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When Our Beliefs Are Based On Our Own Direct Experience Of Reality And Not On Notions Offered By Others, No One Can Remove These Beliefs From Us.
-Nhat Hanh
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When Our Beliefs Are

Nhat Hanh
...
When Our Beliefs Are Based On Our Own Direct Experience Of Reality And Not On Notions Offered By Others, No One Can Remove These Beliefs From Us.

Understanding the Quote: "when our beliefs are based on our own direct experience of reality..."

This quote by Nhat Hanh reflects deeply on the theme of reality. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Reality, Belief, Notion, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Nhat Hanh interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Nhat Hanh

Nhat Hanh is celebrated for insightful thoughts on reality and belief. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Reality
Belief
Notion
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Smile, Breathe And Go Slowly." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen Monk, Author And Peace Activist.
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Peace
Morning
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Spiritual
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Do Not Avoid Contact With Suffering Or Close Your Eyes Before Suffering. Do Not Lose Awareness Of The Existence Of Suffering In The Life Of The World. Find Ways To Be With Those Who Are Suffering By All Means, Including Personal Contact And Visits, Images, Sounds. By Such Means, Awaken Yourself And Others To The Reality Of Suffering In The World.
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Reality
We Have To Look Deeply At Things In Order To See. When A Swimmer Enjoys The Clear Water Of The River, He Or She Should Also Be Able To Be The River.
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Rivers
Water
Everything Inside And Around Us Wants To Reflect Itself In Us. We Don't Have To Go Anywhere To Obtain The Truth. We Only Need To Be Still And Things Will Reveal Themselves In The Still Water Of Our Heart.
Heart
Water
Needs
Be Part Of The Miraculous Moment.
Miracle
Moments
Miraculous
Our Own Lives Are The Instruments With Which We Experiment With Truth.
Instruments
Experiments
Each Time You Look At A Tangerine, You Can See Deeply Into It. You Can See Everything In The Universe In One Tangerine. When You Peel It And Smell It, It’s Wonderful. You Can Take Your Time Eating A Tangerine And Be Very Happy.
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Smell
Looks
One Buddha Is Not Enough; We Need To Have Many Buddhas.
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Enough
If We Do Not Know How To Take Care Of Ourselves And To Love Ourselves, We Cannot Take Care Of The People We Love. Loving Oneself Is The Foundation For Loving Another Person.
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Foundation
Care
During The Last 2,500 Years In Buddhist Monasteries, A System Of Seven Practices Of Reconciliation Has Evolved. Although These Techniques Were Formulated To Settle Disputes Within The Circle Of Monks, I Think They Might Also Be Of Use In Our Households And In Our Society.the First Practice Is Face-to-face-sitting.
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Enlightenment For A Wave Is The Moment The Wave Realizes It Is Water. At That Moment, All Fear Of Death Disappears.
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Usually When We Hear Or Read Something New, We Just Compare It To Our Own Ideas. If It Is The Same, We Accept It And Say That It Is Correct. If It Is Not, We Say It Is Incorrect. In Either Case, We Learn Nothing.
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Block
Mean
Our Notions About Happiness Entrap Us. We Forget That They Are Just Ideas. Our Idea Of Happiness Can Prevent Us From Actually Being Happy. We Fail To See The Opportunity For Joy That Is Right In Front Of Us When We Are Caught In A Belief That Happiness Should Take A Particular Form.
Life
Opportunity
Ideas
Our Walking Is Not A Means To An End. We Walk For The Sake Of Walking.
Mean
Sake
Ends
Mindfulness Practices Enhance The Connection Between Our Body, Our Mind And Everything Else That Is Around Us. Mindful Living Is The Key To Understanding Our Struggles With Weight And To Empowering Us To Control Our Weight.
Struggle
Keys
Practice
Buddhism Is In Your Heart. Even If You Don't Have Any Temple Or Any Monks, You Can Still Be A Buddhist In Your Heart And Life.
Buddhist
Heart
Buddhism
Letting Go Gives Us Freedom, And Freedom Is The Only Condition For Happiness. If, In Our Heart, We Still Cling To Anything - Anger, Anxiety, Or Possessions - We Cannot Be Free.
