Important Quotations Explained
1. The special gift of suffering, I have learned, is how to be strong
while we are weak, how to be brave when we are afraid, how to be wise in the
midst of confusion, and how to let go of that which we can no longer hold.
In this way, anger can teach us forgiveness, hate can teach us love, and war
can teach us peace.
2. “No,” my father replied sadly, “don't hate Chin - and don't hate
Ba for marrying him. Hate the war for doing what it did to them
both.”
3. “My little peach blossom - haven't you learned yet that fate or
luck or god works in its own way, and reveals its secrets in its own time?
When has it ever paid you to turn your face from life? Keep your faith, Bay
Ly: Look those deepest, darkest, most terrible fears in the face and learn
the lessons they've come to teach -”
4. Vietnam already had too many people who were ready to die for
their beliefs. What it needed was men and women - brothers and sisters - who
refused to accept either death or death-dealing as a solution to their
problems. If you keep compassion in your heart, I discovered, I discovered,
you never long for death yourself. From my father's death, I had finally
learned how to live.
5. Like they say, Mot cau mhin, chin car lanh (One word of
forgiveness brings back nine gentle favors).
