Podcasts about five mindfulness trainings

Welcome to episode 87 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss the Noble Eightfold Path, a fundamental teaching that was emphasized by the Buddha. The eight elements of the path are: right view, right thinking, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right diligence, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The hosts focus on each element and explain their interconnectedness and how they form a comprehensive approach to self-discovery, personal transformation, and spiritual development. Jo and Brother Phap Huu also emphasise the importance of making the Noble Eightfold Path relevant, accessible, and applicable to contemporary challenges and needs, and the role of Plum Village community in adapting these teachings.The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Dhyana in Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhyana_in_Buddhism The Bodhi Treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Dharma Talks: ‘Right Livelihood and True Love'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/right-livelihood-and-true-love 51 Mental Formationshttps://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation The Way Out Is In: ‘Taming Our Survival Instinct (Episode #65)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/taming-our-survival-instinct-episode-65 Sister Lang Nghiemhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem Sister True Dedicationhttps://www.instagram.com/sistertruededication/ Brother Phap Ung https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-chan-phap-ung  The Five Mindfulness Trainings https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainingshttps://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings  Old Path White Clouds https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2 Quotes “The question is whether you want to liberate yourself or not. If you do, practice the Noble Eightfold Path.” “‘Now I have a path, there’s nothing to fear' – because once you have the path, even if suffering is there, you will know how to walk it, because you start to see the way.” “The Buddha said that there are two extreme paths that we should avoid. The first one is seeking sensual pleasures, the pleasures of the world. The second is the practice of depriving the body, such as the practice of asceticism. Those extremes do not lead towards happiness and peace, they lead to failure on the path of understanding and love. And he said we have to find a middle way. And the middle is the Eight Noble Path.” “What we see, what we hear, what we taste, and what we consume on a daily basis will affect the way we are thinking. So, by focusing and practicing right thought, you will start to have a lot of agency. You will start to reflect on how your thought patterns are created, what habits arise in your daily life because of your thoughts, because of the ingredients that have been taken in through your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and mind consciousness.” “We do workshops on learning how to listen before even speaking. How to listen with our whole body, how to listen so that we don’t react, how to listen so we don’t allow our judgmental mind to try to fix that person right away. And then to mindfully select the words that we want to use to communicate. Even if it’s a wrong perception, there’s a way to communicate, to remove the wrong perception – or there’s a way to justify it and create even more distance and destruction.” “When we learn to expand our understanding, I think our life will become richer.” “There are pathways in life via which we know we can get richer and become filled with wealth. But what is our truest belonging? It’s not money. When we die, money doesn’t go with us. What is left behind is our legacy of who we were as a human being.” “I remember a soldier asking Thay [Thich Nhat Hanh] about how he can apply this pathway to his career, as a protector. And Thay said, ‘Of course we want compassionate soldiers. I would rather have you holding that weapon, who has deep understanding and has interbeing, than someone who is evil and who just wants to punish or be violent.'” “Sometimes we talk about the Zen mind as a mind that is empty. That’s not it. In the Buddhist deep meaning of emptiness, emptiness is ‘very full'; because of emptiness, everything can coexist.” “Mindful first and foremost is to be mindful of the suffering that is present, as well as mindful of the joy and happiness that is also present. So we want to continue to transform suffering as well as to create and generate joy and happiness, for ourselves and for all beings.” “Concentration can be grounded and developed everywhere, anywhere, and all at once.” “What Buddhism does, and what the teachings of the Buddha do, is show that we have a choice in everything we do. Because often we feel that life is imposed on us, that we don’t have choices. But, actually, in every single event, however painful, we always have a choice of how to respond. And that choice is based on our awareness. We need to be aware of what is going on, what the situation is. We need to be aware of our habit energy, and then we need to be aware of these teachings that show an alternative.” “We have our entire life to learn and we don’t have to be perfect now. But, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say, if there’s a little bit of improvement every day, that is more than enough. We don’t need to become suddenly enlightened.” “The exponential nature of technology, with AI and everything else, means that, actually, it’s easier to travel away from ourselves than towards ourselves.”

(Auckland Insight Meditation) Looking at the second of Thich Nhat Hanh's Five Mindfulness Trainings, which he expands to include "I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and stop contributing to climate change"

(Auckland Insight Meditation) Looking at the second of Thich Nhat Hanh's Five Mindfulness Trainings, which he expands to include "I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and stop contributing to climate change"

Welcome to episode 72 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss finding a spiritual path and the conditions that need to exist for someone to feel at home with a spiritual practice. And what is it to find a spiritual practice and truly rest in it and develop it over time? How do we know if we've found a practice that works for us, and what is it to go deeply into one way of seeing the world?The conversation touches upon many other ideas and topics such as bringing the sacred into the everyday; to be in service to the past and/or the future; Buddhist practices for people from different religious backgrounds; Dharma sharing and trust; and many more.Brother Phap Huu also shares stories of many spiritual paths that are being told at the current Plum Village retreat.The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.Thank you for listening, and enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing The Sun My Hearthttps://www.parallax.org/product/the-sun-my-heart/ Understanding Our Mind https://www.parallax.org/product/understanding-our-mind/ ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings ‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village' https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village Quotes “To find a practice, a spiritual practice, Thay says that’s a treasure in life. And this is why we always have to practice gratitude. I’m very grateful every day that I have a community, I have a practice, and that I’m still part of the practice.” “When we say ‘I take refuge in the Buddha', it means ‘I take refuge in the seed of awakening inside of me'.” “What I like about Plum Village is that there are very strong guidelines about sharing: to deeply listen with love; to speak only from the heart; not to cross-talk or answer back. And not to give people advice, but just be present for them, to offer a safe space into which they can pour their pain and let it be released but not to have to justify it, not have to answer questions about it – just know that people are present for them.” “Buddhist practices are not in conflict with any religion; they actually coexist alongside very beautifully.” “When we lose our sense of being, we don’t touch interbeing, which is the deep connection that comes from us all being interrelated.” “Buddha means awakening.” “When we don’t know how to take care of our pain, we go and consume. We are ready to create more pain for other people, because we don’t know how to cope with our pain. We don’t know how to transform our pain.” “We don’t have the ability to sit with nothing, to sit with the sense of pain in us. Or, sometimes, we don't have the ability to be there and do nothing.” “Don’t just do something, sit there.” “For those who would really like to be Buddhist, they can be Buddhist. And those who would like to keep their tradition but also be Buddhist and practice mindfulness, go ahead.” “The first wing of meditation: stop. Know what you have. Check in. Where are you in your life?” “This idea that when you practice, you don’t suffer; we have to review that idea. We have to give a new language to that.” “Sometimes, joy and happiness can coexist at the same time as suffering.” “My mantra has been, ‘There are other wonderful human beings on this Earth.' And we can even coexist also with humans who are not awakened and who have very dangerous and dogmatic views – to reawaken the seeds of goodness that are available in the present moment.”

Pablo del Real is a mindfulness teacher and the founder of Soil and Soul, a nonprofit agency that teaches mindfulness, eco-healing, and compassionate finance. He is also Director of Education for The Way Mindfulness Education, a company that trains mindfulness facilitators and teachers. In 2012, Pablo earned MLK Nonviolence certification from Bernard LaFayette, co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and a colleague of Martin Luther King. In 2009, Pablo received the Five Mindfulness Trainings at a retreat led by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Pablo has an M.A. in Teaching from the University of San Diego, and a B.A. in Communications from Rutgers College. He is married to Aurora Garcia. Pablo and his family make their home in  South Florida.

00:04:48 - Joel Invites People to sit for 5 Minutes and offers a Prompt 00:05:52 - Please Pause the Video Here to Sit for 5 Minutes 00:06:10 - Joel Introduces the Precept - ‘I Take Up the Way of Cultivating a Clear Mind' and Talks About Attachments, Delusions, and the Brain 00:19:03 - Joel Invites Questions 00:25:42 - Becky's Song - ‘How Simple Can I Make This' 00:28:43 - Joel goes through the Instructions for the connection Rooms 00:35:01 - Connection Rooms - 1.Take 3 Minutes Each 2. Share reflections on How you might use Substances, Media, Social Interactions, even Meditation as Ways of Distraction. 3. Offer Recognition to the Part that is Seeking Relief/Withdrawal 00:35:13 - The Qualities of Self 00:36:27 - 8 Qualities the Big S-Self possesses - Compassionate, Creative, Curious, Confident, Courageous, Calm, Connected, Clarity 00:36:45 - The 5 'P's - Presence, Persistence, Perspective, Playfulness, Patience 00:36:59 - Joel Invites People to Share their Reflections 00:42:12 - Joel Reflects on Right Use of Power --Up Power Role 150% Responsibility/Down Power Role 100% Responsibility/(Taking Care of Impact) 00:48:36 - Coming to the End, Joel reads a Quote from: 'For A Future to Be Possible:A Guide to the Five Mindfulness Trainings' by Thich Nhat Hanh (Author) 00:52:20 - sitting with Asoka for a Little While - Sending Metta and Love 00:53:48 - Thank you's and Farewells

Welcome to episode 47 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This special episode features a precious recording of Thich Nhat Hanh which was previously thought lost. Dating from 2012, it documents an interview journalist Jo Confino conducted with the Zen master in Plum Village's Toadskin Hut. (Though since remastered, be aware that some background noise remains.) The conversation covers a wide range of absorbing topics, from the environment, climate change, and civilizational collapse to consumerism, the simple life, 70 years of practicing mindfulness, new Buddhism, passing on, and sangha as continuation. The recording is introduced by Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino, who provide details about the context of the interview and the significance of certain places, people, and events which are mentioned.“Thay is relaxed, insightful, open, and being Thay at his very best.”Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources ‘The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend'https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend/ ‘Our Hamlets'https://plumvillage.org/about/plum-village/hamlet/ Outrage + Optimismhttps://www.outrageandoptimism.org/ Brother Phap Linhhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/ Brother Phap Laihttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/br-phap-lai/ ‘Bat Nha: The Indestructible Seed of Awakening'https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/bat-nha-the-seed-of-awakening/ Rains Retreat 2023-24https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2023/ Plum Village International Center in Thailandhttps://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/plum-village-thailand/ ‘New Contemplations before Eating'https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/new-contemplations-before-eating/ Mahatma Gandhihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi Hurricane Sandyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sandy Stupashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa Marahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara_(demon) ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 40 Years of Plum Village: ‘Dharma Lamp Transmission during the 40 Years of Plum Village Retreat (June 11-12, 2022)'https://plumvillage.org/articles/dharma-lamp-transmission-during-the-40-years-of-plum-village-retreat-june-11-12-2022/ Shambhala Sun/Lion's Roarhttps://www.lionsroar.com/shambhala-sun-is-changing-its-name-to-lions-roar-2/ ‘Plum Village Practice in Vietnam – Some Background'https://plumvillage.org/articles/blog/monastic/plum-village-vietnam-background/ Quotes “Love has no frontier.” “When you are grateful, you are happy.” “Why should they have the courage to think about the suffering of the Earth or the environment? They try not to think about it, like a camel who doesn’t want to realize that there’s a lion ahead, so they’re just looking to the sand in order to see only the sand. So that is the attitude of men; we are afraid, we don’t want to see the truth.” “Thay sent a message to the root temple [Tu Hieu Temple] saying, ‘You should not build a stupa for Thay, because Thay is continued out here.' One person has already built a temple for Thay in Hanoi, so I reminded them to make the inscription outside, on the front: ‘I am not in here.' And then if people don’t understand, you add a second sentence: ‘I’m not out there either.' And if they still don’t understand, add the third and the last sentence: ‘I may be found, maybe in your way of breathing or walking. I’m not in here.' The root temple has received that message. I said I don’t want to waste the land of the temple in order to build me a stupa. Don’t put me in a small pot in there; I don’t want to continue like that. It’s better to put the ash outside to help the trees to grow. That is the meditation.” “It’s not true that I will die one day, because I have already died many times. And you die every moment and you are reborn in every moment.” “The foundation of your happiness is understanding and love. So if you have that insight and you live by that insight, you will not be fearful anymore.” “We are happy because we are able to have the Buddha and to renew his teachings. He’s deeply misunderstood by many people, so we try to make the teachings available and simple enough so that people, all people, can make good use of that teaching and practice.” “Taking a walk and nourishing yourself never harmed anyone.” “And if this body has 100 years’ mortality, Thay will continue to practice, to learn how to love better, to understand better; there’s no limit to the practice. And I think that is true of the human race: we can continue to learn, generation after generation. And I think it’s time for us to begin to learn how to love in non-discriminative ways. Because we are intelligent enough, but we are not loving enough as a race, as a species.” “I think our perception of time may help, because for us, it [the climate crisis] is a very alarming notion – but if Mother Earth suffers, she knows that she has the power to heal herself. If needed, she will take one hundred million years to heal herself. But for us, we think that our time on Earth is only 100 years, and that is why we are impatient. But I think the collective karma, the collective ignorance, anger, and violence of our race, will lead to our destruction.”