Happiness
Inspiring
Letting Go
To Meditate Is To Be Aware Of What Is Going On - In Our Bodies, Our Feelings Our Minds, And In The World. When We Settle Into The Present Moment, We Can See The Beauties And Wonders Before Our Eyes.
Eye
Meditation
Feelings
Because If The Manifestations That Happen In The Present Moment Are Beautiful And Good, Their Continuation In The Future Will Be Also Good And Beautiful.
Beauty
Beautiful
Moments
Mindfulness Is The Miracle By Which We Master And Restore Ourselves.
Healing
Miracle
Mindfulness
Smiling Is Very Important. If We Are Not Able To Smile, Then The World Will Not Have Peace. It Is Not By Going Out For A Demonstration Against Nuclear Missiles That We Can Bring About Peace. It Is With Our Capacity Of Smiling, Breathing, And Being Peace That We Can Make Peace.
Happiness
Smile
Peace
Every Moment Is A Moment Of Happiness.
Moments
Moments Of Happiness
As A Human Being, You Have The Right To Get Angry; But As A Practitioner, You Do Not Have The Right To Stop Practicing.
Practice
Humans
Angry
We Need Enlightenment, Not Just Individually But Collectively, To Save The Planet. We Need To Awaken Ourselves. We Need To Practice Mindfulness If We Want To Have A Future, If We Want To Save Ourselves And The Planet.
Practice
Enlightenment
Mindfulness
When You Love Someone, You Want To Share Everything With Him Or Her. So It Is Your Duty To Say, "i Suffer And I Want You To Know" - And He Will, She Will, Appreciate It.
Appreciate
When You Love Someone
Suffering
If You Are Truly Present And Know How To Take Care Of The Present Moment As Best You Can, You Are Doing Your Best For The Future Already.
Future
Care
Moments
If You Are Capable Of Brushing Your Teeth In Mindfulness, Then You Will Be Able To Enjoy The Time When You Take A Shower, Cook Your Breakfast, Sip Your Tea.
Tea
Teeth
Mindfulness
A Real Love Letter Is Made Of Insight, Understanding, And Compassion. Otherwise It's Not A Love Letter. A True Love Letter Can Produce A Transformation In The Other Person, And Therefore In The World. But Before It Produces A Transformation In The Other Person, It Has To Produce A Transformation Within Us. Some Letters May Take The Whole Of Our Lifetime To Write.
Peace
Truth
Real
Reconciliation Is To Understand Both Sides; To Go To One Side And Describe The Suffering Being Endured By The Other Side, And Then Go To The Other Side And Describe The Suffering Being Endured By The First Side.
Buddhist
Suffering
Mutual Understanding
If We Take The Time To Look Deeply, We See That Understanding And Compassion Arise From Suffering. Understanding Is The Understanding Of Suffering, And Compassion Is The Kind Of Energy That Can Transform Suffering. If Suffering Is Not There, We Have No Means To Cultivate Our Understanding And Our Compassion. This Is Something Quite Simple To See
Mean
Simple
Compassion
If We Are Not Fully Ourselves, Truly In The Present Moment, We Miss Everything.
Yoga
Missing
Moments
The Root-word "buddha" Means To Wake Up, To Know, To Understand; And He Or She Who Wakes Up And Understands Is Call A Buddha. It Is As Simple As That. The Capacity To Wake Up, To Understand, And To Love Is Called Buddha Nature.
Knowledge
Mean
Simple
We Try To Live Every Moment Like That, Dwelling Peacefully In The Present Moment, And Respond To Events With Compassion.
Compassion
Dwelling
Trying
We Can Smile, Breathe, Walk, And Eat Our Meals In A Way That Allows Us To Be In Touch With The Abundance Of Happiness That Is Available. We Are Very Good At Preparing To Live, But Not Very Good At Living. We Know How To Sacrifice Ten Years For A Diploma, And We Are Willing To Work Very Hard To Get A Job, A Car, A House, And So On. But We Have Difficulty Remembering That We Are Alive In The Present Moment, The Only Moment There Is For Us To Be Alive. Every Breath We Take, Every Step We Make, Can Be Filled With Peace, Joy, And Serenity. We Need Only To Be Awake, Alive In The Present Moment.
