Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has written several books around subjects like mindfulness, Buddhism, social justice, and the environment. He is attributed with popularizing mindfulness meditation in the West.
He also discusses gratitude so I’ve pulled some inspiring Thich Nhat Hanh quotes on gratitude from his various books for you to enjoy.
I’ve found many of them meaningful and inspiring and I hope you do too.
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Thich Nhat Hanh quotes on gratitude
From Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
This beautiful quote is from his book: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (2022).
“It’s your awareness of suffering that naturally makes you determined to consume non-violently—it’s not because someone forces you. You do it out of awareness, mindfulness, and compassion. It’s a way of expressing love and gratitude to the Earth. And you can have peace, joy, and happiness right away.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From How to See
This one is from the book: How to See (Mindfulness Essentials) (2019).
“When we concentrate on our breath and the steps we’re making, we can see the beauty of the Earth around us more clearly. We can take each breath and each step with awareness and gratitude.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From The Art of Living
These are incredible and from his book: The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now (2017, reprinted 2023).
“The happiness and joy of practicing mindful movements nourishes my body and mind. With each movement I do, I feel how wonderful it is that I can still do it. Exercising like this, I enjoy having a body; I enjoy being alive. I accept life and my body just as it is, and I feel so much gratitude.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“If you are in a difficult relationship and you want to make peace with the other person, you have to go home to yourself first. You have to go home to your garden and cultivate the flowers of peace, compassion, gratitude, understanding, and joy. Only then can you come to the other person and offer patience, acceptance, understanding, and compassion.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Mindfulness can produce miracles. When you can recognize your loved one’s wonderful qualities and you can feel and express your gratitude, when you can communicate using loving speech and deep listening, you will be able to restore your love and rediscover the beauty in your relationship.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Embrace your body with loving-kindness, compassion, and care. Send love and healing energy to all your organs and thank them for being there and working in harmony. Send love and gratitude to all the parts of your body. Smile to every cell. Reconnect with your body. Reconcile. “My dear body, I’m sorry I’ve let you down. I’ve pushed you too hard. I’ve been neglecting you. I have allowed stress, tension, and pain to accumulate. Now please allow yourself to rest and relax.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“You may like to take a piece of paper and sit somewhere quietly—perhaps in a park, under a tree, or in your favorite spot—and write down all the conditions of happiness you already have. You will soon discover that one page is not enough; even two, three, or four pages are not enough. You may begin to realize you are much luckier than many people. You already have more than enough conditions to be happy, and gratitude and joy naturally arise.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“The art of living is knowing how to generate happiness at any time. No one else can create happiness for us; we have to create it ourselves. With mindfulness and gratitude we can be happy right away.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From How to Fight
Here’s an interesting, thought-provoking quotes from How to Fight (Mindfulness Essentials) (2017).
“Smile to the one who has died and say the things you wish you had said but didn’t have a chance to. Express your love and your gratitude. That will bring you peace and will renew your relationship. It will also bring joy to the people around you and to future generations.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From Silence
These are from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise (2016).
“When we’re having a cruel or angry thought and we replay it over and over again in our mind, we are consuming toxic consciousness. If we are noticing the beauty of the day or feeling grateful for our health and the love of those around us, we are consuming healthy consciousness.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Just as you can choose to turn off the television when you eat, you can turn off Radio Non-Stop Thinking at mealtimes by paying attention to your breath, your food, and the people you’re eating with. When you’re cleaning the kitchen or washing dishes, you can do those tasks in an awakened way, in a spirit of love, joy, and gratitude. When you brush your teeth, you can choose to do it in mindfulness.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Giving our attention to a pleasant sound, it’s easy to feel more present and happy. Now we had to learn how to focus positively with the sound of helicopters. With mindfulness, we were able to remind our reactive selves that this was not a helicopter operating in a situation of war. This helicopter was helping to extinguish destructive flames. With that awareness, we could transform an unpleasant feeling into a feeling of gratitude and appreciation.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From How to Walk
Here’s one from How to Walk (Mindfulness Essentials) (2015).
“When we do walking meditation, we can take each step in gratitude and joy because we know that we’re walking on the Earth. We can walk with gentle steps, in reverence to Mother Earth who gave us birth and of whom we are a part. The Earth we’re walking on is sacred. We should be very respectful because we know we’re walking on our mother. Wherever we walk, we’re walking on Mother Earth, so wherever we are can be a holy sanctuary.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From How to Eat
These meaningful gratitude quotes are from How to Eat (Mindfulness Essentials) (2014).