We all have aspirations, dreams, joys and sorrows deep in our hearts. But are we aware that anything we want to cultivate needs food to grow? In Buddhist psychology, we learn that there are four kinds of nutriments: edible food, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. In terms of edible food, are we consuming in a way that sustains our health and nourishes our heart of compassion? As for sense impressions, do we take the time to develop friendship and bonding in our daily lives or are we constantly being hooked to our devices? Do we recognize the stress, intensity and addiction that spending so much time on our devices brings about for ourselves, our family and our society? When it comes to volition, we are speaking about our deep aspiration. What kind of aspirations do we pursue in life? The Five Mindfulness Trainings give us very clear and concrete guidelines on how to live our daily life with compassion and the insight of interbeing. We need the awareness and determination of every individual on Earth to reverse the process of global warming. The fourth kind of nutriment, consciousness, is both individual and collective. For us to be able to realize our potential, we need to be in a wholesome environment. With the practice and the sangha, we can generate mindfulness and love for us and others to take refuge in.

, the Buddhist precepts as shaped and made current by the Plum Village Tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. (6-28-2011)

Practicing the Six Harmonies is a deep practice to ensure a long life in the Sangha and continue on the path of transformation with our spiritual friends, even when facing difficulties in communication. If we are still unable to deeply connect with another person through the heart, maybe because of unresolved conflict, we can still practice to offer simple material gifts or a smile, to open the path of transformation wider. It is also important to learn to express our needs and thoughts with one another to increase understanding. We can learn to do so with gentleness, openness, while remaining firm and solid. We can also deepen our practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings with our loved ones to help with this. It is easier to practice when there is harmony in the sangha or with loved ones, although it is not always possible. When it is not possible, “60% of harmony is good enough”. With faith in our practice of mindfulness, we know that transformation is always possible, and we can continue to take solid steps on our path.

Are you aware of your body in daily life? Do you take time to pause and relax between activities? How do you start your day? Do you take a moment to touch a feeling of gratitude and joy for being alive? Let's explore these and many more questions as we are gently guided by one of the eldest disciples of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh – Sr. Tu Nghiem (Sr. Elleni). As a practitioner, we need to know how to nourish our body and mind with beauty through what we consume with our senses. We need to be aware of our body and mind, in order to recognize what causes us well-being and ill-being, so we can choose the direction in which we want to go. The Four Noble Truths and the Five Mindfulness Trainings will help us to live in a healthy, ethical and balanced way. They show us very concrete ways to help reduce the suffering around us.

Are you aware of your body in daily life? Do you take time to pause and relax between activities? How do you start your day? Do you take a moment to touch a feeling of gratitude and joy for being alive? Let's explore these and many more questions as we are gently guided by one of the eldest disciples of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh – Sr. Tu Nghiem (Sr. Elleni). As a practitioner, we need to know how to nourish our body and mind with beauty through what we consume with our senses. We need to be aware of our body and mind, in order to recognize what causes us well-being and ill-being, so we can choose the direction in which we want to go. The Four Noble Truths and the Five Mindfulness Trainings will help us to live in a healthy, ethical and balanced way. They show us very concrete ways to help reduce the suffering around us.

Welcome to episode 42 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.This time, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – discuss generosity. Together, they consider how to cultivate generosity in our ways of thinking, speaking, and acting, by looking at Buddhist teachings, Plum Village mindfulness trainings, and Thich Nhat Hanh's applied wisdom.  And: what's the best way to practice generosity? Does generosity come from intimacy or from proximity? What is nondiscriminatory generosity? Can we feel generosity for all the elements making up the Earth? Brother Phap Huu shares the general meaning and importance of generosity in Buddhism, and in the Plum Village tradition in particular, and addresses gratitude for the simple things in life; the practice of non-self; generosity as a perpetual mindfulness training; generosity as presence; ever-growing love and compassion; mastering the practice of the smile; and community living as a lesson in generosity. Jo shares a recent show of generosity from listeners of the podcast, and on the subjects of generosity in an individualistic culture; fake generosity; not knowing how to receive generosity; unconscious behaviors in parents; and connection and intimacy as essential aspects of generosity. The episode ends with a short meditation on generosity guided by Brother Phap Huu.  Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Dharma Talks: ‘Manas Consciousness, Teachings on Buddhist Psychology Retreat, 1997'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/manas-consciousness-thich-nhat-hanh-teachings-on-buddhist-psychology-retreat-1997/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Face of Manas Revealed: Understanding a Hidden Aspect of Our Consciousness'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/live-dharma-talk-by-sister-tue-nghiem-2020-11-29-plum-village/‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/Bhikkhuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddhahttps://plumvillage.org/books/1987-duong-xua-may-trang-old-path-white-clouds/ Six Paramitas: Practices to Cross to the Other Shore (short teaching video by Thich Nhat Hanh)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8dEkNM7SA0 Mahayana Buddhismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MahayanaEmma Thompsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_ThompsonThe Way Out Is In: ‘Slow Down, Rest, and Heal: The Spirit of the Rains Retreat (Episode #7)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/slow-down-rest-and-heal-the-spirit-of-the-rains-retreat/‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/  Quotes “No self means that we cannot exist by ourselves. If we remove all of the elements that are present in us, from the most fundamental – our parents, then our ancestors, then our spiritual ancestors, and then our conditions of life, which are food, sunshine, the blue sky, the rain, the air that we breathe – [then we see that] everything that is present supports us.” “Manas is a layer in our consciousness which allows us to want to grasp, want to move on, and want to do, and is always looking for something outside of itself, never feeling fulfilled. And it creates many, many habits. Manas forgets that we cannot exist by ourselves. And it forgets that we have to rely on others.” “In the practice of Buddhism, a true practitioner would actually become more caring for others, more caring for our environment, more caring for even the simplest things. Even the door of your house: you would want to open and close it mindfully so you can have gratitude for the simple things in life.” “In the practice of Buddhism – which Thay taught in Plum Village with the language and the direction of applied Buddhism, engaged Buddhism – generosity is not only within the material wealth that we have or the material possessions that we’re able to give to others, but generosity is also learning to be present for those you love.” “Generosity is a practice of openness, by seeing others outside of you as you. And that’s a very deep and profound practice.” “Each day, a smile is a gift that we can offer.” “Learn to smile to your past.” “I think generosity is all about connection and intimacy; sitting here with you, I feel love and warmth towards you. Whereas if I’d never met you and we were doing this on the phone the most significant element would be missing.” “Generosity is a practice, it's not just giving, giving, giving. We can give, give, give, but that can become a habit and can become fake in the moment. And so, not losing oneself is also a practice of generosity.” “Sometimes we have to learn to say no. It may be the most difficult thing, because there are so many requests coming in, and every request is to provide a spiritual practice, is to provide stability: teachings that can help people. But if you don’t know your limit, then you will not know how to love yourself. And you will also lose yourself in this, and therefore not become generous of oneself. So, in our generosity, there’s also a limit. We have to know our limit. We have to know how much we can give, as well as how much we want to give, so we can work towards that in order to be able to offer [it].”

Welcome to episode 42 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.This time, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – discuss generosity. Together, they consider how to cultivate generosity in our ways of thinking, speaking, and acting, by looking at Buddhist teachings, Plum Village mindfulness trainings, and Thich Nhat Hanh's applied wisdom.  And: what's the best way to practice generosity? Does generosity come from intimacy or from proximity? What is nondiscriminatory generosity? Can we feel generosity for all the elements making up the Earth? Brother Phap Huu shares the general meaning and importance of generosity in Buddhism, and in the Plum Village tradition in particular, and addresses gratitude for the simple things in life; the practice of non-self; generosity as a perpetual mindfulness training; generosity as presence; ever-growing love and compassion; mastering the practice of the smile; and community living as a lesson in generosity. Jo shares a recent show of generosity from listeners of the podcast, and on the subjects of generosity in an individualistic culture; fake generosity; not knowing how to receive generosity; unconscious behaviors in parents; and connection and intimacy as essential aspects of generosity. The episode ends with a short meditation on generosity guided by Brother Phap Huu.  Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Dharma Talks: ‘Manas Consciousness, Teachings on Buddhist Psychology Retreat, 1997'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/manas-consciousness-thich-nhat-hanh-teachings-on-buddhist-psychology-retreat-1997/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Face of Manas Revealed: Understanding a Hidden Aspect of Our Consciousness'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/live-dharma-talk-by-sister-tue-nghiem-2020-11-29-plum-village/‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/Bhikkhuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddhahttps://plumvillage.org/books/1987-duong-xua-may-trang-old-path-white-clouds/ Six Paramitas: Practices to Cross to the Other Shore (short teaching video by Thich Nhat Hanh)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8dEkNM7SA0 Mahayana Buddhismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MahayanaEmma Thompsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_ThompsonThe Way Out Is In: ‘Slow Down, Rest, and Heal: The Spirit of the Rains Retreat (Episode #7)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/slow-down-rest-and-heal-the-spirit-of-the-rains-retreat/‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/  Quotes “No self means that we cannot exist by ourselves. If we remove all of the elements that are present in us, from the most fundamental – our parents, then our ancestors, then our spiritual ancestors, and then our conditions of life, which are food, sunshine, the blue sky, the rain, the air that we breathe – [then we see that] everything that is present supports us.” “Manas is a layer in our consciousness which allows us to want to grasp, want to move on, and want to do, and is always looking for something outside of itself, never feeling fulfilled. And it creates many, many habits. Manas forgets that we cannot exist by ourselves. And it forgets that we have to rely on others.” “In the practice of Buddhism, a true practitioner would actually become more caring for others, more caring for our environment, more caring for even the simplest things. Even the door of your house: you would want to open and close it mindfully so you can have gratitude for the simple things in life.” “In the practice of Buddhism – which Thay taught in Plum Village with the language and the direction of applied Buddhism, engaged Buddhism – generosity is not only within the material wealth that we have or the material possessions that we’re able to give to others, but generosity is also learning to be present for those you love.” “Generosity is a practice of openness, by seeing others outside of you as you. And that’s a very deep and profound practice.” “Each day, a smile is a gift that we can offer.” “Learn to smile to your past.” “I think generosity is all about connection and intimacy; sitting here with you, I feel love and warmth towards you. Whereas if I’d never met you and we were doing this on the phone the most significant element would be missing.” “Generosity is a practice, it's not just giving, giving, giving. We can give, give, give, but that can become a habit and can become fake in the moment. And so, not losing oneself is also a practice of generosity.” “Sometimes we have to learn to say no. It may be the most difficult thing, because there are so many requests coming in, and every request is to provide a spiritual practice, is to provide stability: teachings that can help people. But if you don’t know your limit, then you will not know how to love yourself. And you will also lose yourself in this, and therefore not become generous of oneself. So, in our generosity, there’s also a limit. We have to know our limit. We have to know how much we can give, as well as how much we want to give, so we can work towards that in order to be able to offer [it].”