Happiness
Jobs
Yoga
People Sacrifice The Present For The Future. But Life Is Available Only In The Present. That Is Why We Should Walk In Such A Way That Every Step Can Bring Us To The Here And The Now.
Sacrifice
People
Way
Freedom Is Not Given To Us By Anyone; We Have To Cultivate It Ourselves. It Is A Daily Practice... No One Can Prevent You From Being Aware Of Each Step You Take Or Each Breath In And Breath Out.
Practice
Steps
Given
Walk As If You Are Kissing The Earth With Your Feet.
Being Happy
Gratitude
Attitude
To Live In The Present Moment Is A Miracle.
Miracle
Moments
Live In The Present
The Present Moment Is The Substance With Which The Future Is Made. Therefore, The Best Way To Take Care Of The Future Is To Take Care Of The Present Moment. What Else Can You Do?
Substance
Care
Way
To Think In Terms Of Either Pessimism Or Optimism Oversimplifies The Truth. The Problem Is To See Reality As It Is.
Peace
Truth
Reality
If You Are A Poet, You Will See Clearly That There Is A Cloud Floating In This Sheet Of Paper? ?to Be? Is To Inter-be. We Cannot Just Be By Ourselves Alone. We Have To Inter-be With Every Other Thing. This Sheet Of Paper Is, Because Everything Else Is.
Clouds
Oneness
Floating
Loneliness Cannot Be Alleviated Just By The Coming Together Of Two Bodies, Unless There Is Also Good Communication, Understanding, And Loving Kindness.
Kindness
Loneliness
Communication
In Modern Society Most Of Us Don't Want To Be In Touch With Ourselves; We Want To Be In Touch With Other Things Like Religion, Sports, Politics, A Book - We Want To Forget Ourselves. Anytime We Have Leisure, We Want To Invite Something Else To Enter Us, Opening Ourselves To The Television And Telling The Television To Come And Colonize Us.
Sports
Book
Television
In Our Consciousness, There Are Many Negative Seeds And Also Many Positive Seeds. The Practice Is To Avoid Watering The Negative Seeds, And To Identify And Water The Positive Seeds Every Day.
Practice
Water
Negative
In Every Country In The World, Killing Human Beings Is Condemned. The Buddhist Precept Of Non-killing Extends Even Further, To Include All Living Beings.
Country
Buddhist
Animal
Forgiveness Will Not Be Possible Until Compassion Is Born In Your Heart.
Forgiveness
Letting Go
Heart
Let Us Look At Wealth And Poverty. The Affluent Society And The Deprived Society Inter-are. The Wealth Of One Society Is Made Of The Poverty Of The Other. "this Is Like This, Because That Is Like That." Wealth Is Made Of Non-wealth Elements, And Poverty Is Made By Non-poverty Elements. [...] So We Must Be Careful Not To Imprison Ourselves In Concepts. The Truth Is That Everything Contains Everything Else. We Cannot Just Be, We Can Only Inter-be. We Are Responsible Fo Everything That Happens Around Us.
Looks
Elements
Poverty
If Things Were Not Impermanent, Life Would Not Be Possible.
Ifs
There Are Two Ways To Wash The Dishes. One Way Is To Wash Them To Get Them Clean. The Other Way Is To Wash Them In Order To Wash The Dishes.
Peace
Order
Two
If We Are Not Peaceful, If We Are Not Feeling Well In Our Skin, We Cannot Demonstrate Real Peace, And We Cannot Raise Our Children Well Either.
Peace
Children
Real
I Think Buddhism Should Open The Door Of Psychology And Healing To Penetrate More Easily Into The Western World.
Healing
Buddhism
Thinking
Without Full Awareness Of Breathing, There Can Be No Development Of Meditative Stability And Understanding.
Breathing
Understanding
Development
Each Thought, Each Action In The Sunlight Of Awareness Becomes Sacred.
