The Way Out Is In

Welcome to episode 58 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino talk about healing the body. Brother Phap Huu is back in Plum Village, five weeks after undergoing surgery on one of his knees, ready to discuss dealing with ill health after 21 years as a practitioner of mindfulness. How can we accept what is going on in our bodies but also heal and be present?  

The conversation touches upon many relevant topics, such as deep endurance of pain and suffering; being mindful of your body and coming home to it; recognizing ‘the fear’; Thich Nhat Hanh’s journey of being in hospital and dealing with health issues (as recalled by his attendants); accepting the present moment; learning to be teachers; impermanence; and more.

Thank you for listening. 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 

Gatha Poems
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises 

‘How to Dwell Happily in the Present Moment’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjfGvC-55GQ 

Stepping Into Freedom
https://plumvillage.org/books/stepping-into-freedom 

‘The Five Earth Touchings’
https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings 

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem 

Brother Phap Linh
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh 

Neural pathway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_pathway 

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village 

Quotes

“In Buddhism, dying is not just the moment when we breathe our last breath. Because dying – the ‘no birth, no death’ – is the insight that there’s always birth and there’s always death in every moment. And that’s why we are ever changing and recognizing that we have to learn to let go of everything we hold dear – even our health. Our true belongings are our actions of body, speech, and mind.”

“It’s the cultivation of the practice that allows you – in this difficult time [ill health], when there’s so much energy in the opposite direction – to pull back and rest in that place.” 

“The only moment we have in life is the present moment. The past will become a memory, will become lessons, will become a legacy. And the future is not yet here. So all we have is the present moment.”

“The present moment always teaches us to accept, let go, and embrace and dance with what we have.”

Welcome to episode 57 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino are joined by Clover Hogan, climate activist and founder of the Force of Nature NGO. Together, they discuss activism in times of emerging polycrisis, dealing with growing anxiety, empowering young activists, and turning despair into fuel for change in the climate movement (and beyond) – at both collective and individual levels. 

Clover Hogan is a 24-year-old climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety, and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature – a youth non-profit mobilizing mindsets for climate action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted in the boardrooms of Fortune 50 companies, and helped students in more than 50 countries take action. Clover has taken the stage alongside global change-makers such as Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva, and interviewed the 14th Dalai Lama, while her TED Talk has been viewed almost two million times. 

In addition, Clover shares about her first retreats in Plum Village (and why it is her favorite place on Earth) and how Thay’s teachings have impacted her activism; the pressure, as a teen activist, “to be optimistic and determined”; stepping out of her “bubble of climate privilege”; avenues to creating a regenerative organizational culture; the collective consciousness of the youth movement; lessons learnt from running Force of Nature; fear, disillusionment, and despair in the climate movement; working with intentionality; old practices for new activism; why a spiritual practice is essential; and much more. 

Brother Phap Huu and Jo contribute leadership guidance from different perspectives; relevant stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s own activism; teachings from Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism; advice about accessing the wisdom already inside us all; and mindful ways and practical tools for engaging with ‘the other side’ and showing up in a world in crisis – as an activist, but also in other roles.

The episode ends with a guided meditation from the Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online course produced by the Plum Village community. 

Thank you for listening. 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 

Clover Hogan
https://www.cloverhogan.com/  

The Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online course
https://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet 

Lazy days
https://plumvillage.org/library/clips/the-art-of-being 

Polycrisis
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polycrisis 

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths 

Retreats Calendar
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/retreats-calendar#filter=.region-eu 

Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

The Organic Happy Farms
https://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm 

‘51 Mental Formations’
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation 

COP26
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop26 

Limited liability companies (LLCs)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company 

The Stonewall uprising
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots 

The civil rights movement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement 

Hollyhock
https://hollyhock.ca/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels’ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/taking-refuge-in-the-three-jewels-sr-chan-duc-spring-retreat-2018-05-20 

‘The Pebble Meditation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation 

Quotes

“Plum Village is what I want the world to look like. [Experiencing] that was really profound, because I hadn’t found that in a place or in a community. It felt like a distant utopian vision and, frankly, trying to reintegrate back into the world was quite difficult. The place itself is a lesson in what the world can look like and how we can show up for one another.”

“One of my favorite things about Plum Village is the deep ecology that supports the practice, and the feeling of interbeing and being interconnected with the abundance of life all around you. I never thought about the fact that, yes, the water in my cup of tea was once a cloud. It’s a very humbling thought.” 

“Our practice in Plum Village is learning to reconnect to this simple action: we’re all creating a body, speech, and mind, and seeing its deep impact in the past, present, and future. And this is Engaged Buddhism.”

“All the wisdom is inside people. It’s not like Plum Village is here to give you wisdom. Plum Village is here to open up and share the wisdom it knows so that it can resonate like a tuning fork to one’s own wisdom; it’s only when we’re quiet that we can listen to the quiet voice of our wisdom.” 

“In that pit of grief, I realized that I couldn’t perform these mental gymnastics of ‘Everything’s fine’, ‘We’re going to fix this’, ‘We’re going to save the world’, that kind of savior complex. We can’t change everything. And I realized that the only way that I could actually travel through those feelings and not be swallowed by them whole was to talk about them. So I started talking about this terror about the future. And other young people, in particular, started coming forward and saying, ‘Yeah, we’re feeling the same thing. We’re terrified, and we also feel powerless and we feel a lot of despair in response to this widespread denial.’ [Whereas,] people in positions of power, who have every resource and privilege at their disposal to take action in a big way, continue to greenwash and spend money on being seen to do the right thing rather than actually doing it. That has fueled a lot of despair and disillusionment in my generation.”

“A lot of young people feel really hopeless and, at the same time, a lot of people in positions of power are clinging on to this old system, this old way of being, which has created the climate crisis, which continues to perpetuate the climate crisis. This story of separation, this global economic system of extracting from nature, commodifying nature, exploiting people. They’re refusing, even as the climate crisis unfolds around us, to really wake up to it, and, critically, to hold space for the really heavy emotions that come with the realization of what we’ve done and the communities and people that we’ve chosen to sacrifice through our inaction.”

“Spiritual practice is not a nice-to-have, it’s essential. We can’t do this work without that foundation.”

“The Buddha said, ‘My teachings are not to be followed blindly. You have to come and taste it for yourself. You have to come and experience it for yourself.’” 

“Love is a verb, right? So we have to learn to generate that love: a seed that we all have, the beginner’s mind, the mind of love.”

“As a monk and as leaders and as parents, as friends, sometimes our teacher says all we have to do is touch the seed of wisdom in others. Allow them to touch the love that already exists in them: the ability to be kind, the skillfulness that they can cultivate inside. And sometimes it’s not by words, it’s by action, by how we show up, by how we are present for others. Because that’s also education, that’s also transmission.”

“We think that by not saying anything, we’re not transmitting, but just by listening, you’re also transmitting space for the other person to see and hear themselves. And so, the power of presence is very real, and is not something that we have to wait 20 or 30 years to have; the wisdom of just one breath can be the thread to bring the mind home to the body, so that you can truly be there for yourself and for the ones around you. And by being present, you can offer so much space.”

“In the wake of [spending time in] Plum Village and trying to maintain the practices as much as possible, I am working with a lot more intentionality. I’m not saying yes to things from a place of scarcity or obligation; I’m saying yes to things where I genuinely feel I can contribute in a meaningful way.”

“We sometimes work with nine- and 10-year-olds who can very eloquently tell you why capitalism is a broken system. They can explain neoliberalism to you. They can explain why an LLC [limited liability company] shareholder model is not fit for purpose within business. These young people are so switched on, and, because they haven’t been around long enough to be indoctrinated into a lot of these systems, have the capacity to stand outside of them and to ask the question, ‘Why?’ Why do we have a globalized food system that is so disconnected, that exploits people? Why is it, when I go to the supermarket, everything is wrapped in plastic? Why is it that there are people experiencing homelessness in my street when there are entire apartment blocks going empty for investors? Why is it that we’ve failed to solve the climate crisis?”

“Asking ‘Why?’, and then following that up with ‘What if?’ – like, ‘What if we did things differently?’ Young people have that disruptive energy. And that’s why they have been the beating heart of every social justice and environmental movement, whether it’s the civil rights movement or the suffragettes or the Stonewall uprising. And so, helping young people to tend to that passion and realize what a super power it is, that’s how I can best show up.”

“Buddhism talks a lot about transforming suffering, and people think we only think about suffering. But that is a wrong perception. The balance and the nutriment that helps us is that we cultivate joy and happiness in our community. And this is real. And only by joy and happiness can we have enough well-being to take care of the loads of suffering.”

“To say ‘no’ can be a mantra. But ‘no’ with intention, not of ignoring and avoiding; ‘no’ when we know our limits, when we know, ‘If I do more, I’m just going to be angry and frustrated.’”

“When suffering is there, the other energy that we need to bring is light, love, and joy.”

“Instead of trying to run away from those emotions, or allowing them to ferment into despair, how do we turn them into the fuel that motivates us? How do we think about those emotions as the compass that tells us where we should be focusing our energy?”

“Being human isn’t some pursuit of just experiencing happiness, just experiencing joy. Your capacity to experience joy is a reflection of your capacity to experience suffering. And rather than trying to run away from those emotions, it’s about removing judgment from them.” 

“How you are inside is what you create outside.”

“You can’t swim in the same river as the same person, because we’re always changing.”

Welcome to episode 56 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino talk about the annual family retreats at Plum Village (the one time when families visit with their children): how they came about, and how the dharma can touch the lives of children and teenagers. The presenters share their unique experiences of these retreats, and stories of transformation involving parents and children, including ones featuring Thich Nhat Hanh and his deep teachings and special understanding of the youngest practitioners. 

Going deeper, the conversation delves into ways to remain compassionate and continue to listen deeply when dealing with a child; collective energy and co-creating an environment for children; the insight of nondiscrimination; the art of slowing down and being present for your children; authority and separation; the fourteen mindfulness trainings; and more. 

Plus, why do people bring their families to a Zen monastery in the south of France? Are mindful practitioners better parents?

Brother Phap Huu further shares how the retreats are run, some popular mindfulness practices, and how monastics work with different age groups. Jo talks about generational pain and the importance of deepening our relationship with our children, at any age.

The episode ends with ‘Practicing with the Five-Year-old in Me and in My Parents’, a recording of a meditation guided by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thank you for listening. 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 

Old Path White Clouds
https://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds-walking-in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha/ 

The Organic Happy Farm
https://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm 

‘The Pebble Meditation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation 

Looking Deeply: ‘Healing the Inner Child’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/healing-the-inner-child 

‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings 

The Bodhisattva vow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vow 

Mahāyāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana

‘Practicing with the Five-Year-Old Child in Me and in My Parents’
https://web.plumvillage.app/item/vToqvVSlq6hvFCjp3QUy 

‘Practicing with the Child in Me (Guided Meditation)’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG8OmTzmNW8 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Healing Our Inner Child: Pathways to Embrace Our Suffering (Episode #10)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/healing-our-inner-child-pathways-to-embrace-our-suffering 

Quotes

“Now that I reflect on my childhood, what were the gems in my upbringing? One that stands out very clearly is when my parents were in Plum Village, because somehow Plum Village energy and the creation of the space was developed together; everybody co-created the retreat and you got to be yourself. We weren’t competing to see who was more mindful, or who was going to become the Buddha first. Then everybody slowly un-layered all of the masks they were wearing, as well as starting to embrace and accept themselves. And that presence has a very deep impact on a child.”

“It does take a community to help a child grow.”

“When the Buddha became enlightened, the first thing he did was to create a community. And I would even say that the Buddha’s journey goes all the way back to the support of children.”

“Every action that Thay produced through body, speech, and mind was a transmission.”

“The baby may not understand the words, but they absorb the collective energy.” 

“Be mindful of your thoughts. Be mindful of your speech. Be mindful of your presence, because it gives off an invisible transmission, just like radio signals that one can receive.”

“What is the meaning of life? It is to be present enough that we can love, that we can see our interconnectedness with all those around us. Your parents, your brother, your sister: even though, sometimes, they make you angry, deep down inside, you do love them. And maybe our whole life journey is not to learn about that, but to live the message of love.”

“Moments of care, moments for being with others, are also time for oneself. And when you shift that narrative, your energy changes; suddenly, your love becomes boundless. You are channeling and practicing non-self and you’re also practicing selflessness. And that is one of the deepest wisdoms of Buddhism.”

“I’m holding this pebble, and if it represents a good deed and I throw it in the pond, where I know it will create ripples, then it seems that my good deeds will have a similar impact. So it is important to cultivate good deeds.”

“Children are a wonderful bell of mindfulness, because they press all of our buttons. Because they often break the rules in a way that adults don’t with each other. They sometimes speak truths that are uncomfortable and that we don’t want to hear.” 

“Unless something is healed, it gets passed on, because the next child will witness that pain and soak it up. They either think it’s normal behavior, or they try to swallow it to take it away from their parents, because they want their parents to be happy. That’s their key wish: for their parents to be happy, not for themselves to be happy. When people recognize that their own healing also heals the past, that’s a great motivator; they’re actually healing the wound that was felt in their parents, their grandparents, or their great-grandparents. And then they’re changing the future, especially for their own children.”

“The heart of mindfulness is being in the present moment.” 

“We heal the past in the present moment.”

Welcome to episode 55 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino discuss spiritual journeys, why they take a lifetime, and why there are no quick fixes on the spiritual path. But how does this fit into busy lives and the instant answers and results we have become accustomed to? They also touch upon the difficulties of maintaining the practice, the reason there are no certifications for mindfulness, and why a retreat is not enough. And what type of happiness do you most want to generate in this life? 

Brother Phap Huu shares insights from both Buddhist teachings and recent Plum Village retreats where he interacted with families and teenagers – beginners on the spiritual path – and suggests essential practical steps for integrating the practice of mindfulness into busy schedules.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Thank you for listening.

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 Way Out Is In: ‘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 Way Out Is In: ‘Regeneration and Musical Inspiration: The North American Tour (Episode #53)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/regeneration-and-musical-inspiration-the-north-american-tour-episode-53 

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village 

‘The Pebble Meditation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation 

Hollyhock
https://hollyhock.ca/ 

The Bodhisattva vow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vow 

Quotes

“If Buddhism is not engaged, it is not Buddhism.”

“Mindfulness is always mindfulness, first of all, of suffering. That’s why we practice. Because, to understand life, there always has to be an object for us to reflect on.”

“Thay always says that walking meditation is not about arriving at a destination, but to arrive in the ultimate, which is the freedom of the now.” 

“Suffering, as a noble truth, teaches us the values of life and allows us to know what peace is. If you only live in peace, you don’t have gratitude for the wonderful conditions that you have. But if we meet suffering, it reminds us of the life that we’ve experienced and the life that we want to create together.” 

“When you look at the great arc of history, the idea of a quick fix falls apart very quickly. It seems ridiculous. A quick fix to what? To the millions of years of lives that have come before, which are in us?”

“The Buddha said happiness and suffering are two truths that always go together. As long as there’s that thick mud, there can be some flowers there.”

“What is the world made out of? Each and every one of us. What is the collective consciousness made out of? Each and every one of us. What is the collective habit made out of? Each and every one of us.”

Welcome to episode 54 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 week, we bring you a very special joint episode of The Way Out Is In and fellow podcast Outrage + Optimism, which explores the stories behind climate change headlines. From the peace and tranquility of the International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino speak with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac.

Christiana Figueres, a student of Thich Nhat Hanh, was one of the architects of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, and is a valued member of the Plum Village Sangha. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016, she is also the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of Outrage + Optimism, and co-author of the bestselling The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. 

Tom Rivett-Carnac is a political strategist, author, and podcaster who has spent more than 20 years working to address the climate and ecological crises. He is also a Founding Partner of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast Outrage + Optimism, and co-author of The Future We Choose. 

Listeners of both podcasts are invited to join an intimate and deep conversation which covers the spiritual elements missing from the climate movement; moving beyond linear timelines into exponential transformation; how to develop the power within ourselves to drive change; non-attachment to views; listening without judgment; what happens when we all stop; and much more. Plus, what is spiritual power and how can it support us? 

So bring your tea to the table and let the radical collaboration begin.

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

Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

Tom Rivett-Carnac
https://www.globaloptimism.com/tom-rivett-carnac 

The Art of Power
https://www.parallax.org/product/art-of-power/ 

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh 

The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village 

The B Team
https://bteam.org/ 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
https://unfccc.int/

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet-thich-nhat-hanh 

Music for Difficult Times: Awakening the Heart of Compassion by Brother Phap Linh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YarhXTDs8Z4 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Being the Change We Want to See in the World: A Conversation with Christiana Figueres (Episode #21)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/being-the-change-we-want-to-see-in-the-world-a-conversation-with-christiana-figueres-episode-21

The Way Out Is In: ‘Benefitting from a Spiritual Practice: In Conversation with Tom Rivett-Carnac (Episode #37)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/benefitting-from-a-spiritual-practice-in-conversation-with-tom-rivett-carnac-episode-37 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Bringing the Ultimate Dimension Down to Earth (Episode #40)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/bringing-the-ultimate-dimension-down-to-earth-episode-40 

Aeschylus
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aeschylus 

Quotes

“Recognizing our own presence is already a power.”

“The linearity of time is something that those of us who work on climate change live with on a daily basis. We have an alarm clock that is with us all the time because we have very clear timelines. We know that by 2100, we absolutely must have guaranteed that we do not go over 1.5 degrees [Celsius]. We know that in order to get there, we have to be at net zero by 2050. We know that in order to get to net zero by 2050, we have to be at one half of global emissions by 2030. And we know that to be at half emissions by 2030, we have to reduce yearly by 7%. So we take time and we pull it into our current experience and we derive mathematically, we derive then the implications of time upon our work. And so it is not surprising that those of us who work on climate change have a huge anxiety about time.” 

“Time and space, we have to be attentive and mindful of them, but we can also be free from them, because this present moment that we’re living deeply is the seed that we need to plant for the future.”

“Some of our transformation and actions of today, we may not see them until two, three, or five generations later – but nothing is lost. And that is the insight. And I believe it’s the truth of karma. The word karma, for us, is not what you hear in music: ‘What comes around, goes around,’ ‘Do better’… Yes, do better, but karma is much more profound than that. The actions of today, we don’t see them. Some of it, we will experience right away; we experience the transformation right away. But there are deeper transformations that need time for ripening.” 

“Love has no frontier, it goes on forever.” 

“There’s no way to find common ground without respecting and understanding the differences, because then you don’t see what’s common.” 

“You can be a different person in how you show up.”

“When you are able to live in the present moment, the right action emerges out of that space, out of that ultimate dimension that you are able to inhabit. If you can stay there and can trust that the best way to prepare for the future is to be in the present moment when it comes – rather than spend all of your time in your head trying to plan it out and think it through, which I think a lot of people get stuck in. Then, when that moment comes, what’s needed is there.”

“Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God” – Aeschylus.

Welcome to episode 53 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino talk about what they learned and experienced on the recent Plum Village North American Tour, which consisted of retreats (including one for climate leaders and activists) and Plum Village’s first international music tour. 

The two presenters reflect on how the Buddhist teachings and lessons offered by this series of public events can help people create a healthier culture of service, and deal with both personal suffering and the collective suffering of climate destruction, biodiversity loss, and social injustice. Also, what is fierce compassion and how can we practice with it?

Brother Phap Huu further shares on “opening new Dharma doors”, the adaptation of old teachings to new cultures; the importance of music in engaged Buddhism and why incorporating the flavors of contemporary music matters; Thay as peace activist and poet; the message of the song ‘Little Star’ (which you get to listen to!); dealing with the energy of anger; deep connection; and more. And what did Thay say when Brother Phap Huu rapped at a Plum Village festivity?

