“I asked the leaf whether it was afraid to fall, since it was autumn and the other leaves were falling.
The leaf told me, ‘No. During the whole spring and summer I was very alive. I worked hard and helped nourish the tree, and much of me is in the tree. Please do not think that I am just this form, because this leaf form is only a tiny part of me. I am the whole tree. I know that I am already inside the tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue to nourish the tree.
That is why I do not worry. As I drop from the branch and float down to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell her, ‘I will see you again very soon.'”
— Thích Nhất Hạnh
October 11, 1926 — January 22, 2022
Image Credits:
Thích Nhất Hạnh in Paris, 2006 | 22 October 2006 | Thích Nhất Hạnh Marche meditative 06 | © Duc (pixiduc); Paris, France
New Hamlet – Plum Village | 18 November 2009 | © Geoff Livingston
