, which is the only way in which we can truly develop peace, both in ourselves and the world.
This Zen Master published more than 100 titles on meditation, mindfulness, as well as Engaged Buddhism, poems, stories for children and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. Only in America, he sold more than 3 million books, and some of the most famous include Being Peace, Peace Is Every Step, The Miracle of Mindfulness, The Art of Power, True Love, and Anger.
Today, we will present you 12 quotes about spiritual awakenings from this Zen Master, which are going to help you in changing your perspective on life. Keep them close to your heart.
1. “We have to learn to live our life as a human being deep. We need to live each breath deeply so that we have peace, joy, and freedom as we breathe.”
A lot of people are unconscious of their breath. Even those that regularly practice yoga or meditation lose it when some big life challenges come to them. You should learn how to take the time to breathe and connect deeply at the start and end of each day before you actually get pulled along by the mainstream current of your own life.
2. “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
A lot of people walk with shoes, and some even walk around with shoes in their own homes. Our feet are our earthing connectors, and they are not just a powerful way of drawing vital energy into our body, but they actually give us a sense of rootedness in the now, so we are not blown just like a leaf in the wind.
3. “Look at flowers, butterflies, trees, and children with the eyes of compassion. Compassion will change your life and make it wonderful.”
We frequently look at the world through the conditioning, so our perception is overlaid with some judgments about other people or about ourselves too. With focusing on the simplicity of life, we can begin peeling away the false beliefs and errors in our consciousness.
4. “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.”
There is no person that causes another pain unless that person is in pain himself. For example, look at abusers – they were usually abused at some point in the past, and it is a vicious cycle. However, with understanding and compassion, we are going to break that cycle.
5. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
Practice smiling more, without any reason. You do not need a reason to smile just the simple fact that it is going to help you in elevating your mood, as well as consciousness to the highest state possible, will be enough.
6. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
Something which every one of us struggles with is self-acceptance, as we were not loved enough when we were kids. A lot of people had to prove themselves to a world which demanded subservience.
7. “The energies of mindfulness, concentration and insight can liberate us from our anxiety and worries. We let go of the past and the future, and come in touch with the wonders of the present.”
Our mind is stuck in a forward and back momentum of its own making, as well as fitting from anxiety to worry to past or future and back again. It is rarely here and now.
8. “Every one of us already has the seed of mindfulness. The practice is to cultivate it.”
This is true as every one of us has been born as an expression of the Great Spirit. We are the seed and the fruit too.
9. “Because you are alive, everything is possible.”
Every type of possibility exists inside of us, as untapped potential.
10. “Your body is your first home. Breathing in, I arrive in my body. Breathing out, I am home.
When breathing in, our breath roots us to our body. When breathing out, it is a death, a letting go, and we really do not know if we are going to breathe in again, as that is determined by the source of love and awareness, the greater us.
11. “Patience is the mark of true love. If you truly love someone, you will be more patient with that person.”
A person that was in a conscious relationship is going to understand that challenges still exist, as different levels of consciousness are explored. It is actually a deep process and a lot of thoughts and emotions have to be cleansed in the fire of love.
12. “You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.”
Love and freedom are synonym words. We cannot cage a bird and then call it love.
Image Credit: Awaken
