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Thich Nhat Hanh
(11 Oct 1926 - )
Vietnamese monk and peace activist , a Buddhist Zen master, who founded the Plum Village Tradition, and has an extensive list of writings. The purpose of his international travels includes giving retreats and talks.
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Science Quotes by Thich Nhat Hanh (10 quotes)
Birds’ songs express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally. The trees, the water, and the air don’t ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy them. By destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves. We must learn to practice unconditional love for all beings so that the animals, the air, the trees, and the minerals can continue to be themselves.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993), 131-132.
Every one of us can do something to protect and care for our planet. We have to live in such a way that a future will be possible for our children and our grandchildren. Our own life has to be. Our own life has to be our message.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology (2008), i.
I think Buddhists should not be afraid of science. Science can help Buddhism to discover more deeply the teaching of the Buddha. For example, the Avatamsaka Sutra says that the one is made of the many, and the many can be found in the one. This is something that can be proven by science. Out of a cell, they can duplicate a whole body. In one cell, the whole genetic heritage can be found, and you can make a replica of the whole body. In the one, you see the many.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In Melvin McLeod (ed.), 'Love without Limit: An Interview with Thich Nhat Hanh', The Best Buddhist Writing 2007 (2007), 75.
I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (1976, 1987), 12.
Personally, learning about science has helped me to understand Buddhism more deeply. I agree with Einstein that if there is a religion that can go along with science, it is Buddhism. That is because Buddhism has the spirit of nonattachment to rules. You may have a view that you consider to be the truth, but if you cling to it, then that is the end of your free inquiring. You have to be aware that with the practice of looking deeply, you may see things more clearly. That is why you should not be so dogmatic about what you have found; you have to be ready to release your view in order to get a higher insight. That is very exciting.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In Melvin McLeod (ed.), 'Love without Limit: An Interview with Thich Nhat Hanh', The Best Buddhist Writing 2007 (2007), 74.
Television, films, and newspapers are forms of pollution for us and our children. They sow seeds of violence and anxiety in us and pollute our consciousness, just as we destroy our environment by farming with chemicals, clear-cutting the trees, and polluting the water. We need to protect the ecology of the Earth and the ecology of the mind, or this kind of violence and recklessness will spill over into even more areas of life.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993), 132.
The sheet of paper contains all the information about the cosmos … The trees are not enough to make the sheet of paper. The sunshine nourishes the trees; the clouds water the trees; the soil, the minerals … They are one with the paper.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life (2003), 81-82. [The air, the atmosphere, are also part of the paper. —Webmaster]
There are trillions of cells in our body, and no cell claims to be the boss. All the cells have ways to communicate with each other, and the reality of no-self can be found in the way our bodies function. When neuroscientists look into our brain they see so many neurons, and they say it’s like an orchestra without a conductor. The neurons communicate with each other and a decision is made not by one neuron but by all together. The decision is made based on former experiences. Continuation is possible, and that doesn’t need a permanent separate self. It’s wonderful to notice that in the twenty-first century Buddhism and science can go together and support each other in the practice.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In The Mindfulness Survival Kit: Five Essential Practices (2013), 202.
There is no way to happiness—happiness is the way.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life (2003), 188.
We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
In Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (1992), 28.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
