'Armfuls of Poetry, Drops of Sunshine' Poem by 🧡Thich Nhat Hanh

'Armfuls of Poetry, Drops of Sunshine' 
Poem by 🧡Thich Nhat Hanh   

"Sunshine rides on space and poetry on sunshine.

Poetry gives birth to sunshine, and sunshine to poetry.

Sun treasured in the heart of the bitter melon,

poetry made of steam rising from a bowl of soup in Winter. 

The wind is lurking outside, swirling.

Poetry is back to haunt the old hills and prairies.

Yet the poor thatched hut remains on the river shore, waiting.

Spring carries poetry in its drizzle.

The fire sparkles poetry in its orange flame.

Sunshine stored in the heart of the fragrant wood,

warm smoke leading poetry back to the pages

of an unofficial history book.

Sunshine, though absent from space,

fills the now rose-colored stove.

Sunshine reaching out takes the color of smoke;

poetry in its stillness, the color of the misty air.

Spring rain holds poetry in its drops

which bend down to kiss the soil,

so that the seeds may sprout. 

Following the rain, poetry comes to dwell on each leaf.

Sunshine has a green color, and poetry a pink one.

Bees deliver warmth to the flowers from the sunshine

they carry on their wings. 

On sunshine footsteps to the deep forest, poetry drinks the nectar with joy.

With the excitement of celebration,

butterflies and bees crowd the Earth.

Sunshine makes up the dance, and poetry the song.

Drops of sweat fall on the hard ground.

Poems fly along the furrows.

The hoe handily on my shoulder,

poetry flows from the breath. 

Sunshine wanes away down the river,

and the silhouette of the late afternoon lingers reluctantly.

Poetry is leaving for the horizon

where the King of Light is blanketing himself in clouds.

A green sun found in a basketful of fresh vegetables,

a tasty and well-cooked sun smells delicious in a bowl of rice.

Poetry looks with a child’s eyes.

Poetry feels with a weather-beaten face.

Poetry stays within each attentive look.

Poetry—the hands that work the poor and arid land somewhere

far away.

The smiling sun brightening up the sunflower;

the ripe and full sun hiding itself in an August peach;

poetry follows each meditative step,

poetry lines up the pages.

Discreetly,

within closed food packages,

poetry nurtures love."  

🧡

"At the time that I wrote this poem it was impossible to send money to Vietnam. It was impossible to reach the poorest children, the elderly people. The government forbade our social work and charity work.  The work of the School of Youth for Social Service, that we had set up in Vietnam to help mend the wounds of war, was stopped and the director was in jail.  

Many social workers were prevented from doing anything. Yet we found a way  to provide food to the poorest people  in Vietnam... 

At that moment all Western medicine was blocked from entering Vietnam. 

So we bought French medicine and each family received one kilogram that they could exchange into 300 kilos of rice to nourish the children. Sister Chan Khong and myself and others wrapped the medicine and sent it everywhere in Vietnam. 

We sent thousands of parcels like that to thousands of families. A parcel like that was like a gift from heaven; it could nourish the whole family. 

We did that work with a lot of love." 

🌼Dharma Talk on Poetry and Interbeing, May, 2002  

https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/dharma-talk-armfuls-of-poetry-drops-of-sunshine/

'With the deep look of a practitioner every moment can be poetry, you can see very deeply and very far while dwelling in the present moment.'

7 June 2023

The Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh 'Earth Touching' 💗

The Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh
'Earth Touching' 
💗

"Here is the foot of a tree.

Here is an empty, quiet place.

Here is a cushion.

Brother, why don’t you sit down?

Sit upright.

Sit with solidity.

Sit in peace.

Don’t let your thoughts lift you up into the air.

Sit so that you can really touch the Earth

and be one with her. 

You may like to smile, brother.

Earth will transmit to you her solidity,

her peace, and her joy.

With your mindful breathing,

with your peaceful smile,

you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching. 

There were times when you didn’t do well.

Sitting on Earth, but it was as if you were floating in the air,

you who used to go in circles in the triple world*

and be drawn into the ocean of illusion.

But Earth is always patient

and one-hearted. 

Earth is still waiting for you

because Earth has been waiting for you

during the last trillion lives.

That is why she can wait for you for any other length of time.

She knows that finally you will come back to her one day. 

She will welcome you

always fresh and green, exactly like the first time,

because love never says, “This is the last”;

because Earth is a loving mother.

She will never stop waiting for you. 

Do go back to her, brother.

You will be like that tree.

The leaves, the branches, and the flowers of your soul

will be fresh and green

once you enter the mudra of Earth Touching. 

The empty path welcomes you, sister,

fragrant with grass and little flowers,

the path paved with paddy fields

still bearing the marks of your childhood

and the fragrance of mother’s hand. 

Walk leisurely, peacefully.

Your feet should deeply touch the Earth.

Don’t let your thoughts lift you up into the air, sister.

Go back to the path every moment.

The path is your dearest friend.

She will transmit to you

her solidity,

her peace. 

With your deep breathing,

you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching.

Walk as if you were kissing the Earth with your feet,

as if you were massaging the Earth. 

The marks left by your feet

will be like the marks of an emperor’s seal

calling for Now to go back to Here;

so that life will be present;

so that the blood will bring the color of love to your face;

so that the wonders of life will be manifested,

and all afflictions will be transformed into

peace and joy. 

There were times when you did not succeed, sister.

Walking on the empty path,  

but you were floating in the air,

because you used to get lost in samsara

and drawn into the world of illusion. 

But the beautiful path is always patient.

It is always waiting for you to come back,

that path which is so familiar to you,

that path which is so faithful.

It knows deeply that you will come back one day.

It will be joyful to welcome you back.

It will be as fresh and as beautiful as the first time.

Love never says, “This is the last.” 

That path is you, sister.

That is why it will never be tired of waiting.

Whether it is covered now with red dust

or with Autumn leaves

or icy snow—

do go back to the path, sister,

because I know

you will be like that tree,

the leaves, the trunk, the branches,

and the blossoms of your soul

will be fresh and beautiful,

once you enter the mudra of Earth Touching." 

💗Thich Nhat Hanh  

From the book 'Call Me by My True Names' 

'The Three Earth Touchings' 

🌸Touching the Earth, I connect with ancestors and descendants of both my spiritual and my blood families. 

🌸Touching the Earth, I connect with all people and all species that are alive at this moment in this world with me. 

🌸Touching the Earth, I let go of my idea that I am this body and my life span is limited." 