Jo also shares about innovation in the Plum Village tradition; resilience and guilt in the climate movement; novel teachings and itineraries for retreats; the deep spiritual dimension of  climate work; radical compassion; forgiveness and transforming the system; nondiscrimination around suffering; and more. 

Thank you for listening. 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

Hollyhock
https://hollyhock.ca/ 

‘Unborn and Indestructible (song)’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/unborn-indestructible/ 

‘Plum Village Announces North American Fundraising Concert Tour with Hip-Hop Artist Born I’
https://www.lionsroar.com/plum-village-announces-north-american-fundraising-concert-tour/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/ 

Sister Trai Nghiem
https://www.parallax.org/authors/sister-trai-nghiem-2/

Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

Sister True Dedication https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 

Sister Lang Nghiem
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem 

Tupac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur 

Lupe Fiasco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupe_Fiasco 

Djembe drums
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djembe

The Way Out Is In: ‘Engaged Buddhism: Applying the Teachings in Our Present Moment (Episode #9)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/engaged-buddhism-applying-the-teachings-in-our-present-moment 

Namo’valokiteshvaraya Chant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZkjX_c4hm4

‘Little Star’ (song video with lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3uu_Ru5U1c

Quotes

“The work of a monastic is service and our service is sowing seeds of awakening, or sowing seeds of mindfulness in today’s language.”

“One of my experiences of Plum Village is that there’s a willingness to always innovate. While the core teachings remain present and are at the heart of everything, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about opening new Dharma doors. So there are always new ways, depending on cultural or technological changes, of reaching new audiences with the teachings.” 

“Thich Nhat Hanh was an environmental leader and activist for more than 50 years, and he felt deeply around the need to help the environment, to collapse the separation between us and the environment, and the importance of dealing with our suffering so that we can deal with big issues like climate change and social inequality.”

“Spirituality doesn’t mean becoming a Buddhist or following a religion; spirituality is the capacity of awakening which is in everyone: learning to stop our thoughts, our running, and connect to our suffering, taking care of it, transforming. That is spirituality.” 

“The way out is interbeing.”

“Mindfulness is a path of understanding and transformation to cultivate nonviolence, peace, awakening, and love.” 

“Love is regeneration.” 

“With our thoughts, we create the world.”

“Fierce compassion is a deep, deep strength that not only can help change the world, but sustain that change.” 

“Anger is not the solution. Anger is an energy to recognize, to practice with; guide it through walking meditation, guide it through being with nature. Because once you realize that your energy, your emotions, are also impermanence, you know that if it goes up, it will have to come down and you can come back to the situation with a different energy. And if you have practiced for a long time, you can channel your anger right away. You make sure that your anger is not the foundation of your words, your mind, and your actions.”

“In Buddhism, the deepest insight of practice is to break free from all views: to touch interbeing so that we can be free and see the truth behind all manifestations, the forms that we meet, whether it is a person, whether it is their energy… Are we meeting just their anger, or can we see beyond their anger and still have compassion and help them out of their suffering?” 

“There are always new ways of seeing the world, and if you’re not adapting to that, then the teachings don’t become relevant.”

“Family is not just genetic blood; family is shared aspiration, shared understanding, shared support that we offer for one another, and seeing each other as human beings.”

“Often people chat to hide away from things, so when they’re given silence, it allows other things to emerge.”

“It’s not about forgiving the system, it’s about understanding the system. We can’t forgive a system, but once we understand it, we can transform it. It’s not about forgiving all the time.”

“The present moment is your canvas and your mindfulness, and your body, speech, and mind is the paintbrush that you paint with.”

Welcome to episode 52 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, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino are joined again by frequent podcast guest Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they respond to further questions from listeners in this second part of our first question and answer session of 2023.

We hope that their answers will show how the teachings can help people who are in distress or are dealing with critical issues – but also simply how to find more joy in our lives. 

This installment’s questions and answers cover topics ranging from how to create a practice with no sangha to how to develop a spiritual practice in busy, stressful lives; how to find meaningful communities and connections and become aware of our own story and that of our ancestors; understanding the complexity of ancestry and transmitted wisdom; belonging and home; intention and aspiration; the quality of presence; how to engage mindfully in a policing role; the difference between mindfulness and concentration; finding the sweetness of joy in life and making simple things your joy – and much more. 

To give a flavor of Plum Village Q and A sessions, the two monastics share memories including a story about Thay singing a song during a Q and A session for children. 

And what question do you think people should be asking? Or don’t ask enough?
There’s an answer to this one, too.

Thank you for listening, and for sharing your deep questions!

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 Way Out Is In: ‘Listeners’ Questions: Responding from the Heart (Episode #51)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/listeners-questions-responding-from-the-heart-episode-51/

Sister True Dedication https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 

Touching the Earth
https://plumvillage.org/books/touching-the-earth/ 

The European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/eiab/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Skandhas of Grasping and Non-Self​’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-skandhas-of-grasping-and-non-self%E2%80%8B-dharma-talk-by-br-phap-lai-2018-06-08/ 

Find a local group
https://plumvillage.org/community/international-sangha-directory/ 

Local communities (sanghas)
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/local-communities-sanghas 

Kristallnacht
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht 

The Miracle of Mindfulness
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-miracle-of-mindfulness/ 

Sutras: ‘Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone/ 

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Dharma Talk: ‘Mindfulness and the Police’ by Cheri Maples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ4jrd9IIh0 

A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50747101-a-field-guide-to-climate-anxiety 

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet-thich-nhat-hanh?variant=40244149878818 

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Connecting to Our Roots: Ancestors, Continuation and Transformation (Episode #5)’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHqj5mLGW5c 

Quotes

“As long as you are breathing and have awareness to be with your breath, that is an opportunity. And nobody can take that away, besides our old excuses.”

“At the beginning of my practice, I thought that mindfulness meant doing sitting meditation for 30 minutes every morning or having to do sacred reading or something, and having some kind of spiritual structure or program. And, actually, thanks to the five mindfulness trainings and coming on retreats here, I was like, ‘Oh, mindfulness is in three dimensions. Mindfulness is how I listen to my boss at work. Mindfulness is how I don’t get into arguments with my housemates.’ And I started to realize this three- or four-dimensionality of mindfulness, which is about how I choose to spend my time.”

“If we think of our separate selves as just our life and what we’ve experienced, that cuts off an enormous amount of intelligence, knowledge, and understanding that can help us to understand ourselves more deeply and to heal ourselves.”

“Some of the themes we’ve been speaking about are also around despair, and in the Buddhist teachings, intention – what we’d call aspiration – is the antidote and the medicine for despair. And so, if we’re feeling dull in our life, it may be because we haven’t yet identified what we really want and aren’t acting on it.” 

“We do not know how long we have. And if mindfulness can give us anything, it is awakening to what is most important to us.”

“Mindfulness is mindfulness when it starts to generate more love and understanding.”

“Mindfulness is not a pill, but it is a path.”

“For us, mindfulness always contains within it love, understanding, and helping people to suffer less. But it also goes to the roots. And what’s happening now is that there are a lot of mindfulness products which are more about wellbeing and making you feel good. But for us, mindfulness does so much more. It gets to the root of our suffering so we can transform what is painful in our life, so we can generate more happiness in our life, so we can heal, sometimes healing things over many generations.”

“It’s not that you can only be mindful in nature. So somehow challenging ourselves to see what is extraordinary about any moment in front of us, and to give ourselves space to enjoy those moments, can really bring back the sweetness.” 

Welcome to episode 51 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 the spirit of Plum Village and its Zen tradition of public question-and-answer sessions, this is the second time that Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino have responded to listeners’ questions. We hope that the answers will help show how the teachings can help people who are in distress or are dealing with critical issues – but also simply how to find more joy in our lives. Because we have received so many questions – around 200! – further answers will be given in a second part, to be released next week.

The presenters are joined by frequent podcast guest Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Topics which they address cover a wide range, from how to be brave, to speaking your truth and being fully yourself, and handling strong emotions and dealing with hate. Responses include practical examples, draw on both personal experiences and Buddhist wisdom, and cover numerous other topics, such as: non-attachment and healthy attachments; getting in touch with our patterns; building inner confidence; working with our negative seeds; letting go of pain; practicing with impermanence; the energy of prayer and interbeing; the power and purpose of Thay’s favorite chant, Namo Avalokiteshvara; and more. Plus: what is a mudra?

The three presenters also share their favorite daily reminders, sayings, or mantras for bringing them back to the path when they get distracted.

Thank you for listening, and for your questions!
Tune in next week for part two.

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

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 

The Four Noble Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths/ 

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

‘Breathing In, Breathing Out’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/breathing-in-breathing-out/

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/ 

The Five Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Pain, Despair, and the Second Arrow (a short Thich Nhat Hanh teaching video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLvjFPtFXw

Sutras: ‘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/

Abrahamic religions 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religions

Avalokiteśvara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara

Introduction to Namo Avalokiteshvara (a short Thich Nhat Hanh teaching video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjBUZrrqAVQ

‘Listening to Namo Avalokiteshvara’
https://plumvillage.app/listening-to-namo-avalokiteshvara/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘Listening to the Chant’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/listening-to-the-chant/

Namo’valokiteshvaraya Chant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZkjX_c4hm4

Mudra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra 

Nāgārjuna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjuna

Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Remembrances’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17/

Quotes

“Buddhism has a great lineage tradition of mentoring and guidance, and we are all seekers on the path. But some of us have had more years of experience and mistakes and getting awakened to our suffering, and can share from that experience to help others.”

“Thay would always say a good question can help many of us who are listening in this moment, because a good question will allow a good answer to manifest.” 

“Each day that you have stillness, that you have well-being, acknowledge it; make it your moment of presence, of solidarity.”

“In the spirit of Zen, we have the warrior, and how we bring that warrior out is, first of all, by really knowing how to be with oneself when the emotions and storms are present. How do we recognize that and not be a victim of it? Not allowing ourselves to be the anger when the energy of anger manifests, not to be the fear when fear is present, and turtle away.”

“Thay teaches us that a mountain doesn’t move when there’s a storm. And that storm is the storm of our perceptions, our judgment. We’re not being carried away by what we see, what we hear, but we still have the insight of interbeing. Therefore we can still have right view and clarity.”

“I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain.”

“We are not our thoughts, we are not our speech; we are not defined by that. We are so much greater as a formation, as an entity, than all of these things. But we do want to be aware of our legacy in thinking, speech, and action.”

“In Buddhism, our negative seeds are just part of the garden that we’re composting. They’re something we’re working with, they’re something to embrace. And the good news of Buddhism is that when you see these seeds, you can get an enlightenment about them. That is the compost that we’re going to practice with: each time these seeds come up, try to make ourselves a little daisy. I may not be a lotus, but maybe one daisy for each seed.” 

“Some non-attachments are more difficult than others.”

“Attachment that brings suffering, let it go. The attachment that keeps you on the path: ‘I’m attached to my brown robe. I’m attached to my precepts. I’m attached to my sangha.’ We have to also let go of this view that in Zen there’s no thinking, there’s no feelings, there’s no emotions, there’s no attachment.”

“When the going gets tough, keep going.”

“‘Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible’ comes from a great teacher called Nagarjuna. It’s a Buddhist phrase. And it helps me trust that everything is evolving, everything is shifting. My internal landscape is shifting, the external landscape is shifting. And if it’s hard, it won’t last for long; it’s just a phase that we’re passing through.”

“Awareness is a mirror reflecting the four elements. Beauty is a heart that generates love and a mind that is open.”

“Life is too short for mirrors.”

“Our true actions are our continuation.”

Welcome to episode 50 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino contemplate how to find compassion for ourselves – even when we feel stuck and unable to move forward, and know what to do but enter self-loathing rather than self-compassion. Together, they discuss what it is to love ourselves and what a difference it can make. Plus, why is it so difficult to change? What should we be mindful of? And what is love to us? 

Brother Phap Huu further considers how helpful insights can blossom; attaining new views of growth in spirituality; unconditional love; what it is to be stuck and how to unstick ourselves; ‘striving’ energy, perceptions, and aspirations; creating new stories; and acceptance.

Jo starts with a confession before sharing about epiphanies; times when one’s story is more important than one’s happiness; self-worth; cultivating change at the edges; and mindful reminders.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

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 

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 

‘Tangerine Meditation’
https://plumvillage.org/library/clips/tangerine-meditation/

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/ 

Saṃsāra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_(Buddhism) 

Krishna Das
https://www.krishnadas.com/ 

The Miracle of Mindfulness
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-miracle-of-mindfulness/ 

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teaching/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths/ 

The Four Noble Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path/ 

Quotes

“Peace in oneself, peace in the world.” 

“When I know that I don’t hate myself, love is already there. And acceptance is a part of love.” 

“Mindfulness is the opposite of forgetfulness, and love is the opposite of hatred.”

“After one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s talks, I said, ‘Sister Jina, don’t you monastics get bored of Thay repeating the same thing over and over again? And doesn’t Thay get bored with repeating the same teachings over and over again?’ And she turned to me and said, ‘But do we practice?’”

“Because of our unmindful society, where there’s more forgetfulness and not enough awareness, love becomes something to gain. People are trying to gain love rather than to cultivate love within them, creating a lot of expectation around it. And when there is love, there is already a need. But in the practice of Buddhism, and in our practice, love should be unconditional.”

“Our practice is to understand that love is a growing organic energy. But hatred is also an organic energy. So the first practice in mindfulness and in Buddhism has to start with oneself. And maybe that is the most painful start because, for some reason, it’s easier to love others.” 

“Mindfulness is light. Forgetfulness is the darkness. But the two rely on each other and can dance within each other.” 

“If you have an empty bowl, then you’ve got nothing to give. All you really want to do is fill your own bowl. But when your bowl is full and overflowing, it naturally leads to generosity.” 

“In my own life, the moments of greatest transformation have been when I’ve stopped long enough for an insight to arise; what I refer to as an epiphany.” 

“New forms of life tend to grow at the very edges of ecosystems, like the edges of estuaries where new life forms have space to develop. If they develop and get enough strength, then they come towards the center and become an established lifeform. And they sometimes become what can’t change. Then something else will grow at the edge and come into the center.” 

“The Buddha said that we always have to check our perception of our reality and the reality that we want to achieve. And this is very different from aspiration.”

“To look into the past is also to educate, to learn, and to have insight. So insight comes from awareness, and we have to have baby insight to have big insight.”

“Thay says sometimes our habits, our energies, are there for us to reflect on. If I don’t have striving energy, then maybe I don’t have any aspirations.” 

Welcome to episode 49 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, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino discuss freedom, exploring a deeper meaning of what it is to be free through a focus on freedom as approached in Buddhism and the Plum Village tradition: something associated with responsibility and commitment. So, what are we trying to be free from?

They further delve into how one can become free within a monastery; liberating moments; working with energy levels; suffering and freedom; collective energy; redefining spaciousness; and letting go of busyness. And how did Thay express freedom in his life and in his practice? 

The episode ends with a short meditation on freedom guided by Brother Phap Huu.

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 

Bhikṣu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu 

Filial piety
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety 

‘The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism’
https://www.lionsroar.com/the-fourteen-precepts-of-engaged-buddhism/ 

Rains Retreat 2023-24
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2023/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Freedom Wherever We Go
https://plumvillage.org/books/freedom-wherever-we-go/ 

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village/ 

Quotes

“Coming back to the simple pleasures of life is freedom”

“Freedom is commitment. This idea that we’re free if we can do anything we want is not freedom. But when we really commit to something, give ourselves wholeheartedly to it, then actually that is freedom.” 

“When we look at ourselves and we say, ‘I want to be me’, who is this ‘me’? This ‘me’ suddenly becomes an object. And if we look into our present moment, can we truly be just ourself?”

“In Buddhism and in our practice of mindfulness, whenever we speak about something such as freedom, it’s always ‘freedom of something’. What is it that we are trying to be free from?”

“We are speaking about freedom of our suffering, freedom of our negativity, freedom of how we want to walk and show up in this world. Our steps can be made of the energy of freedom and ease. Our breath can generate the sense of happiness, liberation in the present moment, which is freedom. And we understand that freedom is something that we can touch in the present moment, even if we are sitting in a prison.”

“We are doing whatever we want. But are we truly free from the past? Are we free from daydreaming about the present moment? Are we free from being worried about the future? Are we free in our thinking? So freedom is always freedom of something. And our practice is to learn to walk and step into freedom each day.”

“We can be in pain, but also be free from it by experiencing it, accepting it, and working through it. So freedom is not a destination very far away; it can be experienced through our practice of mindfulness. And freedom comes with responsibility: when we say something, it has consequences. When we act, it has consequences. So freedom can be cultivated, it can be experienced, but it can also be taken away.” 

“Meditation is not a competition.” 

“We will continue to be free in our doing.” 

“Freedom is not singular; it is not just about my freedom or your freedom: if I give you your freedom, I give myself my freedom. That freedom is not separated into one person.”

“When we have fear, that is when we lose our freedom.”

Welcome to episode 48 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 instalment marks the first time the two presenters have recorded separately, with Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu in Thay’s Sitting Still Hut in Plum Village France, and journalist Jo Confino at the Garrison Institute, New York. 

Speaking from two different continents, they explore fame and humility. What price do we pay for our fame-obsessed societies? Can humility become a great power? How do we show up in the world? What is it ‘to be enough’ in the world? And how did Thay handle fame and other famous people?

These dimensions are discussed with help from Buddhist teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh’s practices, and the presenters’ personal life stories, giving us a flavor of experiences of fame, but also the power of humility in service to life.     

Brother Phap Huu further delves into inferiority, superiority, and equality complexes; openness and insight; unconditional presence; humility in learning and being; simplicity; curiosity; Thay’s bodhisattva energy; and honoring blood and spiritual ancestors. And how is Brother Phap Huu coping with… feline fame?

Jo muses about humility in leadership; the power of leading from the middle; responsible journalism; ‘un-cultivating’ fame; looking inwards and outwards with humility; fame as another form of extraction; and more.

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 

The Garrison Institute
https://www.garrisoninstitute.org/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Power of Understanding – Transformation of Manas’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-power-of-understanding-transformation-of-manas-dharma-talk-by-sr-tue-nghiem-2018-08-02/ 

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/

Parallax Press
https://www.parallax.org/ 

The Happy Farm
https://thehappyfarm.org/ 

The Order of Interbeing (OI)
https://orderofinterbeing.org/ 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
https://www.iucn.org/our-union/iucn-world-conservation-congress 

Plum Village Thailand
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/plum-village-thailand/ 

The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village/ 

Dharma Rain, and Being Alone (short teaching video by Thich Nhat Hanh)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYmON_ElwMw 

Quotes

“Humility represents openness for us to enter into a spiritual path or into anything that we want to grow. We need an element of openness, of humility. It means we have to humble our ego. We have to let go of our knowledge. We have to come in with open eyes and open ears and an open mind and an open heart in order to truly allow our understanding to grow deeper.” 

“As human beings, we’re very curious. And when we block off our curiosity, we’re blocking off some deep resonance in us that wants to know more, wants to expand our knowledge and our awareness.”

“Humility is learning to look with fresh eyes, listen with fresh ears, and continuing to expand our hearts and knowing, ‘How can we know everything?’ There’s so much insight and so much wisdom alive around us, not just among the people, among our teachers, among our mentors, among this community – but we also [need to] learn to open ourselves to the environment, to nature.”

“Service is a way of expressing love. Therefore, humility is also an expression of love, an expression of giving.”

“You can be a victim of your success, but you would never be a victim of your happiness.”

“Go as a river.” 

“One thing that we can always grow and develop is our heart; it’s our capacity for love and our capacity for being there for others.” 

“We all make our own contribution and everyone’s contribution is based on everyone else’s; we are a constellation of change. We’re all making a small mark on the world.”

“There’s a humility to recognizing one’s skills or what one can offer and not be caught striving for ‘I need to be better at this’, ‘I need to be better at that’. Recognizing who we are and not feeling we need to be more than that.” 

