My Teacher - Thich Nhat Hanh

18 January 2008
Posted in Buddhist

'The Light at the Tip of the Candle' by Claude Anshin Thomas

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

When I first saw Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, I was confronted with a harrowing memory from my 1967 tour in Vietnam.

On the day Claude Thomas returned to the States from the Vietnam War--where he earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart, among other awards--a beautiful woman he encountered in the airport spat on him. He was in uniform, and she was a peace activist (and it was 1967). This incident came to represent for him the welcome the country had for soldiers returning from the war. In the years following his military service, Thomas' life spiraled downward into post-traumatic stress, drug and alcohol addiction, and homelessness.

Thomas' life turned around when he discovered Buddhism. Zen, he found, offered him a path toward healing, a practical way to cope with his suffering rather than run from it.

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A Potato Chip Meditation by Edward Espe Brown

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

Here's the challenge: to taste--really, fully, mindfully taste--what you're eating

Years ago at a meditation retreat, we had an eating meditation. Raisins were passed out. We were encouraged to help ourselves to a small handful, "But don't eat them yet!" I sighed. I am not thrilled with this kind of exercise. I prefer to have these experiences on my own, instead of having them spoon-fed to me.

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Be Kind With Yourself by Shunryu Suzuki

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

Excerpted from "Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen." Copyright 2002 by San Francisco Zen Center. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from HarperCollins.

After many years of Zen practice in Japan, Shunryu Suzuki came to the U.S. in 1959 and played an influential role in introducing the Western world to Zen Buddhism. He established the San Francisco Zen Center in 1962 and later wrote 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind,' which has become a modern spiritual classic. He died in 1971. "Not Always So" is a collection of lectures from the last years of his life.Sitting meditation, or "zazen" is the fundamental spiritual practice of Zen Buddhism. Unlike other forms of meditation, zazen does not require that practitioners focus on any object or concept, but involves sitting without movement and concentrating on one's breath. Although zazen is a way to expand consciousness and deepen an understanding of the self, it is not considered a means to an end; a moment of zazen is itself a moment of enlightenment.

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Everthing is Equal by Thich Nhat Hanh

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"

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Resting in the River by Thich Nhat Hanh

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

My dear friends, suppose someone is holding a pebble and throws it in the air and the pebble begins to fall down into a river. After the pebble touches the surface of the water, it allows itself to sink slowly into the river. It will reach the bed of the river without any effort. Once the pebble is at the bottom of the river, it continues to rest. It allows the water to pass by.

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Beginning Anew - How to breathe new life and compassion into your relationships.

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

Beginning Anew How to breathe new life and compassion into your relationships.

By Thich Nhat Hanh

As human beings, we all make mistakes. Our unskillful thoughts, words, and actions cause harm to ourselves and those around us. Often, when we hurt others or are hurt by them, because of our pride we make no effort to reconcile or renew our relationships. Without reconciliation, we cannot deepen our understanding and we only cause more suffering.

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Caught by Love

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

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Do You Have Time to Love?

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

The greatest gift you can offer loved ones is your true presence

From "True Love" by Thich Nhat Hanh, © 2004. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc.

To love, in the context of Buddhism, is above all to be there. But being there is not an easy thing. Some training is necessary, some practice. If you are not there, how can you love? Being there is very much an art, the art of meditation, because meditating is bringing your true presence to the here and now. The question that arises is: Do you have time to love?

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Embracing Our Pain in the Aftermath of the Tsunami

30 November 1999
Posted in Buddhist

Dharma Talk given by Dhyana Master Nhat Hanh in Plum Village on December 30 th , 2004 .

Today is December 30 th in the year 2004. We are in the Dharma Cloud Monastery of the Upper Hamlet.

In the Chunda Sutta there is the story of a novice monk who brings the news of the death of the Venerable Sariputra to the Buddha. The novice's name was Chunda. At that time the Buddha was in the town of Vaishali on the northern bank of the river Ganga . Sariputra had died in his home country. Once the cremation ceremony was over Chunda brought his teacher's ashes to the Buddha. The ashes were in his alms' bowl. The novice said: "These are my teacher's ashes. My teacher just left this life.”

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