“Sometimes we eat, but we aren’t thinking of our food. We’re thinking of the past or the future or mulling over some worry or anxiety again and again. So stop thinking about your business, about the office, or about anything that isn’t happening right now. Don’t chew your worries, your fear, or your anger. If you chew your planning and your anxiety, it’s difficult to feel grateful for each piece of food.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“When we look deeply at the work that goes into growing and preparing our food, gratitude comes naturally. So many hands have been part of bringing our food to the table. Eating mindfully is a way of showing appreciation for all the hard work that has gone into manifesting this meal.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“After eating, don’t rush on to the next thing. Instead, spend a moment being grateful for the food you have just eaten and all that came together to create this moment. Sometimes we show our gratitude only before we eat, and then after the meal we move on. But we are as grateful for having eaten and for feeling satisfied as we are in the moments of contemplation before we eat.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Living peacefully and happily is the best way to show our gratitude and is our greatest gift for the world and the next generation.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From No Mud, No Lotus
Here’s another important quote from the best selling: No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering (2014).
“Deep relaxation begins with observing our bodies. You can start with your eyes. “Breathing in, I’m aware of my eyes. Breathing out, I smile to my eyes with gratitude and love.” Then bring your awareness down to your nose, your mouth, your throat, and continue down to your toes.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From The Art of Communicating
This one is from: The Art of Communicating (2014).
“Sometimes we feel very grateful, but we want to express our gratefulness in ways other than simply saying, “thank you.” Look for the many ways people communicate their love without saying it. Maybe, like the tree, they are supporting you in other ways.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From Awakening of the Heart
This book, Awakening of the Heart: Essential Buddhist Sutras and Commentaries (2011), talks about the principle of Four Gratitudes.
“In Vietnam there’s a school of Buddhism called the Four Gratitudes. Just by practicing gratitude, we can find happiness. We must be grateful to our ancestors, our parents, our teachers, our friends, the Earth, the sky, the trees, the grass, the animals, the soil, the stones. Looking at the sunlight or at the forest, we feel gratitude. Looking at our breakfast, we feel gratitude. When we live in the spirit of gratitude, there will be much happiness in our lives. The one who is grateful is the one who has much happiness, while the one who is ungrateful will not be able to have happiness.” – Thich Nhat Hanh [20]
From Your True Home
This is one of my favorite Thich Nhat Hanh quotes for defining generosity. It comes from the book: Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh (2011).
“True generosity is not a trade or a bargaining strategy… You offer help as naturally as you breathe. You don’t see yourself as the giver and the other person as the recipient of your generosity, who is now beholden to you and must be suitably grateful, respond to your demands, and so on. You don’t give so you can make the other person your ally. When you see that people need help, you offer and share what you have with no strings attached and no thought of reward.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From You Are Here
This one about gratitude meditation comes from You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment (2010).
“The Buddha taught us to meditate on the body. He suggested that we lie on the ground and begin to breathe. Begin with breathing mindfully, while recognizing each part of your body. You can start with your brain. Then you turn your attention to your eyes, your ears, your nose, and your tongue, touching them with mindful awareness and smiling as you touch each one. You can send energy, tenderness, and gratitude to the various parts of your body. “My heart,” you say, “I know that you are there for me, and I want to be there for you, too.” In this way, you will stop drinking alcohol and you will stop smoking, because they are harmful to your heart. With mindfulness, these things will appear to you clearly.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From Savor
These beautiful quotes are from Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life (2011).
“Yet we rarely give the parts of our body much attention or express our gratitude to them. We cannot take our body for granted. Observing our body mindfully offers us a chance to thank our body for its hard work, enabling us to do so much in our lives, manifesting our life’s work.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“It is a very helpful practice to write down all our current conditions for happiness. We can list all the many things we have that we are grateful for and that we usually take for granted.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Waking-Up Meditation: As you wake up every morning and before you get out of bed, breathe with the waking-up meditation. Breathe three in-breaths and out-breaths, repeating the following verse silently for each inbreath and out-breath. “Breathing in, I fill my new day with joy/faith/love/gratitude/mindfulness/ease/harmony. Breathing out, I smile.“ For the in-breath, choose one of the words that most appeals to you.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
From The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology
These last quotes are from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology (2004).
“Keeping your body healthy is a way of expressing gratitude and loyalty to the whole cosmos, to all ancestors, and to future generations. If we are healthy, everyone can benefit from it—not only human beings, but animals, plants, and minerals.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“The food we eat comes to us from nature, from living beings, and from the cosmos. To touch it with our mindfulness is to show our gratitude. Hating in mindfulness can be a great joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
As you can see I’ve skimmed through many of his books and the quotes I’ve pulled talk about gratitude for food, for your body and for living life. Hopefully, you can find some inspiration from them.
If you enjoy gratitude quotes, you can check out these published by Buddha, Rumi, and Brene Brown.
Oh and if practicing gratitude is something you are into, check out this simple morning gratitude list for lots of examples of things to be grateful for.