Practice: 

https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-three-earth-touchings/ 

  Image: Cherry Blossom Tree by Caleb Worcester 

* the three dimensions in which all beings and things reside – the ultimate dimension, the historical dimension, and the dimension of action  

https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhahood-in-three-dimensions/

26 February 2023

Resting in the River by Thich Nhat Hanh

Resting in the River
by Thich Nhat Hanh

My dear friends, suppose someone is holding a pebble and throws it in the air and the pebble begins to fall down into a river. After the pebble touches the surface of the water, it allows itself to sink slowly into the river.

It will reach the bed of the river without any effort. Once the pebble is at the bottom of the river, it continues to rest. It allows the water to pass by.

I think the pebble reaches the bed of the river by the shortest path because it allows itself to fall without making any effort. During our sitting meditation we can allow ourselves to rest like a pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally without effort to the position of sitting, the position of resting.

Resting is a very important practice; we have to learn the art of resting. Resting is the first part of Buddhist meditation. You should allow your body and your mind to rest. Our mind as well as our body needs to rest.

The problem is that not many of us know how to allow our body and mind to rest. We are always struggling; struggling has become a kind of habit. We cannot resist being active, struggling all the time. 

We struggle even during our sleep.

It is very important to realize that we have the habit energy of struggling. We have to be able to recognize a habit when it manifests itself because if we know how to recognize our habit, it will lose its energy and will not be able to push us anymore.

Ten years ago I was in India visiting the ex-untouchable community of Buddhists. A friend who belonged to the caste organized the trip for me. I was sitting on the bus, enjoying the landscape outside, contemplating the palm trees and the vegetation. Suddenly I turned and I saw him looking very tense. 

There was no reason why he had to be tense like that. I thought that he was trying to make my visit pleasant and maybe that was the reason he was so tense. I told him, “Dear friend, I know that you want to make my trip pleasant, but I am already very happy. I’ve already enjoyed the trip. So why don’t you sit back, smile, and relax?” He said, “Okay,” and he sat back and he tried to relax.

I was pleased and I turned my face toward the window again and I enjoyed the palm trees and other things. But just a few minutes after when I looked back at him he was as tense as before. 

He was not able to relax, to allow himself to relax. I knew that he belonged to that section of the population that had been struggling for many thousand years. He was discriminated against. 

He had suffered so much, his ancestors and himself and his children. So the tendency to struggle has been there for many thousand years. That is why it was very difficult for him to allow himself to rest.

We have to practice in order to be able to transform this habit in us. The habit of struggle has become a powerful source of energy that is shaping our behavior, our actions and our reactions.

When an animal in the jungle is wounded, it knows how to find a quiet place, lie down and do nothing. 

The animal knows that is the only way to get healed—to lay down and just rest, not thinking of anything, including hunting and eating. Not eating is a very wonderful way of allowing your body to rest. We are so concerned about how to get nutrition that we are afraid of resting, of allowing our body to rest and to fast. 

The animal knows that it does not need to eat. 

What it needs is to rest, to do nothing, and that is why its health is restored.

In our consciousness there are wounds also, lots of pains. Our consciousness also needs to rest in order to restore itself. Our consciousness is just like our body. Our body knows how to heal itself if we allow it the chance to do so. When we get a cut on our finger we don’t have to do anything except to clean it and to allow it the time to heal, because our body knows how to heal itself. The same thing is true with our consciousness; our consciousness knows how to heal itself if we know how to allow it to do so. But we don’t allow it. We always try to do something. We worry so much about healing, which is why we do not get the healing we need. 

Only if we know how to allow them to rest can our body and our soul heal themselves.

But there is in us what we call the energy of restlessness. We cannot be at peace with ourselves. We cannot be peaceful. We cannot sit; we cannot lie down. There is some energy in us to do this, to do that, to think of this, to think of that, and that kind of restlessness makes us unhappy. That is why it is so important for us to learn first of all to allow our body to rest. We have to learn how to deal with all our energy of restlessness. That is why we have to learn these techniques of allowing our body and our consciousness to rest.

I would like to offer you some instructions about walking meditation. The first thing we shall do early tomorrow morning is to practice walking together, which we call walking meditation. 

Walking meditation means to enjoy walking without any intention to arrive. We don’t need to arrive anywhere. We just walk. We enjoy walking. That means walking is already stopping, and that needs some training.

Usually in our daily life we walk because we want to go somewhere. Walking is only a means to an end, and that is why we do not enjoy every step we take. Walking meditation is different. 

Walking is only for walking. You enjoy every step you take. So this is a kind of revolution in walking. You allow yourself to enjoy every step you take.

The Zen master Ling Chi said that the miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth. You breathe in. You become aware of the fact that you are alive. You are still alive and you are walking on this beautiful planet. That is already performing a miracle. 

The greatest of all miracles is to be alive. We have to awaken ourselves to the truth that we are here, alive. 

We are here making steps on this beautiful planet. 

This is already performing a miracle.

But we have to be here in order for the miracle to be possible. We have to bring ourselves back to the here and the now. Therefore each step we take becomes a miracle. If you are able to walk like that, each step will be very nourishing and healing. You walk as if you kiss the earth with your feet, as if you massage the earth with your feet. There is a lot of love in that practice of walking meditation.

The Buddha said that the past is gone and the future is not yet here. Let us not regret the past. 

Let us not worry about the future. Go back to the present moment and live deeply the present moment. 

Because the present moment is the only moment where you can touch life. Life is available only in the present moment. That is why walking meditation is to go back to the present moment, in order to be alive again and to touch life deeply in that moment. In order to be able to touch the earth with our feet and enjoy walking, we have to establish ourselves firmly in the present moment, in the here and the now.

In walking meditation, we walk like a free person. This is not political freedom. This is freedom from afflictions, from sorrow, from fear. Unless you are free you cannot enjoy walking. I would like to propose to you a short poem that you might like to use for walking meditation:

I have arrived. I am home.

In the here. In the now.

I am solid. I am free.

In the ultimate I dwell.

You might like to take two steps and breathe in and say, I have arrived, I have arrived . And when you breathe out, you take another two steps and say silently, I am home, I am home . Our true home is really in the here and in the now. Because only in the here and the now can we touch life. As the Buddha said, life is available only in the here and the now, so going back to the present moment is going home. That is why you take one step or two steps and you awaken to the fact that you have arrived. You have arrived in the present moment.

If you are able to arrive, then you will stop running—running within and running without. There is a belief in us that happiness cannot be possible in the here and the now. We have to go somewhere. We have to go to the future in order to be able to really be happy.

That kind of thinking has been there for a long time. Maybe that feeling has been transmitted to us from our ancestors and our parents. That is why we have to wake up to the presence of that habit energy in us and to do the reverse. The Buddha said that it is possible for us to be peaceful and happy in the present moment. That is the teaching of trista dharma sadha vihara. 

It means living happily right in the present moment. When you are there, body and mind united, you have an opportunity to touch the conditions of your happiness. If you are able to touch these conditions of happiness that are already available in the here and the now, you can be happy right away. You don’t have to run anywhere, especially into the future.

