“Forgiveness will not be possible until compassion is born in your heart.
When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent on the other person being lovable.
We have to have loving speech. And if we are honest, if we are true, terrorists will open their hearts. Then we practice compassionate listening, and we can learn so much about our own perception and their perception. Only after that can we help remove wrong perception. That is the best way, the only way, to remove ter
rorism.
It is possible to live twenty-four hours a day in a state of love. Every moment, every glance, every thought, and every word can be infused with love.
When we look deeply into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth and everything else in the cosmos in it. Without clouds there would be no rain, and without rain there would be no flower.
We really have to understand the person if we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Pebbles Of Peace, p.4
