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You Have Two Gardens: Your Own Garden And That Of Your Beloved. First, You Have To Take Care Of Your Own Garden And Master The Art Of Gardening. In Each One Of Us There Are Flowers And There Is Also Garbage. The Garbage Is The Anger, Fear, Discrimination, And Jealousy Within Us. If You Water The Garbage, You Will Strengthen The Negative Seeds. If You Water The Flowers Of Compassion, Understanding, And Love, You Will Strengthen The Positive Seeds. What You Grow Is Up To You.
-Nhat Hanh
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You Have Two Gardens:

Nhat Hanh
You Have Two Gardens: Your Own Garden And That Of Your Beloved. First, You Have To Take Care Of Your Own Garden And Master The Art Of Gardening. In Each One Of Us There Are Flowers And There Is Also Garbage. The Garbage Is The Anger, Fear, Discrimination, And Jealousy Within Us. If You Water The Garbage, You Will Strengthen The Negative Seeds. If You Water The Flowers Of Compassion, Understanding, And Love, You Will Strengthen The Positive Seeds. What You Grow Is Up To You.
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Art
Buddhist
Flower
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Beautiful
Meaningful
Nonviolent Action, Born Of The Awareness Of Suffering And Nurtured By Love, Is The Most Effective Way To Confront Adversity.
Adversity
Love Is
Suffering
The War Is In Our Souls.
War
Soul
When We Recognise The Virtues, The Talent, The Beauty Of Mother Earth, Something Is Born In Us, Some Kind Of Connection; Love Is Born.
Inspirational
Mother
Love Is
As You Walk, You Touch The Ground Mindfully, And Every Step Can Bring You Solidity And Joy And Freedom. Freedom From Your Regret Concerning The Past, And Freedom From Your Fear About The Future.
Regret
Past
Joy
Breathe In Deeply To Bring Your Mind Home To Your Body. Then Look At, Or Think Of, The Person Triggering This Emotion: With Mindfulness, You Can See That She Is Unhappy, That She Is Suffering. You Can See Her Wrong Perceptions. You Can See That She Is Not Beautiful When She Says Things That Are Unkind.
Inspirational
Life
Change
Compassionate Listening Is To Help The Other Side Suffer Less. If We Realize That Other People Are The Same People As We Are, We Are No Longer Angry At Them.
People
Listening
Suffering
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
If You Establish Serenity And Happiness Inside Yourself, You Provide The World With A Solid Base Of Peace. If You Do Not Give Yourself Peace, How Can You Share It With Others? If You Do Not Begin Your Peace Work With Yourself, Where Will You Go To Begin It?
Happiness
Giving
Serenity
Each Thought, Each Action In The Sunlight Of Awareness Becomes Sacred.
Sacred
Action
Awareness
In The Past There Were People Who Were Not Rich But Contented With Their Living Style, Laughing And Happy All Day. But When The New Rich People Appear, People Look At Them And Ask Why Don't I Have A Life Like That Too, A Beautiful House, Car And Garden And They Abandon Their Values.
Beautiful
Past
Garden
If You Are A Poet, You Will See Clearly That There Is A Cloud Floating In This Sheet Of Paper. Without A Cloud, There Will Be No Rain; Without Rain, The Trees Cannot Grow; And Without Trees, We Cannot Make Paper. The Cloud Is Essential For The Paper To Exist. If The Cloud Is Not Here, The Sheet Of Paper Cannot Be Here Either. So We Can Say That The Cloud And The Paper Inter-are.
Rain
Clouds
Tree
Knowing That Anger Makes Me Ugly, I Smile Instead. I Return To Myself And Meditate On Love.
Knowing
Ugly
Return
The Quality Of Our Life Depends On The Quality Of The Seeds That Lie Deep In Our Consciousness.
Lying
Quality
Consciousness
Even If You Only Stop And Focus On Your Breathing For A Few Breaths, Or For A Minute Or Two, Its Very Valuable.
Breathing
Two
Focus
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
Anxiety, The Illness Of Our Time, Comes Primarily From Our Inability To Dwell In The Present Moment.
Anxiety
Inability
Moments
Compassion Is Our Most Important Practice. Understanding Brings Compassion. Understanding The Suffering That Living Beings Undergo Helps Liberate The Energy Of Compassion. And With That Energy You Know What To Do.
Compassion
Practice
Understanding
Just Breathing And Smiling Can Make Us Very Happy, Because When We Breathe Consciously We Recover Ourselves Completely And Encounter Life In The Present Moment.
Smile
Breathing
Encounters
The Energy Of Compassion Is Very Strong. We Suffer. That Is Real. But We Have Learned Not To Get Angry And Not To Allow Ourselves To Be Carried By Anger. We Realize Right Away That That Is Fear. That Is Corruption.
Strong
Real
Compassion
If In Our Daily Life We Can Smile, If We Can Be Peaceful And Happy, Not Only We, But Everyone Will Profit From It. This Is The Most Basic Kind Of Peace Work.
