Spiritual Lesson of the day by Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh: ‘If, in our heart, we cling to anger or anxiety, we cannot be free. The only condition for happiness is…’ a lesson on why inner freedom is important

What if the things we hold on to most tightly are the very things keeping us from feeling free? Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh offered a simple but powerful perspective on happiness: freedom begins with letting go. His words encourage us to look at the anger, anxiety and attachments we carry within us and ask whether they are helping us live peacefully or quietly controlling our emotions, choices and sense of well-being.

Thich Nhat Hanh's quote on letting go

Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.” He further explained that when we continue to cling to things such as anger, anxiety or possessions, we cannot experience true freedom.

The message is not necessarily about giving away everything we own or pretending difficult emotions do not exist. Instead, it is about recognising when attachment begins to control the way we think and feel.

What does Thich Nhat Hanh's quote mean?

Anger can keep us trapped in something that happened in the past. Anxiety can keep our minds stuck in situations that have not happened yet. Possessions and our attachment to them can make us constantly worry about losing what we have. According to the philosophy behind Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching, letting go creates mental space. It allows us to acknowledge an emotion without allowing it to dictate our actions.

This does not mean ignoring anger or anxiety. Rather, it means learning to observe these feelings, understand them and gradually loosen their hold over us.

Why is letting go important for happiness?

The quote challenges the common idea that happiness comes from acquiring more. We may believe that another achievement, possession or external success will finally make us content. But if our mind remains dominated by fear, resentment or anxiety, those external things may not provide lasting peace. For Thich Nhat Hanh, freedom is closely connected to our relationship with what we experience. When we stop clinging so tightly, we become less dependent on circumstances to determine our emotional state.

Letting go can therefore mean accepting that some things cannot be changed, releasing resentment, questioning anxious thoughts and understanding that possessions do not define our worth.

The relevance of Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching today

The quote remains relevant in everyday life because modern routines can make it easy to carry emotional baggage. A disagreement can replay in our minds for days, worries about the future can consume our attention, and the desire to have more can keep us perpetually dissatisfied.

Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching invites us to pause and notice what we are holding on to. Instead of automatically reacting to anger or anxiety, we can create a moment of awareness and choose how we respond. His emphasis on mindfulness also connects closely with this idea. By becoming more aware of our thoughts and emotions, we can begin to understand them rather than being completely swept away by them.

Who was Thich Nhat Hanh?

Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher. Known as the “father of mindfulness”, he became a major influence on Western practices of Buddhism. In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Throughout his life, he promoted deep listening as a nonviolent approach to resolving conflict and encouraged greater awareness of the interconnectedness of the environments that sustain and promote peace. Thich Nhat Hanh established dozens of monasteries and practice centres and spent many years living at Plum Village Monastery, which he founded in 1982 in southwest France near Thénac. He also travelled internationally to lead retreats and give talks.