“Our greatest offering, I always come back to, is kindness, openness, and the way of being.”

“Have the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the ordinary in the extraordinary.”

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 + Optimism
https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/ 

Brother Phap Linh
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/ 

Brother Phap Lai
https://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 2023-24
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2023/ 

Plum Village International Center in Thailand
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/plum-village-thailand/ 

‘New Contemplations before Eating’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/new-contemplations-before-eating/ 

Mahatma Gandhi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi 

Hurricane Sandy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sandy 

Stupas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa 

Mara
https://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 Roar
https://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.”

Welcome to episode 46 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, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino talk about healthy boundaries. In this busy and complex world is it possible to remain open and vulnerable whilst also ensuring our safety and protection? This question is answered via stories from the Buddha’s time and Thich Nhat Hanh’s life and teachings, as well as from the presenters’ own life experiences.   

Brother Phap Huu further shares about practicing awareness; the two protectors: the warrior and the bodhisattva; teaching and the importance of understanding those you teach; deep listening and loving speech; friendships that end and being OK with someone not loving us; setting boundaries with people who have passed away; and creating a bodhisattva heart. Also, if there’s no self, why are we protecting it?

Jo shares about courage and communication; speaking the truth; protecting ourselves from abusive behavior; loving people from a distance; change and shifting boundaries; and the power of presence.

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 

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

Bhikkhu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu

Mahāyāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

Classes: ‘Right Diligence’
https://plumvillage.org/library/classes/class-13-right-diligence/ 

Old Path, White Clouds
https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2/ 

Aṅgulimāla
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%E1%B9%85gulim%C4%81la 

The Five Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Deer Park Monastery
https://deerparkmonastery.org/

Quotes

“Being mindful, having love for oneself, is also learning to be true to oneself. And sometimes that means learning to say no to certain situations because we’re not yet capable. The practice here is not to feel despair or to lose faith in oneself because one cannot yet embrace such a situation; that can become an ingredient for aspiration and determination, so that we can cultivate our capacity to be there, to embrace, and to transform.” 

“Am I watering the seeds of mindfulness, the seeds of concentration, the seeds of understanding, the seeds of kindness? Or am I being watered by the seeds of violence, anger, fear, despair, jealousy? As a practitioner, mindfulness becomes a light to identify what is coming into our senses via our eyes, our ears, our nose, our tongue, our mind, and our body. And we have to learn to be mindful of what is coming in, because that will be the energy for us to give out.” 

“A good teacher, a good leader, a good parent, a good mentor is someone who is attentive to the kind of training that the one that they’re training needs. Our teacher, Thay was very mindful in understanding his students. In a way, Thay was studying us and he had to have the sensitivity – his mindfulness and his openness – to see each student differently and recognize what kind of ‘medicine’ they needed.” 

“In hostile moments, if it’s not safe, you are allowed to protect yourself. Don’t think that being compassionate is to withstand everything; we also have to love ourselves. We have to know our capacity, we have to protect ourselves for everyone else. Thay would sometimes tell us, ‘You are more than just you: you also have to protect your teacher, which is me, you have to protect your parents, who are your ancestors, and your colleagues. So don’t allow yourself to burn out, because when you do, we all burn out with you.’ And at first I thought he was just referring to work, but there is also burning out in our spirit. We have to continue to nourish our heart and compassion. We have to know our limits.” 

“Please, do not wait until you are angry, until you are violent, to practice. At that moment, it is too late. We have to already have invested our capacity to embrace and call our emotion by its name in the present moment.” 

“If you want revenge, dig two graves.”

“With distance, there’s understanding. With time, the heat of the moment dissipates.” 

“A good teacher is someone who takes time to have a relationship. I truly believe that before trying to help someone, I have to also have time to be human with that person: having a cup of tea, seeing them as a friend, not just as a student or as younger, or a mentee.” 

“In Buddhism we always say don’t be too intense with everything but also not too loose, knowing what is enough.”

“Sometimes true love is just learning to let go.”

“Thay talks about how, if you say something negative to someone or you’ve acted in anger, you can send a kind thought afterwards to neutralize it.” 

Welcome to episode 45 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 – are joined by lay practitioner Nick Kenrick to talk about Plum Village as a healing center, the many reasons people go there, and the personal transformations and deep healing life journeys taking place there. For the past 18 months, Nick has been living with the Plum Village community of monastics and lay practitioners, and kindly agreed to share his own transformative deep healing journey. 

Nick Kenrick worked as a diplomat for the British government for nine years before retraining to work as a psychotherapist for the next decade. He has visited Plum Village every year since Thay and his monastics came to the UK in 2010, and helped to found Wake Up London — a local sangha for younger practitioners in the city – following Thay’s visit. He joined the Order of Interbeing in 2018 and has been living in Plum Village since June 2021. 

Nick’s deep sharing touches upon the conditions that brought him to Plum Village, and upon exhaustion and breakdown, changing careers, and recovery and aspects of healing, including the practices he found refuge in. He further delves into individual and collective suffering; perceptions and the roots of conflict; befriending despair; psychotherapy and spiritual practice; healthy boundaries; following ‘the schedule’; sharing circles; taking refuge in the sangha; and much more.

In addition, Brother Phap Huu shares about Plum Village as a practice center for meditation and mindfulness; the energy of collective mindfulness; meditation and its healing dimension; mindfulness of the body; and the importance of the schedule in the life of the community. 

And Jo recollects aspects of his own healing journey, and of learning through practice about some hard facts of life.

You also get to witness the Plum Village tradition of watering the positive seeds and showing appreciation. 

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 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Wake Up London
https://wakeuplondon.org/ 

Order of Interbeing
https://orderofinterbeing.org/

‘Home Practices for the Rains Retreat’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/home-practices-for-the-rains-retreat/ 

‘Extended Practises’ (Dharma sharing)
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/ 

The Organic Happy Farms
https://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm/ 

Brother Phap Linh
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/ 

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 

Calligraphy
https://plumvillage.org/thich-nhat-hanh/calligraphy/ 

‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta 

Quotes

“Plum Village is a place where monks, nuns, and lay practitioners come to cultivate the seeds of mindfulness and the seeds of awareness, so that they can take care of their personal lives physically and emotionally. And through meditation, it offers a space and time to reflect.”

“Plum Village has evolved into a community where practitioners live together, practice together, and produce an energy of collective mindfulness. And this collective mindfulness can become a source of energy to help individuals return to themselves, to look deeply within their current situation and find a way to heal, and find a way to rediscover themselves, so that they can come to the base of their suffering for a real transformation.” 

“We never say meditation and Zen will heal you completely and take care of all your suffering. Because for us, it’s a journey, it’s a path, and, actually, suffering is a part of the antidote. Suffering is a part of the transformation – so this understanding of Zen and Buddhism is very important; we’re not here to give you a quick fix: it’s a commitment to be with oneself and to learn to be vulnerable to oneself, as well as to others. I believe that’s where true transformation can begin, because that’s accepting oneself.” 

“Spirituality, the practice of meditation, also has a dimension of healing, because what is healing? For us, healing is having time to stop, to rest, and to discover what is happening in the here and now, physically, emotionally, and mentally, so that we can rebalance and not suppress our wounds, but have time to care for them, to mend them, to patch them, to give them the tenderness that they need.”

“I’m so grateful to Thay for using organic metaphors in the teachings, [for suggesting] that being a mindfulness practitioner is like being a gardener. Sometimes you’ve got this really smelly compost, I mean, awful: ‘What on Earth can I do with this?’ And I did not know what to do with this except to follow the schedule and watch my mind. And gradually I saw my mind turning it over. The following day, it would be softer, some of the edges would come off. And then I would see that it would bring pains up, it would turn them over; they would go down again. And I began to realize that there was a practitioner within my mind that was starting to take care of this for me. And the condition I needed to provide was to keep showing up, to let that process work.”

“If I wake up in the morning and I feel good, I follow the schedule. If I wake up and I feel bad, I follow the schedule. If I wake up and I’m consumed by existential dread and despair, I follow the schedule. And I recognize through this the potential for a gradual liberation; that no matter what state I’m in, I can follow the schedule, because the schedule is so fundamentally wholesome.”

“Being open is the first element of learning.” 

“When we learn to practice, we always say, ‘Feel the breath, don’t think about the breath.’ We say, ‘Feel the body, don’t think about the body.’ Because if you are mindful, you can feel the tension, you can feel the muscles. And the body is a teacher. If you truly learn to tune into your body, you know what to do and what not to do.” 

“Don’t wait until you suffer to practice. It’s too late by then; you won’t know how to practice, because you haven’t yet tasted the goodness of the practice.” 

“The engine that was moving forwards left me with a sense of helplessness, because I could only do the bit I could do. But it was enough to experience in that situation these awful conflicts; when perceptions changed and when trust could develop, and when the humanity of each other could be recognized, genuine change in attitude and motivation could take place. I saw that in conflict. Of course, I’ve also seen that in the therapy room; I’ve seen that in the community. And the Buddha’s diagnosis was that, when we get down to the root, the drivers of pain and suffering will be in the energies of hatred, of delusion, of ignorance, of greed. That’s absolutely what I saw.”

“The despair held in mindfulness was slowly dissolving aspects of my past that I was very locked onto. And when I started to see that these experiences of very deep pain could actually be healing experiences, healing me of a fixation or an attachment, when there were enough conditions of safety and mindfulness and care around, there was a very deep shift in my relationship to suffering.”

“When we become rigid and certain about a worldview and we need to have other people agree with it, peace will not come. That is not the way to peace. We can’t wait for everyone to hold the same view. We need the tools to live in harmony; even when we have different perceptions, we have ways to work with it.”

Welcome to a short bonus episode 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.

On the eve of the anniversary of Thay’s passing, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – recorded this episode from his former residence, the Sitting Still Hut in Upper Hamlet. Here, they mark this memorial day by recollecting the events of the past year – “a year of deep interbeing”.

Together, they share how life unfolded for the monastic and lay communities around the world after the passing of the Zen Master, and discuss the transmission of the practice; the true continuation of  Thay’s legacy and vision; the significance of the spreading of Thay’s ashes by the Fourfold Sangha, and the many fully-booked retreats with lay practitioners; and the challenges, lessons, and blessings along the path. There are also heartfelt sharings by Brother Phap Huu from his time as Thay’s attendant. And a special dream full of hope.

The episode ends with Brother Phap Huu reading a deeply personal appreciation of Thay on behalf of the entire community.

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 Way Out Is In: ‘A Cloud Never Dies: The Passing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-passing-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-a-cloud-never-dies/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Deep Reflection: The Calligraphy of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/deep-reflection-the-calligraphy-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-episode-23/ 

Memorial Practice Resources
https://plumvillage.org/memorial-practice-resources/

How To: ‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/ 

Koan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta

Stupa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa 

Find a local group (or sangha)
https://plumvillage.org/community/international-sangha-directory/

Quotes

“Our theme last year was, ‘Now I have a path, there’s nothing to fear.’ And it’s just to remember that the transmission that we receive from Thay is profound, and if practiced, can really lead us to inner peace and transformation.”

“There’s always this fear, when a spiritual leader passes, of a period of chaos or of diminishment where things start to go wrong. But I know from my perspective and from watching this community and being part of this community, that the opposite has happened. Rather than vacuums of power and ‘who’s in charge’, Thay built a very, very strong community that is based on common wisdom, common understanding, and coming to decisions as a collective. And what I’ve seen is more people coming to Plum Village, more sisterhood and brotherhood and, actually, no diminishment at all.” 

“I don’t think Thay expects all of us to be him. He never wanted us to be him. He wanted us to learn from him and to have our own experience, our own insight in our practice. But he has been so generous in sharing profoundly and putting together the dharma, the teachings, the practice, which is so easy to understand.”

“Thay wanted to help spread the seeds of mindfulness in the world, so that all of us can wake up and be the change that we want to see in the world, be the peace that we want to have for our planet, and ourselves, and our future generations. Thay once said, ‘If I have to let go of Buddhism for world peace, I will, because I’m not attached.’ His deepest wish was for us to continuously build communities, [to build] collective awakening.” 

“Thay always taught us, if you want to become a good elder brother, you first of all have to know how to be a good younger brother. And if you want to be a good elder sister, you also have to be a good younger sister. So he’s always teaching us about interbeing. And very naturally, leaders will appear in the Sangha, and we’d like to see that all the leaders in the Sangha are still a part of this forest, and that is what keeps us safe and keeps us humble.” 

“In our modern time, one Sangha is not enough. One Buddha is not enough anymore. We need a collective awakening so that all of us can have inner peace, can accept our suffering, can transform our suffering, and can build a society that is compassionate and that has the ability to transform suffering and take care of happiness.”

Welcome to episode 44 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 the first podcast recording of 2023, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – discuss habits, both the positive ones that help us lead better lives, but also those that can cause us harm and make our lives difficult. Both presenters share negative and positive habits, and the difficulties of transformation. 

Can you guess the negative habit both presenters have in common? And how can we transform our negative habits and bring more positive habits into our lives? Is it possible to truly transform at the base? How important is friendship in facing our habits? Also, what is ‘shining the light’ and how can this Plum Village practice help us? 

Brother Phap Huu shares on the topic of the most recent practice of shining the light during the annual Rains Retreat; rushing energy; generosity; dealing with inferiority complexes and accepting ourselves; folding clothes; mirroring each other’s transformation of habits; the interbeing of the community; and collective awakening through individuals’ positive habits. And what did Thich Nhat Hanh mean by “happiness is a habit”?

Jo delves into sharing the light for lay practitioners; seeing the best in people and watering people’s positive flowers; cultivating awareness; speed, chasing deadlines, and rushing as a way of life; inherited habits; fear of humiliation; and the interbeing of complexes. And what happens when you look deeply at just one bad habit?  

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

‘Shining the Light’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/shining-the-light/

How to Take Care of the Habit Energy of Worrying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jANxd6YGdAA 

‘Home Practices for the Rains Retreat’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/home-practices-for-the-rains-retreat/ 

The Four Noble Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA  

‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

The Seven Factors of Awakening
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Factors_of_Awakening 

Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication
https://plumvillage.org/books/beginning-anew/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Deep Reflection: The Calligraphy of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/deep-reflection-the-calligraphy-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-episode-23/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Free from Views in a Polarized Wold’ 
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/free-from-views-in-a-polarized-world-episode-36/

Quotes

“Happiness is a habit.”

“Thay always says suffering and happiness go together, so don’t be so blinded by suffering without recognizing happiness. And don’t be so confident about happiness that we forget that if we don’t take care of our happiness, suffering will come.” 

“It’s a beautiful meditation to look into our habits, because you can go into the history of it and know yourself more.” 

“Happiness is a habit in this particular practice; knowing the goodness in the here and now.”

“When we enter the monastery for a retreat, there’s one habit that we invite everyone to practice, and it’s probably very new to someone who has never had any introduction to Buddhism or spirituality: stopping when you hear the sound of the bell. This is a habit that we have introduced to hundreds of thousands of people. And this habit brings out awareness in us. So, in my training, before reviewing and transforming my negative habits, I try to cultivate good habits first.” 

“If you do a lot of good things, you don’t have time to do bad things.”

“Underneath our greatest problem is our greatest gift.”

“Meditation is a habit. Meditation is not sitting in a temple, meditation is having moments where you connect to yourself. You allow yourself to be in stillness, you allow your mind to have a break. Bring it to oneness with an action. Walking, sitting, mindful breathing, enjoying a cup of tea, enjoying a cup of coffee; these snippet-moments can be wonderful habits that we can all create for ourselves.” 

“None of us is 100% perfect, but collectively we are forests that have leaves. Some trees offer flowers, some trees offer fruits. And all of us offer shade together. A sangha, sometimes we call it a forest. So don’t be so focused on just one tree. One tree may not be so strong and may not change the world, but one whole forest is a different story.”

“With our thoughts, we create the world.”

“Understanding the causes of my suffering has given me a route out of it. And if I had not gone into my suffering, I could never have found happiness.” 

“A real friend is someone with the courage to point out your shortcomings.”

“Offering guidance to another is offering guidance to ourselves.”

“Once there is seeing, there must be action. Otherwise, what’s the use of seeing?”

Welcome to episode 43 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 the last podcast recording of 2022, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Jina (the special guest in episode 14, ‘I Have Arrived, I Am Home; What a Blessing’). Together, they discuss loneliness, and how the Buddha’s teachings and Plum Village practices and exercises can help us come back to ourselves, and feel connected and part of life. The three also share moments of loneliness from different points in their lives. 

Sister Jina (Sister Dieu Nghiem, translated as Sister True Wonder) further shares about coming home to oneself; creating self-compassion; people’s fears about looking inside themselves for answers; and learning from our mistakes.

Brother Phap Huu shares about Thich Nhat Hanh’s view of happiness, gratitude, and on identifying the goodness in life; ignoring our suffering; connecting to our true self; the temptation to retell stories of our suffering; the void and taking care of our wellness; learning to forgive; learning to be flexible; the practice of touching the earth; tree hugging; and silence.

Jo shares about feeling worthless and lonely in front of 400 people; reaching out to others when suffering from loneliness; learning to love oneself; gifting presence to ourselves and others; and interbeing. 

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

“We send our hearts out to you and hope that this conversation has brought some balm to your lives, and that over this period of days and weeks you find a sense of peace, a sense of calm, a sense of rootedness, and a sense of love and gratitude for yourself.”

See you in the new year! 

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

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/

The Way Out Is In: ‘I Have Arrived, I Am Home; What a Blessing’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/i-have-arrived-i-am-home-what-a-blessing-episode-14/

Dharma Talks: ‘Interbeing and Store Consciousness’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/interbeing-and-store-consciousness/ 

Climate Week
https://www.climateweeknyc.org/ 

Sutras: ‘Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone/

Our Appointment with Life: Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone https://www.parallax.org/product/our-appointment-with-life-sutra-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone/ 

Tom Rivett-Carnac 
https://www.globaloptimism.com/tom-rivett-carnac

Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

Thich Nhat Hanh: Live Our Life Whole: The Surface and the Depth of Our Being (4 February, 1993) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUNFiPBIsw

‘The Five Earth Touchings’ 
https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings/

Quotes

“As a young man, rather than true friendship, I was looking to get people to pay attention to me, almost to prove that I was alive and worthy to be alive. And it created an imbalance in my life: rather than thinking I had something to give and offer because I felt strong in myself, I was always looking for other people to mirror my existence.”

“Sometimes when you’re suffering from real loneliness, reach out and be vulnerable and share and allow the love and support of other people to come in.” 

“We’re in a time of what’s supposed to be great connection; we’re all connected, but that connection is very often [on the] surface and is leading to more disconnection.”

“In my orientation, I always guide and I always invite people at the retreat to learn to be a friend with their breath, because that breath accompanies you to the west, to the east, to the north, to the south, inside, outside. As long as you are there, that breath will be with you. And the more you are connected to the breath, the more you learn to guide your mind home to your body, then you have a chance to cultivate your mind.” 

“We have the view that being together is [only about] being with humans. But in our practice, we start to learn that being together is also [being] with nature, it’s also [being] with the conditions around you. Thay would teach us every morning to be grateful for one thing: ‘When you wake up and you see the sunrise; be grateful for that.’ You’re not alone. The sunrise is there for you.”

“Happiness is a very big word, but in the Zen tradition and in Plum Village, Thay talked about happiness as something as simple as having a cup of tea: feeling the warmth, seeing companions, seeing I’m not alone, and starting to train the mind [to see] that I have goodness inside of me, I have happiness inside of me, I have joy inside of me, I have peace inside of me. I can touch that, even though it’s not long-lasting. But peace is available. So the first steps, and the first attention and awareness that we are taught to identify, is the goodness in life, inside of us and around us. And what’s interesting is that it is very easy to have gratitude for things outside of us. [But] it takes a little bit more effort to have gratitude for oneself.” 