When we practice walking, we might be aware that we have strong feet. Our feet are strong enough for us to enjoy running and walking. That is one condition for happiness that is available. When I breathe in and I become aware of my eyes, I encounter another condition for my happiness. Breathing in, I am aware of my eyes. Breathing out, I smile to my eyes. This is an exercise, a very simple exercise to help you realize that you have eyes which are still in good condition. You need only to open your eyes to see the blue sky, the white cloud, the luxurious vegetation. You can see all kinds of forms and colors just because you have eyes still in good condition. Your eyes are another condition for your happiness. We have so many conditions like that for our happiness and yet we are still unhappy. We still want to run away from the present moment, hoping we’ll find some happiness in the future.

Breathing in, I’m aware of my heart. Breathing out, I smile to my heart. That is another exercise. When you practice like that you touch your heart with your mindfulness. If you continue a minute, you realize that you still have a heart that functions normally. It is wonderful to have a heart that still functions normally. There are people who don’t have a heart like that and their deepest desire is to have a heart like you. So conditions for happiness may be more than enough for us to be happy, but we are not able to be happy because of that tendency to run away from the present moment.

To take an in-breath, to smile, and to touch the conditions of happiness that are available, is something that all of us can do. Because of that we can stop and establish ourselves in the present moment. That is the teaching of living happily in the present moment. Please train yourself to make the present moment, the here and the now, into your true home. That is the only home that we have. That is the only place where we can touch life. Everything we are looking for must be found in the here and the now. In that way walking meditation can be a great pleasure and can be very healing.

Do you have to make any effort to practice walking meditation? I don’t think so. It is like when you drink a glass of orange juice. Do you think that you have to make an effort in order to enjoy the orange juice? 

No. Walking is like that. To really enjoy a glass of orange juice, you have to be there one hundred per cent mind and body together. If you are there, mind and body firmly established in the present moment, then a glass of orange juice will become a real thing for you. You are real; therefore, the juice is real. And there life is real. Life exists. Life is deep during the time you drink your orange juice.

When you contemplate a beautiful sunset, do you have to make any effort? I don’t think so. You don’t have to make any effort in order to enjoy a beautiful sunset. You need only to be there, to be there mind and body together. But if your body is there and your mind is in the past or in the future, then the beautiful sunset will not be there for you.

There is a kind of energy that helps you to be there body and mind together. That energy is called mindfulness. Mindfulness is the capacity of being there body and mind united. When you drink your orange juice, drink mindfully and you will enjoy your juice because you are really there one hundred per cent. If your body and mind are united when you contemplate the beautiful sunset, it means that you are mindful. Mindfulness helps you to be there in order for the beautiful sunset to be there too. While you walk, if you allow yourself to be there mind and body together, then walking will become mindful walking; it will be healing, refreshing and nourishing.

To meditate means first of all to be there, to be on your cushion, to be on your walking meditation path. 

Eating also is a meditation if you are really there, present one hundred per cent with your food. The essential is to be there. So please when you practice walking meditation, don’t make any effort. Allow yourself to be like that pebble at rest. The pebble is resting at the bottom of the river and the pebble does not have to do anything. While you are walking, you are resting. While you are sitting, you are resting.

If you struggle during your sitting meditation or walking meditation, you are not doing it right. 

The Buddha said, “My practice is the practice of non-practice.” That means a lot. Give up all struggle. 

Allow yourself to be, to rest.

I sit on my meditation cushion. I consider it to be something very pleasant. I don’t struggle at all on my cushion. I allow myself to be, to rest. I don’t make any effort and that is why I do not get any trouble while sitting. While sitting I do not struggle and that is why all my muscles are relaxed. If you struggle during your sitting meditation, you will very soon have pain in your shoulders and back and things like that. But if you allow yourself to be rested on your cushion you can sit very long, and each minute is light, refreshing, nourishing and healing.

It is not sitting in order to struggle to get enlightenment. No. Sitting first of all is for the pleasure of sitting. 

Walking first of all is for the pleasure of walking. And eating is for the pleasure of eating. And the art is to be there one hundred per cent.

When I was a novice I learned how to light a stick of incense in mindfulness. You see, when you light incense you think that the purpose of lighting incense is to have the incense pervading the Buddha’s home. 

But lighting the incense is just for lighting the incense. You pick up a stick of incense mindfully and you enjoy that, because it is by itself an act of meditation. During the time you pick up the stick of incense you are mindful, you are concentrated, you are real, because your body and your mind are together. And the stick of incense is real. When you strike a match, you do the same thing. During the time you strike a match, you only strike a match. You don’t do anything else. You don’t think of other things. You are perfectly mindful of striking a match. You are concentrated on it, and you enjoy the act of lighting the incense.

When you hold a stick of incense, it is the same. When I stick it into the incense burner, I put my left hand on my right hand. That is the tradition. Everyone in the Buddhist tradition lights incense in that way. The stick of incense is very light; one hand is enough in order to hold it. 

Why do you have to put your left hand on your right hand? Because it means that you are doing it with one hundred per cent of your body and your mind.

Be there truly. Be there one hundred per cent of yourself. In every moment of your daily life. 

That is the essence of true Buddhist meditation. Each of us knows that we can do that, so let us train to live each moment of our daily life deeply. That is why I like to define mindfulness as the energy that helps us to be there one hundred per cent. The energy of your true presence.

Breathing in—in the here, in the here. Breathing out — in the now, in the now. Although these are different words they mean exactly the same thing. I have arrived in the here. I have arrived in the now. I am home in the here. I am home in the now.

When you practice like that, you practice stopping. Stopping is the basic Buddhist practice of meditation. 

You stop running. You stop struggling. You allow yourself to rest, to heal, to calm.

And after a few minutes of practice you might switch into doing the third line — I am solid, I am free. 

This is not auto-suggestion. Why? Because if you have succeeded in arriving in the here and in the now you are much freer. You are free from the past, from the future, from your worries, from your fear. And you become much more solid; your steps become more solid and you become more solid in your body and in your mind. Solidity becomes a reality after a few minutes of arriving, of being home.

Solidity and freedom are two characteristics of nirvana. Nirvana is not something abstract. The Buddha said we can touch nirvana with our own body. So while you practice walking meditation you can begin to touch nirvana already with your body and your spirit.

When you feel you are a little bit more solid, a little bit more free, then you begin to touch nirvana with your body and spirit. Solidity and freedom are the true base for your happiness and well being. No happiness, no well being, is possible without solidity and freedom.

The last line of the poem is wonderful. In the ultimate I dwell . In the ultimate. In the ultimate. I dwell. I dwell. The ultimate here is the true foundation of your being.

