Q&A - Thich Nhat Hanh - Can you forgive everything and how?

During the Plum Village youth retreat 2010 Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh gave a question and answer session.
Question: Can you forgive everything and how?

[♪ gong bell sounds ♪]

Dear Thich, dear Sanga. My question would be...uh...can you can you forgive everything? And is it possible to forgive everything? And how?

Yes it is possible.

And I say that out of his experiences. Those that have undergone a lot of injustice and suffering.

He has survived many wars in Vietnam and many people have done injustice to his...to him, to his people,to his nation.

But compassion is possible and forgiveness is possible.

If you look...er... at those people who have inflicted a lot of suffering to us, and they will see their suffering.

They have been caught in... in a situation where they cannot be truly happy.

And compassion arise in our heart and when compassion arise in our heart we can forget, we can forgive.

The willingness to forgive is not enough, even if you want to forgive but you can not forgive.

Only true understanding can bring about forgiveness.

And that kind of understanding is possible only when you, you see their suffering.

They have...they have done horrible things out of their anger, out of their disinclination, their ignorance.

And we know that people who have a lot of craving, who have... who have a lot of dis-communication, who have a lot of anger

who do not have any kind... any, anything like compassion and these...

these people are not happy people at all, even if they have... they are very powerful,

have a lot of money, power and things like that.

And we can see their suffering, and because of his practise I can see that suffering

and I feel sorry for them and therefore forgiveness is now only their problem.

So that applies to the people who have made us suffer. Those who come and invade us,

and destroy our home, our family, or even parents who don't know how to love us,

who impose their ideas on us. We can see their suffering ...

...and understanding the suffering, we have compassion. That compassion allows us to forgive.

Thich does not hold any resentment any...he can embrace everyone in his compassion.

The love of the Buddha is possible.

Ok.