“Sometimes we get so lost in our practice or in that present moment, and Thay had a very funny, quirky side, so he would ask one of his students, ‘What moment is this?’ And the right answer would be, ‘This is a happy moment.’ Sometimes we just need to be reminded to show up for ourselves; only when we show up for ourselves we can truly show up for others.” 

“We also have to forgive ourselves. This forgiving is a journey, because when we forgive ourselves, we may also be forgiving our ancestors or our parents, who inflicted suffering to us, our society that inflicted suffering on us. And so this forgiving oneself has another layer that is unseen: learning to meet the other conditions, and forgiving, and recognizing them, embracing and transforming them, and letting them go. And when we say let go, it doesn’t mean they are not there anymore, but we’re not attached to them anymore because we, as practitioners, want to learn to be more free, because freedom is an element of self-love.”

“I am as I am because of causes and conditions. And who am I to judge other people? What are their dreams? What are their hopes? What are their fears? And so I think the issue is not the other people; it’s inside of me – and that’s good because I can do something about 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/

Bhikkhu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu

Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
https://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 Buddhism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana

Emma Thompson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Thompson

The 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 41 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 forgotten art of resting and how to free the word ‘laziness’ from its Western slander – as an equivalent of torpor or sloth – through the wisdom of Zen Buddhist teachings. Also, what is the story behind the weekly ‘lazy day’ in Plum Village? How does laziness support the doing? Could laziness be the route to healing?

Brother Phap Huu shares the story of how ‘lazy day’ became part of the Plum Village tradition, along with advice that Thich Nhat Hanh gave about being in a state of laziness – one of the key attributes to a healthy and happy life. The Brother further touches upon setting the right intentions; clarity; true presence and the awkwardness of quiet; Thay’s openness; allowing ourselves to be cared for; constant busyness, what it’s like to face oneself, and learning to do nothing; and being mindfully… angry. And the surprise the presenters got when trying to record this episode about laziness on a lazy day. 

Jo shares his experiences of a recent trip to New York and how to not get caught in the nonstop doing of large cities; laziness as an act of generosity; happiness as the avoidance of suffering; spaciousness; laziness as healing; and integrating lazy moments into a busy day for surprisingly creative results.  

The episode ends with a reading from the ‘Lazy Day’ chapter of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Happiness, and 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 

‘The Art of Mindful Living’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/mindfulness-practice/ 

Clips: ‘What’s the Point of Doing Nothing?’
https://plumvillage.org/library/clips/the-art-of-being/ 

Dalai Lama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

The Art of Happiness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Happiness 

Persimmon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Mudra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra 

Estes Park, Colorado
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estes_Park,_Colorado 

Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices
https://www.parallax.org/product/happiness-essential-mindfulness-practices/

Quotes

“In quietness we can recognize new things.”

“If we’re constantly in planning mode – especially those who have busy working weeks – we don’t give the space for anything to emerge. We don’t give a chance for spontaneity, for our creativity, for grace – or whatever we call it – to flow through us, because we’re always trying to be in control. And so, when we have space, another part of us shows up.”

“Western society has co-opted ‘laziness’ to be negative, but laziness gives us space. And in this space we are able to have meaningful insights and then be able to act differently. So it’s a powerful practice.” 

“In today’s society, we can all identify that we have a restlessness habit. We don’t know how to be still. We don’t know how to do nothing.”

“Even if we are given a day to rest or a vacation, sometimes we make our vacation busier than it should be and we get even more tired. And there is such a habit in us, transmitted to us by maybe our ancestors, our culture, our society, that we shouldn’t be still; that there is not enough time to live. So we should be doing, doing, doing, and doing. Therefore, from these energies and these habits, we have a lot of tension, we have a lot of anxiety, we don’t know how to rest and so are not able to be present. And when we’re not able to be present for ourselves, for our bodies, for our loved ones, can we actually say that we are alive? Can we actually experience life to the fullest if we’re not present?”

“It’s only when we touch our suffering that we can go through it.”

“Laziness gives us a chance to meet ourselves, because so much of our life is looking outward and receiving input from outside. But when we’re with ourselves, we have to experience many parts of ourselves. And it’s only when we do that that we can heal. So it feels like laziness is the route to healing.”

“Freedom comes from inside, but we need [the right] conditions, so the lazy day allows us to learn to be with oneself.”

“Part of our tradition is Zen, and Zen has meditation, and to meditate we have to learn to be still in order to stop. And what are we stopping? We’re stopping our habit and energy of running, whether it is in our minds or in our body. And so learning to be still is an art. It’s a wonderful art and it is actually a very difficult training.”

“The first thing people do is look for interaction: ‘Okay, I have space and time now, let’s go talk to someone.’ And that is also covering up loneliness in us or covering up the emptiness that can be there. But if you actually listen to the space and the time, you may be able to really get in touch with the simple wonders of life.”

“We know that breath is also an energy – so talking takes a lot of energy. This lazy day has been prescribed for our community to learn to rest and heal.” 

“It’s like when there’s a forest fire: to stop the fire from burning they create a firebreak, a space the flames can’t jump over to continue the fire. It’s as if, when we’re consumed by fire, we need to create a space the flames cannot leap over and continue to burn our relationships or burn ourselves. So we have to create breaks where the flames of our lives will diminish and be put out.” 

Welcome to episode 40 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, are joined by a returning guest, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit) – who is also the composer of the podcast’s theme music. Together, they talk about how to stay centered in difficult and dark times by looking at a particular deep teaching within Buddhist philosophy: the two dimensions – the ultimate dimension and the historical dimension – and helping us to meaningfully integrate them into the present day.  

They further explore how feelings of grief and joy don’t have to be in conflict with each other; challenges to touching the ultimate dimensions, and (finally) touching the ultimate peace and freedom; the terror of nothingness; true presence; letting go of the four notions (of self, man/human, living beings, and lifespan); cultivating good energies; how the ultimate transforms the historical – and more!

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

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/

Enjoying the Ultimate Dimension: The Nirvana Chapter of the Dharmapada
https://plumvillage.shop/products/study/books-for-monastic-practice/enjoying-the-ultimate-dimension/ 

Classes: ‘In the Ultimate Dimension, Every Dharma Is an Unconditioned Dharma’
https://plumvillage.org/library/classes/class-2-in-the-ultimate-dimension-every-dharma-is-an-unconditioned-dharma/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Nature of No Birth and No Death’ (Neuroscience Retreat)
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-nature-of-no-birth-and-no-death-neuroscience-retreat-br-phap-dung-2019-06-20/    

Dharma Talks: ‘Free from Notions: The Diamond Sutra’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/free-from-notions-the-diamond-sutra/

Dharma Talks: ‘The Diamond Sutra’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-diamond-sutra-sr-dang-nghiem-2020-2-27-deer-park-monastery/  

Deep ecology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology 

Mahāyāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

Dharma Talks: ‘Freeing Ourselves from Notions’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/freeing-ourselves-from-notions/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘From Extraction to Regeneration: Healing Ourselves, Healing Society (Episode #16)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/from-extraction-to-regeneration-healing-ourselves-healing-society-episode-16/ 

Quotes

“In the historical dimension, we understand that there is time: time is passing; we are in the present moment; the future hasn’t yet come; the past is already gone; and things are outside of each other. I’m sitting over here, you’re sitting over there, Phap Huu is over there; we are apparently separate. I’m separate from my father, from my mother, from the world. I am myself. There are things outside of me, you could say.  Thay once said that, in that world, the cow is outside of the ice cream. That’s the historical dimension. Things are made up of other things. Things are composed of parts; that’s what we learn in science. Everything is made up of atoms and molecules, and beyond the atomic to the subatomic, to the quarks, the gluons, all that other stuff. It seems to be made up of ever smaller things. And that can all be ultimately teased apart and separated and identified. That’s the historical.”

“The ultimate is this sense in which – poets and artists and meditators all touch on this – everything is interconnected. The all is in the one. You look into an oak leaf, you see the tree. And not only the tree, but the whole forest. You see the whole Earth. You see the sun, the moon, the stars, time, space, consciousness. It’s all there, somehow implicit in whatever you look at, whether it’s a leaf or a block of concrete. It’s like everything is in everything else. And that’s in the realm of space, but also in time. So in this present moment, from the point of view of the ultimate, we can see that the whole past history of the cosmos has brought about this moment. So, in a sense, all of that past is in this moment. This is the interbeing of the past and the present. And then the interbeing of the present and the future gives birth to the entire future of the cosmos, according to what we do, how we speak, how we think, how we act in this moment. So the future is also present in this moment. It’s the interbeing of the three times: past, present, and future. You look deeply into it, you see the whole of eternity in the present moment.” 

“Getting in touch with the ultimate dimension doesn’t mean a kind of spiritual bypass. Learning to touch these wonderful states of bliss in your sitting meditation doesn’t mean you can then ignore all of the terrible things going on in the world and still feel fine. That is not touching the ultimate; that is spiritual bypassing. Touching the ultimate means that you are able to contact this deeper level of meaning, of significance – of love, ultimately – in your life, and in the world. And that nourishes you, gives you energy, gives you peace, and [allows you] to come back and stay in the game: to do daily things but with the freshness and the freedom of the ultimate dimension.”

“In meditation practice, when we really start to still our minds, you can do it just by following your breath. [Even] the very basic teaching goes all the way; it’s the whole thing. You sit in stillness and start to follow your breath. And if you are sufficiently determined – or maybe stubborn – and you manage to stick with the sensations of the breath, the whole of the inbreath, the whole of the outbreath, then every time your mind gets pulled away into thinking and distraction and fantasizing, or worrying, regretting or whatever, you can gently bring it back, over and over and over again. If you’re lucky, maybe it becomes completely still and you reach an effortless concentration and your mind just stays there. And if you continue, a fear comes up: the fear of abandoning our inner monologue. The part of us that we tend to unconsciously identify with is the little voice, the nonstop thinking radio that’s narrating our experience to ourselves. It’s very natural, it’s part of the human condition. There’s part of us which is anxious; the part of us which worries about our social standing: are we liked? Are we good enough? Do we have what we want? Do we want something else? It’s always pushing us out of stillness into wanting to get something else, wanting some other experience.”

“Zen is all about transcending language. It’s difficult; you have to be quite stubborn, quite determined.”

“When we use language to understand the world, we start to believe the separateness of things, because the words are separate. Things have separate names: ‘leaf’ is not ‘table’, ‘table’ is not ‘chair’, ‘egg’ is not ‘chicken’. They seem to be separate because they have different names. If we are perceiving the world through language alone, we start to think those separations are real. And that gives rise to so much suffering, stress, and confusion because it includes us: we think that we humans are different, separate, cut off, maybe even lonely. And we experience species-loneliness or -superiority: ‘We’re better than all the rest, we’re the master race.’ That’s also stressful and lonely – but it’s just an artifact of language and [a result] of the way language dominates our perceptions.” 

“We want to touch the ultimate, not to escape but because we want to do everything we can to transform the historical dimension, to make it a more beautiful place, a more loving place, a place where there’s less stress and anxiety. So there’s a reason to do all this.”

Welcome to episode 39 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.

For the first time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, haven’t picked a topic – instead, they are responding to questions from you, the listeners! 

In the spirit of Plum Village and its Zen tradition of public Q and A sessions, the two presenters encounter a wide range of topics, from light-hearted ones, like an appreciation of Vietnamese soup, watching the World Cup in the monastery, and other joyful moments in the community, to heavier ones such as anger; honoring grief; transformation; vulnerability; the fear of losing somebody precious and the preciousness of time; changing the narrative about happiness; interbeing; practicing mindfulness in schools; and the aspiration of love. 

Their responses include practical examples and draw on both personal experiences and wisdom from the Buddhist Sutras and Thay’s teachings, like the Five Remembrances and the Four Noble Truths.  

To give you a taste of this episode, here are some of the questions covered: How do monks and nuns remain mindful while taking care of many children during the summer retreat? How can we cope with people we find difficult? How can we practice forgiveness when we have been badly hurt? Does anger have a purpose? Do Zen monks engage in any forms of entertainment, or is life a big stage with lay people as the entertainment? How can we be compassionate, forgiving, and open to people while also protecting ourselves? 

Oh, and any ideas why monastics shave their hair?

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

The Happy Farm
https://thehappyfarm.org/ 

The Plum Village hamlets
https://plumvillage.org/about/plum-village/hamlet/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Rains Retreat
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2022/ 

Karuṇā
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karu%E1%B9%87%C4%81 

Sutras: ‘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 Way Out Is In: ‘Meditating on Death (Episode #26)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/meditating-on-death-episode-26/ 

Śāriputra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C4%81riputra 

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths/ 

Quotes

“Present moment, precious moment.” 

“The very fact of awareness is the start of change.” 

“Be mindful of your capacity. How much can you love? How much suffering can you handle? And how ready are you to face that difficulty? And it’s not about neglecting, it’s about identifying and then making sure that we are developing our stability to continue to generate the energy of love and compassion. So the beauty that I hear in all of these questions is the aspiration to love.” 

“We have to be mindful of our grief. Grief is an expression of vulnerability also. And what I’ve learned from the passing of my own teacher is that vulnerability and grief is also an expression of love. We feel loss, and we feel empty, and we feel such sadness because there was true love in that relationship.”

“Whenever I’m with the children, I have to shift gears; I have to tap into their energy and tap into who they are. And that is your practice. Your mindfulness is the mindfulness of the children. So remove your expectation that they have to sit in stillness.”

“Compassion is a very powerful energy. But to have compassion, we have to have understanding. So we have to see the person suffering and understand why they behave in such a way, even though it is so, so bitter.” 

“I want to recognize the suffering, see the root of the suffering, and then transform the suffering. And that clarity can offer kindness. So anger is an emotion that, in Buddhism, we see as a hindrance to our liberation; it’s not just negative, but that energy provides more wrong action than right action.”

“If we recognize – and I love this in the teachings about this continuation – that, actually, our life doesn’t end when life ends, that the people we love are still in us, that their actions in their life, their kindness, what they’ve developed, what they’ve built, what they’ve cared about, are still with us. And to recognize that it doesn’t end; it continues and the reverberations of one person’s life go forward in so many ways. We can see and embrace that.” 

“I see you’re angry; let’s look at that anger. Can we identify why we’re angry? And then can we work on that situation, rather than working on that anger? Because sometimes when we’re angry, we don’t even know why. And so mindfulness is to become aware of the source of our anger and then to work at the source.” 

“We know that everything is impermanent. So our face will change, our skin tones will change. Our bodily form will also change. But what we can always keep alive is the love that we have, the freshness that we generate, the stability that we can offer to ourselves and to the ones that we love, as well as our calmness and stillness. And that is a beauty that you cannot buy. That’s a beauty that you can only generate through practice.” 

“The moment of meditation is actually giving us a chance to stop, feel our body, feel what is happening. Maybe we can even say we feel the emotions from all of our thinking, from all of our procrastination. And it’s different from looking deeply.”

Welcome to episode 38 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.

The presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, are back after a short hiatus with an episode covering their own stories from a summer which has been equally joyful and unsettling. Get ready for an eclectic mix of topics, from the first post-pandemic (and sold out!) summer retreats at Plum Village, weddings, and family reunions, to collective awakening, interbeing, and civilizational collapse; what they’ve learned, and how the practice of mindfulness helped them through the ups and downs.  

Brother Phap Huu talks about taking the pulse of the world via visiting lay practitioners; dharma families; deep sharing; the importance of practice during a special event for his blood family; learning to rest and knowing the limits as an essential practice; dealing with inferiority complexes; and the seed of parenting within all of us. And, yes: walking meditation can have a part in a wedding. 

Jo reflects on civilizational collapse after attending a convention of experts about the polycrisis which combines multiple intersecting emergencies; the accumulation of presence; fast-paced society and its ‘instant results’; recognizing jealousy; stability in dark moments; the historical dimension and the ultimate dimensions; and interbeing, the limits of coming back to our true self, and the potential of coming back to life.

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

Plum Village Retreats
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/visiting-us/ 

Wake Up Humanity 2022
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/international-wake-up-retreat-2022/ 

Rains Retreat 2022
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2022/ 

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta 

The European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/eiab/ 

Parallax Press
https://www.parallax.org/ 

Letters: ‘New Designs for Monastic Robes’
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/monastic-fashion/ 

Classes: ‘In the Ultimate Dimension, Every Dharma Is an Unconditioned Dharma’
https://plumvillage.org/library/classes/class-2-in-the-ultimate-dimension-every-dharma-is-an-unconditioned-dharma/ 

Quotes

“It is such a practice to slow down and to give yourself permission to not look at the emails and to smile at them and say, ‘I don’t have to answer this right away. Who said I have to answer this right away?’ We have created a culture where everything needs to be immediate. Everything needs to be done right here, right now. This is the opposite of living happily in the present moment.” 

“Walking meditation can be applied anywhere. And I really encourage all of us to invest in this practice, because it is formless and nobody needs to know that we are practicing it. But it is there all the time.”

“Now more than ever, we need this inner stability for us to face suffering, or else we are going to lose ourselves, we’re going to panic, we’re going to get overwhelmed. […] Those emotions are not being recognized and cared for. And that is why, for me, this has to go into education; this has to go into the mainstream of well-being. It’s not Buddhism; Buddhism is one of the beautiful manifestations of our diversity, but well-being and a sense of community in taking care of each other’s suffering needs to be highlighted more.”

“Why is it that I can’t drop everything and sit here and be completely happy in this moment? We are not alone in this. I think it’s a symptom of this society that we live in, which is always [about] the opportunity to do more.” 

“Mindfulness also means to recollect, to remind yourself. And the body is always your teacher. That was a new discovery for me, and I am very grateful for that. […] I hope that all of us can tune into our bodies. And that’s why the first foundation of mindfulness is the body, because your body is an indicator of where there’s tension, where you’re carrying weight, suffering, anxiety, stress, etc.” 

“I know for certain that the practice is not a one-time thing; it’s a continuous journey, and it’s never too late or too early to start the practice, because we see the practice as a growing and a living life energy for us.”

“The practice is like the meditations, the slowing down, the listening to the bell, giving yourself permission to stop. When you’re eating, do you cultivate gratitude? All of these little things that we do, the in-between that we think doesn’t have an impact is the bricks that you create for your foundation.”

“Listening to the perspectives of people who’ve looked at past collapses of civilizations, the main constituents have often been inequality and overuse of resources and other elements. And all those conditions are present in our current society. […] Collapse doesn’t happen in a day; it can happen over time in many different forms.” 

“In the ultimate dimension, we know that everything is impermanent, everything arises, everything falls apart. In a few billion years, the Earth will get too close to the sun and explode and all the matter in our Earth will spread out into the universe and may create life elsewhere. So everything comes and goes. But I have this life and so I have this narrow prism of looking out. And I want to protect it; I want everything to be okay. But, in the great arc of history, this era will pass and there’ll be another. [So it is good to] not to be so attached, and [to have] the ability to hold two truths. So I’m deeply attached, in a sense: I want my children; my family; my friends; my community, Plum Village; the world, to do well and to prosper. But I recognize that it’s not in me to control that. And that allows me to commit to seeking change, to give my full self to the change without attachment to a certain way or to the idea that there is a right outcome, because I don’t know what it is.” 

“It’s to see the darkness and the light, how they support each other. Just like our night and our day: our night helps us to sleep, to rest, and our day allows us to have action. So the collapse, the suffering, can be a big motivator for us to change our habits or change our ways.” 

“Interbeing is an insight that can liberate us. And when we say liberate, we always have to ask, ‘What are we liberating [ourselves] from?’ So this particular question is about the self, but the self is also the foundation for a lot of ignorance, because the self is so one-dimensional. It’s ‘Me, me, me, me.’ And that allows us to be so greedy, so angry, so selfish. And a lot of the suffering of today is because of this view, that ‘I am the most important person, my family’s the most important, and anything to do with me is important.’ But we break free from that by seeing the non-me in all of this.”

