Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.
Nhat HanhRead
You are not an observer, you are a participant.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of actively engaging in life rather than just passively watching it unfold.
Nhat Hanh's quote encourages individuals to recognize their active role in shaping their experiences and environment. It highlights the idea that life is not merely a spectacle to be observed but a dynamic process in which one must actively participate to find meaning and fulfillment. By being a participant, one can influence outcomes, foster connections, and create a more profound sense of presence in their own life and the lives of others.
Themes
EngagementParticipationLifeExperienceMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about living life to the fullest, you might say, 'As Nhat Hanh reminds us, you are not an observer, you are a participant.'
More from Nhat Hanh
All quotes βI have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it.
Nhat HanhRead
I realize that many elements of the Buddhist teaching can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam. I think if Buddhism can help, it is the concrete methods of practice.
Nhat HanhRead
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.
Nhat HanhRead
The therapist does not treat patients by simply giving them another set of beliefs. He or she tries to help them see which kinds of ideas and beliefs have led to their suffering. Many patients want to get rid of their painful feelings, but they do not want to get rid of their beliefs, the viewpoints that are the very roots of their feelings.
Nhat HanhRead
Scientists tell us that we have enough technology to save our planet. . . . Yet we don't take advantage of this new technology. . . . The technological has to work hand-in-hand with the spiritual. Our spiritual life is the element that can bring about the energies of peace, calm, brotherhood, understanding, and compassion. Without that, our planet doesn't stand a chance.
Nhat HanhRead
Similar quotes
Eyes...They speak all languages.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.
Milan KunderaRead
When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world
C. S. LewisRead
We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king.
Brother LawrenceRead
You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature.
Mahatma GandhiRead
One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero.
Charlie ChaplinRead