Welcome to episode 36 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss views and perceptions, and how to move beyond them to find deeper meaning and truth in life. Together, they provide the context for the Buddhist concept of right view, deconstruct ‘view' and perceptions, including giving examples. They also share zen stories and practices (such as the Five Mindfulness Trainings – with a special focus on the first three) which can help us let go of views that bring suffering, while embracing the ones that can bring happiness. Brother Phap Huu explains the Buddhist perception of view and the updated Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings for monastic and lay practitioners. He further discusses fanaticism; “seeing the world beyond our world”; the practice of compassionate listening and deep looking; true communication; freedom of thought and openness to learning; and collective awakening. And what is it about aligning with a particular viewpoint that makes people feel safe and secure?Jo delves into the “terror of nothingness”; the sacred nature of things, and the fear of the sacred; the importance of connecting with and understanding our roots; holding more than one truth; and the accumulation of intellectual knowledge. The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resourcesDharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path/Dharma Talks: ‘The Ground of Right View'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-ground-of-right-view/ Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ The Beginner's Mindhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainingshttps://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/ Mahāyānahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana Buddhahoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood Leaders' Questhttps://leadersquest.org/ Lindsay Levinhttps://leadersquest.org/who-we-are/people/lindsay-levin/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation or the Three Dharma Seals'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-three-doors-of-liberation-or-the-three-dharma-seals-sr-chan-duc-italian-retreat-2018-05-04/ Old Path White Cloudshttps://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Four Immeasurable Minds – The Four Elements of True Love'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-four-immeasurable-minds-the-four-elements-of-true-love-sr-dieu-nghiem-sr-jina-2018-07-26/ Quotes “The Buddha once said that 95% of our perceptions are wrong; we are so quick in our judgment that we see things as we want to, but not as they are.” “Thay said, ‘I would never want to bring my students, my children, to a place where there is no suffering. In such a place, my children would never have an opportunity to grow, because they will not learn from suffering. And we know that life has a lot of teachings, and suffering is one of the teachings.’” “Thay had told us a mantra should be, ‘You are partially right.'” “We have to experience everything in life, not in concept.” “Freedom of thought: aware of the suffering brought about when we impose our views on others, we are determined not to force others – even our children – by any means whatsoever, such as authority, threat, money, propaganda, or indoctrination to adopt our views. We are committed to respecting the rights of others to be different, to choose what to believe and how to decide. We will, however, learn to help others let go and transform fanaticism and narrowness, through loving speech and compassionate dialog.” “Embrace your view, give it space, allow it to be, but don’t feed it. Don’t feed it and give it extra food, but question it and challenge it.” “I always remember the Dalai Lama saying, ‘If you have a spiritual epiphany, let it go, because a spiritual epiphany can be an imprisonment that you spend your life going back to. And that’s where you get stuck.’” “I wish everybody had the conditions to see the world beyond their world. When we are so attached to our views, it is because we haven’t yet allowed ourselves to be open.” “One time, someone asked Thay, ‘What would you choose, Buddhism or peace?’ And he said, ‘Of course, peace. Because the essence of Buddhism is to have inner peace and outer peace. I’m ready to let go of Buddhism. If peace is there, then Buddhism is not needed, because Buddhism is also just a view.’” “Thay was very, very clear that if you come to Plum Village and you become interested in Buddhist teachings and practices, do not let go of your own religious or spiritual traditions. Buddhism doesn't [need to] take over from that; it can add something. But he has constantly talked about the importance of connecting to your own roots, of being aware of your own roots, of not distancing yourself. Because our roots are important and they help us to understand ourselves, they help us to understand what our views are. Even if they are views that we want to let go of, we can only understand them in the context of our past.” “There is no one truth; there are many truths.” “Aware of the suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions, we are determined to avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. We are committed to learning and practicing non-attachment to views and being open to others’ experiences and insights, in order to benefit from collective wisdom. We are aware that the knowledge we presently possess is not changeless, absolute truth. Insight is revealed through the practice of compassionate listening, deep looking, and letting go of notions, rather than through the accumulation of intellectual knowledge. Truth is found in life, and we will observe life within and around us in every moment, ready to learn throughout our lives.” “Life is always changing. Are we the same as we were yesterday, or different? The answer is, we are neither the same nor different, because we are always changing. We are the present moment, but we are also of the past, because everything that we have experienced is here. But we are not just that past, because we’re living in this moment, which we are organically changing.” “The raft is not the shore. When you arrive at the shore, the shore which resembles liberation, we have to let go of the raft.” “If people are not deeply listening to each other, not incorporating ideas, not seeing a constellation or system of change, then actually people are just defending themselves.” “When we want to teach something, we have to learn to walk the talk.”

Welcome to episode 36 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss views and perceptions, and how to move beyond them to find deeper meaning and truth in life. Together, they provide the context for the Buddhist concept of right view, deconstruct ‘view' and perceptions, including giving examples. They also share zen stories and practices (such as the Five Mindfulness Trainings – with a special focus on the first three) which can help us let go of views that bring suffering, while embracing the ones that can bring happiness. Brother Phap Huu explains the Buddhist perception of view and the updated Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings for monastic and lay practitioners. He further discusses fanaticism; “seeing the world beyond our world”; the practice of compassionate listening and deep looking; true communication; freedom of thought and openness to learning; and collective awakening. And what is it about aligning with a particular viewpoint that makes people feel safe and secure?Jo delves into the “terror of nothingness”; the sacred nature of things, and the fear of the sacred; the importance of connecting with and understanding our roots; holding more than one truth; and the accumulation of intellectual knowledge. The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resourcesDharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path/Dharma Talks: ‘The Ground of Right View'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-ground-of-right-view/ Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ The Beginner's Mindhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainingshttps://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/ Mahāyānahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana Buddhahoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood Leaders' Questhttps://leadersquest.org/ Lindsay Levinhttps://leadersquest.org/who-we-are/people/lindsay-levin/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation or the Three Dharma Seals'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-three-doors-of-liberation-or-the-three-dharma-seals-sr-chan-duc-italian-retreat-2018-05-04/ Old Path White Cloudshttps://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Four Immeasurable Minds – The Four Elements of True Love'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-four-immeasurable-minds-the-four-elements-of-true-love-sr-dieu-nghiem-sr-jina-2018-07-26/ Quotes “The Buddha once said that 95% of our perceptions are wrong; we are so quick in our judgment that we see things as we want to, but not as they are.” “Thay said, ‘I would never want to bring my students, my children, to a place where there is no suffering. In such a place, my children would never have an opportunity to grow, because they will not learn from suffering. And we know that life has a lot of teachings, and suffering is one of the teachings.’” “Thay had told us a mantra should be, ‘You are partially right.'” “We have to experience everything in life, not in concept.” “Freedom of thought: aware of the suffering brought about when we impose our views on others, we are determined not to force others – even our children – by any means whatsoever, such as authority, threat, money, propaganda, or indoctrination to adopt our views. We are committed to respecting the rights of others to be different, to choose what to believe and how to decide. We will, however, learn to help others let go and transform fanaticism and narrowness, through loving speech and compassionate dialog.” “Embrace your view, give it space, allow it to be, but don’t feed it. Don’t feed it and give it extra food, but question it and challenge it.” “I always remember the Dalai Lama saying, ‘If you have a spiritual epiphany, let it go, because a spiritual epiphany can be an imprisonment that you spend your life going back to. And that’s where you get stuck.’” “I wish everybody had the conditions to see the world beyond their world. When we are so attached to our views, it is because we haven’t yet allowed ourselves to be open.” “One time, someone asked Thay, ‘What would you choose, Buddhism or peace?’ And he said, ‘Of course, peace. Because the essence of Buddhism is to have inner peace and outer peace. I’m ready to let go of Buddhism. If peace is there, then Buddhism is not needed, because Buddhism is also just a view.’” “Thay was very, very clear that if you come to Plum Village and you become interested in Buddhist teachings and practices, do not let go of your own religious or spiritual traditions. Buddhism doesn't [need to] take over from that; it can add something. But he has constantly talked about the importance of connecting to your own roots, of being aware of your own roots, of not distancing yourself. Because our roots are important and they help us to understand ourselves, they help us to understand what our views are. Even if they are views that we want to let go of, we can only understand them in the context of our past.” “There is no one truth; there are many truths.” “Aware of the suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions, we are determined to avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. We are committed to learning and practicing non-attachment to views and being open to others’ experiences and insights, in order to benefit from collective wisdom. We are aware that the knowledge we presently possess is not changeless, absolute truth. Insight is revealed through the practice of compassionate listening, deep looking, and letting go of notions, rather than through the accumulation of intellectual knowledge. Truth is found in life, and we will observe life within and around us in every moment, ready to learn throughout our lives.” “Life is always changing. Are we the same as we were yesterday, or different? The answer is, we are neither the same nor different, because we are always changing. We are the present moment, but we are also of the past, because everything that we have experienced is here. But we are not just that past, because we’re living in this moment, which we are organically changing.” “The raft is not the shore. When you arrive at the shore, the shore which resembles liberation, we have to let go of the raft.” “If people are not deeply listening to each other, not incorporating ideas, not seeing a constellation or system of change, then actually people are just defending themselves.” “When we want to teach something, we have to learn to walk the talk.”

Welcome to episode 35 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.This time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss the art of happiness according to the sutras from the Buddha's time. Their conversation explores the many layers of the Discourse on Happiness, each of the 11 causes of ‘the greatest happiness', as shared by the Buddha, and how these ancient texts help us create the conditions in which our own happiness can ripen today. Both Brother Phap Huu and Jo dig deeply into their own private and professional lives to exemplify and support these subjects; from ‘living our values' and the Four Gratitudes to the power of the sangha, meaning and purpose, generosity, forgiveness, Thay's memorable calligraphies, and many other topics. The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Sutras: ‘Discourse on Happiness'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-happiness/ Tathāgatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata Devahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism) Buddhahoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuddhahoodSutras: ‘Discourse on the 5 Ways of Putting an End to Anger'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-five-ways-of-putting-an-end-to-anger/ ‘The Order of Interbeing'https://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing/ ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ ‘Dharma Sharing'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/ TWOII: ‘Engaged Buddhism: Applying the Teachings in Our Present Moment (Episode #9)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/engaged-buddhism-applying-the-teachings-in-our-present-moment/ The Four Noble Truthshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA Tếthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%BFt Quotes “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.” “Thay said that happiness is not outside of you, happiness is in you and around you already. It’s whether we have the mindfulness to recognize the wonderful conditions that are there. And so, if we change our perceptions, we start to see that happiness is the way. Just being is the way. And so we can free ourselves from the habit of running after happiness.” “Not to be associated with the foolish ones, but to live in the company of wise people, honoring those who are worth honoring – this is the greatest happiness.” “[Thay suggested sometimes calling] a good friend, a soulmate, someone who understands you, someone who helps you see your shortcomings, and has the courage and the intention to share with you your own ignorance, so that you can grow from it. That is happiness.” “To live in a good environment, to have planted good seeds, and to realize you are on the right path – this is the greatest happiness.” “The environment is not outside of you; you are the environment.” “Every thought is planting a seed. Every idea I conjure up in my mind is planting a seed. Everything I say is planting a seed. Everything I do is planting a seed. And I think people tend not to see the full nature of what it is to plant seeds; that, actually, there’s nothing neutral [about it].” “To have a chance to learn and grow, to be skillful in your professional craft, practicing the precepts and loving speech – this is the greatest happiness.” “To live honestly, generous and giving, to offer support to relatives and friends living a life of blameless conduct – this is the greatest happiness.” “Most of the time, we make ourselves very busy and we think we love and we define love as always giving each other presents. But love is to give each other presence, our true presence, our heart, our ears, our eyes: ‘I see you for who you are. I’m here to listen to you.'” “Being honest means never having to remember what you said.” “To avoid unwholesome actions, not to be caught by alcoholism or drugs, and to be diligent in doing good things. This is the greatest happiness.” “To be humble and polite in manner, to be grateful and content with a simple life, not missing the occasion to learn the dharma – this is the greatest happiness.” “Be grateful and content with a simple life. That always brings me to one of Thay’s calligraphies: ‘You have enough.' That line tells us to continue to learn to have moderation. We are a species with a lot of greed; we take more than we need. We see things as just things, so we keep taking and taking and taking. But what we have learned in our times is that everything is interrelated; that’s why we are in the state that we are in. And that’s why we need this collective awakening. Simple life should be the new culture.” “To be humble is to be free, because as soon as we believe we’re something more than ourselves, it’s a shaky superstructure. To keep it going, we have to keep feeding it, and building it, and protecting it. And, again, it feeds into that egoic mask. Actually, we just lose ourselves. And the more we lose ourselves, the harder it is to come back to ourselves, because the distance becomes so great.” “Practicing Buddhism is not to escape this world, but to be more alive in it.”

Welcome to episode 35 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.This time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss the art of happiness according to the sutras from the Buddha's time. Their conversation explores the many layers of the Discourse on Happiness, each of the 11 causes of ‘the greatest happiness', as shared by the Buddha, and how these ancient texts help us create the conditions in which our own happiness can ripen today. Both Brother Phap Huu and Jo dig deeply into their own private and professional lives to exemplify and support these subjects; from ‘living our values' and the Four Gratitudes to the power of the sangha, meaning and purpose, generosity, forgiveness, Thay's memorable calligraphies, and many other topics. The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Sutras: ‘Discourse on Happiness'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-happiness/ Tathāgatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata Devahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism) Buddhahoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuddhahoodSutras: ‘Discourse on the 5 Ways of Putting an End to Anger'https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-five-ways-of-putting-an-end-to-anger/ ‘The Order of Interbeing'https://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing/ ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ ‘Dharma Sharing'https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/ TWOII: ‘Engaged Buddhism: Applying the Teachings in Our Present Moment (Episode #9)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/engaged-buddhism-applying-the-teachings-in-our-present-moment/ The Four Noble Truthshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA Tếthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%BFt Quotes “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.” “Thay said that happiness is not outside of you, happiness is in you and around you already. It’s whether we have the mindfulness to recognize the wonderful conditions that are there. And so, if we change our perceptions, we start to see that happiness is the way. Just being is the way. And so we can free ourselves from the habit of running after happiness.” “Not to be associated with the foolish ones, but to live in the company of wise people, honoring those who are worth honoring – this is the greatest happiness.” “[Thay suggested sometimes calling] a good friend, a soulmate, someone who understands you, someone who helps you see your shortcomings, and has the courage and the intention to share with you your own ignorance, so that you can grow from it. That is happiness.” “To live in a good environment, to have planted good seeds, and to realize you are on the right path – this is the greatest happiness.” “The environment is not outside of you; you are the environment.” “Every thought is planting a seed. Every idea I conjure up in my mind is planting a seed. Everything I say is planting a seed. Everything I do is planting a seed. And I think people tend not to see the full nature of what it is to plant seeds; that, actually, there’s nothing neutral [about it].” “To have a chance to learn and grow, to be skillful in your professional craft, practicing the precepts and loving speech – this is the greatest happiness.” “To live honestly, generous and giving, to offer support to relatives and friends living a life of blameless conduct – this is the greatest happiness.” “Most of the time, we make ourselves very busy and we think we love and we define love as always giving each other presents. But love is to give each other presence, our true presence, our heart, our ears, our eyes: ‘I see you for who you are. I’m here to listen to you.'” “Being honest means never having to remember what you said.” “To avoid unwholesome actions, not to be caught by alcoholism or drugs, and to be diligent in doing good things. This is the greatest happiness.” “To be humble and polite in manner, to be grateful and content with a simple life, not missing the occasion to learn the dharma – this is the greatest happiness.” “Be grateful and content with a simple life. That always brings me to one of Thay’s calligraphies: ‘You have enough.' That line tells us to continue to learn to have moderation. We are a species with a lot of greed; we take more than we need. We see things as just things, so we keep taking and taking and taking. But what we have learned in our times is that everything is interrelated; that’s why we are in the state that we are in. And that’s why we need this collective awakening. Simple life should be the new culture.” “To be humble is to be free, because as soon as we believe we’re something more than ourselves, it’s a shaky superstructure. To keep it going, we have to keep feeding it, and building it, and protecting it. And, again, it feeds into that egoic mask. Actually, we just lose ourselves. And the more we lose ourselves, the harder it is to come back to ourselves, because the distance becomes so great.” “Practicing Buddhism is not to escape this world, but to be more alive in it.”