Let us visualize the waves on the ocean, several waves appearing on the surface of the ocean. 

Some waves are big, there are those that are small, and each wave seems to have its own life. A wave may have ideas like, “I am a wave. I am only a wave among many waves. I am smaller than the other wave. I am less beautiful. I last less than the other wave.” Ideas like that. A wave can be caught in jealousy, in fear, in discrimination.

But if the wave is able to bend down and touch the water within herself, it will realize that while it is a wave, it is at the same time water. Water is the foundation of the wave. While waves can be high and low, more and less beautiful, the water is free from all these notions. That is why if we are able to touch the foundation of our being, we can release our fear and our suffering.

Touching the foundation of our being means touching nirvana. Our foundation is not subjected to birth and death, being and non-being. A wave can live the life of a wave, but a wave can do much better than that. 

While living the life of a wave, a wave can live a life of the water. The more our solidity and our freedom grows, the deeper we touch the ground of our own being. 

That is the door for emancipation, for the greatest relief.

18 February 2023

'Earth Touching' By 🌺Thich Nhat Hanh

The Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

'Earth Touching'
By 🌺Thich Nhat Hanh

"Here is the foot of a tree.

Here is an empty, quiet place.

Here is a cushion.

Brother, why don’t you sit down?

Sit upright.

Sit with solidity.

Sit in peace.

Don’t let your thoughts lift you up into the air.

Sit so that you can really touch the Earth

and be one with her.

You may like to smile, brother.

Earth will transmit to you her solidity,

her peace, and her joy.

With your mindful breathing,

with your peaceful smile,

you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching.

There were times when you didn’t do well.

Sitting on Earth, but it was as if you were floating in the air,

you who used to go in circles in the triple world

and be drawn into the ocean of illusion.

But Earth is always patient

and one-hearted.

Earth is still waiting for you

because Earth has been waiting for you

during the last trillion lives.

That is why she can wait for you

for any other length of time.

She knows that finally you will come back to her one day.

She will welcome you

always fresh and green, exactly like the first time,

because love never says, “This is the last”;

because Earth is a loving mother.

She will never stop waiting for you.

Do go back to her, brother.

You will be like that tree.

The leaves, the branches, and the flowers of your soul

will be fresh and green

once you enter the mudra of Earth Touching.

The empty path welcomes you, sister,

fragrant with grass and little flowers,

the path paved with paddy fields

still bearing the marks of your childhood

and the fragrance of mother’s hand.

Walk leisurely, peacefully.

Your feet should deeply touch the Earth.

Don’t let your thoughts lift you up into the air, sister.

Go back to the path every moment.

The path is your dearest friend.

She will transmit to you

her solidity,

her peace.

With your deep breathing,

you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching.

Walk as if you were kissing the Earth with your feet,

as if you were massaging the Earth.

The marks left by your feet

will be like the marks of an emperor’s seal

calling for Now to go back to Here;

so that life will be present;

so that the blood will bring the color of love to your face;

so that the wonders of life will be manifested,

and all afflictions will be transformed into

peace and joy.

There were times when you did not succeed, sister.

Walking on the empty path, but you were floating in the air,

because you used to get lost in samsara

and drawn into the world of illusion.

But the beautiful path is always patient.

It is always waiting for you to come back,

that path which is so familiar to you,

that path which is so faithful.

It knows deeply that you will come back one day.

It will be joyful to welcome you back.

It will be as fresh and as beautiful as the first time.

Love never says, “This is the last.”

That path is you, sister.

That is why it will never be tired of waiting.

Whether it is covered now with red dust

or with Autumn leaves

or icy snow—

do go back to the path, sister,

because I know

you will be like that tree,

the leaves, the trunk, the branches,

and the blossoms of your soul

will be fresh and beautiful,

once you enter the mudra of Earth Touching."

🌺 Thich Nhat Hanh

From 'Call Me By My True Names'

Image: Earth Touching Posture ('Bhumisparsha Mudra')

Buddha is thought to have reached enlightenment while using Bhumisparsha Mudra, while sitting in meditation under the Bodhi tree.

25 January 2023

Healing the Inner Child Thich Nhat Hanh

Healing the Inner Child
Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes we regret not having said the right things to someone in our family before they died. 

We regret that we have not been kind to him or to her during that person’s lifetime. 

Now we may feel that it’s too late. 

But we don’t need to feel that kind of regret. That person is still in us and we can begin anew. 

We smile to him and say the things we should have said that we didn’t have a chance to say. 

Say it right now and he will hear it. 

Sometimes we don’t have to say anything. 

We just live by the spirit we have found in the practice of beginning anew, and he will know it.

I told a U.S. veteran who’d killed five children in Vietnam, “You don’t have to continue to suffer because of the five children you killed. If you know how to live your life, how to save the children of the present and the future, those five children will understand you, will smile at you, and will support you on your path of practice.” 

There’s no reason why we have to be caught in our guilt complex. 

Everything is possible. The past is not gone. The past is still available in the form of the present. 

If we know how to touch the present deeply, we touch the past and we can even change the past. That is the teaching of the Buddha. 

If we have said something unkind to our grandma who has passed away, we can begin anew. 

We just sit down, practice mindful breathing in and out, and we ask our grandma to be there in us. 

We smile at her and say, “Grandma, I’m sorry. I will not say something like that again.” And we’ll see our grandma smiling. 

That practice will bring peace to us, will make us new, and will bring a lot of joy and happiness to the people around us and to future generations.

Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child

Thich Nhat Hanh

Teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh

 “Our greatest fear is that when we die we will become nothing. Many of us believe that our entire existence is only a life span beginning the moment we are born or conceived and ending the moment we die. We believe that we are born from nothing and when we die we become nothing. And so we are filled with fear of annihilation.

“The Buddha has a very different understanding of our existence. It is the understanding that birth and death are notions. They are not real. 

The fact that we think they are true makes a powerful illusion that causes our suffering. The Buddha taught that there is no birth; there is no death; there is no coming; there is no going; there is no same; there is no different; there is no permanent self; there is no annihilation. We only think there is. 

When we understand that we cannot be destroyed, we are liberated from fear. It is a great relief. We can enjoy life and appreciate it in a new way.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

The Heart Of Buddha's Teaching

 The Heart Of Buddha's Teaching

Sometimes we speak clumsily 

And create internal knots in others. 

Then we say, “I was just telling the truth.” 

It may be the truth, 

But if our way of speaking 

Causes unnecessary suffering

It is not Right Speech. 

The truth must be presented in ways

That others can accept. 

Words that damage or destroy 

Are not Right Speech. 

Before you speak, 

Understand the person 

You are speaking to. 

Consider each word carefully 

Before you say anything

So that your speech is “Right” 

In both form and content. 

Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh

The Heart Of Buddha's Teaching

Admin: Something I must improve on as well 🙏

‘Spring Thunder'

‘Spring Thunder'

"Many of us are barely awake. We're living in the world, but we can't really see it; it's as though we're sleepwalking. To wake up first of all is to wake up to the beauty of the Earth. 

You wake up to the fact that you have a body and that your body is made of the Earth and sun and stars. 

You wake up to the fact that the sky is beautiful and that our planet is a jewel of the cosmos. 

Second, to wake up means to wake up to the suffering in the world... You want to find ways to bring relief, healing, and transformation. This requires a tremendous source of energy. 

If you have a strong desire in you, a mind of love, that is the kind of energy that will help you do these two things: wake up to the beauties of the planet to heal yourself, and wake up to the suffering of the world to try to help.  

It's my conviction that we cannot change the world if we're not able to change our way of thinking, our consciousness. Collective change in our way of thinking and seeing things is crucial. 

Collective awakening is made up of individual awakening. You have to wake YOURSELF up first, and then those around you have a chance. 

Peace, awakening , and enlightenment always begin with you. 

You are the one you need to count on.

If you see the suffering in the world but you haven't changed your way of living yet, it means the awakening isn't strong enough. You haven't really woken up.  

In Zen, sometimes a teacher will shout, or hit you, so you can wake up-- they'll do whatever it takes. The Zen master's shout is like a crash of spring thunder. It wakes you up and, with the rains that follow, grasses and flowers will bloom." 

🌺 Thich Nhat Hanh 

Excerpt from the book 

‘Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet'

The teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

The teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

Someone asked me, ‘aren't you afraid about the state of the world? ‘I allowed myself to breathe and then I said, ‘what is most important is not to allow your anxiety about what happens in the world fill your heart. If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick, and you will not be able to help.’ There are wars - big and small - in many places, and that can cause us to lose our peace. Anxiety is the illness of our age. We worry about ourselves, our family, our friends, our work, and the state of the world. If we allow worry to fill our hearts, sooner or later we will get sick.

Yes, there is tremendous suffering all over the world, but knowing this need not paralyse us. 

If we practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful sitting, and working in mindfulness, we try our best to help, and we can have peace in our heart. Worrying does not accomplish anything. Even if you worry twenty times more, it will not change the situation of the world. 

In fact, your anxiety will only make things worse. Even though things are not as we would like, we can still be content, knowing we are trying our best and will continue to do so. If we don't know how to breathe, smile, and live every moment of our life deeply, we will never be able to help anyone. I am happy in the present moment. I do not ask for anything else. 

I do not expect any additional happiness or conditions that will bring about more happiness. The most important practice is aimlessness, not running after things, not grasping.

We who have been fortunate enough to encounter the practice of mindfulness have a responsibility to bring peace and joy into our own lives, even though not everything in our body, mind or environment is exactly as we would like. Without happiness we cannot be a refuge for others. Ask yourself, what am I waiting for to make me happy? Why am I not happy right now? My only desire is to help you see this. How can we bring the practice of mindfulness to the widest spectrum of society? 

How can we give birth to the greatest number of people who are happy and who know how to teach the art of mindful living to others? The number of people who create violence is very great, while the number of people who know how to breathe and create happiness is very small. Every day gives us a wonderful opportunity to be happy ourselves and to become a place of refuge for others.

We don't need to become anything else. We don't need to perform some particular act. We only need to be happy in the present moment, and we can be of service to those we love and to our whole society. Aimlessness is stopping and realising the happiness that is already available. If someone asks us how long we need to practice in order to be happy, we can tell her that she can be happy right now! The practice of aimlessness is the practice of freedom.

Copyright Thich Nhat Hanh. Used by permission. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. From ‘ Here and Now’, (the Community of Interbeing magazine).

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was in Vietnam during the Indochina wars between 1946 and 1989. He was the leading peace activist during the wars and therefore is able to speak with deep understanding.

🌱The Fertile Soil of Sangha🌱

 🌱The Fertile Soil of Sangha🌱

Two thousand five hundred years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed that the next Buddha will be named Maitreya, the “Buddha of Love.” 

I think Maitreya Buddha may be a community and not just an individual. 

A good community is needed to help us resist the unwholesome ways of our time. Mindful living protects us and helps us go in the direction of peace. With the support of friends in the practice, peace has a chance.

If you have a supportive sangha, it’s easy to nourish your bodhicitta, the seeds of enlightenment. If you don’t have anyone who understands you, who encourages you in the practice of the living dharma, your desire to practice may wither. Your sangha —family, friends, and copractitioners— is the soil, and you are the seed. No matter how vigorous the seed is, if the soil does not provide nourishment, your seed will die. A good sangha is crucial for the practice. Please find a good sangha or help create one.

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are three precious jewels in Buddhism, and the most important of these is Sangha. The Sangha contains the Buddha and the Dharma. A good teacher is important, but sisters and brothers in the practice are the main ingredient for success. You cannot achieve enlightenment by locking yourself in your room. Transformation is possible only when you are in touch. 

When you touch the ground, you can feel the stability of the earth and feel confident. When you observe the steadiness of the sunshine, the air, and the trees, you know that you can count on the sun to rise each day and the air and the trees to be there. 

When you build a house, you build it on solid ground. You need to choose friends in the practice who are stable, on whom you can rely.

Taking refuge in the sangha means putting your trust in a community of solid members who practice mindfulness together. You do not have to practice intensively—just being in a sangha where people are happy, living deeply the moments of their days, is enough. Each person’s way of sitting, walking, eating, working, and smiling is a source of inspiration; and transformation takes place without effort. 

If someone who is troubled is placed in a good sangha, just being there is enough to bring about a transformation. I hope communities of practice in the West will organize themselves as families. In Asian sanghas, we address each other as Dharma Brother, Dharma Sister, Dharma Aunt, or Dharma Uncle, and we call our teacher Dharma Father or Dharma Mother. 

A practice community needs that kind of familial brotherhood to nourish practice.

If you have a sangha that is joyful, animated by the desire to practice and help, you will mature as a bodhisattva. 

I always tell the monks, nuns, and lay practitioners at Plum Village that if they want to succeed in the practice, they have to find ways to live in harmony with one another, even with those who are difficult. If they can’t succeed in the sangha, how can they succeed outside of it? Becoming a monk or a nun is not just between student and teacher. It involves everyone. Getting a “yes” from everyone in the sangha is a true dharma seal.

♦Thich Nhat Hanh

from: Cultivating the Mind of Love

A Guided Meditation on Homecoming

A Guided Meditation on Homecoming 

“I have Arrived. I am Home."

“Where is our true home that we come back to? 