Sacred
Action
Awareness
Words Can Travel Thousands Of Miles. May My Words Create Mutual Understanding And Love. May They Be As Beautiful As Gems, As Lovely As Flowers.
Beautiful
Flower
Understanding
I Am Determined To Practice Deep Listening. I Am Determined To Practice Loving Speech.
Practice
Listening
Speech
We Must Look Deeply Into The Nature Of Our Volition To See Whether It Is Pushing Us In The Direction Of Liberation From Suffering And Toward Peace And Compassion, Or In The Direction Of Affliction And Misery. What Is It That We Really Want Deep In Our Heart? Is It Money, Fame, Power? Or Is It Finding Inner Peace, Being Able To Live Life Fully And Enjoy The Present Moment?
Motivational
Live Life
Heart
Meditation Is Offering Your Genuine Presence To Yourself In Every Moment.
Inspiration
Offering
Practice
When We Say, "i Take Refuge In The Buddha," We Should Also Understand That "the Buddha Takes Refuge In Me," Because Without The Second Part The First Part Is Not Complete. The Buddha Needs Us For Awakening, Understanding, And Love To Be Real Things And Not Just Concepts. They Must Be Real Things That Have Real Effects On Life. Whenever I Say, "i Take Refuge In The Buddha," I Hear "the Buddha Takes Refuge In Me."
Real
Understanding
And Love
Love Is The Capacity To Take Care, To Protect, To Nourish.
Love Is
Care
Capacity
Many People Are Alive But Don't Touch The Miracle Of Being Alive.
People
Miracle
Alive
When We Change Our Daily Lives - The Way We Think, Speak And Act - We Change The World.
Change
Thinking
Acting
With Negative Energy You Can Make The Positive Energy. A Flower Will Become Compost Someday, But If You Know How To Transform The Compost Back Into The Flower, Then You Don't Have To Worry. You Don't Have To Worry About Your Anger Because You Know How To Handle It - To Embrace, To Recognize, And To Transform It. So This Is What Is Possible.
Flower
Worry
Positive Energy
That Is Why Those Who Are Not Capable Of Being There In The Present Moment, They Don't Really Live Their Life - They Live Like Dead People.
People
Being There
Moments
When We Enter The Present Moment Deeply, Our Regrets And Sorrows Disappear, And We Discover Life With All Its Wonders.
Regret
Sorrow
Wonder
The First Thing I Learned Was That Even If You Have A Lot Of Money And Power And Fame, You Can Still Suffer Very Deeply.
Suffering
Firsts
Fame
Nirvana Is The Complete Silencing Of Concepts.
Silencing
Concepts
The Quality Of Our Life Depends On The Quality Of The Seeds That Lie Deep In Our Consciousness.
Lying
Quality
Consciousness
Birth Is Okay And Death Is Okay, If We Know That They Are Only Concepts In Our Mind. Reality Transcends Both Birth And Death.
Reality
Mind
Birth
As We Cultivate Peace And Happiness In Ourselves, We Also Nourish Peace And Happiness In Those We Love.
Happy
Spiritual
Peace And Happiness
Breathing In, I Am Aware That I Am Breathing In. Breathing Out, I Am Aware That I Am Breathing Out. Breathing In, I Am Grateful For This Moment. Breathing Out, I Smile. Breathing In, I Am Aware Of The Preciousness Of This Day. Breathing Out, I Vow To Live Deeply In This Day.
Grateful
Breathing
I Smile
If We Take Something To Be The Truth, We May Cling To It So Much That When The Truth Comes And Knocks On Our Door, We Won't Want To Let It In.
Doors
May
Want
The Heart Of The Matter Is Always Our Oneness With Divine Spirit, Our Union With All Life.
Heart
Oneness
Unions
Contemplating The Bowl, It Is Possible To See The Interdependent Elements Which Give Rise To The Bowl.
Giving
Elements
Contemplating
When It Comes To Health And Well-being, Regular Exercise Is About As Close To A Magic Potion As You Can Get.