This is our third day and this is the second Dharma talk. Included in this talk is a teaching on the Five Mindfulness Trainings and teaching for the children. Our teacher today is Thay Phap Dung.  This is a happy moment. It's been 3-years since our last Family Retreat and we are happy for its return. We hope you are too! Our theme this year is Harmony at Home, Peace all Around.

Friday, April 8, 2022. Wake Up Retreat. Our retreat theme is Beginning Now and this is the Second Dharma Talk for the retreat. Thay Phap Luu offers the Dharma talk.  Store consciousness. Mindfulness. Interbeing. The last portion of the talk, we learn more about the Five Mindfulness Trainings with three lay practitioners sharing their experience. We have 115 young adults (18-35) in attendance for this 5-day retreat.

Episode 5 of the Neshamah Project Podcast integrates a story from R' Nachman of Bratslav, a quote from Norman Fisher, and one of the Five Mindfulness Trainings of Thich Nhat Hanh to bring us a lesson on how to deal with the suffering and pain in our lives.

In this week's talk, MOI teacher Kyle Sorys speaks to the importance of morality and virtue to one's spiritual practice, which leads to a brief discussion of the Five Precepts and ends with a contemplation practice of Thich Nhat Hanah's Five Mindfulness Trainings. If you feel inspired by these teachings, and wish to practice generosity, please consider supporting MOI and its teachers by visiting, https://mindfulnessoutreachinitiative.org/generosity/

In this episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, are joined by special guest, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit). Together, they discuss eco-anxiety, the challenges of and solutions for shifting to a new paradigm which can heal us and our planet, and whether it's possible to change our minds, hearts, and future. Plus: how can you be at peace in what feels like a battlefield? The conversation touches upon “the decisive decade”; individualism and competition; interdependence; handling fear; transformation; change in “the age of collective procrastination”; and opportunities in difficult times. Is it possible to ‘sit' with collapse? Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit) shares his journey of transformation, from studying sciences at Cambridge, to numerous retreats, and eventual monastic life. He further talks about creating transformation at both personal and collective levels; the cult of individualism; societal numbness; handling the energy of negativity; the basis of understanding reality, and what nourishes our views and beliefs; the economic conceit ‘the tragedy of the commons'; creating shared visions and aspirations; and telling new stories. And how do you change your view when you're caught in the old paradigm?Brother Phap Huu shares insights on how to not lose ourselves in a fast-paced environment, and looks at: fundamental questions; procrastination; individual aspirations; becoming free from attachment; striving and the importance of stopping; learning in the community; the Six Harmonies; and the joy of sharing.There's also important advice for those ‘burning out' in the environmental movement.Jo recollects Thich Nhat Hanh's speech to the members of the UK Parliament and his thoughts on conflictual political systems. He further muses on the lasting joy of community life. The episode ends with a short meditation on gratitude and Mother Earth, guided by Brother Phap Linh. ------

Compassion is the topic today. It's easy to be compassionate to those we love and who are kind and loving to us. Being compassionate to every living thing is a whole different challenge. If you can truly show compassion to everyone and everything, you will experience a life that largely includes peace and contentment. My aunt Vesta was a person in my life that seemed to show compassion to everyone. She absolutely loved children and was a teacher for many years. She lived near the gates of Western University, here in London, Ontario and she took in university students year after year and kept in touch with many of them who became authors, scientists, doctors and professors. She worked in First Nations communities and always loved talking about the people in her life. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spotify When Aunt Vesta came to visit, one of the first things she would say is, ‘Tell me about you?’. I would ask her questions and hope that she would play the piano … she would always turn the conversation back on the person she was talking to. She had a lot to share, but she wanted to know what was happening in the lives of others. Someone else who seemed to live a beautiful and selfless life, showing a huge amount of compassion to others, is Thich Nhat Hahn, author of over 130 books. Thich Nhat Hahn Thich Nhat Hahn has written many poems and offered much advice on how to show compassion to others. Here’s a quote by Thich Nhat Hahn: “To love, we need to open our heart and release our preconceived notions about other people. We cannot judge by appearances or assumptions of what they might do.” Thich Nhat Hahn's words ring true because compassion can be a difficult thing to cultivate when you have few in your life who are kind and loving. It's easy to show compassion for those we love, but it takes more effort to show compassion for everyone. Today, I’m going to talk about how Thich Nhat Hahn has shown compassion for others and how you can apply his teachings in your own life. In case you don’t know who Thich Nhat Hahn is, he’s is a world renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. Apostle Of Peace And Nonviolence Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Exiled from his native Vietnam for almost four decades, Thich Nhat Hanh has been a pioneer bringing Buddhism and mindfulness to the West, and establishing an engaged Buddhist community for the 21st Century. In 1982, Thich Nhat Hahn moved to a site in the south west of France, that became known as “Plum Village.” Under Thich Nhat Hanh’s spiritual leadership, Plum Village grew from a small rural farmstead to what is now a large and active Buddhist monastery, with over 200 resident monastics and over 10,000 visitors every year, who come from around the world to learn “the art of mindful living.” In the last twenty years over 100,000 people have made a commitment to follow Thich Nhat Hanh’s modernized code of universal global ethics in their daily life, known as “The Five Mindfulness Trainings.” Wake Up Thich Nhat Hanh also founded the “Wake Up” website, a worldwide movement of thousands of young people training in the practices of mindful living, and through this program, thousands of teachers have been taught to teach mindfulness in schools in Europe, America, and Asia. In 2014, just after his 88th birthday, Thich Nhat Hanh suffered a severe stroke. Four years later, in November 2018, he returned to Vietnam to live out his remaining days. Nhất Hạnh has published over 130 books, including more than 100 in English, which have sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Thich Nhat Hanh is often referenced by guests on Mindfulness Mode and his wisdom is cherished by most of the people I know who practice mindfulness. Deep Listening Nhat Hanh refers to “Deep Listening”, which is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. It’s often called compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart. … You just listen with compassion and help him to suffer less. I’m going to share these words by Thich Nhat Hahn on compassion: In the eyes of Great Compassion, there is no separation between subject and object, no separate self. If a cruel and violent person disembowels you, you can smile and look at him with love. It is his upbringing, his situation, and his ignorance that cause him to act so mindlessly. Look at him—the one who is bent on your destruction and heaps injustice upon you—with the eyes of love and compassion. Let compassion pour from your eyes, and don’t let a ripple of blame or anger rise up in your heart. He commits senseless crimes against you and makes you suffer because he cannot see the way to peace, joy, or understanding. If someday you receive news that I have died because of someone’s cruel actions, know that I died with my heart at peace. Know that in my last moments I did not succumb to anger. We must never hate another being. If you can give rise to this awareness, you will be able to smile. Remembering me, you will continue on your path. You will have a refuge that no one can take from you. No one will be able to disturb your faith, because that faith does not rely on anything in the phenomenal world. Faith and love are one and can only emerge when you penetrate deeply the empty nature of the phenomenal world, when you can see that you are in everything and everything is In you. Long ago I read a story about a monk who felt no anger toward the cruel king who had chopped off the monk’s ear and pierced his skin with a knife. When I read that, I thought the monk must be some kind of god. That was because I did not yet know the nature of Great Compassion. The monk had no anger to hold back. All he had was a heart of love. There is nothing to prevent us from being like that monk. Love teaches that we can all live like the Buddha. I encourage you to read some material by Thich Nhat Hahn. He believed that we are all one. Understanding that we, as living beings are all one, can help us feel and show compassion for everything and everyone. I hope you’re experiencing feelings of peace, love, and true compassion. Compassion For Essential Workers There are hundreds of thousands of essential workers out there helping people struck down with COVID19. I know some of them, because of my wife, Darlene, working in the ICU, and so many of her colleagues. They’re overburdened and yet pushing through, doing whatever they can and doing it with compassion. Here in our part of the world, COVID19 is still central in the lives of many. I believe that striving to live every day by showing compassion is one of the things we’re called to do.      Thanks for listening, Mindful Tribe. Bye now. Suggested Resources Book: Path of Compassion: Stories from the Buddha's Life by Thich Nhat Hahn Book: The Art of Mindful Living: How to Bring Love, Compassion, and Inner Peace into Your Daily Life by Thich Nhat Hahn Book: Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN by Tara Brach App: Insight Timer Related Episodes 511 Pause, Breathe, And Smile To Awaken Your Mindfulness; Gary Gach (Note: Gary Gach was educated by Thich Nhat Hahn) 027 Nirmala: Be curious and discover who you are through mindfulness and meditation 503 Increase Your Magnetic Presence With Rachael Jayne Groover Special Offer Have you been trying to break through a mind block? Are you discouraged? It’s not hopeless. YOU CAN DO IT. I coach people just like you. I’m Bruce Langford, a practicing hypnotist, and you will get results with my help! Feel good about your life and accomplishments. Regain confidence. Book a Free Consultation to get you on the road to being grounded and centered. Email me: bruce@mindfulnessmode.com with ‘I Believe In Me' in the subject line.