Our true home is life, our true home is the present moment, whatever is happening right here and right now. 

Our true home is the place without discrimination, the place without hatred. Our true home is the place where we no longer seek, no longer wish, no longer regret.

Our true home lies right in the present moment. If we can practice according to the teaching of the Buddha and return to the here and now, then the energy of mindfulness will help us to establish our true home in the present moment...”❤️

~ Thich Nhat Hanh 

Today, we are going to travel the pathway to come home to ourselves. 

A place where we feel that we have arrived, we do not need to go anywhere, to be, or to do anything anymore. 

Like what is quoted in the "Radiance Sutra" ;

"Once you know the way

the nature of attention will call you

to return, again and again,

and be saturated with knowing,

“I belong here, I am at home here.”

- The Radiance Sutras

Meditation link :

https://youtu.be/Pp3qTnwfZVU

Dear friends, this is a guided meditation I just uploaded. May you enjoy practicing it.

With Metta

🙏🙏🙏❤️

Why The Buddha Kept Meditating Even After Being Enlightened.

Why The Buddha Kept Meditating Even After Being Enlightened.

When I was a young monk, I wondered why the Buddha kept practicing mindfulness and meditation even after he had already become a Buddha. Now I find the answer is plain enough to see.

Happiness is impermanent, like everything else. In order for happiness to be extended and renewed, you have to learn how to feed your happiness. Nothing can survive without food, including happiness; your happiness can die if you don’t know how to nourish it. If you cut a flower but you don’t put it in some water, the flower will wilt in a few hours.

Even if happiness is already manifesting, we have to continue to nourish it. This is sometimes called conditioning, and it’s very important. 

We can condition our bodies and minds to happiness with the five practices of letting go, inviting positive seeds, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

... Mindfulness helps us not only to get in touch with suffering, so that we can embrace and transform it, but also to touch the wonders of life, including our own body. Then breathing in becomes a delight, and breathing out can also be a delight. 

You truly come to enjoy your breathing.

When we practice mindful breathing or mindful walking, we bring our mind home to our body and we are established in the here and the now. 

We feel so lucky; we have so many conditions of happiness that are already available. When we practice mindful breathing or mindful walking, we bring our mind home to our body and we are established in the here and the now. We feel so lucky; we have so many conditions of happiness that are already available. 

Joy and happiness come right away. So mindfulness is a source of joy. Mindfulness is a source of happiness.. Joy and happiness come right away. So mindfulness is a source of joy. Mindfulness is a source of happiness.

It requires first of all that we come home to ourselves, that we make peace with our suffering, treating it tenderly, and looking deeply at the roots of our pain. It requires that we let go of useless, unnecessary sufferings and take a closer look at our idea of happiness.

Finally, it requires that we nourish happiness daily, with acknowledgment, understanding, and compassion for ourselves and for those around us. We offer these practices to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to the larger community. 

This is the art of suffering and the art of happiness. With each breath, we ease suffering and generate joy. 

With each step, the flower of insight blooms.

~ by Zen Master 

THICH NHAT HANH

“Awakening of the Heart: Thich Nhat Hanh“

“Awakening of the Heart: Thich Nhat Hanh“

If a doctor tells you, “You have cancer and probably only have six months to live,” you will likely feel completely overwhelmed. The fear, the idea that “I’m going to die in six months”, can take away your peace and joy. 

Before the doctor told you about the cancer you could sit and enjoy your tea, eat your meal, or watch the moon, while now your fear takes away all your joy and freedom.

But the doctor’s words can be a bell of mindfulness. We all have six months left to live, or seven months, or ten years. If we can know and accept that death is something that comes to everybody, we will not suffer so much. The doctor who tells us we have six months left to live will also die. Maybe the doctor will die before us. We may be lucky to have six months to live. If we look deeply, we see things that we can’t otherwise see. We can get back our freedom from fear and, with that freedom and non-fear, we may live those six months happily.

We are all equal as far as life and death are concerned. Everyone has to die. But before we die, can we live properly? If we live properly, the quality of our last six months can be higher than if we were to live six or sixty more years. 

If we’re caught in the fetters of suffering, our lives don’t have the same meaning they would if we lived in freedom. Knowing that we have to die, we can become determined to live our lives properly and deeply. If we’re not able to live with peace, joy, and freedom, then we live as if we’re already dead.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, 

“Awakening of the Heart: 

Essential Buddhist Sutras and Commentaries”. 

#ThichNhatHanh #Mindfulness #Peace #Joy #Suffering #Acceptance #Impermanence #Fear #Freedom

To practice mindfulness of the body, you might like to lie down and practice total relaxation.

To practice mindfulness of the body, you might like to lie down and practice total relaxation. 

Allow your body to rest, and then be mindful of your forehead. "Breathing in, I am aware of my forehead. 

Breathing out, I smile to my forehead." Use the energy of mindfulness to embrace your forehead, your brain, your eyes, your ears, and your nose. 

Every time you breathe in, become aware of one part of your body, and every time you breathe out, smile to that part of your body. Use the energies of mindfulness and love to embrace each part. Embrace your heart, your lungs, and your stomach. "Breathing in, I am aware of my heart. 

Breathing out, I embrace my heart." Practice scanning your body with the light of mindfulness and smiling to each part of your body with compassion and concern. 

When you finish scanning in this way, you will feel wonderful. It takes only half an hour, and your body will rest deeply during those thirty minutes. Please take good care of your body, allowing it to rest and embracing it with tenderness, compassion, mindfulness, and love.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

#ThichNhatHanhgems  #ThichNhatHanh  #Mindfulness  #Compassion  #Love  #Healing

Our society is not very healthy.

The teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Our society is not very healthy.

Therefore, many of us are sick, and we need healing and nourishment. We have intoxicated ourselves with poisons. Our mind has a lot of poisons, like craving, hate, anger, and despair. Our body also has a lot of poisons because we don’t know how to consume.

Mother Earth has the capacity to heal herself and has the capacity to help us heal if we know how to take refuge in her. 

When the Buddha was teaching his son, Rahula, he talked about the Earth as having the virtues of patience and equanimity. 

Patience and equanimity are the two great virtues of the planet Earth. If needed, Mother Earth can spend one million years or ten million years to heal herself. 

She is not in a hurry. She has the power to renew herself. 

We have to see that. If we study the history of the Earth, we know that she has had a lot of patience, and now she is a very beautiful star.

When we walk, we are aware that the Earth is holding our steps. But Mother Earth is not just below us, under our feet; Mother Earth is inside of us. 

To think that Mother Earth is only the environment outside of us, around us, is wrong. Mother Earth is inside of us. 