Welcome to episode 37 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, are joined in conversation by Tom Rivett-Carnac. Together, they discuss the power that deep spiritual grounding has to support change in the world, as well as how to bring presence and insight into our daily lives and the global challenges we face; how to cultivate inner peace; and taking steps to make mindfulness a tool for individual and collective awakening. 

Tom Rivett-Carnac is a political strategist, author, and podcaster who has spent more than 20 years working to address the climate and ecological crises. He is also a Founding Partner of Global Optimism, co-presenter of the well-known climate podcast Outrage + Optimism, and co-author of bestselling book The Future We Choose. 

Tom also talks about his early-life experience as a Buddhist monk; spiritual development; coming together without egoic attachment to find collective solutions; and integrating practice and activism.  

Brother Phap Huu talks about practices for collective awakening and how to not lose track of mindfulness in society’s busyness; training for the hard times; communities as support for the practice; touching enlightenment in daily life; finding peace in silence; being the change we want to see; and how Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings can serve people in times of crises.  

Jo delves into the power of presence; letting go of views; and why ‘showing up fully at work’ may not work.

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
 
Tom Rivett-Carnac
https://www.globaloptimism.com/tom-rivett-carnac

The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis
https://www.globaloptimism.com/the-future-we-choose 

S.N. Goenka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._N._Goenka 

Sagaing, Myanmar/Burma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagaing 

Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation’ (episode 18)
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Free from Views in a Polarized World’ (episode 36)
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/free-from-views-in-a-polarized-world-episode-36/ 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OECD 

Ajahn Chah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajahn_Chah 

Quotes

“I’ve done things in the last two days that I haven’t done for 20 years. Like just sit on a log and watch the wind in the poplars for 15 minutes. And how deeply satisfying that present moment can be. I feel very grateful to find that again. And the strange thing, of course, is it was always there. I was allowing myself to develop this sense of melancholy and regret, like it was this difficult thing that I’d achieved and forgotten. And then, coming back here, it actually seemed simple.” 

“Spirituality, for us, is the refuge within that needs to always be cultivated.”

“When we speak about coming back to oneself in Buddhism, it’s not about taking care of the ego but finding all of the beautiful conditions that we want to cultivate outside, inside of us. Then we will have the ingredients to offer to the world, to the workplace, to our families, to our loved ones.” 

“The necessary step that we all need to take is moving mindfulness away from being something that happens in isolation from the world, to something that happens while we are in the world and that the world can become a tool for.” 

“The only way in which we have a sense of collective purpose is in the unity of how we direct our attention towards the present moment, towards the world that we’re living in, that we’re all working to protect, but which the busyness of that activity is preventing us from seeing.” 

“I feel like I’ve spent half my adult life focusing primarily on presence and spiritual development, and the other half on raising a family, the problems of the world, and climate change – and now I feel like the interesting work is at the intersection of those two. I don’t feel like we can really advance unless we’re able to bring those two different elements together in ourselves, in our work, because we’re not really doing it at the moment.”

“The systems and the institutions that we have relied upon to see us through this great crisis don’t look capable of delivering what we want. So where’s the edge that we need to dwell with in order to move forward? I believe it’s the integration of how we’re living our lives, how we’re bringing presence and insight to our moment, to the moments of our life and the great challenges of our generation.” 

“What we need is a collective awakening. Our teacher has said, ‘One Buddha is not enough anymore for our times, for our suffering, for the situations that we are facing. We need multitudes of bodhisattvas, of those who are selfless, those who know how to see the benefit of others as their own benefits, the well-being of the planet as their well-being.’”

“Even though what is being shared is so painful, instead of drowning and being overwhelmed by the sorrow, my breathing becomes my foundation. I’m still present with the suffering, but I can guide the suffering. And this inner work, we believe [it] is so necessary for everyone today, because what we are facing will bring up a lot of emotions and feelings and even a sense of despair. And we all need a place of refuge and we need communities. I truly believe that community is the way forward; we cannot do it by ourselves. There’s no superman that can change the situation. We really need a collective movement, a collective awakening, a collective practice.” 

“It would be very easy to say, ‘I’ve spent ten years following my spiritual pursuits and 15 years working in the climate movement. Now I want to integrate them, I need to go away and think up a plan and come up with an ideology and a view that is one of integration.’ But all we will have done is add to the number of ideologies and views out there. So it has to be about creating an intentionality and a presence and a space from which something can emerge. And that process can probably neither be hurried nor slowed down, but [it also] can’t be born unless it has space to breathe.”

“The first thing that I feel will be important for me in returning to my life is the acceptance that normal life is different, and that I can’t expect perfection from myself. That in itself creates a relaxation. The best that we can do is bring more presence and more intentionality, and move in a direction that has that infused in it, and be able to let go of the things that distract us, the ideas that trap us – but that’s going to be a process.”

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 resources

Dharma 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 Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

The Beginner’s Mind
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin 

The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Mahāyāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

Buddhahood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood 

Leaders’ Quest
https://leadersquest.org/ 

Lindsay Levin
https://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 Clouds
https://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/ 

Tathāgata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata 

Deva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism) 

Buddhahood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood

Sutras: ‘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 Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA 

Tết
https://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 34 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, talk about the modern diseases of busyness, overwhelm, and burnout, and how Zen Buddhist practices and Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings can help us regain our balance. 

Brother Phap Huu shares his thoughts on busyness in a monastic environment; coming home to ourselves and learning to stop in the midst of crises; the four elements (the practice, the study, the service, the joy); the noble silence practice in a retreat, and becoming one with the silence; learning to stop and listen to ourselves; the practice of deep belly breathing; impermanence. And do you know how the Zen Master himself would face up and deal with overwhelm?

Jo shares his thoughts on the Climate Leaders retreat and makes a case for an “age of community.” He further reflects on allowing vulnerability in our overwhelm and busyness; compassion for ourselves; selfishness and selflessness; simplicity in the practice; guilt.  

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 

‘Wake Up Humanity 2022’ retreat
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/international-wake-up-retreat-2022/ 

Plum Village Retreats Calendar
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/retreats-calendar/ 

Five Skandhas
https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Five_skandhas 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Skandhas of Grasping and Non-Self’​
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-skandhas-of-grasping-and-non-self%e2%80%8b-dharma-talk-by-br-phap-lai-2018-06-08/ 

Songs: ‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing/ 

‘Connecting to Our Root Teacher, the Buddha’
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/connecting-to-our-root-teacher-a-letter-from-thay-27-sept-2014/

Thay’s Poetry: ‘Please Call Me by My True Names’ (song & poem)
https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem/ 

‘The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend’
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend/ 

Quotes

“Mindfulness means to be aware of what is happening in the here and now. And when we associate to this practice, a lot of the habits that we have as a practitioner, especially practitioners, we want to feel the good sensation more than the negative. But here, in the spirit of Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha, when we speak about mindfulness, it is to embrace everything that is happening.”

“A lot of monks in this time, and generations before us, have Zen gardens. They have gardens that they would take care of because that is also a way of directing energy, so overwhelming is an energy. So our practice is learning to identify the energy and directing that energy so that it can bring us back to balance.”

“What I think is core to Buddhist practice is that we can only be useful in the world if we’re in balance ourselves. And it’s not selfish to look after yourself, it’s actually selfless because it’s only when our bowl is full and overflowing that we’re able to naturally give to other people. And when our bowl is empty, actually we’ve got nothing to give.” 

“When you come to our practice in the retreats, this is the first thing we teach everyone: learning to stop. That’s why these bells in the monastery are so important. We have this aspiration to stop, but our habit, our ancestral habit, our habit from society is so strong in us that we feel like we have to do something.” 

“Learn to listen to yourself.”

“Don’t wait for life to be difficult to start practising, but learn to practise in the good times so that when a difficult time comes, we’ve already built that into our system. Because a lot of people think, ‘Oh, well, life is fine. Why do I need to be mindful? Why do I do this? Because everything’s good.’ But it’s when we have space in the good times to focus and to understand how our mind works, how our body works, how we can reflect on ourselves, that in the moments where things get very tough and we lose that space, that we already know how to act. And I think a lot of people feel that they can just do this when times are bad.” 

“Coming home to oneself is the beginning of transformation, because when we have the capacity to come home, that’s when we can work on oneself.”

“We want to create sustainability outside, but we have to create sustainability inside also.”

“When you come home to yourself, this is transformation at the base.”

“An important aspect of dealing with overwhelm is to be vulnerable with it, because often we feel that to cope we have to close down, and we have to protect ourselves. Whereas, more than often, the truth is we open up, we share, we are present, we show our weaknesses, we show our scars. And that gives other people permission to do the same.”

“I think so much of dealing with overwhelm, dealing with busyness is to be vulnerable in it. Because if we all feel alone and none of us are sharing about it, then all we’re doing is exacerbating it. We’re not letting anyone offer their support. No one can offer their care because we’ve closed the door.”

“Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance.”

Welcome to episode 33 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 – are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Dinh Nghiem; together, they discuss Thich Nhat Hanh’s years following his stroke in 2014, its impact on the community of monastics, and the Zen master’s powerful presence beyond words.

In this intimate and moving episode, the two monastics – both former attendants of Thich Nhat Hanh – recollect stories from the period of Thay’s illness: from overcoming his coma to the lessons the Zen master continued to share with the sangha from his hospital bed, and later, from the ‘root temple’ Tu Hieu in Hue, Vietnam, where he continued to be a great teacher even without the ability to speak. They also address the way the sangha became Thay’s continuation, both before and after his passing in 2022; the power of presence in challenging circumstances; transmission without words; clarity; acceptance; death; and support. 

Sister Dinh Nghiem (Sister Concentration) was ordained in 1993, when she was 24 years old. In 2000, she became the first abbess of the New Hamlet in Plum Village (and remains the youngest ordained to date). She was also one of the monastics who attended Thich Nhat Hanh during the five and a half years after his stroke and until his passing.  

In this episode, she talks about her decision to become a nun, and spending her life with the practice; dealing with her father’s death and the deep teachings of ‘no birth, no death’; the guidance Thich Nhat Hanh gave her during his illness; and the Zen master’s final days. 

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

Old Path, White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
https://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds-walking-in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha/

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/

‘Thich Nhat Hanh Returns Home’
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/thich-nhat-hanh-returns-to-vietnam/ 

Plum Village Thailand
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/plum-village-thailand/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘“Arrived, Home”: The First Plum Village Dharma Seal (40 Years Retreat #2)’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/arrived-home-the-first-plum-village-dharma-seal-40-years-retreat-2/

‘Parallel Verses – Continuing Thay in the Lunar New Year (Tet)’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/harmony-at-home-peace-all-around/ 

Quotes

“You may have [achieved] some awakening, but you need to maintain this concentration in your daily life so that this insight sinks deep into the body, your deep consciousness.”

“When there is chaos, we have to be centered so that we all have clarity.” 

“We recognized that his [Thay’s] breathing was incredible. It’s like the stored consciousness of 80-something years of practicing went into autopilot and Thay’s mindfulness was a continuing stream of practice.”

“I need to continue to invest in this dharma because in the most critical moment, ‘What is your best friend?’ – it’s your breathing.”

“I was told that one of the doctors or nurses came to see about Thay’s oxygen level in his blood and was looking at the machine and kept on tapping it. And eventually one of the monastics said, ‘What’s the problem?’ They replied, ‘Well, this must be wrong because it’s showing 95%’ – or whatever – ‘oxygen level. And someone in this condition, it normally goes down to 70 or 75.’ And you’re just thinking, ‘Well, that’s obvious, because Thay’s one of the best breathers in the world.’” 

“Thay made them practice mindfulness and concentration being 100% present. Thay didn’t need to say anything. It was transmission from heart to heart, not through words.”

“When we don’t use the words, we use energy and we are more sensitive with energy – the other person’s as well as our own.” 

“Thay has finessed and deepened and focused and taken the time and energy to show what’s possible for us. So what I’m hearing is an invitation to us all – not to be like Thay, but to show that if we are able to be attentive, to be mindful, to be ourselves, to come back to ourselves in the present moment, then we can taste that aspect of Thay.” 

“The joy of meditation is daily food.”

Welcome to episode 32 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 bonus episode showcases an interview between Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and journalist Jo Confino from before Christmas 2011, during the winter retreat in Plum Village. It begins with a short introduction by Jo and Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu. 

This is a conversation about our relationship with Mother Earth, the need to move beyond the idea of ‘environment’, and falling back in love with our life-giving planet. 

Thich Nhat Hanh talks about the ‘Buddha nature’; the Earth as a Bodhisattva; meditation as active awakening, and practical ways to bring about a collective awakening; the need for a cosmic religion not based on Dharma or belief; producing our own right view; dogmatism as a cause for separation and war; the most necessary teachings for our times; mindful and compassionate business; transforming suffering; collective awakening; and connecting to the Earth through mindfulness. Thay also further develops on his interest in science, and the benefits of a retreat for mindfulness practitioners and scientists. 

The interview also includes important advice to help activists maintain their motivation and peace amid chaos, and how to suffer less in order to help more.

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

Love Letter to the Earth
https://www.parallax.org/product/love-letter-to-the-earth/ 

Antoine Lavoisier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier 

Paul Tillich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva  

Shakyamuni Buddha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha 

Journalist Jo Confino Interviews Thich Nhat Hanh: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TZlJW2FEs 

‘Beyond Environment: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth’
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/zen-thich-naht-hanh-buddhidm-business-values 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Ground of Right View’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-ground-of-right-view-2/ 

Quotes

“If you look into the Milky Way, we see that there are millions of stars and each star can be a Buddha, like the sun above us is the real Buddha, a Buddha that can provide light and warmth, a Buddha that can offer life. So it is possible for us to conceive Buddha [as] not [being] in the form of a person.”

“If you look around deeply, you realize that there isn’t anything as beautiful as our planet Earth. And that is why we should not try to abandon this beautiful planet, searching for something far away – whether that is called Pure Land, the Kingdom of God, or anything. And if we gain that insight, we see that the Earth is not only the environment; everything is us, and by taking care of the Earth we take care of ourselves.”

“In Buddhism, we speak of meditation as an active awakening. To awake is to be awake to something. To be awake to the fact that the Earth is in danger and living species on Earth are also in danger. And that should be a collective awakening, in order to have enough strength for a change.” 

“Scientists are motivated by a desire to understand better, and Buddhist practitioners are also motivated by that kind of desire. But, in Buddhism, we keep in mind that understanding could help us suffer less. Any kind of understanding, true understanding, will help us suffer less. And the Buddhist tradition has elaborated ways of practicing in order to help people to suffer less. And in the process, they have found out many things about themselves and the world. They don’t use the scientific method, but they have a lot of insight and a lot of experiences. And I think they can share it with other people, including scientists.” 

“There are plenty of us who are activists, who are eager to do something. And we should go this way: we should begin with ourselves. We should begin with removing our wrong views, so that we can suffer less. And when we suffer less, we can be more helpful. We can help people to change.” 

“If you transcend the notion of birth and death, you are able to transcend the notion of being and non-being. And you know that to be or not to be, that’s no longer the question.”

“When I drink tea, this is a wonderful moment. You do not need a lot of power or fame or money to be happy. Mindfulness can help you to be happy in the here and now; every moment can be a happy moment. Set an example and help people to do the same. Take a few minutes to experiment to see the truth.”

“The Earth cannot be described either by the notion of matter or mind, which are just ideas, two faces of the same reality. That pine tree is not just matter, as it possesses a sense of knowing. A dust particle is not just matter since each of its atoms has intelligence and is a living reality.”

“When we recognise the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us; some kind of connection, of love is born.

“We want to be connected. That is the meaning of love: to be at one. When you love someone, you want to say, ‘I need you, I take refuge in you.’ You do anything for the benefit of the Earth and the Earth will do anything for your wellbeing.”

Welcome to episode 31 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. 

The presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – are joined by lay Buddhist practitioner and artist Paz Perlman to talk about how mindfulness can support a healthy relationship: a core practice in Engaged Buddhism.

Paz Perlman is a Zen Buddhist practitioner and a visual artist, who regularly exhibits in the United States and Europe. She has studied with Thich Nhat Hanh for the past 15 years and is a member of the Order of Interbeing. In her artistic practice, she integrates Buddhist concepts such as impermanence, healing and transformation. In recent years, she has increasingly incorporated activism into her works and is presenting a large-scale installation at an upcoming retreat of climate leaders in Plum Village. Paz, who moved from New York to live a few minutes walk away from Plum Village, completed her art degree at Central St Martins, University of Arts, London. Read her artist statement here.

Paz and Jo have been married for 15 years; in this episode, they talk about how making the Buddhist practice of Beginning Anew part of their daily life has nourished their relationship. This practice of looking deeply and honestly at ourselves, our actions, speech, and thoughts, creates a fresh beginning within ourselves and in our relationships with others.

The couple further share about discovering Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and integrating them into their life together; developing a shared spiritual aspiration and practice; their special marriage ceremony in Plum Village, including vows, and tea with Thay; relationship dynamics; maintenance and renewal; deep listening and loving speech; intimacy; and the four essential mantras in the practice. 

Brother Phap Huu discusses the same Buddhist practice, but in relation to a monastic environment; the four mantras to take care of relationships; the insight of interbeing; perceptions about others; mental formations; hugging meditation; and the energy of gratitude. 

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

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/

Paz Perlman
https://www.pazperlman.com/ 

Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication
https://www.parallax.org/product/beginning-anew-four-steps-to-restoring-communication/

‘Extended Practices’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/ 

The Four Noble Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA 

Deepak Chopra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepak_Chopra 

Thich Nhat Hanh On…: ‘Learning to Hug’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/learning-to-hug/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Practice of True Presence’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-practice-of-true-presence/ 

How To: ‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/ 

Quotes

“Taste of tea, taste of time.” 

“Thay talks about what happens in relationships. A lot of little things can happen that annoy or cause offense, or which on their own aren’t very big – and often, as a result, don’t get dealt with. And so he talks about a stalagmite in a cave where there’s a small, small drip of little things – but those small drips eventually create a huge calcified monolith. And that if you don’t address things when they arise, then they get buried and can turn into resentment and into anger.” 

“Love is a wonderful thing, but at the same time it doesn’t survive on its own unless you look after it.” 

“Thay’s practice is actually a masterstroke. When people talk about problems, their relationship, and we talk about the Beginning Anew practice that Thay developed, a lot of them who have tried it say it has really, really helped them. And this is a core part of Thay’s teachings: that he has the deep insights that lead to practical application. And that one practice has been instrumental in us maintaining a healthy, vibrant, and happy relationship.” 

“Practices create spaciousness and trust.”

“I had been involved in personal development for many, many years, and when I came across Thay’s teachings, what came to me so quickly was just how gentle and deep they are. Because, in my early life, I’d been doing much more wrestling, mental and emotional wrestling, with issues in my life – which had its place at that age. But then I got to the stage where I realized that I needed something much more gentle, something that I could rest in rather than fight with.”

“The practice brings a wonderful space of communication; when we are in any relationship, we want to have understanding because understanding is a bridge that connects all of us.” 

“There is a logic – I call it compassionate logic – to the order of the stages. You first water the positive seeds, which is like, ‘First: happiness’; first something which can give us a base [from which] to talk later on about our suffering.”

“It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being a better person. And I want to add that it’s not about being a perfect relationship, but to know that we have a path. And when we have a path, we know that we can always fall onto it. And we have a place that can hold us. It’s like a compass; it brings us straight to the line with our aspiration to have a good relationship.”

“Love is a living thing, it is not something that you receive once and will last forever.” 

