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
When you produce peace and happiness in yourself, you begin to realize peace for the whole world. With the smile that you produce in yourself, with the conscious breathing you establish within yourself, you begin to work for peace in the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Inner peace leads to broader peace in the world.
This quote by Nhat Hanh emphasizes the profound impact that individual peace and happiness can have on the larger world. By cultivating a sense of tranquility and contentment within ourselves, we not only improve our own lives but also contribute positively to the collective experience of humanity; thus, fostering a more harmonious existence for everyone.
Themes
PeaceHappinessSelfWorldSmileBreathing
In practice
Example use cases
During a meditation session, one might quote this to highlight the importance of inner peace.
More from Nhat Hanh
All quotes →I 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
Mere praise of peace is easy and ineffective. What is needed is acitve participation in the fight against war and everything which leads to it.
Albert EinsteinRead
Peace is our gift to each other.
Elie WieselRead
In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945.
Queen Elizabeth IiRead
The origins of my career as a peace mediator can be found from my childhood years. I was born in the city of Viipuri, then still part of Finland. We lost Viipuri when the Soviet Union attacked my country. Along with 400,000 fellow Karelians, I became an eternally displaced person in the rest of Finland.
Martti AhtisaariRead
By its existence, the Peace Movement denies that governments know best; it stands for a different order of priorities: the human race comes first.
Martha GellhornRead
As prime minister, I changed Israel's position on peace negotiations. I made it clear that we are ready to go along with Resolution 242 of the U.N. Security Council, which specifies withdrawal to secure and recognized boundaries in the context of peace.
Yitzhak RabinRead