“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet, if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.”
More from Thich Nhat Hanh
“The moment you understand the importance of loving yourself, you will stop hurting others.”
“When we know that birth and death are together always, we are no longer afraid of dying.”
“If you want to know your own mind, there is only one way: to observe and recognize…”
“Everyone we cherish will, someday, get sick and die. If we do not practice the meditation…”