Link to PDF discussed: The Five Mindfulness Trainings The FB live on the trainings: Brandon Handley 0:00 What is going on spiritual dope Brandon Handley here and today, we're going to cover a couple things that we actually just did introductory into Buddhism series on that we're doing over on Facebook, that we're streaming from spiritual dope page for the next month or so, where we're covering introductory Buddhism pieces. I mean, I really don't even know what stuff is. I've got a buddy of mine. Sam Sam Aussie Ivana. His name's Rodin's Paul. I don't know why he chooses all these different names. Great guy, who is a Buddhist Reverend has been practicing for about 16 years now. And one of the things that we just covered this past week was the five mindfulness trainings and the five mindfulness trainings that represents a Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. There are concrete expression of the Buddhist teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation and happiness for ourselves and for the world. You know, you know, essentially two practices is to cultivate the insight of inner being or right view, a lot of these things, a lot of these terms that I'm kind of tossed out there right now they're capitalized. You know, though the word right view is, you know, what is the what is the the right view, right? is kind of one of the things they talk about Buddhism the middle way, you know, along the path. But what what we're working to do is to remove all discrimination and tolerance, anger, fear and despair. And what we're trying to do is live according to these five mindfulness trainings, and, you know, essentially, if we're living in that way, we are On the path of the Bodhisattva. And if you're not familiar with what the Bodhisattva is, it's someone who's on their way towards enlightenment, and is willing to reach out and work with others and to help others. And so when you know that you are on that path, you know that you are not lost in confusion about your life, and that you're able to be in the present. And that's that, that I think, is pretty cool. So what I was gonna do, since you, you know, may not have the hour and a half that we spent going through the five mindfulness trainings, I figured I'd give you, you know, 1015 minute rundown of what they are, and maybe talk a little bit about what these were and the five mindfulness trainings. So we're going to go through reverence for life. true happiness, true love, loving speech and deep listening, nourishment and healing and you know who you Think about the posts that you see on Facebook, sometimes the TLDR too long, didn't read. Essentially, this is just something that kind of, again cultivates that path and for you, and that when you're living in this way, again, you are on your way towards enlightenment. So let's just we'll just hit it off. Real quick here. We'll go with reverence for life for 1000. Alex, aware of the suffering caused by destruction of life, I'm committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion, and learning ways to protect and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world in my way, in my thinking, or my way of life. Seeing the harm actions arise from anger, seeing that harm harmful actions arise from anger, fear Read and intolerance, which in turn comes from a dualistic and discriminative thinking, Unknown Speaker 4:04 I will cultivate openness Brandon Handley 4:06 non discrimination and non attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world. You know, look, this is a, we were talking on the show last week, and this is really, you know, you see these, this this, like the 10 commandments, right? Or even, you know, even more modern times, it's really long lines of the Four Agreements. Obviously, nobody you know, shouldn't run out there and kill or support killing in any way shape or form. The other part is cultivate openness, non discrimination, you know, be open to others, and what they bring to to you in the world. And the other part in here was dogmatism right. Openness towards that so you know, be open to systems and ways of change, so that we went much, much deeper into it. But I'm going to make this to the quick hit point today. true happiness, aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing and oppression. I'm committed to practicing generosity and my thinking, speaking and acting. I'm determined not to steal, and not to possess anything that should belong to others. And I will share my time, energy and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply and see that happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering. The true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion. And that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not my external conditions. I'm gonna read that line again. I'm aware that how happiness depends on my mental attitude, and not on external conditions. And that I can live happily in the present moment, simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I've committed to practicing right livelihood so that I can reduce the suffering of living beings on earth and stop contributing to climate change. When we read through this last week, we we hit on we tore this one apart, right? We just went through all of it. Obviously, I think it's timely that we're reading this and going through it as you know, social justice and oppression are kind of rampant out there. In one way shape or another and you know, true happiness is a you know, something that we want to practice the idea of generosity and thinking, speaking and acting. And that we are going to give our time and energy to those who are in need and We dug deep into, you know, who How do we determine exactly who was in need? Right? And we also discussed the idea of wisdom in generosity, right? Not just simply giving to the for the sake of giving, but, you know, where are your resources, your time and energy best spent who's going to receive you, who's gonna truly receive that benefit from you? and use it right. And, and so, that was something that we talk deeply about. And then the obviously the the piece that I read twice in here is that you know, aware that happiness depends on your mental attitude and not external conditions. Right. And then, obviously, in there too, aware that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair can not will or do, but they can And then that census, we talked about attachment to desires, and things not turning out the way that we want to and investing so much energy in those types of things and how that can really bring about suffering and despair. And finally, we when we ended this item about true happiness we talked about stop contributing to climate change. And by that it's not simply global warming, but the climate and environment in all situations. When you come in to a room you are impacting the climate of a room as an example. Moving on, so true love aware that suffering caused by sexual misconduct aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct. I'm committed to cultivating responsibility and learning the ways to protect the safety and integrity. of individuals, couples, families and society, knowing that sexual desires not love Brandon Handley 9:05 and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself, as well as others. I'm determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long term commitment made none of my friends and family. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one I committed to learning appropriate way that takes care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness, which are the four basic elements of true love. For my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love we know that we can continue beautifully into the future. I think a lot of this is obvious but you one of the things that you know, obviously when you're younger, you got like this. Just sexual desire, right? And and knowing that that's driven by I would dare say your animalistic nature, right? And how do you, you know, how do you try to rein that in and that's, that can be a challenge and, you know, that's where we also see the, you know, engaging in sexual relations without true love and then the commitments as that can lead to, you know, just again, dissatisfaction right, not necessarily dissatisfaction, but it can lead to pain and suffering through that, right. And amongst many, many other things, obviously, you're going to take care of our children and families as best as we can. And all of this, you know, can be impacted as it relates to, you know, sexual misconduct and not and just pure sexual desire. That's motivated by cravings versus, you know, a tender loving a engagement, right or at least, you know, being being with someone that you truly love and that you love how it's a long term commitment may known to my friends and family. So, whatever that looks like for you, that's what true love is, according to the five mindfulness trainings, we've also got love, loving speech and deep listening, aware of the deep of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and inability to listen to others, and committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve sufferings and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself, and among other people, ethnic and religious groups and nations, knowing that words, create happiness or suffering. I'm committed to speaking truthfully using words and inspire confidence, joy and hope. When anger is manifesting me I'm determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and Walking in order to recognize and look deeply into my Unknown Speaker 12:02 anger, Brandon Handley 12:04 I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering of myself and then the other person. I will speak and listen in ways that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I've determined not spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or Discord. And I will practice right diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness and gradually transform anger, violence and fear that lie deep in my consciousness. This is a lot like the sexual you know, being driven by sexual desire, right? Obviously, it's something that's within us that is propelling us forward. And then If we don't pay attention to Unknown Speaker 13:01 it, Brandon Handley 13:02 again can cause suffering. And this is the unmindful speech, right? We say what's on our mind and sometimes we say it in a way. That is not my fault. It just comes out. And we do it with disregard to how the other person is going to receive it. And sometimes we simply don't listen to other people. We don't feel the room. So in this we are cultivating loving speech, and compassionate listening, so that we can avoid creating the those those painful moments and suffering. And I love I love the part where it talks about I'm committed to speaking truthfully, using words that inspire confidence, joy and hope. Who doesn't like to to be inspired? Right, who doesn't win, just imagine yourself When somebody comes up to you and and they give you a compliment, and it is sincere, and it is specific and that inspires confidence, he brings you a little bit of joy. And it helps you with your hope. It's just it's just such a magnificent feeling when somebody does that for you, so if you can learn to do that yourself for others, just imagine what you're doing for those people. This other part here is it's just Paramount and Unknown Speaker 14:31 a long term Brandon Handley 14:32 loving relationship. If you're not familiar with me, man, my wife and I have been together off and on for you know, coming up on 20 years now. Oh, maybe it's 21 you haven't been coming along now. And throughout all the all that time most definitely spoken anger and and I you know, out of place then on mindful but as we as we've grown to to find to find that you're beginning to feel angry. And it's like it says here when anger is manifesting in me, I'm determined to look deeply into my anger. Look at that bubbling up and to capture that before it gets converted into words, to capture that before it can do any damage. That's the area where you're going to practice mindful breathing. And walking, redirect that energy. And take a look in into yourself and just kind of see where that's coming from. Because oftentimes, it could just be a, you know, a perspective. Right, and maybe that's not the intention, whatever is causing great anger and, and being able to transform that anger, or that violence and fear into understanding love and joy. That's it. It's all you know, energy Being able to up think of alchemy right transmute that almost immediately or as quickly as you can into into something else that's within your power. And that's, that to me, that's what they're talking about this and when, when it comes to your five mindfulness trainings and finally, we'll go on nourishment and healing. So where are the suffering caused by on mindful consumption I'm committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental for myself, my family and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the four kinds of nutrients, namely, edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble or to use alcohol, drugs or any other products which contain toxins such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books and conversations. I would practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing healing and nourishment elements in me and around me. Not letting regrets and sorrow drive me back into the past to cover up loneliness, anxiety or other sufferings by losing myself and consumption. JACK that up. Not letting regrets and sorrow drive me back into the past nor letting anxieties fear craving pull me out of the present moment. I'm determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety or other sufferings by losing myself and consumption. I will contemplate inner being and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well being in my body and consciousness and then the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the earth Look, this is a super simple one, right? On mindful consumption, right what is overeating? Eating just to eat? Jared you're feeling you're having a shitty day and it's a tub of ice cream, having a shitty day, it's full, full pizza. Right? You're having a shitty week. It's it's a six pack or more every evening, you have a lifestyle that converts into that. Just a you know, a string of a string of, of shitty days turns into, you know, months and weeks of it. And it's just this unmindful consumption, where this is coming from. This is coming from me, I in my own past experiences where it was completely on mindful, drank. And sometimes it was sometimes it was just a habit, but it was it wasn't mindful consumption. And then I would drink to you Cover up loneliness, anxiety or other sufferings right? In those consumptions. same can be said for video gaming, alcohol, or drugs, you know, all of those things that have been something that I've been through and have come out of. And now I'm very mindful about my absolute consumption. And I just feel better for it. I mean, it's super simple. I'm very mindful of, you know, what goes into my mind that we, for the most part, stop watching most of the news. It's it's fear mongering. Brandon Handley 19:37 And notice it tries to set a scarcity and this is my perception. My opinion is it tries to set like a scarcity. mindset is a fear mindset. And when you have a fearful mindset because of the things that you are letting into your mind through mindless consumption, you're the prey, you're the victims in that and it hate to see you know, I'd hate to see that gone through for you and your life forever. And I believe that's the intent of the five Mindfulness Trainings is for you as well. So again, that was the the reverence for life, true happiness, true love, loving speech and deep listening, then finally nourishment and healing. You can find this, I'll put a link on the site for it today, you can find the a PDF, you can download, you can print it out. Sure. If you'd like. You could also go to the Facebook Live, I'll put a link to that as well. And on the website, you can go check that out beyond the podcast as well. If you're interested, and then, you know on what's the, you know, September September 19 2020. On Facebook, we'll be doing the we'll be doing the Three Jewels Rules of Buddhism. And I'm gonna pop up my Facebook here right now I'm gonna look at the other three that are coming up here we've got introduction on the 26th, as well to Buddhism with Sam as we go over the Four Noble Truths. And then on the October 3, we're going to be going over, drumroll please. What is this one the Eightfold Path. So if you have interest in Buddhism, and you'd like to have the opportunity to speak with somebody in an environment where you know, you're safe, where it's an open and welcoming, then Come join me as I as host Sam. And like I said, Paul, as he walks us through some of these introductory pieces, and we can get an understanding of what what Buddhism holds for you. And then you also have the great opportunity to have your questions answered live. All right, so take these guests Transcribed by https://otter.ai

A 43-minute segment on the third door of liberation – aimlessness. The talk takes place on August 17, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness and this is part four of a four-part series. Aimlessness You don’t put something in front of you and run after. It is a wonderful practice. It can bring you peace. We have the habit of running after something. Fame. Profit. Wealth. Even enlightenment. People imagine that monastics are running after enlightenment. But that is not the practice. If you have received the Five Mindfulness Trainings, you belong to the lineage of Linji. His teaching is very strong on this aspect of running. Don’t run after what you already are. Stop running. Happiness is right here. In this very moment. Just one step. Peace. Joy. Healing. Enlightenment. Are all in the present moment. This is the teaching of aimlessness.  Are you enlightened already? But how can we make plans for the future? The answer lies in the teaching of aimlessness.  Enlightenment is not something you strive for. The moment you are aware you are breathing in, that is a moment of enlightenment. We also practice to be aware of the present moment. We don’t live in a dream anymore. There is no way to enlightenment. Enlightenment is the way.  To be there for each other. At the breakfast table. There are things we can do so that mindfulness is there. If we organize well, breakfast can be a celebration of life.  So, let us take care of the present moment. The future is contained in the present moment. And let us not lose ourselves in regret about the past.  Nirvana  In the Buddhist tradition they speak of nirvana. Nirvana is the absence of notions. Notions like birth and death. Nirvana is not a place or space located in time. We have a notion of time. That we have birth and death.  We hear the story of the flame.  Pairs of opposites.  Birth and deathBeing and nonbeing Coming and going Sameness and otherness  Sangha building. 

This is a 117-minute session of questions and answers with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in Hanoi during the “Engaged Buddhism in the 21st Century” retreat. The date is May 10, 2008 and the questions and answers are offered in English.  Questions How would applied Buddhism look to the healthcare professional? (3:25)How do we deal with guilt? (8:07)My father cares about no-one and has no interest in life. He also has lots of anger. How can I help him? (17:50)A question on mindfulness of joy. Can you explain a little more about joy as it relates too attachment to the joy? (23:30)Experiencing suffering in not being able to conceive a child. (32:30)A question about medication and depression. In reference to what Thay taught in a previous talk. Sometimes there is also a physiological aspect to depression. Concern that Thay’s teaching may be misunderstood. Can you clarify? (41:24)Why does life exist? Why are we here? (56:33)As a young person, how can I use the practice and be able to share with other young people? Is there some more creative language that might speak more to young people? (1:00:00)How do we forgive someone whom we have never known intimately and have no way of communicating? For the suffering they have caused. (1:08:15)Having recently traveled in Laos and meeting many people impacted by the war and areas where unexploded ordinance remains. This caused anger and sadness to arise in me. Is this karma? Is this a time when we can be righteously angry? (1:16:03)There are young people who grow-up in a loving and supportive environment, but when they travel for university or work, they will face really negative pressure. This is a challenge. We should vaccinate our mind. Should we give children challenges so they are better prepared? (1:25:50)What is your intention with offering the Five Mindfulness Trainings? (1:35:30)Question about the 5th Mindfulness Training. This training watered by feeling of fear based on my upbringing as a Catholic. (1:45:30)

Facilitated by Thay Phap Hai during the second session of Family Retreat 2019

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life* * *Summary for August 18, 2019* * *Dear Folks -Fear is running and ruining individual lives and the cultures that contain us. As people interested in growing in experiencing and expressing the virtues of peace, love, joy, patience and humility; we have a responsibility, I believe, to seek out the root causes of fear and move out of the arena where fear is in control. That, in a sentence or two, is what the talk I offered in Ordinary Life this week sought to address. I began with Neil Douglas-Klotz’s rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer” as a way to ground us. Then talked about how our projections of both our unconscious and our shadows block us from treating other people as we ourselves would like to be treated. I also spoke about how rare it is for us to be here and how we can use the Five Mindfulness Trainings to extend the practice of compassion into our various worlds. I called the talk -Moving Out of the Arena of Being Run and Ruined by FearThat is a very brief summary of the talk I offered this week in Ordinary Life. As if often the case, I think the audio version is different and, I think, better than the text.You can read or download the text from which I spoke, view the presentation slides, listen to the audio of the talk and/or watch the video of the talk using the links below.If you are reading this, I want you to know how grateful I am for and to you.Be well and much love,Bill KerleyTo read or download the text of the talk, click here.To view or download the presentation slides, click here.To listen to the audio version of the talk, use the link below.