Life
Happiness
Success
You Are Not An Observer, You Are A Participant.
Participants
Observers
When You Begin To See That Your Enemy Is Suffering, That Is The Beginning Of Insight.
Enemy
Suffering
Insight
If We Are Not Fully Ourselves, Truly In The Present Moment, We Miss Everything.
Yoga
Missing
Moments
Every Breath We Take, Every Step We Make, Can Be Filled With Peace, Joy And Serenity.
Inspirational
Life
Change
You Are A Buddha, And So Is Everyone Else. I Didn't Make That Up. It Was The Buddha Himself Who Said So. He Said That All Beings Had The Potential To Become Awakened. To Practice Walking Meditation Is To Practice Living In Mindfulness. Mindfulness And Enlightenment Are One. Enlightenment Leads To Mindfulness And Mindfulness Leads To Enlightenment.
Walking Meditation
Practice
Enlightenment
People Have A Hard Time Letting Go Of Their Suffering. Out Of A Fear Of The Unknown, They Prefer Suffering That Is Familiar.
Moving On
Depression
Letting Go
If We Are At War With Our Parents, Our Family, Our Society, Or Our Church, There Is Probably A War Going On Inside Us Also, So The Most Basic Work For Peace Is To Return To Ourselves And Create Harmony Among The Elements Within Us - Our Feelings, Our Perceptions, And Our Mental States. That Is Why The Practice Of Meditation, Looking Deeply, Is So Important.
Family
Peace
War
Before Practicing Meditation, We See That Mountains Are Mountains. When We Start To Practice, We See That Mountains Are No Longer Mountains. After Practicing A While, We See That Mountains Are Again Mountains. Now The Mountains Are Very Free. Our Mind Is Still With The Mountains, But It Is No Longer Bound To Anything.
Practice
Meditation
Mind
Shallow Understanding Accompanies Poor Compassion; Great Understanding Goes With Great Compassion.
Compassion
Understanding
Poverty
We Talk About Social Service, Service To The People, Service To Humanity, Service To Others Who Are Far Away, Helping To Bring Peace To The World - But Often We Forget That It Is The Very People Around Us That We Must Live For First Of All. If You Cannot Serve Your Wife Or Husband Or Child Or Parent - How Are You Going To Serve Society? If You Cannot Make Your Own Child Happy, How Do You Expect To Be Able To Make Anyone Else Happy? If All Our Friends In The Peace Movement Or Of Service Communities Of Any Kind Do Not Love And Help Each Other, Whom Can We Love And Help?
Children
Husband
People
When You Love Someone, The Best You Can Offer Is Your Presence.
When You Love Someone
Love Someone
Offers
If You Have Not Suffered Hunger, You Do Not Appreciate Having Something To Eat. If You Have Not Gone Through A War, You Don't Know The Value Of Peace. That Is Why We Should Not Try To Run Away From One Thing After Another Thing. Holding Our Suffering, Looking Deeply Into It, We Find A Way To Happiness.
Running
War
Appreciate
Just Listen Be Peace.
Just Listen
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
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
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
If You Abandon The Present Moment, You Cannot Live The Moments Of Your Daily Life Deeply.
Daily Life
Moments
Abandon
When You Sit In A Café, With A Lot Of Music In The Background And A Lot Of Projects In Your Head, You're Not Really Drinking Your Coffee Or Your Tea. You're Drinking Your Projects, You're Drinking Your Worries. You Are Not Real, And The Coffee Is Not Real Either. Your Coffee Can Only Reveal Itself To You As A Reality When You Go Back To Your Self And Produce Your True Presence, Freeing Yourself From The Past, The Future, And From Your Worries. When You Are Real, The Tea Also Becomes Real And The Encounter Between You And The Tea Is Real. This Is Genuine Tea Drinking.
Real
Drinking
Coffee
Live Your Daily Life In A Way That You Never Lose Yourself
Worry
Way
Daily Life
Breathing In, I Know I Am Breathing In. Breathing Out, I Know I Am Breathing Out.
Breathing
Knows
A Summer Breeze Can Be Very Refreshing; But If We Try To Put It In A Tin Can So We Can Have It Entirely To Ourselves, The Breeze Will Die. Our Beloved Is The Same. He Is Like A Breeze, A Cloud, A Flower. If You Imprison Him In A Tin Can, He Will Die. Yet Many People Do Just That. They Rob Their Loved One Of His Liberty, Until He Can No Longer Be Himself. They Live To Satisfy Themselves And Use Their Loved One To Help Them Fulfill That. That Is Not Loving; It Is Destroying.
Love
Summer
Flower
In True Dialogue, Both Sides Are Willing To Change.
Change
Business
Sides
In Order To Heal Others, We First Need To Heal Ourselves. And To Heal Ourselves, We Need To Know How To Deal With Ourselves.