“When we listen like that, we are also practicing interbeing. We’re practicing ‘Your suffering is my suffering, and my joy will also be your joy.’ So my healing will also be your healing. My transformation will also be your transformation. And this is where love has no boundary. And this is a very deep teaching of Buddhist love.”

“Thay said, ‘You can share the same bed, but if you don’t share the same aspiration, then that relationship will not blossom.’” 

“Love is energy. It’s a kind of nutriment that helps our well-being, and it belongs also in the dimension of spirituality, because when we get in touch with love, that gives us the energy to take care and transform suffering.”

Welcome to a special bonus episode, a collaboration with our good friends at Global Optimism, and their podcast series Outrage + Optimism. 

This episode is a powerful immersive sound journey through the 4.6 billion year history of Gaia, as told by Dr. Stephan Harding. You’ll learn to “walk well into the life of Gaia”, as Stephan puts it.

Stephan Harding, Ph.D., obtained his doctorate in behavioral ecology from Oxford University and is one of the founders of Schumacher College, where he is Deep Ecology Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in holistic science. A student of James Lovelock, he has taught Gaia theory, deep ecology, and holistic science all over the world. He is the author of several books, including Animate Earth and Gaia Alchemy.

Before going on this Deep Time Walk, the Way Out Is In presenters, Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino, introduce the episode and explain why it is a good fit for the series, and share their special friendship with the team producing and presenting Outrage + Optimism. Jo also has some insights from a transformational moment that occurred while studying with Dr. Stephan Harding.

The O+O presenters – Christiana Figueres, Paul Dickinson, and Tom Rivett-Carnac – take a mindful breath as they acknowledge the passing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (this episode originally recorded as part of Outrage + Optimism five days after Thay’s passing). Speaking from Plum Village, Christiana shares a few heartfelt words about Thay and how grateful we are to have such influential teachers in our lives.

By inspiring global leaders to shift their worldview to a Gaian view of life, Stephan Harding has had a massive influence on the climate movement. What you are about to listen to is an exercise of that shift. 

It is in this spirit of deep gratitude and stubborn optimism for the continuation of our teachers that the O+O team offers this The Deep Time Walk audio journey. 

The episode ends with a Gaian meditation guided by Dr. Stephan Harding – one often given on Deep Time Walks at Schumacher College.

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

Outrage + Optimism
https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/episodes/the-deep-time-walk-stephan-harding

The Deep Time Walk Project
https://www.deeptimewalk.org/about/

The Deep Time Walk Field Kit
https://www.deeptimewalk.org/kit/ 

The Deep Time Walk App
https://www.deeptimewalk.org/ 

Schumacher College
https://campus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/books/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ 

James Lovelock
http://www.jameslovelock.org/ 

David Abram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Abram 

Lynn Margulis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Margulis 

Quotes

“Stephan has the most remarkable ability for drawing you into a broader consciousness of what the living Earth is. And, without a hint of irony or exaggeration, Stephan completely changed my life. I discovered later that he also changed the lives of many other people who are quite central in the climate movement. Nigel Topping, Paul Dickinson, Lindsay Levin; all previous guests on this podcast who also began their journey by hearing from Stephan about the Gaian world that we inhabit.” 

“It’s a 4.6 kilometer walk representing the 4.6 billion year lifespan of this Earth. And it’s an opportunity for us all to deeply connect and engage with the fact that, actually, this moment we’re in now, where the Earth is threatened with so much destruction, this moment is the creation, is the culmination of this extraordinary journey of development of the Earth and all living beings. And it gives us the opportunity to really appreciate the extraordinary beauty and complexity of this living planet, Gaia.”  

“Can we develop a Gaian consciousness in which we feel ourselves to be symbiotic with our planet, in which we feel ourselves to be living inside this great living, planetary motherly body of ours, Gaia, our own Earth, whom we have to protect for our own self-interest and for our own well-being and for her well-being? That’s up to you. The best thing you can do now, as a human being, is to become a Gaian human being, a human being part of this great living planetary community of life, rocks, atmosphere, and water. Part of this great move towards living well with the Earth.”

Welcome to episode 30 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 installment is a continuation of episode 26, ‘Meditating on Death’. Here, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, meditate on grief in light of Thay’s passing earlier this year, and on collective and personal traumas. 

The episode was recorded soon after Brother Phap Huu’s return from a six-week retreat tour of South America – part of the first global tour by Plum Village monastics after a two-year hiatus. 

Brother Phap Huu shares stories from the tour and his return to Upper Hamlet. And: what is it like to be back on the road (or path)? 

He further delves into the importance of being in the practice, and of sharing the practice by taking its teachings into the world; the significance of continuing Thay’s teaching tours; the power of reconnecting with the sangha through live retreats; the responsibility and joys of serving; keeping Buddhism relevant; the power of grief and the practice of recognizing sadness; how to be both part of the world and a spiritual person; the beauty of impermanence; and the safest place: the island of mindful breathing. 

Jo talks about grief ceremonies; facing old family traumas; healing through grieving; letting go; the energy of activism; sharing the practice of mindfulness with the world; seeing the beauty of the world beyond “bedraggled plants”; and community as essential support for the individual.

The episode ends with a short meditation – entwined with a poem by Thay – which is 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

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/

Galápagos Islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands 

Plum Village on Tour
https://plumvillage.org/articles/plum-village-on-tour/ 

Christiana Figueres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiana_Figueres 

Bhikkhu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu 

Gross National Happiness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_Happiness 

A Cloud Never Dies
https://plumvillage.org/a-cloud-never-dies/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqtSdQ8qCYU 

Vietnamese boat people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_boat_people 

The Other Shore
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-other-shore-a-new-translation-of-the-heart-sutra-with-commentaries/ 

Wake Up network (young adults)
https://plumvillage.org/community/wake-up-young-practitioners/

OI (Order of Interbeing)
https://plumvillage.uk/who-we-are/order-of-interbeing/

Quotes

“You think that to give, you lose something – but, actually, to give you’re receiving more.”

“The importance is not just being the practice, but sharing the practice.” 

“The dharma, the practice, is deep and lovely.”

“We plough the fields of our mind, of our consciousness, and we identify the roots of our suffering, and we transform it, and through our transformation, we have ingredients to offer to the world: these practices. And this is what the Buddha did; this is what his sangha did.”

“Even though our loved ones may not still be here, through the eye of meditation, we can see them through the new form, by the way they have impacted us – and the experience that they have offered us is now them, in another form, through us.”

“Peace is every step.”

“Thay always said that once you’ve tasted the dharma, if you take care of the seed, it will become a root for you that you can always rely on. It’s like it’s your island, that you can always take refuge on. And sometimes we forget that we have that refuge, until we’re in a different setting.”

“The only way to keep Buddhism updated and the teaching relevant is to be connected to the suffering and happiness of society.” 

“No matter how much you stress about it, it’s not going to change the situation.”

“The safest place is the island of mindful breathing.”

“If we’re not able to touch our grief around the destruction we’re creating in the world, then we can’t save it – because it’s only by going into our grief, it’s only by going into the pain and the suffering, that we can touch the tenderness at our center.” 

“I went for a walk with Paz today, and we were passing this field of corn and I was looking down at the edge of the field next to where I was walking, and, normally, at the edge of the field, the plants are very small, they’re not fulsome. And they were looking quite bedraggled. And that fills my mind, saying, ‘Oh, look at these plants, they’re not doing very well.’ And then I lifted my eyes and I saw there was this huge field. And then I lifted my eyes and saw there was all this forest behind it. And then I lifted my eyes and saw there was this beautiful blue sky. And I realized that my whole concentration had been on the bedraggled plants. But actually, when I opened up my eyes to see the whole scene, there was extraordinary beauty. And also there were these plants that were suffering at the edge.” 

“I am neither the same, nor am I different.” 

“You never enter the same river twice.”

Welcome to episode 29 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss the Four Nutriments – edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness – and share their own experiences and understanding of this core Buddhist teaching.

By further delving into each Nutriment, the two find Buddhist insights and practical ways to explore and shift how we can consume mindfully. 

Brother Phap Huu shares his thoughts about practicing moderation and gratitude for our meals (plus, the benefits of chewing each bite a full 30 times); nourishing our consumption when we eat; being mindful in an addictive society and recognising the energies in us; volition as a source of energy; wholesome individual and collective consciousness (and habits); mental formations; lazy days; and: what is enough? 

Jo considers food politics and ethics; addiction and suffering; shifts in the mindfulness of eating; the impact of big cities on our consumption; the possible dangers of volition (with a story from the 70s television drama Colditz); collective ‘rivers’ of consciousness; and forgiveness.

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

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/#filter=.region-eu 

Sutras: ‘Discourse on the Four Kinds of Nutriments’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-four-kinds-of-nutriments/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Four Kinds of Nutriments Mindful Cooking Retreat’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-four-kinds-of-nutriments-sister-tue-nghiem-2019-06-06-mindful-cooking-retreat/

Dharma Talks: ‘Nutriments for Healing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/nutriments-for-healing/ 

Hungry Children Program
https://donation.plumvillage.org/hungry-children-program/ 

‘51 Mental Formations’ 
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation/

Colditz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_(1972_TV_series)

Sister Chan Duc
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-chan-duc/ 

Quotes

“The bread in your hand is the body of the cosmos.”

“Don’t eat your thoughts. Don’t eat your project. Eat your food.” 

“Whatever we consume, it becomes our energy.” 

“When we are lining up for the food, we are practicing moderation. We eat just what is enough. And this is really crucial, because it helps us not take more than what we need from the Earth.”

“I think people have a sort of a reverence for the taste of food, but not for the food itself.”

“’If you take a single piece of carrot, and before you put it in your mouth, just look deeply at that piece of carrot and you can see that the entire universe is in that piece of carrot.’ He [Thay] was saying that for the carrot to grow, it needs the air, it needs the water, it needs the soil, and it needs the sun. And for the sun to exist, the whole universe has to exist. And then, from a human perspective, it needs the farmer and the person picking the crop, and then delivering it to the shop, and then the shopkeeper to sell it to you. So in just one carrot, if you really stop and look, you would develop a reverence for that carrot because you see that all of life was needed for it to exist.”

“We have to speak about very practical things so that we can have a journey, a practice, so that we can become aware of our habits. We have personal habits, and we even have collective habits, as a community, as a society. And then we have habits that are passed down through our ancestors to us, in relation to how we consume life.”

“We have needs and we think they’re essential for us, but if we reflect and review the way we are consuming, I think we are happy with having less.” 

“Are we consuming mindfully? It’s not about not consuming, it’s about how we are consuming.”

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” 

“We are in a dynamic relationship with life, and often we’re not really conscious of that.”

“All of our thoughts create this river of consciousness.”

“Nature is a very good television. But it’s not about just watching it, but being in it.”

“There’s so much coming at us, from a thousand directions. And if we are not aware of how we are responding to life, then we lose our agency and become a victim.”

“I have this image of a racehorse going around the track with blinkers on its eyes. They put blinkers on it so it can only look forward and isn’t distracted by life. And, in a sense, that’s always the risk, isn’t it? We think our job is to race around the track as fast as possible – but then we miss everything that’s going on in life, and any opportunity to try to transform.” 

“If someone is really purifying their mind, that is going to have a positive impact on the collective consciousness. And it made me realize that, actually, all our actions – whatever we do or choose to think or act on – feed into what the future will look like.”  

Welcome to episode 28 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 episode, lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino is joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Lang Nghiem, of the Plum Village community, to talk about the role of Buddhist psychology in understanding how our mind works. What is the impact of our survival instincts in today’s world? What are the risks of focusing only on ourselves? And are we really responsible for everything?

Sister Chan Lang Nghiem (Adornment with Heroic March) was ordained as a novice nun in 2003, received full ordination as a bhikshuni in 2006, and became a dharma teacher in 2010. Originally from Vietnam, she and her family immigrated to America in 1979. She has lived in Lower Hamlet, France; Deer Park Monastery, California; and Blue Cliff Monastery, New York. With her love of books and of Thay’s teachings, she serves on the advisory board of Parallax Press and is happy to see Thay’s books appear in schools, hospitals, and prisons, on bedside tables, and even in local coffee shops around the world. Though an amateur at sewing, she can replicate practically anything just by looking at the original product. Many of the robes, jackets, hats, cushions, and mats in Plum Village are lovingly sewn with her mindful energy.

In this episode, Sister Lang Nghiem digs deeply into Buddhist psychology and how it can help people lead a better life. She further discusses manas, interbeing, and false boundaries and identities; protective and survival instincts; pleasure seeking and moderation; levels of happiness; avoidance of suffering; individual and collective consciousness; sharing; store and mind consciousness; cultivating peace through consciousness; and new ways to lead peace talks during a war. And: why do we need a self? How that works for us and where it stops helping. 

Jo shares about the art of letting go; separation; work environments and happiness; gratitude practices; and the story of an unlikely friendship.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Sister Lang Nghiem.

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

Sister Chân Lăng Nghiêm (Adornment with Heroic March)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem/

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/#filter=.region-eu 

Deer Park Monastery
https://deerparkmonastery.org/ 

Blue Cliff Monastery
https://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/ 

‘Thich Nhat Hanh on Mind and Consciousness’
https://plumvillage.app/thich-nhat-hanh-on-mind-and-consciousness/ 

Thich Nhat Hanh On…: ‘The Mind as a Gardener’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-mind-as-a-gardener/ 

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: ‘Interbeing and Store Consciousness’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/interbeing-and-store-consciousness/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Power of Understanding – Transformation of Manas’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-power-of-understanding-transformation-of-manas-dharma-talk-by-sr-tue-nghiem-2018-08-02/ 

‘Cultivating Our Blue Sky Nature: Skilful Means for Emotional Healing’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell//archive/tag/change+the+peg 

Kristallnacht
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht

Quotes

“There’s so many different models of how the mind works. Western psychology has one model, and Buddha psychology has one model, but I think we have to remember that they’re all just models. Nothing is absolute.”

“Your thoughts continue in the world.”

“It’s important to recognize what we identify with and, when it is being challenged, the lengths to which we go to protect it, and the expense, the cost of protecting it, to our own happiness or to the happiness of the organisation, our loved ones, the people around us, other nations around us.”

“We always had to protect ourselves from the elements, the dangers. But now, increasingly, we are able to create more and more safe environments in terms of homes, or relationships, alliances and things like that – but that survival instinct, that need to protect and feel that we are being threatened and endangered is still very much alive. So we have to be quite aware of how manas operates, how the survival instinct is operating in us, so that we’re not spending all of our energy just trying to survive and trying to protect ourselves, but to spend more energy trying to recognize what our potential is and what the other person’s potential is as well. Spend more time cultivating the things that we would like to cultivate in ourselves and in the other person. More peace, more happiness, more joy and more compassion, rather than spending so much time trying to protect the boundaries that we feel are ‘ourselves’ and that need protecting.”

“The teaching of interbeing is crucial in helping us to recognize the false boundaries or false identities that we are often stuck with every day. I think we have to train ourselves to see that we’re not separate. My happiness is not separate from your happiness. We can share this cup and I’ll still be happy, for instance. Or there’s so many things that I feel are crucial to my happiness, but I can challenge that a little bit. And what I think is my happiness is not just my own individual happiness; it’s intimately related to your happiness, your safety, your well-being as well.” 

“It’s very important for us to also recognize our deepest desire. And it’s not just to survive, it’s to be happy, and to ‘download’ this message to our stored consciousness. And the stronger awareness we have of our desire, of our deepest desire – our deepest desire is to be happy. Our choices align accordingly.” 

“We can have more than one truth. We can suffer and we can be happy. And if someone’s suffering, we don’t have to just have to offer them more suffering. We can offer them lightness of being. We can offer them joy, but while also being deeply respectful of the suffering.”

“You don’t need to go on a training course, you don’t have to spend money, it doesn’t have to take 10 years of hard work, it’s just a change of perceptions, like putting a different lens in our camera.”

“Trying to avoid suffering actually leads to suffering.”

Please refer to the note below this description about the choice of the title for this episode.

Welcome to episode 27 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 episode, journalist Jo Confino is joined by much-loved international mindfulness teacher and author Kaira Jewel Lingo, to talk about her practice and community work, both as a monastic and subsequently as a lay practitioner and spiritual mentor.

Together, they further discuss the intersection of racial, climate, and social injustice; privilege; denial; white awareness; hate and embedded white supremacy; deep listening; and spiritual practices for a world in crisis.   

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a dharma teacher who has been practicing mindfulness since 1997. She lived as an ordained nun for 15 years, during which she trained closely with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Speaking five languages, she shares Buddhist meditation, secular mindfulness, and compassion practice internationally, providing spiritual mentoring to individuals and communities working at the intersection of racial, climate, and social justice. Her teaching focuses on activists, educators, artists, youth and families, BIPOC communities, and includes the interweaving of art, play, nature, ecology, and embodied mindfulness practice. She teaches in the Plum Village Zen tradition and in the Vipassana tradition. 

In this episode, Kaira Jewel expands on the journey of her name – Jewel – and her route to the Plum Village practice; being the first ordained monastic of African heritage in Plum Village; Thich Nhat Hanh’s guidance and support; embodying Thay’s teachings; learning to take care of suffering; deciding to disrobe; her mission as a lay dharma teacher; practice as a way of life; deep relationships; and her plans to open a Buddhist-Christian practice center with her partner.

She also dives more deeply into spiritual bypassing; healing racialized trauma; the importance of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) retreats and teachers; the story of the first Plum Village retreat for people of color; collective consciousness; adapting the Five Mindfulness Training to different ethnic groups; and her first book: We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption. 

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Kaira Jewel.

[This episode was recorded on February 18, 2022, via Zoom.] 

Note: Race is a social construct designed to divide and dehumanize, but it still has a significant impact on inequality and discrimination today. White supremacy, as used in the context of this episode, refers to the societal and structural biases that deeply influence communities and individuals of color across the world, affecting their lives in tangible wide-ranging ways – from access to everyday necessities being harder or impossible to all types of abuse (which takes an ongoing physiological and psychological toll).

This episode explores the impact of racism, emphasizing that it’s not being white-skinned that is inherently problematic, but rather how the social constructs of race are enacted in harmful ways. Given the historical contexts of colonization, slavery, and intergenerational trauma, understanding the dynamics of power and privilege in a racialized world requires a great deal of compassion, learning, unlearning, and healing, regardless of how we are categorized. 

This episode was recorded with the intention to live our ideals of non-discrimination and addressing social injustice as encouraged in the 14 Mindfulness Trainings.

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

Kaira Jewel Lingo
https://www.kairajewel.com/ 

Plum Village
https://plumvillage.org/

Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
https://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds-walking-in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha/ 

Ram Dass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Dass 

Brahmavihārā
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara 

James Baldwin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baldwin 

Melina Bondy
https://www.melinabondy.com/ 

Joanna Macy
https://www.joannamacy.net/ 

Resmaa Menakem
https://www.resmaa.com/ 

The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning
https://www.harvard.com/book/the_quaking_of_america/ 

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
https://shop.harvard.com/book/9781942094470 

The Civil Rights Movement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement 

We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption
https://www.parallax.org/product/we-were-made-for-these-times/ 

The Five Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Deep Adaptation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Adaptation 

Schumacher College
https://campus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/ 

Buddhist-Christian Community of Meditation and Action
https://www.kairajewel.com/teaching/buddhist-christian-community-of-practice-and-action 

Quotes

“What’s so powerful about Thay’s teaching in the community is this huge heart of inclusiveness. Thay and sangha are always reaching wider; the reach is like the brahmavihārās – the loving-kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity. They are immeasurable minds of love.”

“Part of freeing ourself on the spiritual path is to undo and unravel these delusions and lies that our society has created, that history has wound around us, about who has value and who doesn’t – including patriarchy, or sexual orientation, or gender identity, or age; all these different ways that we are privileged or not.” 