Facilitated by Thay Phap Hai

In this week's episode, I interview Maraliz Campos!Maraliz, sound practitioner and wellness guide, challenges widely accepted industry narratives. Her pioneering sounds combine scientific and intuitive techniques to invite self-exploration. As a Latina with disabilities, she promotes accessibility and inclusivity while teaching us to shift our unconscious reactions to chosen responses. Her integration of formal musical training with raw sensory curation have helped her transition her own body from a state of severe disability to remission.She is a certified sound practitioner, yoga instructor, meditation facilitator, dj, and sound designer who helps others ease stress with vibrations and movement using personal recordings, Himalayan/crystal singing bowls, tuning forks, violin, vocal looping, synths and percussive instruments.She has studied with Silvia Nakkach, Dr. John Beaulieu, Sara Auster, Wendy Young and other industry pioneers. Maraliz completed her yoga teacher training while undergoing chemotherapy in 2015 after which she shadowed Jyl Kutsche for 8 months in therapeutic yoga at the Dallas Yoga Center. Her transmission ceremony of Thich Nhat Hanh's Five Mindfulness Trainings was completed with Terry Cortes-Vega at the Dallas Meditation Center.Links to Social Media Sites:@maralizcamposhttps://www.facebook.com/maraliz.campos.soundMusic and DJ mixes:https://soundcloud.com/maraliz-camposhttps://maraliz.bandcamp.com/Website:www.MaralizYoga.comNewsletter Signup Form:http://eepurl.com/cKWMXDPreview of an unreleased track from my upcoming EP (to be released on Spotify)https://soundcloud.com/maraliz-campos/the-refuge-2/s-Sf0IXInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/maralizcampos/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/maralizcampos/Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zfI_BeFk9zZYdplt8ziWQ?view_as=subscriber Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of this series, Rick provides you with a way to approach Thich Nhat Hanh's five mindfulness trainings that he introduces and explores throughout the series.

Dharma talk given by Lama Matthew Palden Gocha on February 17th, 2019. Lama Matt shared two of the Five Mindfulness Trainings of Thich Nhat Hanh. You can find the complete list on his site here: https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ True Love Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness – which are the four basic elements of true love – for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future. Loving Speech and Deep Listening Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness. Music by Bran Cerddorion.

Earth Holder's Commitment Sheet The Five Mindfulness Trainings Letter from Thich Nhat Hanh to Blue Cliff Monastery on respecting Mother Earth

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 No...

For the Fifth International Buddhist Conference in May 2008, the Venerable Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was invited to offer the opening keynote address. The event took place at the National Convention Center, Hanoi, Vietnam with the theme Buddhist Contribution to Building a Just, Democratic and Civilized Society. Hosted by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and co-organized by International Organizing Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and National Coordinating Committee for the United Nations Day of Vesak. The date is May 13, 2008 and both audio and video are available below. The talk is 53-minutes.  Promoting Peace Practicing Buddhism is the art of being peace, the art of promoting peace, in the society and in the world. We all should learn this art. We all have elements of war in our body. Practicing Buddhism is recognizing these elements so that we can then transform these elements. In the Sutra on Mindful Breathing, the Buddha provided us the practice to release the tension in our body. It only takes a few minutes. If we can release the tension in our body, then our body can learn to heal itself. When we make peace body, we can begin to make peace with our feelings and emotions. Do you know how to recognize your emotions? This is the art of making peace with ourselves. Our body, and our feelings and emotions. The Buddha also taught in this sutra how to recognize and transform our mental formations. The Buddhist practice means going home to oneself. To restore peace. How does this work in the family setting? Or in the school setting? Why is it important for parents and teachers to learn this art of being peace?  Deep Listening and Loving Speech During our time teaching in the west, we have also taught listening with compassion and using loving speech to restore communication. In Plum Village, we have practiced this intentionally with groups in conflict - Israelis and Palestinians. What is outlined above is used to illustrate practical application with these groups. In Mahayana Buddhism, we have the Bodhissatva Avalokiteshvara - the bodhissatva of compassion. They do this practice in order to suffer less.  Right View is the view of dependent co-arising, no-self, interbeing. Practitioners should always remember to maintain this right view in their daily life. How does this look between a father and a son? We learn that suffering is not an individual matter. Everything this is linked to everything else. To protect other species on earth, and the earth itself, is to protect ourselves. This is the insight of interbeing.  The Five Mindfulness Trainings Thay reminds of Unesco’s Manifesto 2000 which Thay helped to create with several Nobel Peace Prize laureates. There are six points and has been signed by 75-million people. This arose from the teachings of Buddhism and are very similar to the Five Mindfulness Trainings. If we practice these, we will have peace in ourselves and in the world. Just signing is not enough; we need to put it into practice. This is why we recommend forming ourselves into communities - in our families, schools, workplace, and within governments. These can all become a sangha and bring these six points (and Five Mindfulness Trainings) into practice.  The practice of deep ecology, mindful consumption and the Five Mindfulness Trainings. The trainings also teach us not to exploit people or the earth. We have been talking a lot about peace, but we have not done enough for the cause of peace. Whatever we can do in terms of thinking, speech, and action could be considered as an offering to the Lord Budhha. As an example, we learn how Deer Park Monastery in California is using solar energy and having car free days. Reducing consumption, learning to live more simply, and to have more time to take care of oneself and our beloved ones is very crucial and is the way of peace.  Living happily in the present moment. And taking care of the present moment is taking care of the future.

The Sangha is gathered together at Magnolia Grove Monastery in Batesville, Mississippi during the 2011 US Teaching Tour with the theme Cultivating the Mind of Love. This 115-minute dharma talk is from October 2, 2011 and both the audio and video are available with this post. This is the last day of Magnolia retreat and may be a little difficult if listeners have not heard the talks from the previous days (video playlist). https://youtu.be/g_F_cxM9d5Q The beginners mind. It is a source of energy. A willingness to practice. And to serve others. We are not afraid of obstacles in order to realize our dream and our intention. Siddhartha had this beginners mind, and we can too. The mind of love is the beginners kind. During this retreat has allowed this to arise in our heart. Do we know how to continue this mind? In Buddhism, there are two kinds of truth: conventional and ultimate. Thay explains how it is similar to what we see in science. We can learn to understand the true nature of reality. When we come to the ultimate truth, we can leave behind our notions of birth and death, suffering and happiness, being and non-being, etc. How can we do this? We cannot be an observer, we must try to be a participant. The Buddha’s insight received under the bodhi tree was to be relieved of all fear. This cannot be learned from notions and concepts. We learn of Right View, another element of the noble path. Thay tells a story of Katyayana, a student of the Buddha, asking about Right View. A teaching of no-birth, being and non-being, as illustrated by a cloud. Right View is being able to transcend all these notions: being and non-being, birth and death, left and right, above and below, subject and object, etc. All pairs of opposites. We cannot remove one without the other. Story of a grain of salt wanting to know how salty is the ocean to illustrate the subject of cognition and object of cognition. Being a participant to truly understand. Talking to a flame to illustrate this teaching of being and non-being. Thay writes these pairs of opposites on the board: birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going, sameness and otherness. All these must be transcended to see the true face of reality. A teaching on interbeing and four more notions - self, man, living beings, and life span. Thay explains each as outiined in the Diamond Sutra. This Sutra teaches us that humans are only made of non-human elements. This is one of the oldest teachings in deep ecology. The Buddha too is comprised of non-Buddha elements. This is why bowing to the Buddha is not worshiping, but is a meditation. We have been talking of Right View and dualism. We turn now to three other elements of the noble eightfold path that arise from Right View. Right Thinking can help us remove all discrimination. It is thinking that can produce understanding and compassion. It can heal the world. From these two we can then practice Right Speech. To restore and reconcile. This element includes our ability for deep listening. And then we turn to Right Action. Anything we can do with our body to protect and save. These three are all forms of action, starting with our thoughts. Thinking is already action. And we produce each of these every day. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said that man is the sum of his action. In Sanskrit, this is called karma. Everything we produce will continue us; it does not disappear. We are the author, and that is our continuation. If we can keep our beginners mind alive, surely we will have a beautiful future. The other elements of the path, briefly outlined in this talk, are Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. This path can be seen very concretely in the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We also briefly learn of the Three Doors of Liberation — emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness — in light of the retreat’s teaching. We talk concludes with a couple of songs led by Sr. Chan Không.

Jennifer Hill speaks with mindfulness expert and author, Laurie J. Cameron, about her new book: “The Mindful Day.” Laurie offers suggestions for incorporating mindfulness into your day and discusses the health benefits of doing so. Laurie also talks about taking 3-10 minutes every day for a “body scan” to check in with any feelings or emotions you might be holding on to so that you can become more self-aware. lauriejcameron.com Mindful leadership expert Laurie J. Cameron is author of “The Mindful Day: Practical Ways to Find Focus, Calm, and Joy From Morning to Evening,” (March 27, 2018). Laurie is founder and CEO of PurposeBlue, an organization that brings evidence-based mindful leadership programs to companies, change makers, culture-shifters, universities and federal agencies. With 25 years of international management consulting and business leadership experience, and a passion for creativity, transformation and human development, Laurie is dedicated to helping people learn mindfulness to live with meaning and lead with purpose-driven performance. As a former Accenture management consultant and business executive with three companies, her clients tell her she “gets their challenges” — in how she translates mindfulness into practical language and applications for everyday life. Laurie founded PurposeBlue on her realization that mindfulness is the foundational competency for achieving human potential, happiness and optimal well-being. Mindful, resilient leaders deepen their self-awareness and self-mastery, which allows them to be in a place of choice during difficult moments. Mindful leaders are able to stay connected to purpose and thrive during uncertainty, change, and the distractions of our tech world. Laurie has practiced mindfulness since 1995, following the teachings of mindfulness leader and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. In 2013, she received the Five Mindfulness Trainings at the Magnolia Grove Monastery from Thich Nhat Hanh. In her capacity as founder of PurposeBlue, Laurie leads retreats, speaks around the globe, coaches and teaches leaders internationally how to bring more wisdom, clarity and meaning to their lives and work. As a Certified SIY Teacher Laurie was part of the first global cohort of teachers for the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), based on the leadership program developed at Google. Bringing together thought leaders in emotional intelligence, neuroscience and mindfulness, SIYLI is dedicated to developing wise and compassionate leaders. Laurie teaches the SIY program around the world to companies like Google, Gemalto, Sunovian and in SIY Programs in New York; London; Paris; Beijing; Hyderabad; Washington, DC; and Copenhagen. She has taught PurposeBlue's Mindful Leadership programs in Deloitte across the US. Laurie is a Senior Fellow with the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University, working with leading researchers in the emerging field of workplace well-being. She is a Guest Professor at the top-ranked Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, teaching Mindful Leadership to EMBA leaders in the Leadership Mastery series. Laurie also trained as a Presence-Based Leadership Coach and is a certified coach with the International Coach Federation. She is an active member of Otto Scharmer’s Presencing Institute and the east coast chapter of the Neuroleadership Institute. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband and daughter. For more information visit lauriejcameron.com and PurposeBlue.com.

As a sought-after speaker, coach, and mindfulness teacher across the globe, Laurie Cameron offers a richly poetic perspective on anchoring our days to what matters in order to increase joy and alleviate suffering. She has dedicated over twenty years to the science and application of human flourishing and adult development—working at the intersection of emotional intelligence, positive psychology, compassion, and neuroscience—and recently authored The Mindful Day, which goes beyond meditation into important territory for creative thinking, innovation, storytelling, and executive leadership. In addition to speaking and writing, Laurie is the Founder and CEO of PurposeBlue, an organization that brings evidence-based mindful leadership programs to large companies, universities, and federal agencies. She has also received the Five Mindfulness Trainings in a quiet sunrise ceremony from Thich Nhat Hanh and was given the dharma name Fresh Lovingkindness of the Heart. Listen to our conversation for a wealth of life-giving insights: how we can enrich a hello or goodbye at work, what she calls “micro-connections,” leveraging metaphors and analogy to spark creativity, initiating calm in any situation, and more. For more information about the podcast and this week's show notes, visit www.aheadofourtime.com/anchor-the-day/.

Dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh on August 16, 2001 at the University of Massachusetts during a retreat with the theme, "The Practice of Peace and Nonviolence in Family, School, and the Workplace,” from August 13-18, 2001 in Amherst, Massachusetts. We begin with the creation of a loving support group in the classroom and then continue with teaching on consumption. These students are my continuation of mine and should create a loving support group in your class or school. We can then begin practicing peace and happiness in the class. We can understand the suffering so we can then transform. Suffering is there. A little bit everywhere. Including in our children and in the classroom. Recognizing this is the first noble truth of the Buddha. The group can propose a session of deep listening that includes the teacher, so the teacher can know about the suffering of the children. If we have such a group in the class, then the group can support each other. You can practice the Third Mantra: I suffer, please help. Thay shares how a student can communicate to the teacher by using loving speech. We can also learn how to address being persecuted by another student. How do we practice this? How do we help children feel happy when they think of school? How does the teacher feel excited to come and teach? The children should be able to express their difficulties. We don’t need to be cruel to create happiness. Many sessions of deep listening may need to be organized. The schools should allow this to take place. It is about ethics and should be an aspect of school life. Thay tells the story of Henry, a mathematic teacher in Toronto, who came to Plum Village to learn about mindfulness. At this point we shift away from the children and Thay begins a talk on anger. Anger has roots in the body and in the consciousness. The Five Skandhas: body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, store consciousness. What is a formation? Anger is a feeling and a mental formation. Anger is in every cell of our body. All our ancestors are in every cell of our body. To illustrate, Thay teaches about chickens. Mindfulness can help. In particular, mindful consumption. Thay shares a report on meat eating, food production, and deforestation. We then turn to the Discourse on the Sons Flesh. Bringing toxins into our body. Nourishing compassion can by looking deeply into the food we eat. Sangha is where we learn to generate compassion. Sangha is a way out. Everyone can be a Sangha builder. We turn to the Four Kinds of Nutriments and it starts with edible food. Then we turn to sensory impressions. We need a collection he awakening. When you listen to a dharma talk, then you don’t consume poisons. But thinking too can be consuming. Our elected people also need to be awakened to consumption. Some discussion of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Practice with a gatha to help us with our consumption. We conclude with a discussion on the third kind of nutriment. Volition. Your deepest desire. That is a type of food too.

The sangha is practicing in the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village during the Spring Retreat. We begin this March 19, 2006 dharma talk with 18-minutes of chanting by the monks and nuns followed by a dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh. We need to be nourished by joy and happiness in our daily life. Breathing in, I feel the joy. Breathing out, I am nourished by happiness. The practice is to know how to generate joy and happiness. How is this possible? We have the sangha and the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Joy is born from the awareness that happiness is possible. Whether you practice alone or you practice with a sangha, you should be aware of the positive elements around us. But with a sangha, it is easier and we have the energy of the sangha. With a sangha, we can practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings much better. What is the difference between joy and happiness? Thay shares a story of a meeting with a San Francisco Chronicle journalist. With each journalist, Thay always invites them to practice mindfulness before the interview so they can write a good article that can help many people by watering the seeds of joy. To write with compassion. Every article can be a practice. Practitioners of meditation should get the right nourishment every day - joy and happiness. They are there already. How do we water these seeds? Walking meditation is one method. Mindful consumption and the Four Kinds of the Nutriments (from the sutra, “The Son’s Flesh"). Collective decisions in a sangha can help protect us from unmindful consumption because we practice together. No effort. It's wonderful. Compassion can protects us. And compassion is born from understanding. Understanding is born when you can listen and look deeply. And by consuming understanding and compassion, we can live a more healthy and happy life. And know how to nourish this understanding and compassion. If you appreciate this teaching, please consider making a donation to support the ongoing efforts of the online monastery. Please make a note with your donation that it was because of this talk.

In this talk, Brother Phap Ho shares on the theme of this year's Wake Up Retreat, Loving Yourself, Healing the World. He talks about his personal experience with mindfulness, concentration and insight emerging in the light of the four elements of love. With our daily practice guided by the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we can create healing for ourselves, for those around us, and for the wider world. Enjoy.

In this 53-minute dharma talk from the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village, Thay teaches a message of love. The date is Sunday, November 12, 2006. We begin with two chants from the monastics. You are a continuation of your father. Intellectually we know this to be true. And yet we feel that we are different. It is because you have a notion of your father - you haven't looked deeply enough at your father. Who is the father inside of you? Can you practice for your father? Transformation of your father inside of you also helps to transform the father on the outside. How can you can get in better touch with your father? First, we need to be aware. Thay shares about how he practiced regarding his own father. Creating a conversation with your father can occur anytime, whether they are alive or not. The same practice can apply to your mother. Begin a conversation with your mother inside of you. And if she is still alive, you can talk with her too. Thay offers specific. You also have a spiritual teacher inside of you who is also outside of you. How are you carrying your teacher into the future? How is your teacher evolving inside of you? How are you practicing for your teacher? We should not be exactly like our teacher. We should learn and transform for the time. To see the suffering of our time. The Buddha of our Time. A global ethic. To be able to respond to globalization, the environment, and other present needs. When you contemplate an orange, you see everything about the orange. The universal aspect of the orange. Harmony. We need a global ethic to look at something like globalization. The global ethic manifests through the Five Mindfulness Trainings. This is the path to take up and they are presenting in a non-sectarian way and it's nature is universal. You don't have to be a Buddhist. You can remain yourself but you can create harmony, sisterhood, brotherhood. The Five Mindfulness Trainings are the way out of difficult situations. They may also be inherent in other traditions and people are encouraged to look and discover this too. We conclude with Thay sharing a short story of the Buddha. Seeing with the eyes of the Buddha. Contemplating the beauty of the world. 1:45 Bell and Chanting 10:30 Continuation of your Father 29:15 Continuation of your Teacher 36:15 The Buddha of our Time 39:20 Global Ethic: Five Mindfulness Trainings 51:30 Returning to our Ancestors If you appreciate this teaching, please consider making a donation to support the ongoing efforts of the online monastery. Please make a note with your donation that it was because of this talk.

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color Dear Friends, We are happy to continue sharing the Dharma talks from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves, our recent mindfulness retreat for People of Color. Today’s Dharma talk, entitled “Engaging the Five Mindfulness Trainings" was offered by Br. Larry Ward on the second morning of our retreat.  You can read more about The Five Mindfulness Trainings: The Path of Happiness here. Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective healing and great aspiration to strengthen the Beloved Community. To stay connected with Brother Larry Ward, visit The Lotus Institute http://www.thelotusinstitute.org/. "The calling of the Lotus Institute is to offer mindfulness teachings, principles and practices that encourage individual healing and transformation, professional growth, and development in ways that enhance planetary, social evolution."

The Retreat on Buddhist Psychology continues in Key West, Florida. The date is November 8, 1997. This is the seventh talk (115-minutes). We begin with the story of David, an America who came to Plum Village and was given he assignment to write a Iove letter to his father. He thought he couldn't do this to reconcile with him father. Thay had him practice as a 5-year old boy for a week so to touch the vulnerability and fragility in himself. We smile and identify the little child inside of us. This practice is followed by seeing our parent/father as a 5-year old child as well. Maybe we need a picture to help us truly visualize this our parent. The teaching of emptiness of transmission. Everything depends on everything else. It always includes a transmitter, an object, and a receiver. But these three elements cannot be separated. Another story, this one of Michael, another American, where he was asked to list the wholesome qualities of his father and mother. He had a challenge doing this for his mother because of some anger and resentment. This exercise can help repair our resentment and anger. And he was able to write a beautiful love letter to his mother. The practice has the power to liberate and bring non-fear and joy. When we feel that we have been abused, when people have treated us with violence, anger, hatred, discrimination then a block of suffering is within us. The negative energy is in us. And if you don't know how to handle and transform the violence within us then that violence will destroy us and the people we love. The criminals, the terrorist, they have not been able to transform the violence. We have to learn how to handle and transform the violence in us and to help others do the same. In our schools, in our prisons, and in our police departments. Mindfulness practice must be offered to society and it can be done in a non-sectarian, non-religious form. Thay shares his idea for an Association of Mindfulness Practice Centers and what that would look like in practice and reality. He shared about three mindfulness practice centers taking shape in America (DC, Vermont, and California). Living according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We need to be affiliated with a group of people, a sangha. It is essential to our practice. The sangha is our refuge. At 58-minutes we resume the teaching on the 50 Verses. We begin with verses 15-22 - about the seventh consciousness of manas. Then verse 23 is about the sixth, mental consciousness. Thay repeats a little on the three modes of cognition - the realm of things in themselves, the realm of representation, and the realm of mere image. Verses 25-27, the root of all actions. With verses 28-30, we move to the five consciousnesses of sensations. Historical Perspective During this talk, Thay announces the 21-Day Retreat planned for May 23, 1998 that took place at St. Michaels College in Burlington, Vermont. The theme of that retreat was the Sutra on Mindful Breathing. This was the first time the 21-Day occurred in North America. He also announced that 200-acres are being donated in Vermont for a practice community. If you appreciate this teaching, please consider making a donation to support the ongoing efforts of the online monastery. Please make a note with your donation that it was because of this talk.

Dear friends, Today we continue to explore the Five Mindfulness Trainings with the second half of sharings by lay friends at Deer Park during the Holiday Retreat. Our friends share their experience with the two trainings on Loving Speech and Deep Listening, and Nourishment and Healing. May these sharings fill your heart and nourish your practice. Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.   

Dear friends,   Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast.  Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace.   Today we share the first half of the Five Mindfulness Trainings Presentation at Deer Park Monastery during the Holiday Retreat.  Lay friend, Kenley Neufield, introduces the trainings and practitioners share their experience with the first, second, and third mindfulness trainings, Reverence for Life, True Happiness, and True Love. In every one of our friends on the path, there is the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.   Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.    

Dear friends,   Today we share the second half of a talk given by Brother Man Tue before the Five Mindfulness Trainings ceremony at Deer Park.  Our brother focuses on how our senses play an integral role in the Fourth and Fifth Mindfulness Trainings.  He encourages us to place our mindfulness between our senses and ourselves, as a way to protect us from fear, craving and anger.  May you walk your path this week protected and free.   Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

This is the second day of the Educators Retreat at the University of Barcelona. Thich Nhat Hanh, along with the monks and nuns of Plum Village, are on their first tour of Spain this month. In this talk, Thay teaches the Five Mindfulness Trainings. The date of the recording is May 10, 2014. The audio and video links are available below. The timestamps included here are for the AUDIO recording only. 0:00 Verses of Practice 15:16 Protecting Life 27:26 True Happiness 34:10 True Love 49:35 True Communication 1:10:55 Consumption When Thay became a monk at the age of sixteen, he was given a book of verses to memorize. One of those verses is for waking up in the morning. Waking up this morning, I smile. I have 24 brand new hours to live. I vow to live these 24-hours deeply. I vow to look at those around me with eyes of compassion. We learn these verses to practice mindfulness. Thay shares a few other examples to help to stop our thinking. There are about fifty of these verses for a novice to memorize. We have written new ones today, such as telephone meditation. We can use this to improve the quality of our communication. Everything we do can can be done in mindfulness. The practice of mindfulness can be very concrete. There are five areas we can consider. The first is to protect life. Our life as well as the lives of others, plants, animals, minerals, and the earth. This is the first mindfulness training. What does this mean? How do we practice with this and what can school teachers and parents do with this training? Everywhere young people are killing themselves because they don't know how to handle a strong emotion. We can use mindful breathing and can see that an emotion is just one little part of a person. We can deep belly breathing and take care of the strong emotion. The second realm of the practice is true happiness. The topic of true happiness should be explored to see what it means. True happiness is made of understanding and love. Love is born from understanding. Understanding is a practice and a true element of happiness. The third area is the practice of true love. Sexual desire is not true love. Many young people do not know what is true love. True love is made of compassion, loving kindness, and nondiscrimination. These are the elements of true love. The fourth aspect of mindfulness is the practice of loving speech and deep listening. This is the fourth mindfulness training. This practice should begin in the family first and then we can bring it into our school and classrooms. How can we restore communication and reconcile? What can we do in the classroom to help students to suffer less? The fifth mindfulness training has to do with consumption. Our society is a society of consumption. This is an idea about happiness. This concept of consumption is taught in the context of the four kinds of nutriments. The first kind is edible food. The second source of nutriment is sense impressions. What are we consuming in our conversations, in the media, and on internet? The third nutriment is volition. Our aspiration or deepest desire. The last source of nutriment is consciousness. What are the seeds in our consciousness and do we know how to water the good seeds? The Five Mindfulness Trainings are a very concrete expression of our mindfulness practice. Happiness is possible. Compassion is possible. Healing is possible. And a school teacher should learn to embody this kind of practice for transformation and healing to take place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhE7vqdJMP0