Inspirational
Life
Change
The Healing Of Ourselves Is The Healing Of The Whole Nation. Society Is Only A Manifestation Of Our Collective Consciousness And Our Collective Consciousness Has A Lot Of Fear, Violence And Hatred In It. ... It Is Possible To Transform Our Heart...not Much Time Is Needed...(the Transformation Can Be Born) The Moment You Vow To Go In The Direction Of Peace And Service.
Healing
Heart
Hatred
There Are Many Ways To Calm A Negative Energy Without Suppressing Or Fighting It. You Recognize It, You Smile To It, And You Invite Something Nicer To Come Up And Replace It; You Read Some Inspiring Words, You Listen To A Piece Of Beautiful Music, You Go Somewhere In Nature, Or You Do Some Walking Meditation.
Beautiful
Fighting
Walking Meditation
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
Breathing In, I Am Aware Of My Heart. Breathing Out, I Smile To My Heart And Know That My Heart Still Functions Normally. I Feel Grateful For My Heart.
Grateful
Heart
Breathing
I Have Arrived. I Am Home. My Destination Is In Each Step.
Home
Steps
Destination
For Things To Reveal Themselves To Us, We Need To Be Ready To Abandon Our Views About Them.
Views
Needs
Abandon
I Would Not Look Upon Anger As Something Foreign To Me That I Have To Fight... I Have To Deal With My Anger With Care, With Love, With Tenderness, With Nonviolence.
Buddhist
Anger
Fighting
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
You Carry Mother Earth Within You. She Is Not Outside Of You. Mother Earth Is Not Just Your Environment.
Mother
Earth
Environment
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
You Are What You Want To Become. Why Search Anymore? You Are A Wonderful Manifestation. The Whole Universe Has Come Together To Make Your Existence Possible. There Is Nothing That Is Not You. The Kingdom Of God, The Pure Land, Nirvana, Happiness, And Liberation Are All You.
Happiness
Yoga
Land
Those Who Are Without Compassion Cannot See What Is Seen With The Eyes Of Compassion.
Eye
Compassion
You Need The Practice Of Mindfulness To Bring Your Mind Back To The Body And Establish Yourself In The Moment. If You Are Fully Present, You Need Only Make A Step Or Take A Breath In Order To Enter The Kingdom Of God. And Once You Have The Kingdom, You Don't Need To Run After Objects Of Your Craving, Like Power, Fame, Sensual Pleasure, And So On. Peace Is Possible. Happiness Is Possible.
Running
Order
Practice
You Are Like Fireworks. You Go Out Into Your Children, Your Friends, Your Society, And The Whole World.
Children
World
Fireworks
You Are Like A Candle. Imagine You Are Sending Light Out All Around You. All Your Words, Thoughts And Actions Are Going In Many Directions. If You Say Something Kind, Your Kind Words Go In Many Directions, And You Yourself Go With Them. We Are ...transforming And Continuing In A Different Form At Every Moment.
Yoga
Light
Different
In Buddhist Culture, Offering Food To The Monk Symbolizes The Action Of Goodness, And If You Have No Opportunity To Support The Practice Of Spirituality, Then You Are Somehow Left In The Realm Of Darkness.
Buddhist
Opportunity
Offering
Fearlessness Is Not Only Possible, It Is The Ultimate Joy. When You Touch Nonfear, You Are Free.
Joy
Ultimate
Fearlessness
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.
Reality
Belief
Notion
The 7 Factors Of Enlightenment: Mindfullness, Investigation Of Mental Objects, Energy, Joy, Tranquility, Concentration And Equanimity.
Joy
Enlightenment
Energy
We Humans Think We Are Smart, But An Orchid, For Example, Knows How To Produce Noble, Symmetrical Flowers, And A Snail Knows How To Make A Beautiful, Well-proportioned Shell. Compared With Their Knowledge, Ours Is Not Worth Much At All. We Should Bow Deeply Before The Orchid And The Snail And Join Our Palms Reverently Before The Monarch Butterfly And The Magnolia Tree. The Feeling Of Respect For All Species Will Help Us Recognize The Noblest Nature In Ourselves.
Beautiful
Respect
Nature
When The Energy Of Compassion And Love Touches Us, Healing Establishes Itself.
Healing
Compassion
And Love
There Is A Time For Everything. There Is A Time When I Sit Down, I Concentrate Myself On The Problem Of My Bills, But I Would Not Worry Before That. One Thing At A Time.
Worry
Bills
Problem
I Think, Therefore I Am ... Not Here.
Inspiring
Thinking
Influential
If You Suffer And Make Your Loved Ones Suffer, There Is Nothing That Can Justify Your Desire.
Peace
Truth
Compassion
Happiness Reveals Itself When We Are At Peace With Ourselves.
Motivational
Life Is Available Only In The Present Moment.
Life
Buddhist
Meditation
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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