“If you find yourself uncomfortable, or embarrassed, or triggered, or not sure what to say or do, really stay in your body and let yourself dwell in that experience of what it’s like to be uncomfortable. I think so many of our problems come from not being willing to be uncomfortable.”

“Black is beautiful.”

“James Baldwin has this quote, something like, ‘The reason why white people are so afraid to not hate, to stop hating, is that if they feel what’s beneath their hatred, it will be so uncomfortable.’ They don’t want to feel it. So the hate is a kind of protection.”

“If we can be with what is happening in the present moment, and we can, if we can not resist it, not push it away, not judge it, but embrace it with mindfulness, with kindness, with friendliness, with curiosity, with a clear mind, with presence which can be cultivated in every moment – then we have at our disposal so much more to meet the difficulties than we would if we were resisting and pushing away and fighting what is.”

“What this time calls for – with so much change, with so much disruption, with so much at risk – is more and more of us holding down the fort, who are really doing the deep spirit work of seeing interbeing. And you need to slow down to do that. You need to have less. There needs to be space for that kind of consciousness to emerge.”

“Anyone of any privilege needs to be in a space where that history is acknowledged and integrated into our practice.” 

“And if you think there’s something wrong in society, you are right. So it’s an inner and an outer affirmation of, ‘Yes, white supremacy exists and it is deadly.’ And here are dharma practices that can help us as individuals in our relationships and our families, but also in our world, in our institutions, systemically, to see that everyone is being deceived by this story.” 

“We’re all learning. White folks have a different journey than many folks of color, but we’re all learning to wake up from this and we can help each other, we can support each other, and that looks different. It doesn’t necessarily mean doing the work together, but sometimes it can. And then maybe having affinity spaces where we have a chance to speak with our own groups.”

“I feel what Thay taught is love, and he loved his disciples, every one of us, everyone who came to us; I felt he was radiating love and that’s healing. And so if you’re in a community where you are recognized for who you are, you’re not asked to be something else. And then the people there are practicing to love; it’s going to be a healing space. Love in the spiritual sense of each of us working to purify our minds and hearts, to see ourselves more clearly, to love ourselves, and then to really see each other clearly.”

“These are times no other human generation has had to face: profound structural dissolution, and, really, the last days of what Joanna Macy calls late capitalism. This isn’t going to stand for very much longer as it is. And so these are times of apocalypse, right? Where the veil gets pierced – that’s the meaning, in Greek: being able to see through an illusion into what’s more true. So these are times of a lot of potential collective awakening. And these are also times of great suffering, separation, and illusion.”

“All we have to do is be in the present. All we have to do is meet what’s happening now. We get so immobilized and drained of our energy by trying to meet what’s coming – but that’s not here yet. All we are required to do is meet what is here. And we can do that; we are all in the present moment.”

Welcome to episode 26 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, talk about death – from the deep Buddhist teaching of ‘no birth and no death’ and the Five Remembrances, to dealing with death by looking differently at life and practising acceptance. 

They also delve into attachment; separation and individualism; inherited fear; life goals for a good death; karma; reincarnation; and how to relax, take it easy, soothe the fear, and celebrate life. 

Brother Phap Huu helps us understand essential Buddhist teachings on death and non-existence, and digs deeper into the Five Remembrances; the source of our fear of death; different perceptions of death; living life with the insight of impermanence; death as part of life; practising impermanence; removing the wrong view from our lives; living free from regret; moderation; and the importance of meditating on our own death.

He also offers insights into Thay’s last days before his passing, and reads the teacher’s poem, ‘Contemplation on No-Coming and No-Going’.

Jo muses on the fear of separation; flowing with life and joining the universe in flux; continuation as a way to release our fear around death; legacy; dying well as an aspiration; and why our thoughts matter as much as our physical actions. 

And: what do you think it means to have a good death?

The episode ends with a meditation on impermanence and continuation, 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: ‘The Five Remembrances’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17/ 

What Happens When We Die?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xLbZZAjjY8&t=28s 

‘Contemplation on No-Coming and No-Going’ 
https://plumvillage.org/contemplation-on-no-coming-and-no-going/

Songs: ‘No Coming, No Going’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/no-coming-no-going-song/ 

‘Dharma Talk: Karma, Continuation, and the Noble Eightfold Path’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell//archive/2015/04/dharma-talk-karma-continuation-and-the-noble-eightfold-path

Sister Chan Khong 
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/

‘51 Mental Formations’
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation/ 

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: ‘Store Consciousness, Teachings on Buddhist Psychology Retreat, 1997’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/store-consciousness-teachings-on-buddhist-psychology-retreat-thich-nhat-hanh-1997/

‘Dharma Body, Sangha Body’
https://plumvillage.app/dharma-body-sangha-body/

Sister Chân Đức
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-chan-duc/

Quotes

“Death is a contemplation because life is there, death is there also.” 

“The teaching of Buddhism is to be free, to be liberated, to transcend our suffering. And suffering needs a name, so here we can say that the fear of death is the name of suffering.”

“The past is gone, the future is not yet there. There is only one moment that you can be alive, and that is the present moment.”

“We are of the nature to grow old. We cannot escape it. I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way that I can escape it. I am of the nature to die. There is no way that I can escape death. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.”

“Instead of being afraid of death, be happy about life.”

“We should be celebrating life in every moment; this is the key of mindfulness. Mindfulness gives us this awareness that life is here and we should be here.” 

“When we let go and say, ‘I am part of everything, everything’s in flux, I’m in flux’, and we start to settle into that, then we’re flowing with life rather than trying to build a dam against life.” 

“Thay once said, ‘If you’re so angry at someone, meditate on that person and see that person in 150 years. He may not be here anymore. She may not be here anymore. So is it worth it to always be angry at that person?’”

“Don’t underestimate an act of kindness. Don’t underestimate an act of mindfulness, because that can be reborn into someone else and they can grow that love. They can grow that kindness. They can grow their generosity.”

“We are part of that river of consciousness and evolution, and what we can offer the world is to be our best self. And as part of that stream, if everyone is their best possible self and is really mindful and aware, and acts, thinks, and feels as positively as they can manage, that creates a more beautiful world.”

“Being honest means not having to remember what you said.” 

“The more you give, the more you receive in terms of happiness.”

Welcome to episode 25 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, are joined for a second time by special guest, eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.

A scholar of Buddhism, systems theory, and deep ecology, Joanna Macy, PhD, is one of the most respected voices in the movements for peace, justice, and ecology. She interweaves her scholarship with learnings drawn from six decades of activism, has written twelve books, and teaches an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects. 

Together, they talk about the passing and legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh, with a focus on interbeing and continuation. Additional topics include their own practices during uncertain times, and the application of Thay’s teachings in daily life.

Joanna reflects on the early days of peace activism, becoming aware of Thay in the 1960s, and meeting him for the first time in the early 1980s, during a special United Nations session on disarmament.

She further delves into Thay’s courage, imagination, and devotion to life and peace; religion and revolution; why framing the tackling of climate change as a ‘fight’ may not be helpful; transcending individualism and achieving a wider sense of self; seeing our interconnection and inter-existence with all life on Earth; humility; the ‘legacy’ of nuclear weapons; affection and love; honouring the pain we experience for the world; seeing with new eyes; having that ‘sense of wonder’ at the end of the world; and gratitude.

Additionally, she talks about some of the main concepts in the new edition of her classic book, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power, such as the importance of having “power with, not power over”.  

And: how would she like to see her continuation in this world? 

Brother Phap Huu discusses ways that Thay’s teachings can help us in these times of crises; Thay’s legacy as a peace activist; taking care of the past, present, and future; what it means to be a Bodhisattva; the interbeing effect; moderation; change; and the need for a spiritual dimension.

Jo muses over the importance of bringing the future into the present moment; humility; how Thay became his teachings; and honours Joanna as a teacher and Bodhisattva. 

The episode ends with a meditation on interbeing, guided by Joanna Macy. 

[This episode was recorded on February 16, 2022, via Zoom.] 

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/ 

Quotes

“One reason that Thay was so important to me was that he loved this world – and I’m so fed up with spiritual people who think they can rise above mere phenomenality and the physical world; it’s all one.” 

“You don’t try to be a spiritually perfect person; just be open to love. That love wipes out fear, takes you into this world, and gives you strength and courage.”

“‘This is’ because ‘that is’, and ‘that is’ because everything is intertwined.”

“An oyster, in response to trauma, grows a pearl.”

“This world is too fragile and too beautiful for us to hesitate for a moment in service to peace.”

“We are part of the world, and the suffering that is outside is also a part of us. And if the outside suffers, we will suffer also. And if we can bring peace to little villages, little communities, little families, the impact will multiply and have the interbeing effect; the idea that everything can connect and effects can ripple through.” 

“One part of what’s killed us is competition. That’s the ‘gift’ of five centuries of individualism and capitalism.”

“This planet doesn’t know whether it’ll be around to carry life. So that makes every moment precious. This moment is once in a lifetime.” 

“It’s at the moment when we’re most tender that our heart opens the widest; when we have nothing left, nothing more to lose, everything becomes crystal clear. Everything becomes precious.”

“Don’t try to cheer yourself up all the time. Feel the sorrow, feel the grief. Feel the loneliness. Feel that it’s good that you’re alive. And the fact that you care for the world, that’s a form of love. Do not let that get pathologized. It isn’t, because it’s not abnormal. It’s a face of love. Pain for the world and love for the world are just two sides of one coin. So honour your pain for the world.”

“Don’t complain all the time. You’re not going to be useful to the world in any way if you’re not glad to be here. And then sorrow together.”

“Thay had that quality of such fullness of presence that he didn’t have time to think about, ‘Well, how are they seeing me?’”

List of resources 

Joanna Macy
https://www.joannamacy.net/ 

Plum Village
https://plumvillage.org/

Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962–1966 
https://www.parallax.org/product/fragrant-palm-leaves/

Pratītyasamutpāda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prat%C4%ABtyasamutp%C4%81da 

Dr. Dan Siegel
https://drdansiegel.com/ 

Songs: ‘No Coming, No Going’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/no-coming-no-going-song/ 

Bodhisattva 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
ttps://www.sfzc.org/practice-centers/tassajara

Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanh
https://plumvillage.org/books/call-me-by-my-true-names/

St. Francis of Assisi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi

Active Hope
https://www.activehope.info/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Grief and Joy on a Planet in Crisis: Joanna Macy on the Best Time to Be Alive (Episode #12)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/grief-and-joy-on-a-planet-in-crisis-joanna-macy-on-the-best-time-to-be-alive-episode-12/

Welcome to episode 24 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, talk about how to find peace in ourselves and to encourage peace in the world during times of war. They remember Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who himself  lived through a conflict – the Vietnam War – yet found a way to peace, and to become an activist for transformation.

They also discuss inherited war traumas; the importance of maintaining compassion and balance during these times; the limits of compassion; going beyond our ‘roles’ and ‘labels’; chanelling anger; practicing when we feel ‘on the edge’; racism and discrimination; coming back to our humanity; cultivating love, peace, and nonviolence,  every day. And: can we bear arms without hatred? 

Brother Phap Huu shares his own family’s experience of the war in Vietnam and, subsequently, as refugees; Thay’s creation of a nonviolent movement in wartime; and surprising insights from a retreat for Palestinians and Israelis in Plum Village.

He also delves into recognizing the thoughts that manifest during wartime; taking refuge in the energy and wisdom of the practice; coming back to our human nature during hard times; nonviolence as a way, not a tool; grounding and moderation; becoming a refuge for those who are suffering; teaching the awareness of interbeing; and how to not drown in our own despair.

Jo considers the difficulty of transforming our feelings about the war through practice (such as not becoming consumed by the news, not taking sides, being equanimous); inherited war trauma; the transformational power of vulnerability; and the perils of hierarchies.

The episode ends with a chant on peace recited 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 

‘The Five Earth Touchings’
https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings/

Thich Nhat Hanh On…: ‘Peace between Palestinians and Israelis’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/peace-between-palestinians-and-israelis/

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

Avalokiteśvara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara 

Martin Luther King Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr. 

Countdown Summit
https://countdown.ted.com/events 

Sutras: ‘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/

Quotes

“When there’s war, we have to face the beast of war, and that is violence, that is hatred, discrimination, greed, and death.”

“Wherever there is darkness, light is also there. And this is the deep teaching in Buddhism: nonduality. It’s very easy to get caught in the right and the left, the above and the below, the good and the bad, the dark and the light. It doesn’t mean that we ignore it, but we know that if there is the right, there is also the left. If there is war, there is peace somewhere.”

“Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance, it is fear, it is destruction.”

“Nonviolence is not a tool. Nonviolence is a way.”

“We believe in using deep listening and compassionate speech for reconciliation, as a way forward instead of using the army; the army, the guns, the bombs, it doesn’t bring peace.” 

“You have to have the peace inside of you in order for the peace outside to manifest.”

“Grounding is very important at this time. You can be a refuge for the ones who are suffering. The people who are suffering are also seeking stability. So, if we as humans, if we as practitioners have that stability, that is also an offering to the chaos that is happening right now.” 

“Compassion needs to be nourished. We can be depleted of this understanding and this energy, this source of acceptance, and this source of embracing. One of the teachings that was given to us is to still find the simple joy in daily life. And I think this was Thay’s antidote in the war: to still see the wonders of life, still have time to sing a song. And Thay wrote a lot of peace poems during that time, to channel in the miracle of life.”

“Thay’s community would establish days of mindfulness, and this is why we have a tradition of Thursdays and Sundays as days of mindfulness, because social workers during the Vietnam War needed a day where they didn’t talk about the war. They talked about their deepest aspiration, they talked about their dreams; it’s a way to balance the destruction and the suffering that is there.”

“When you have real love and compassion, it is limitless. And that can be a source of teaching, a source of refuge, a source of inspiration, a source of hope for many people.”

“May I be peaceful, light, and happy, in body and in mind. May I be free and safe from accidents. May I be free from anger, unwholesome states of mind, and worries. May I know how to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love. May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself. May I not be caught in a state of indifference or be caught in the extremes of attachment or aversion. May you be peaceful, light, and happy, in body and in mind. May you be free and safe from accidents. May you be free from anger, unwholesome states of mind, and worries. May you know how to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love. May you not be caught in a state of indifference or be caught in the extremes.” 

“Compassion gives you a source of energy that gives you no fear, and sometimes that compassion can become your barrier, your protector.”

“War does not lead to peace; peace is the way.” 

“Buddhism is really teaching us to be human again, to see each other without a label, without a hierarchy of, ‘Yyou are the boss, I am the servant, you are a soldier.’ Because if we remove all of that and we ask everyone to remove all of that we can ask each other, ‘What is it that we deeply want?’”

“The thing about humanity is that we always repeat the same mistakes, even from the Buddha’s time. The Buddha left his responsibility and his inheritance to be a king because his deepest desire was, ‘That doesn’t bring me true happiness, ruling a nation. What brings me true happiness is the cessation of suffering, is the nourishment of understanding, is the insight of love and compassion, that all blood is red, all of our tears are salty.’ And the Buddha came from the caste system in his country, which discriminated a lot, and he wanted to break free from that. So we may say we live in a free country, but I think there are many barriers.”

“All of us are responsible for either creating a sense of suffering, or pain, or abuse. In every one of our thoughts and actions, we can either be sowing the seeds of hope, love, compassion, and deep listening, or we can be judging, belittling, and taking advantage of people. We are all individually responsible for the collective consciousness that leads to wars.”

“Be the peace you want to see.”

Welcome to episode 23 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, talk about the art of Thich Nhat Hanh, represented by his deeply meaningful calligraphies. 

They consider their favourite calligraphies by Thich Nhat Hanh, and some of his most popular work, as well as the process behind it, and its significance, context, words, and wisdom (“the fruit of the meditations”). 

Brother Phap Huu, Thich Nhat Hanh’s former attendant, shares how Thay created some of his famous calligraphies, the lessons learned, and the brother’s own journey through the art of calligraphy. 

He also delves into calligraphy as something offering “directions for life”, and as a representation of the mind and the present moment; art as meditation; and vulnerability.

And, did you know that there is literally tea in Thay’s calligraphy? 

Jo recollects a calligraphy demonstration by Thich Nhat Hanh in New York. He further muses on “the golden nuggets” of the mindfulness practice; flow; the embedded energy in each drawing; appreciation of all life; and looking deeply into suffering.

Also, do you know the zen story of the farmer who had one son?

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu, to express gratitude for the humans in our lives.

[This episode was recorded in December 2021 at Sitting Still Hut in Plum Village, France.] 

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 

Blue Cliff Monastery
https://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/

Calligraphy
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/calligraphy/ 

The Way Out is in: The Zen Calligraphy of Thich Nhat Hanh
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/27274234-the-way-out-is-in

‘Sounds True Presents: Calligraphy with Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrCsCCB3-II

‘Calligraphy Exhibition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://magnoliagrovemonastery.org/general/calligraphy-exhibition-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh/

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/ 

‘Exhibition Opening: U.S. Premiere of Global Spiritual Leader Thich Nhat Hanh’s Calligraphy Exhibition’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/exhibition-opening-u-s-premiere-of-global-spiritual-leader-thich-nhat-hanhs-calligraphy-exhibition/

‘Thich Nhat Hanh’s Books and Calligraphies on Show in Vietnam’ https://plumvillage.org/articles/thich-nhat-hanhs-books-and-calligraphies-on-show-in-vietnam/

Thich Nhat Hanh Calligraphy Note Cards
https://www.parallax.org/product/thich-nhat-hanh-calligraphy-note-cards/ 

Browser add-ons: In every new tab you’ll see one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies, which serve as mindful reminders to pause, breathe, and smile.
For Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/thich-nhat-hanh-calligrap/ljicmmknmiapobjgphhogonlfeegmlcl?hl=en-GB
For Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/thich-nhat-hanh-calligraphy/

Quotes

“These calligraphies were a way of expressing the practice, in the Zen tradition, which has a lot of art inside. A lot of Zen masters, such as our teacher, were artists, poets, and even musicians. And so Zen offers a space for creativity. A lot of Zen masters would write poems to express their understanding of the world.”

“The tears I shed yesterday have become rain.” 

“Be beautiful, be yourself.”

“This calligraphy – ‘Be beautiful, be yourself’ – is a very beautiful insight into touching your true nature and allowing yourself to be who you are, not running after any expectation from outside of yourself.” 

“I have arrived. I am home.”

“Don’t hurry. Enjoy the present moment.”

“Peace is every step.”

“Present moment, wonderful moment.”

“Breathe, you’re online.” 

“Because you’re alive, everything is possible.” 

“Anything is possible when the conditions come together; it will manifest.” 

“What we see today can change tomorrow. And what is not here today, can be tomorrow.” 

“Even if the sky were to collapse today, there would be a way out.” 

“Our teacher started to see that calligraphy can be a piece of art that someone can bring home, and they can put it in a place that can remind them to be in touch with the mindfulness that is alive in them. And the calligraphy then has a power, like the power of the sangha, the power of the teaching.”

“You imagine this ancient art, but actually, ‘Breathe, you’re online’ was so relevant today; if you’re on the computer, be aware of your breath, because that is the place, these days, where we do get carried away. We do lose ourselves; we follow algorithms that take us deeper, deeper down the rabbit hole.” 

“I know you are there, and I am very happy.”

Welcome to episode 22 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, discuss ‘the Meditator, the Artist, and the Warrior’ – the three key ways to engage with the world, which is what Thich Nhat Hanh was all about. 

The episode is inspired by a chapter in Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, and focuses on how these three elements are present in everyone, explaining what they mean, and ways to nourish and activate them, interspersed with examples from Thay’s own experience, as recalled by Brother Phap Huu.  

They further delve into the first time they experienced meditation; enlightenment; removing perceptions; and the Beginner’s Mind.  

Brother Phap Huu addresses keeping the Meditator in us alive and retaining our freshness in the practice; creating space for reflection in daily life; a special linden tree in Upper Hamlet; and why he dreads formal lunches.