We don’t need to die to go back to Mother Earth. We are already in Mother Earth. That is why we have to learn how to take refuge in her. That is the best way to heal and to nourish ourselves.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Precepts as a Way of Life #06 Spring 1992 By Thich Nhat Hanh

Precepts as a Way of Life
#06 Spring 1992
By Thich Nhat Hanh

The idea of a diet is the essence of this precept. War and bombs are the fruit of our collective consciousness. Our collective consciousness has so much violence, fear, craving, and hatred in it, it manifests in war and bombs. We hear that the other side has very powerful bombs, so we try to make bombs that are more powerful. When the other side hears that we have powerful bombs, they try to make even more powerful bombs. Bombs are a product of the fear in our collective consciousness.

Just to remove the bombs is not really the work of peace.

Even if we were able to transport all the bombs to the moon, we would still be unsafe, because the roots of the war and the bombs are still in our collective consciousness. We cannot work to abolish war with angry demonstrations.

Transforming the toxins in our collective consciousness is the only way to uproot war.

Therefore, we have to practice a diet for ourselves, our families, and our society, and we have to do it with every­one else. To have healthy television programs, we have to work with artists, writers, filmmakers, lawyers, and law­makers. We have to step up the struggle. 

Awareness should not be only in us, but in our families and in our society. We have to stop the kind of consumption that poisons our collective consciousness. I don't see any other way than the practice of these bodhisattva precepts to produce the dramatic changes that we need. To practice as a society will not be possible if each of us does not vow to practice the Five Precepts.

The problem is very big. It is the survival of our species on the Earth. It is not a question of enjoying one glass of wine.

If you stop drinking your glass of wine, you do it for the whole society. The fifth precept is exactly like the first one. If you are not able to entirely stop eating meat, at least make an effort in order to reduce eating meat. If you reduce eating meat by 50%, you perform a miracle. 

You will solve the problem of hunger in the Third World.

Practicing the precepts is to make a little progress every day. 

That is why, during the recitation when we are asked whether we have made an effort to study and practice the precept read, we answer just by breathing deeply. That is the best answer. Mindful breathing means, "I have made some effort, but I can do better."

The fifth precept can be like that also. If you are unable to stop drinking completely, then stop 75% or 50%. But alcohol is not the same as meat.

Alcohol is addictive. That is why I encourage you to stop drinking even one glass of wine. When you see that we are in great danger, refraining from the first glass of wine is a manifestation of your enlightenment. You are doing it for all of us. You set an example for your children and your friends. On French television they say, "One glass is alright, but three glasses will bring about destruction." They don't say that the first glass brings the second, and the second brings the third, because they belong to a civilization of wine. In Plum Village, we are surrounded by wine. Many of our neighbors are surprised that we don't profit from living in an area where the wine is so good. We are a pocket of resistance.

Please support us.

When I was a novice, I learned that from time to time we had to use alcohol in preparing medicines. There are many kinds of roots and herbs that have to be macerated in alcohol so that they will have an effect. 

In these instances, alcohol is allowed. When the herbs have been prepared, they are put in the pot and boiled. Then they no longer have an intoxicating effect on us. I think if you use some alcohol in cooking, it is the same. After the food is cooked, the alcohol in it will not have an intoxicating nature. So I am not narrow-minded about this.

I know that no one can practice the precepts perfectly, including the Buddha. The vegetarian dishes that were offered to him were not entirely vegetarian. 

Boiled veg­etables contain dead bacteria, and the vegetables themselves were also alive. But because of the real danger in our society—alcoholism has destroyed so many families and has brought about so many unhappy people, old and young—we have to do something. We have to live in a way that will eradicate that kind of damage. 

That is why even if you can be very healthy with one glass of wine every week, I still urge you with all my strength to abandon that glass of wine.

We need to have Dharma discussions to share our experiences and deepen our understanding and practice of the Five Wonderful Precepts.

https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/archive/tag/alcohol

What does it mean, "I take refuge in the Buddha." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

What does it mean, 
"I take refuge in the Buddha."

Listen to the entire dharma talk 

http://tnhaudio.org/2016/11/01/touching-life-come-home/

The 53-minute dharma talk offered by Thich Nhat Hanh took place at the Lower Hamlet of Plum Village on November 3, 2005.

What does it mean, “I take refuge in the Buddha.” Buddha is the one who is mindful, awake, enlightened. Taking refuge is not believing in a God or deity. We all have a seed of mindfulness, understanding, and love. We can become a person who is fully awake, enlightened, just like the Buddha. Taking refuge is confirming the fact that you can be enlightened. You are a Buddha. This is not a declaration of faith, but a commitment to practice. In every breath we are taking refuge. In every mindful step we are taking refuge.

The way in is also the way out. Our spiritual life should be established in that vision – being truly ourselves. 

Practicing to bring a spiritual dimension into your life. 

Through drinking our tea, preparing our breakfast, or brushing our teeth. These are spiritual acts. Not being caught by the future or the past. This is being a Buddha.

Going home to ourselves. How is this act accomplished? Practicing in a community like Plum Village, everyone is supported by the sangha. This is taking refuge in the sangha. 

We have faith in the community. Helping to build this refuge for others.

Story of when the Buddha was about 80-years old and how he offered the teaching on taking refuge in the island of yourself. Here we can encounter the foundation of ourselves – the island includes the Buddha, dharma, and sangha. This is the practice of Plum Village also.

How do we respond when we are lonely, not feeling like ourselves? Our feelings of fear? Do we know how to practice going home to ourselves? Walking meditation is a method. Can we walk like a Buddha? Enjoying every step. This is a miracle.

The Buddha-nature is within you and through mindfulness, concentration, and insight it is you that is performing a miracle.

It is a practice of enjoyment.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

#thichnhathanh #mindfulness #dhamma #meditation 

Thich Nhat Hanh "You are Both Depression and Mindfulness"

Thich Nhat Hanh
"You are Both Depression and Mindfulness"

~ the May 6, 2008 dharma talk from the Engaged Buddhism Retreat in Hanoi.
https://tnhaudio.org/2019/01/27/you-are-both-depression-and-mindfulness/

This is a 96-minute dharma talk with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh from Hanoi during the “Engaged Buddhism” retreat. This is the second talk on May 6, 2008 and the talk in offered in English. We begin with a teaching on mental formations and the roots of our ill-being before moving toward the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

Samskara. 

A Buddhist technical term. Means formation. Physical, biological, and mental. What is a formation? Recognizing that all formations are impermanent. When we observe a formation, we should be able to see this impermanent nature.

Mental Formations

In the Plum Village tradition, we talk of 51 mental formations. There are positive formations – compassion, loving kindness, joy, etc. These are wholesome mental formations. As practitioners, can we recognize and help them to manifest? We also have negative mental formations – craving, anger, hate, jealousy, etc. In our practice, we refrain from watering these negative formations. Further, there are also indefinite mental formations – they can be wholesome or unwholesome.
Practicing meditation is a way to recognize the mental formation. Thay teaches examples of how to do this practice of awareness with mental formations. Mindfulness. In the present moment.

