Call Me by My True Names
by Thich Nhat Hanh
[Listen to Audio!]
 Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to, my people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all walks of life.
My pain is like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.
About the Author: Thich Nhat Hanh is a world renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Call Me by My True Names
What does compassion, encompassing all its “true names”, mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you were touched by such compassion, either within you or from someone else? What practice helps you find such compassion? |
| Jagdish P Dave wrote: Compassion is like unconditional love, not bound by right or wrong or good or evil laws.Compassion has no boundaries or barriers. Compassion is like mercy offered to any one regardles… |
| Kristin Pedemonti wrote: One of the phrases that helps me find and share compassion with everyone is, “we are all tall children.” I also remember, Hurt people, hurt people. Healed people, heal people. This means we hav… |
| david doane wrote: Compassion isn’t forced on me, but it is available for me, coming from me and to me. Compassion is a natural extension of the fact that all that is is one. Just as it makes sense for me t… |
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