禅Thích Nhất Hạnh

proverb

Engaged Buddhism

Modern

Traditionally attributed

Text

When the village is on fire, do not stay in the meditation hall. Go out, carry water, comfort the children. The hall will be there when you return — and you will sit better in it for having gone.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Plum Village

By Thích Nhất Hạnh

Sources

  • contentCuong Tu Nguyen — medieval Vietnamese Buddhism scholarship

    Cuong Tu Nguyen

    pp. 150–175

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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