Bija

These are seeds we all carry. For example, we have a seed of anger. It may not be present as a mental formation right now, but it is a seed in our consciousness. These seeds can become a mental formation. Learning to water the wholesome seeds so they may arise as a mental formation.

The two layers of consciousness – Store and Mind. The seeds live in store. With the practice, we can water wholesome seeds in store and help them manifest into kind consciousness. Thay teaches this is greater detail along with concrete examples.

Mindfulness of our mental formations. An example of depression. No fighting between mindfulness and depression. It is simply to recognize. And then to embrace with tenderness. This is the energy of depression. And this is the energy of mindfulness. This is our practice. Supporting through non-duality and non-violence. Both seeds are you. You are both depression and mindfulness.

Mindfulness, Concentration, Insight

In the Sutra the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, the Buddha teaches to begin with the body. Today we move into the second realm of practice. Aware of the feelings and emotions. And then take good care of them. Mindfulness has the function to recognize, to hold, and bring relief. It also carries the energy of concentration.

Mindfulness leads to concentration. With concentration, you can take a deep look at your feelings and the. discover the roots of what is. This brings insight – liberation. This only comes if you have strong concentration. This begins with mindfulness.

Roots of Ill-Being and the Noble Eightfold Path

Coming home to the present moment. To recognize ill-being as it is. The first noble truth. Through looking at ill-being, we can discover the second noble truth. Craving. Hate. Ignorance. Wrong perception. Lack of communication. What is the cause of our ill-being? Do we know how to live like a Buddha? To bring a spiritual dimension to our daily life? What are the methods of removing wrong perceptions? Even in the case of war and terrorism.

Consumption, developing countries, large populations, meat industry, and learning to reduce our consumption. From the roots of ill-being we can discover the path. By practicing deeply the first and the second noble truths we can discover the fourth noble truth. Using the Five Mindfulness Trainings to guide us. Protecting life and the practice of love. Thay offers a summary of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

In the noble eightfold path, the Buddha recommends Right View. This is the insight of interbeing. And once you have this insight, you discover Right Thinking. Right Speech. Right Action.

Engaged Buddhism can be seen in the light of the Four Noble Truths. It responds to suffering. It responds to ill-being. With a noble path. Helping beings in countless ways.

What does it mean, "I take refuge in the Buddha."

 What does it mean, 
"I take refuge in the Buddha."

Listen to the entire dharma talk http://tnhaudio.org/2016/11/01/touching-life-come-home/

The 53-minute dharma talk offered by Thich Nhat Hanh took place at the Lower Hamlet of Plum Village on November 3, 2005.

What does it mean, “I take refuge in the Buddha.” Buddha is the one who is mindful, awake, enlightened. Taking refuge is not believing in a God or deity. We all have a seed of mindfulness, understanding, and love. We can become a person who is fully awake, enlightened, just like the Buddha. Taking refuge is confirming the fact that you can be enlightened. You are a Buddha. This is not a declaration of faith, but a commitment to practice. In every breath we are taking refuge. In every mindful step we are taking refuge.

The way in is also the way out. Our spiritual life should be established in that vision – being truly ourselves. 

Practicing to bring a spiritual dimension into your life. 

Through drinking our tea, preparing our breakfast, or brushing our teeth. These are spiritual acts. Not being caught by the future or the past. This is being a Buddha.

Going home to ourselves. How is this act accomplished? Practicing in a community like Plum Village, everyone is supported by the sangha. This is taking refuge in the sangha. 

We have faith in the community. Helping to build this refuge for others.

Story of when the Buddha was about 80-years old and how he offered the teaching on taking refuge in the island of yourself. Here we can encounter the foundation of ourselves – the island includes the Buddha, dharma, and sangha. This is the practice of Plum Village also.

How do we respond when we are lonely, not feeling like ourselves? Our feelings of fear? Do we know how to practice going home to ourselves? Walking meditation is a method. Can we walk like a Buddha? Enjoying every step. This is a miracle.

The Buddha-nature is within you and through mindfulness, concentration, and insight it is you that is performing a miracle.

It is a practice of enjoyment.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh’s final mindfulness lesson: How to die peacefully?

 The Art of Dying-----

Thich Nhat Hanh’s final mindfulness lesson: 

How to die peacefully? 

Brother Phap Dung, a senior disciple and monk who is helping to run Plum Village in Thich Nhat Hanh’s absence, speaks about the Thay’s views on dying.

One of the most powerful teachings that he shared before he got sick was about not building a stupa [shrine for his remains] for him and putting his ashes in an urn for us to pray to. He strongly commanded us not to do this. 

To paraphrase his message:

“Please do not build a stupa for me. Please do not put my ashes in a vase, lock me inside, and limit who I am. I know this will be difficult for some of you. If you must build a stupa though, please make sure that you put a sign on it that says, ‘I am not in here.’ In addition, you can also put another sign that says, ‘I am not out there either,’ and a third sign that says, ‘If I am anywhere, it is in your mindful breathing and in your peaceful steps.’”

What have you learned about dying from your teacher?

There is dying in the sense of letting this body go, letting go of feelings, emotions, these things we call our identity, and practicing to let those go.

The trouble is, we don’t let ourselves die day by day. 

Instead, we carry ideas about each other and ourselves.

Sometimes it’s good, but sometimes it’s detrimental to our growth. We brand ourselves and imprison ourselves to an idea.

Letting go is a practice not only when you reach 90. It’s one of the highest practices. 

This can move you toward equanimity, a state of freedom, a form of peace. 

Waking up each day as a rebirth, now that is a practice.

In the historical dimension, we practice to accept that we will get to a point where the body will be limited and we will be sick. There is birth, old age, sickness, and death. How will we deal with it?

What are some of the most important teachings from Buddhism about dying?

We are aware that one day we are all going to deteriorate and die — our neurons, our arms, our flesh and bones. But if our practice and our awareness is strong enough, we can see beyond the dying body and pay attention also to the spiritual body. We continue through the spirit of our speech, our thinking, and our actions. These three aspects of body, speech, and mind continues.

In Buddhism, we call this the nature of no birth and no death. It is the other dimension of the ultimate. It’s not something idealized, or clean. The body has to do what it does, and the mind as well.

But in the ultimate dimension, there is continuation. We can cultivate this awareness of this nature of no birth and no death, this way of living in the ultimate dimension; then slowly our fear of death will lessen.

This awareness also helps us be more mindful in our daily life, to cherish every moment and everyone in our life.

Excerpts from an Interview by Eliza Barclay during Oct 19