Many / One

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Compiled by JoAnn Kite

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Living Buddha, Living Christ
Thich Nhat Hanh

1 "We are all mothers of the Buddha because we are all pregnant with the potential for awakening. If we know how to take care of our baby Buddha by practicing mindfulness in our daily lives, one day the Enlightened One will reveal himself or herself to us."

2 "We are all, at the same time, the sons and daughters of God."

3 "Buddha nature as the seed of enlightenment is already in everyone's consciousness."

4 "The seed of the Kingdom of God is within us. If we know how to plant that seed in the moist soil of our daily lives, it will grow and become a large bush on which many birds can take refuge."

5 "When people appreciate each other as brothers and sisters and smile, the Holy Spirit is there."

6 "We must glean the best values of all [spiritual] traditions in order to give peace a chance."

7 "The practices of prayer and meditation help us touch the most valuable seeds that are within us, and they put us in contact with the ground of our being."

8 "The birth of every child is important, not less than the birth of a Buddha. We, too, are a Buddha, a Buddha-to-be, and we continue to be born every minute."

9 "Each thing depends on all other things to be. That is interdependence. Nothing can be by itself alone. It has to inter-be with all other things."

10 "You are not separate from other beings or the environment. This understanding cannot be merely intellectual. It must be experiential, the insight gained by deep touching and deep looking in a daily life of prayer, contemplation, and meditation."

11 "Loving God is loving the living beings we see and touch in our daily life."

12 "All of us have the seed of the Holy Spirit in us, the capacity of healing, transforming, and loving."

13 "All of life is a reflection of God, the infinite source of holiness."

14 "When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understanding, acceptance, love, and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy."

15 "Really hearing a bird sing or really seeing a blue sky, we touch the seed of the Holy Spirit within us."

16 "When we look into and touch deeply the life and teaching of Jesus, we can penetrate the reality of God. Love, understanding, courage, and acceptance are expressions of the life of Jesus."

17 "Real love never ends."

18 "There has never been a human being who is not alive with God's own life breath." Brother David Stendl-Rast, O.S.B., foreword

19 "When love and compassion are present, understanding deepens."

20 "In Buddhism, faith means confidence in our and others' abilities to wake up to our deepest capacity of loving and understanding."

21 "In Christianity, faith means trust in God, the One who represents love, understanding, dignity, and truth."

22 "When we are in touch with the highest spirit in ourselves, we too are a Buddha, filled with the Holy Spirit, and we become very tolerant, very open, very deep, and very understanding."

23 "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…When we have peace within, real dialogue with others is possible."

24 "Different religious traditions can engage in dialogue with one another in a true spirit of ecumenism. Dialogue can be fruitful and enriching if both sides are truly open. If they really believe that there are valuable elements in each other's tradition and that they can learn from one another, they will also rediscover many valuable aspects of their own tradition through such an encounter. Peace will be a beautiful flower blooming on this field of practice."

25 "One flower is made of the whole cosmos."

This body of quotes compiled by JoAnn Kite