Motivational
Exercise
Magic
If We Face Our Unpleasant Feelings With Care, Affection, And Nonviolence, We Can Transform Them Into A Kind Of Energy That Is Healthy And Has The Capacity To Nourish Us. By The Work Of Mindful Observation, Our Unpleasant Feelings Can Illuminate So Much For Us, Offering Us Insight And Understanding Into Ourselves And Society.
Offering
Understanding
Healthy
We May Think Of Peace As The Absence Of War, That If The Great Powers Would Reduce Their Weapons Arsenals, We Could Have Peace. But If We Look Deeply Into The Weapons, We Will See Our Own Minds - Our Own Prejudices, Fears, And Ignorance.
Karma
War
Ignorance
If I Succeed In Loving You, I Will Be Able To Love Everyone And All Species On Earth... This Is The Real Message Of Love
Real
Loving You
My Love For You
In English We Say 'we Are' But It's Proper To Say 'we Are Becoming' Because Things Are Becoming.
Becoming
We Really Have To Understand The Person We Want To Love. If Our Love Is Only A Will To Possess, It Is Not Love. If We Only Think Of Ourselves, If We Know Only Our Own Needs And Ignore The Needs Of The Other Person, We Cannot Love.
Love
Buddhist
Thinking
No Single Tradition Monopolizes The Truth. We Must Glean The Best Values Of All Traditions And Work Together To Remove The Tensions Between Traditions In Order To Give Peace A Chance.
Order
Giving
Diversity
You Must Be Completely Awake In The Present To Enjoy The Tea.
Tea
Enjoy
Awake
Each Minute We Spend Worrying About The Future And Regretting The Past Is A Minute We Miss In Our Appointment With Life - A Missed Opportunity To Engage Life And To See That Each Moment Gives Us The Chance To Change For The Better, To Experience Peace And Joy.
Motivational
Regret
Past
Impermanence Is Very Important, Crucial For Life. That Is Why Instead Of Complaining About Impermanence You Have To Say "long Live Impermanence!"
Long
Important
Complaining
I Am Inviting You To Go Deeper, To Learn And To Practice So That You Become Someone Who Has A Great Capacity For Being Solid, Calm, And Without Fear, Because Our Society Needs People Like You Who Have These Qualities, And Your Children, Our Children, Need People Like You, In Order To Go On, In Order To Become Solid, And Calm, And Without Fear.
Children
Order
Practice
If You Find Yourself In Some Difficulty, Step Aside, And Allow Buddha To Take Your Place. The Buddha Is In You.
Finding Yourself
Steps
Awareness
We Need To Move Beyond The Idea Of 'environment' And Fall Back In Love With Mother Earth.
Mother
Moving
Fall
The Source Of Love Is Deep In Us And We Can Help Others Realize A Lot Of Happiness. One Word, One Action, One Thought Can Reduce Another Person’s Suffering And Bring That Person Joy.
Helping Others
Love Is
Deep Love
At The Moment Of Waking Up, Before Getting Out Of Bed, Get In Touch With Your Breath
Wake Up
Waking
Bed
May We Awaken From Forgetfulness And Realize Our True Home.
Home
May
Realizing
We Do Not Have To Die To Enter The Kingdom Of Heaven, In Fact We Have To Be Fully Alive. When We Are Truly Alive We See That The Tree Is Part Of Heaven And We Are Also Part Of Heaven. The Whole Universe Is Conspiring To Reveal This To Us. Peace Is Available And When We Touch It Everything Becomes Real. We Become Ourselves, Fully Alive In The Present Moment.
Real
Tree
Heaven
Life Has Left Her Footprints On My Forehead. But I Have Become A Child Again This Morning. The Smile, Seen Through Leaves And Flowers, Is Back To Smooth Away The Wrinkles, As The Rains Wipe Away Footprints On The Beach. Again A Cycle Of Birth And Death Begins.
Beauty
Beach
Morning
The Greatest Of All Miracles Is To Be Alive.
Faith
Miracle
Alive
Breathe And You Dwell In The Here And Now, Breath And You See Impermanence Is Life.
Yoga
Breathe
Here And Now
Don't Think You Have To Be Solemn To Meditate. To Meditate, Well, You Have To Smile A Lot.
Thinking
Mindfulness
Wells
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