Originally given in Vietnamese, available from Lang Mai, the talk from Upper Hamlet, Plum Village is dated Sunday, December 15, 2013 and is the ninth talk of the 2013-2014 Winter Retreat. English translation, available below, is by Sr. Tue Nghiem. 00:00-10:00 Chanting 10:35-25:42 UNESCO and Violence in Schools 25:42-44:30 The Seed on the Inside and the Seed on the Outside 44:30-55:40 The Seed of Pure/Impure 55:40-end Different Schools of Thought on Store Consciousness In 2006, Thay gave at a talk at UNESCO in Paris where he suggested that UNESCO organize retreats for teachers from across the globe so that teachers can bring the practice of nonviolence into their classrooms. At the time, the manager at UNESCO was very supportive because in that year there had been 88,000 acts of violence in classrooms in France in 2006. The energy of violence is there is our young people and many parents and children don’t have methods for dealing with the anger in themselves. In our practice, we begin with generating peace in our body and mind to better manage our energy of anger and violence. We want to share these practices with others. If teachers can learn this practice, they will know how to help their students. Plum Village agreed to create documents and materials to support this effort of reducing violence. Two books - Anger and Cultivating True Peace - both teach on this theme. We have led retreats to Wake Up Schools. We have reached out to UNESCO again to see how can we better support UNESCO again to help train teachers? We have also drafted the Manifesto 2000 (which are based on the Five Mindfulness Trainings) with them, but it seems to have been forgotten. The United Nations have accepted some of our practices for nonviolence with the young people. In Spain, there has been an effort to bring this practice to schools. One characteristic of seeds that we need to discuss is no-inside/no-outside - this is the tenth characteristic of seeds. There is a distinction between inside and outside - inside our mind and outside in the environment. This is a dualistic view and is double-grasping. In the four establishments of mindfulness there are four domains: body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind. In our mind is the phenomena. There are also teachings on karma and retribution in Buddhism. Our actions lead to retribution. The environment is where the body lives. The environment is ourselves also. These two things cannot be separated. This is the best teaching of manifestation-only teachings. The eleventh characteristic of seeds is pure/impure - this is a teaching of Mahayana Buddhism. In manifestation-only teachings, different sutras explore this theme. The Five Skandhas and the Twelve Localities (Six Sense Organs and Six Sense Objects). The domains of existence - 18 realms. Thay is teaching on a specific verse where all phenomena are in store consciousness. There are six different pathways but there is also a seed of nirvana. The wholesome seeds are there too in the store consciousness. Nirvana is not outside of birth and death. This characteristics leads us to the teaching of the Heart Sutra where there is no defilement and no immaculate. Neither wholesome/unwholesome, pure/impure. It is indeterminate. You can choose one of the six paths or you can choose nirvana. What do different teachings say about the different mental formations? The Five Particular Mental Formations. More teachings on store consciousness. Donate to the Plum Village Online Monastery Team

October 16, 2013. 111-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California during the 2013 Nourishing Great Togetherness teaching tour. This is the fourth and final dharma talk for the 6-day retreat with the theme Finding Our True Home. A lesson for the children for when they return to school and how to deal with aggression without being angry or violent. If we do that, then we win. After about 10-minutes we continue with just the adults. We begin with a few unanswered questions from the previous session of questions and answers: I can be mindful of my breath when I sitting or walking but how do I keep mindful of my breath when speaking? Political discourse is deeply toxic and intolerant; how do we consume without the negativity? How can we still be engaged? Please talk to us about grief.  What can you share with teachers and youth so they can walk away and take care of their fears and stress? Can there be peace without war? The topic of our talk today is birth and death. These two happen at the same time; even a scientist can see this through the continuous birth and death of the cells of our body. Where there is death, there is birth. In our tradition, we speak of two kinds of truth: conventional truth and ultimate truth. The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the path of transformation and healing. A path of happiness. The Noble Path has eight elements. The first is Right View. It is the insight that transcends all discrimination. If you think war and peace as two deprecate entities, that is not right view. There is Interbeing. There are four pairs of opposites that can represent all kinds of opposites. Birth and death Being and nonbeing Coming and going Sameness and otherness Right view transcends all these opposites. From there, you can practice Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. We continue now with the exercises of mindful breathing where we left off in a prior dharma talk. With the ninth through twelfth exercise, we come to the realm of the mind. The last four (13-16) are about the objects of mind with impermanence, non-craving, nirvana, and letting go. We resume the teaching on the four pairs of opposites fooled by the Three Doors of Liberation. Emptiness. Signlessness. Aimlessness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1hQ2d_RcHM&feature=share

July 19, 2013. 110-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from New Hamlet of Plum Village during the 2013 Summer Opening. This is the eighth talk of the summer. Editor's Note: This talk coming slightly out of order as I catch up on the recordings. The sixth (July 16) and seventh (July 18) talk of summer will be posted soon.  Teaching using the meditation on the flame. The flame is there but it is hidden. Maybe in the box? It is hidden by the conditions, and there are conditions that help the flame manifest. Where does the flame go? Her nature is no coming and no going. We know this with mindfulness, concentration, and insight. When conditions are no longer sufficient, the manifestation ceases to continue. The same is true for those we love. This is a very deep teaching. We continue the teaching on the Four Noble Truths. The first is dukkha, translated as ill-being/suffering. The second is the making of ill-being; how suffering is made. This is seeing the cause of our suffering. With the third, we have the cessation of ill-being. The path, or the way, leading to well-being is the the fourth. The Five Mindfulness Trainings contain this path and is called the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to healing and out of suffering. Right View Right Thinking Right Speech Right Action Right Livelihood Right Diligence Right Mindfulness Right Concentration The Noble Truths in the context of mindful consumption and the fifth mindfulness training. Nothing can survive without food. In Buddhism, we speak of Four Kinds of Nutriments. Edible Food Sense impression Volition Consciousness We've been taking mostly about the second and fourth noble truth so far. The talk continues here with looking more closely at Right View and the other elements if the path. http://youtu.be/kfRegRl6Y6M

April 7, 2013. 86-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Mahachulalungkornrajavidyalaya University in Bangkok, Thailand. The sangha is in the 5-Day Applied Ethics Retreat as part of the spring Asian Tour. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Thai. Today is a session of questions and answers. The questions When practicing deep listening and the other person uses words that hurt themselves and others then what should we do? How do I use skillful means and loving speech when the other person uses derogatory  speech in regards to women and people of color. With the hill tribes, they need to kill animals and cut the trees in order to survive. How to help transform their way of life that isn't so harmful? How to work with schools that have rules and don't allow applying mindfulness into the school environment? How do I practice when there is suffering in my life, in my students lives, and in my parents lives? When I practice, something happens for transformation but it doesn't always stay and I feel discouraged. How can I keep the transformation? Living in a busy city it's challenging to apply the mindfulness practices we learn here. Can you help? How do we practice reconciliation for children who have been abused by their parents? The session concludes with an explanation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

March 10, 2013. 45-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet at Plum Village during the Daffodil Festival. We have been quiet here on the archive because the sangha took time for lazy days as well as a monastic retreat (not distributed). This talk is given in English and the sangha is preparing for the arrival of 600 French in the coming week. A few suggested subjects for the retreat include: happiness is possible, healing is possible how to live more deeply, coming home, do not wander anymore, and go as a river. The practice of Plum Village can be seen in two points. First, how to recognize the suffering and embrace it and transform it. We cannot avoid suffering. If you know how to suffer, you will suffer less. The art of suffering. We have blocks of suffering, but how to handle the little sufferings? How do we support those attending the retreat? How do we prepare the space so they know that healing is possible with every step and every breath? There is no way to healing, healing is the way. In order to heal, we have to stop. The Five Mindfulness Trainings can help us with this practice. They have the power to heal. It is possible to create moments of happiness in our daily lives. Learn how to enjoy and savor the little happinesses in life. Can you create a moment of happiness? What can we do about the mental discourse in our head? Radio NST (Non-Stop-Thinking). One practice is to feel our body and our feelings. We can practice walking meditation. It is an opportunity to create moments of happiness and to heal. Eating in mindfulness is another practice. Being aware of the food and members of the sangha around you. This is not hard labor. The dharma is lovely and every minute of the practice can be healing and transforming. Available here as a audio download or a video.

December 31, 2012. 120-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Lower Hamlet at Plum Village in English. The sangha is in the 90-day Rains Retreat (Winter Retreat) and this is the special New Years Eve dharma talk (and the sixteenth dharma talk of the retreat with the theme Are You The Soulmate of the Buddha?). Dear friends, please smile. You are online. How do we go home? Home is in the hear and the now. It is the practice of healing. Every step is healing. Every breath is healing. Nirvana is available in the here and now. Nirvana is cooling down. Cooling the fire of fear, afflictions, and wrong views. This is the Third Noble Truth. We do not need to die in order to touch nirvana. Nirvana is a state of no heat. We use the noble eightfold path. How do see the path? We need our six sense organs and our mind to experience nirvana. The Five Mindfulness Trainings help us experience the path. Right View. Notions of being and non-being. Notions of birth and death. Right Mindfulness. This allows you to be fully alive. It is an art of living.

October 18, 2012. 84-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet at Plum Village. The sangha is enjoying the Autumn Retreat and this is a Day of Mindfulness. What is the Winter Retreat? Why do we practice together for 90-days? The theme this winter will be are we soul mates of the Buddha?  Do we understand the Buddha? There are many misunderstandings and we'll focus on this problem. That's why we have the Sutra on a Better Way to Catch a Snake. We continue a teaching on relationships and working with suffering. How do we feed our relationship? The source of nutriments? This teaching is found in the first and second Noble Truths. Why do we need to start with suffering? Nothing can survive without food, including your love. In a relationship, we should know how to nourish each other.  How can we nourish our relationship? Right Speech, Right Action, and the remaining Noble Eightfold Path. In addition, we have the Five Mindfulness Trainings to help us practice. Download

July 1, 2012. 50-minute recording given at Lower Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness. We begin with chanting. When you set up a practice center, you have to think of the sangha. A sangha is a group of people who practice together and the environment is good, nourishing, and healthy. When people arrive at a practice center, she should feel the energy right away. We practice mindfulness as manifested from the Five Mindfulness Trainings. These generate a healthy environment. This is what the Buddha did right away and we too can create such a practice center. Suffering is part of life and with mindfulness we can make good use of our suffering. We can produce joy, happiness, and compassion. The law of Interbeing is suffering and happiness. The mud and the lotus. The holy is made of non-holy elements. We can generate holiness if we understand suffering and allow compassion to arise in us and we don't suffer anymore. The Five Mindfulness Trainings can help cultivate this holiness. Being a monastic. We have 10-precepts. It is a holy life. Training as a monastic, you also need a sangha. You cultivate the mind of love. Boddhichita.

April 30, 2012. 90-minute dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh from Lower Hamlet in Plum Village during the 12th annual Francophone Retreat. The talk is given in French with English translation. This is the second dharma talk. We all have a spiritual body. We practice with our body as well as our mind. The body and the mind are together. Bhavana. To cultivate, produce. We need seeds, soil, water, etc. We want to cultivate the good seeds. Cultivate understanding and love. We use mindfulness. And mindfulness brings the energy of concentration. Then we arrive at the energy of insight. This is the Buddhanature. Thay describes pepple meditation as a method to be truly present. Then we can use the mantra, Darling I here for you. In Plum Village, we also use the Five Mindfulness Trainings, the basis of which is Right View. We continue with teachings on being, non-being, and the noble eightfold path. Dharma Talk Francophone Day 2 from Plum Village Online Monastery on Vimeo.

Dear Young Friends On September 19, 2008, the Wake Up movement for young Buddhists and non-Buddhists for a healthy and compassionate society was announced.  Wake Up is a community of young Dharma practitioners who want to help their society which is overloaded with intolerance, discrimination, craving, anger and despair.  They practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings, ethical guidelines offered by the Buddha; the most concrete practice of true love and compassion, clearly showing the way towards a life in harmony with each other and with the Earth. If you are a young practitioner we encourage you to learn about the Wake Up movement in your country.  You can learn more at http://wkup.org.  Today’s podcast is dedicated to young people and is taken from our 2008 Teen Retreat- Be True, Be Beautiful.  Let us know if you would like to hear more podcasts for youth.  

Dear Friends, This week we offer the recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings that was offered by Thay Phap Lai this past Sunday. Please use this in your own practice of these trainings week to week. Smile.