Jo shares his thoughts about interrogating life and being true to ourselves; the importance of ‘taking space’ and the embodiment of presence; offering empathy; and the test of a formal lunch in the monastery.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu, to help us touch the Meditator, the Artist, and the Warrior within.

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 

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/books/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ 

Koan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan 

COP 26
https://ukcop26.org/ 

The Beginner’s Mind (shoshin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin 

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta 

Futerra
https://www.wearefuterra.com/

‘New Contemplations before Eating’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/new-contemplations-before-eating/ 

Thai Plum Village International Practice Center
https://www.thaiplumvillage.org/ 

Quotes 

“The image we have of an enlightened person is someone with freedom and spiritual strength, who is not a victim of their environment. An enlightened person sees themself clearly, knows who they are, and has a clear understanding of reality, both their own nature and the nature of society. This understanding is the most precious gift that Zen can offer.”

“We cannot be present for anything outside of ourselves if we’re not present for ourselves; we need the stability and the strength, the fortitude and the understanding of ourselves before we can reach out in the world.”

“When we practice mindfulness, we practice meditation. We practice zen. It invites us to touch a spiritual dimension in each and every one of us. We may think that a spiritual dimension is going to the monastery or a retreat or a temple. And yes, that is one of the conditions that can help us touch that spiritual dimension inside of us. But, when we practice meditation, coming home to our breaths, becoming aware of our breath, allowing our mind to come home to the body, to touch peace, to touch stability: that is our spiritual dimension that we speak about in our tradition.” 

”Enlightenment is enlightenment of something. So if today we can wake up and see 24 brand new hours as a gift, that is enlightenment of seeing the day has begun; having fresh eyes, knowing how to live this day meaningfully. That’s enlightenment of the day.”

“If we don’t find time to pause, don’t find time to take a moment to be aware of the present moment, we will lose ourselves.” 

“The most important thing in life is to be true to yourself. Because if we’re not true to ourselves, then how can we be true to life?”

“Sometime Thay says, ‘To meditate is to have time.’”

“We need to create space for ourselves; life is very hectic and we are so conditioned to be busy that when we’re not, we feel guilty about it, and feel restless and feel we need to fill our time.”

“If someone comes to you with a problem that you haven’t addressed yourself, or you haven’t looked at that area of your life, you can offer sympathy, but you can’t offer empathy. But when you have worked with that issue, looked into it and found that place of deep pain in yourself, and started to transform it, then when someone comes to you with that problem, you’re present for them.”

“Thay taught me about the embodiment of presence, so I can understand this territory. I don’t feel fearful anymore of going to this dark place, because I have made friends with it. And, therefore, I can sit with you and offer that to you. And that doesn’t involve any words. It just involves a sense of deep connection that creates safety in the world.”

“The Buddha once said that the mind is an artist; whatever the mind creates, that is the world. So the way we create and the way we take care of our mind has a very important connection to how we relate to the world.”

“You can’t bathe in the same river twice.”

“We’re constantly creating the world in ourselves. And then we project it out into the world. I struggled for years with ideas; ‘With our thoughts, we create the world.’ How can that be true? But when we see life differently, the world does change, because actually the world isn’t one thing. The world is just what we choose to make it.”

“The true warrior is about being able to stand firm and in my truth.” 

Welcome to episode 21 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, are joined by special guest Christiana Figueres – one of the architects of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, student of Thich Nhat Hanh, and valued member of the Plum Village Sangha.

Ms. Figueres is an internationally recognized leader on global climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016. Today she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast Outrage & Optimism and co-author of the The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis book. She is a member of the B Team, non executive Board member of Acciona, and non executive Board member of Impossible Foods. Read more about her many achievements here.

In light of Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing earlier this year, the discussion includes collective leadership; guidance; spiritual awakening and nourishing our spiritual dimension; dependent co-arising; saving lives through teachings; and being a community without Thay, and what it means to continue and represent his legacy.

The participants also reflect on the impact on their lives of Thay’s passing, and ways to continue their teacher in a world that is in crisis and in great need for a spiritual dimension. And what next for the Sangha?

Christiana Figueres shares deeply about what brought her to Plum Village, both now and years ago, during her first encounter with Applied Buddhism; her journey to spiritual practice, to overcome a personal crisis; the historical context of making contact with Thich Nhat Hanh; and the transformative power of Buddhist teachings – such as the art of deep listening – on the negotiation process during the Paris Climate Change Conference.

Additionally, she addresses the Global North-South divide; victimhood; and strengthening the arc between the inner and outer worlds.

Jo shares what it means to be a “serious” practitioner; being spacious; “coming home”; and befriending our past.

Brother Phap Huu talks about Christiana’s importance to the Plum Village community, and the significance of her presence during the week of ceremonies after Thay’s passing; the four-fold sangha; channelling Thay as a collective community; interbeing in action; practising the art of community; and transmission.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu to bring us back to the present moment.

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

‘Christiana Figueres Cites Thich Nhat Hanh’s Influence in Paris Climate Talks’
https://www.lionsroar.com/christiana-figueres-cites-thich-nhat-hanhs-influence-in-paris-climate-talks/ 

Waldbröl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldbr%C3%B6l

The Paris Agreement
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement 

Global North and Global South
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path/ 

Christian Science 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science

European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
https://www.eiab.eu/index.php?index=90

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18/ 

Quotes

“The community is Thay’s masterpiece.”

“Thay is always teaching us and giving us this opportunity to still come together and see the beauty of connection.”

“We tend to think that, if we are on a path of spiritual development, it only has to do with me, but doesn’t have anything to do with the outside world. And it does. They are completely interwoven with each other.”

“With our thoughts, we create the world.”

“I would never want to send my children to a place where there is no suffering, because, in that place, my children will never be able to grow.”

“You know what? The sangha is not perfect, and there is beauty to it because we can continue to learn from each other, we can grow with each other. We have suffering. We have difficulties. We look at it. We learn from it. We evolve from it.”

“We carry our wounds with us. They are part of who we are. They are what make us a whole person.” 

“When I feel at home, when I feel my own presence, when I’m aware of my own wounds, then I can have a very beautiful relationship with other people.”

“I can be friends with my past. I can be friends with my suffering. I can make peace with it. I can honor it. I can see the sacredness in everything.” 

“If we want to see history, just look at Thay. He didn’t allow himself to be exiled to drown in despair and suffering; he was patient. He embraced. He cultivated. He contemplated. And he grew into that. So, in a way, this step-up moment is really channeling the insight that Thay has offered us and making it a part of our journey.”

“We don’t need to put Thay on a pedestal. Of course, we love and we respect Thay and we honor him, but what he would want from us is his insight to continue in us. And I think that’s really important.” 

“Transformation starts with the being and then the doing comes later, not the other way around.”

“The spiritual dimension is that bridge where we can connect to seeing us as Mother Earth, seeing us as the suffering, seeing us as the person cutting the trees, seeing us as the oil being spilled into the ocean. We are the fish that is suffering. We are the birds that are drowning in these oils. We are the animals that are being burnt and have no home.”

“We’re really there; you look at someone, you listen to them, and you’re giving them your trust, you’re giving them your presence, you’re giving them your energy, and that’s very recharging.”

Welcome to episode 20 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.

At such a demanding and delicate time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, reflect on Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh passing on January 22nd, 2022. They offer a profound insight into the memorial week, the funeral, impact on the Plum Village community, and the overwhelming global response.

This instalment of the podcast is an intimate account of the period between the announcement of Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing and the recording of this episode: “a retreat of silence, and a retreat of remembering Thay and continuing Thay.”

Brother Phap Huu, Thay’s former attendant and current Abbot of the Upper Hamlet, shares his personal relationship with Thich Nhat Hanh and how these events have impacted him. He also shares a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the traditional ceremonies and memorial services, preparations, and processions, as well as personal stories from the Plum Village communities over the eight days following the beloved teacher’s passing. 

The conversation delves into: the significance of the ceremonies’ texts; the deep practises underpinning the formalities; Thay becoming a spiritual ancestor; deep levels of aspiration; the symbolic homes for Thay’s ashes; acceptance, togetherness, and impermanence; the relevance of Thay’s teachings for years to come; and what it means to be the continuation of Thay. 

The episode ends with a short meditation on continuation and gratitude, 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 

Plum Village
https://plumvillage.org/ 

Thich Nhat Hanh memorial ceremonies
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaX_vxbhs8fi9nUbUL75NorK6yYOSrWzd 

Memorial Week for Thich Nhat Hanh
https://plumvillage.org/memorial/

Memorial Practice Resources
https://plumvillage.org/memorial-practice-resources/ 

‘Photos from Thay’s Memorial Ceremonies’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/photos-from-thays-memorial-ceremonies/

‘Daily Contemplations on Impermanence and Interbeing’
https://plumvillage.org/daily-contemplations-on-impermanence-interbeing/

Chants: ‘Namo Avalokiteshvaraya’
https://plumvillage.org/library/chants/namo-avalokiteshvaraya/ 

‘Namo’valokiteshvaraya Chant’ (2022)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZkjX_c4hm4 

Chants: ‘Heart Sutra’
https://plumvillage.org/library/chants/heart-sutra/ 

‘New Heart Sutra Translation by Thich Nhat Hanh’
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation/ 

Monastic robes
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/monastic-fashion/ 

Sister Chân Không
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/

Plum Village Lineage
https://plumvillage.org/series/plum-village-lineage/  

‘Memories from the Root Temple: My Master’s Robe’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/memories-from-the-root-temple-my-masters-robe/ 

‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing/#

Quotes

“Thay’s life is his message.”

“Many of us grew up in a Buddhist family, but didn’t know the beautiful culture and the depths of Buddhism, and have been waiting for a master to open our eyes to the spiritual dimension. And we were so lucky that we found Thay. So the tears and the prostration are just gratefulness, and honoring, and respect.” 

“The tears are bitter but also very sweet, because if we don’t go deep into our feelings – this podcast is The Way Out Is In – if we’re not going into our feelings of grief, then all we’re doing is blocking them. But the point is not to be stuck in them. Our tears are like a flow. And we need to let it flow.”

“Impermanence. We are of the nature to grow old. We are of the nature to get sick. We are of the nature to die. Everything that we hold deep and dear to us, one day we will let go of.” 

“I’ve always said that Thay’s the most famous person no one’s ever heard of, because he’s had such an influence yet his name doesn’t… […] Suddenly I felt Thay in the public, in his fullness. And I thought that was his extraordinary power: that he wasn’t well known, but everyone knew him.”

“When Thay did a retreat in 2003 for police officers, we used no Buddhist terms. We did a ceremony, but no incense offering. It’s possible, and we have to be flexible. We have to hope for that spirit.”

“I want to be in the midst of this storm and still have my two feet on the ground. Thay has given us the tools, and I need to cultivate that deeper and deeper, because then brotherhood, sisterhood, community will have stability. And Thay said, ‘If in Thay’s community there is still brotherhood and sisterhood, then anything is possible.’”

“The chanting is another way of directing our grief, another way of honoring our masters, our teachers, our spiritual ancestors.”

“What I see so clearly is Thay’s continuation in his actions and his teachings, and that they are as robust as if he were here; there’s no dilution of them. He’s taught us so beautifully and in such a practical and simple way that people can immediately relate to and practice; as he said, you don’t need to be in the practice for 10 years, you can start right now.”

Welcome to episode 19 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.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh passed away on January 22nd, 2022. As we grieve our dear teacher, we also want to celebrate his enduring legacy with the podcast’s first special edition.

Therefore, we are sharing an edited recording of Thich Nhat Hanh interviewed by Krista Tippett during a USA tour in 2003, at a lakeside Christian conference center in rural Wisconsin.  

The interview is reproduced with kind permission of Krista Tippett and her podcast and radio show On Being.

Peabody Award-winning broadcaster Krista Tippett is a National Humanities Medalist and a New York Times bestselling author. She attended Brown University, then worked as a journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin. Subsequently, she lived in Spain and England before receiving a Master of Divinity at Yale University in the mid 1990s.

The episode starts with an introduction by Brother Phap Huu – Thich Nhat Hanh’s former attendant, and the current Abbott of Upper Hamlet, Plum Village. The brother recites one of Thay’s best known poems and pays tribute to his beloved teacher.

In the interview, Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle wisdom for living in a world of anger and violence, through concepts such as engaged Buddhism, ‘being peace’, and mindfulness.

He shares the story behind his classic book The Miracle of Mindfulness, and discusses the Vietnamese connotations of the word ‘mindfulness’; transforming suffering; and building a community of practice and teaching mindfulness to different groups – from members of the US Congress to Hollywood filmmakers and law enforcement officers.

One segment of the interview focuses on dealing with war and ‘enemies’; the repetitive patterns of war, with a focus on the Vietnam and Iraq wars and the ‘war on terror’ taking place at the time. He further delves into: the root causes of war, anger, forgiveness, and peacekeeping; collective awakening; and viewing the world through the eyes of compassion. 

What is compassion in the wake of a terrorist attack? Does the practice of mindfulness cause forgiveness to become instinctual? And what were Thay’s pressing questions in 2003?

Thay also recites poems in both English and Vietnamese and comments on their meanings and shifting contexts, such as the relevance of his 40-year-old poem ‘Illusion Transformed’ to the realities of 2003. 

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 

‘Recommendation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/recommendation/

‘Alone Again’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/alone-again-promise-me/

The Miracle of Mindfulness 
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-miracle-of-mindfulness/

‘Illusion Transformed’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq5HHRJ9pIk 

Drops of Emptiness
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424577.Drops_of_Emptiness 

‘For Warmth’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/for-warmth-thays-poem-in-my-two-hands-betsy-roses-song/ 

Fragrant Palm Leaves 
https://plumvillage.org/books/fragrant-palm-leaves/

Thich Nhat Hanh address to the US Congress, September 10, 2003
https://plumvillage.org/it/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/thich-nhat-hanh-address-to-us-congress-september-10-2003/0/

‘Mindfulness, Suffering and Engaged Buddhism’ (interviews with Thich Nhat Hanh, Cheri Maples, and Larry Ward)
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/interviews-with-thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanh-on-mindfulness-suffering-and-engaged-buddhism/ 

The United Nations
https://www.un.org/en/ 

The Vietnam War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War 

Bến Tre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%E1%BA%BFn_Tre 

Quotes

“Mindfulness is a part of living. When you are mindful, you are fully alive, you are fully present, you can get in touch with the wonders of life, which can nourish and heal you. And you are stronger, you are more solid, more able to handle the suffering inside and around you. When you are mindful, you can recognize, embrace, and handle the pain, the sorrow in and around you, to bring relief. And if you continue with concentration and insight, you’ll be able to transform the suffering inside and help transform the suffering around you.” 

“Suffering and happiness are both organic, like flowers and garbage. The flower is on her way to become a piece of garbage, and the garbage can be on its way to become a flower. That is why you are not afraid of the garbage, and you know how to handle it so that flowers can be created. And that is all. There’s no attempt to run away from suffering. And you handle suffering in such a way in order to create wellbeing and happiness.”

“Awakening, understanding, compassion, and reconciliation can take place after a few days of practice. People need an opportunity so that the seed of compassion, understanding in them can be watered. And that is why we are not discouraged. If more people join in the work of offering that opportunity, there will be a collective awakening and we shall have enough collective understanding and compassion to help us out of this difficult situation.”

“When you have compassion in your heart, you suffer much less. And you are in the situation to be and to do something to help others to suffer less.”

“Understanding brings compassion; understanding is compassion itself. When you understand the difficulties, the suffering, the despair of another, you don’t hate him or her anymore. And you are motivated by the desire to do something in order to help them transform the suffering inside.”

“You have to remain human in order to be able to understand and to be compassionate. And you have the right to be angry, but you don’t have the right not to practice in order to transform your anger. You have the right to make mistakes, but you don’t have the right to continue making a mistake: you have to learn from your mistakes.”

“Zen is not merely a system of thought. Zen infuses our whole being with the most pressing question we have.”

“I hold my face in my two hands.
No, I am not crying.
I hold my face in my two hands
to keep the loneliness warm—
two hands protecting,
two hands nourishing,
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me
in anger.” 
– ‘For Warmth’ by Thich Nhat Hanh

Welcome to episode 18 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 episode, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay practitioner and journalist Jo Confino – delve deeply into Buddhist philosophy by discussing the teaching known as the Three Doors of Liberation (emptiness, signlessness, aimlessness), which is vital to understanding life and living it well.  

Together, they go through each of the three doors, discovering and explaining the corresponding concepts, sharing their own experiences of these deep teachings and how to apply them in daily life.   

Brother Phap Huu shares on the topics of ways to train ourselves to practice emptiness (even in success), signlessness, and aimlessness; Zen stories; touching liberation in daily life; and meditating on our aims in life. 

In addition, Jo looks at the journey of stripping away individual selves, and recollects “the experience of the terror of nothingness”. He further muses on a day of mindfulness in the World Bank, and on not chasing life.

The episode ends with a short meditation on the Three Doors of Liberation, 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: ‘Three Doors of Liberation’ 
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/three-doors-of-liberation-br-phap-khi-italian-retreat-2018-05-01/

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching 
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teaching/

How To: ‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘Signlessness and Impermanence’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/signlessness-and-impermanence-dharma-talk-by-sr-dieu-nghiem-sr-jina-2015-09-05/ 

Lakshana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshana

Eschatology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology

‘The Doors of Liberation’
https://www.lionsroar.com/the-doors-of-liberation-may-2014/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path/

Quotes

“The First Door of Liberation is emptiness, shunyata. Emptiness always means empty of something. A cup is empty of water. A bowl is empty of soup. We are empty of a separate, independent self. We cannot be by ourselves alone. We can only inter-be with everything else in the cosmos. The practice is to nourish the insight into emptiness all day long. Wherever we go, we touch the nature of emptiness in everything we contact. We look deeply at the table, the blue sky, our friend, the mountain, the river, our anger, and our happiness and see that these are all empty of a separate self. When we touch these things deeply, we see the interbeing and interpenetrating nature of all that is. Emptiness does not mean nonexistence. It means Interdependent Co-Arising, impermanence, and nonself.”

“The Second Door of Liberation is signlessness, animitta. ‘Sign’ here means an appearance or the object of our perception. When we see something, a sign or image appears to us, and that is what is meant by ‘lakshana.’ If water, for example, is in a square container, its sign is ‘squareness.’ If in a round container, its sign is ‘roundness.’ When we open the freezer and take out some ice, the sign of that water is solid. Chemists call water ‘H₂O.’ The snow on the mountain and the steam rising from the kettle are also H₂O. Whether H₂O is round or square, liquid, gaseous, or solid depends on circumstances. Signs are instruments for our use, but they are not absolute truth, and they can mislead us. The Diamond Sutra says, ‘Wherever there is a sign, there is deception, illusion.’ Perceptions often tell us as much about the perceiver as the object of perception. Appearances can deceive.”

“The Third Door of Liberation is aimlessness, apranihita. There is nothing to do, nothing to realize, no program, no agenda. This is the Buddhist teaching about eschatology. Does the rose have to do something? No, the purpose of a rose is to be a rose. Your purpose is to be yourself. You don’t have to run anywhere to become someone else. You are wonderful just as you are. This teaching of the Buddha allows us to enjoy ourselves, the blue sky, and everything that is refreshing and healing in the present moment. 

“There is no need to put anything in front of us and run after it. We already have everything we are looking for, everything we want to become. We are already a Buddha so why not just take the hand of another Buddha and practice walking meditation? This is the teaching of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Be yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just be. Just being in the moment in this place is the deepest practice of meditation. Most people cannot believe that just walking as though you have nowhere to go is enough. They think that striving and competing are normal and necessary. Try practicing aimlessness for just five minutes, and you will see how happy you are during those five minutes.”

“What we discover in Buddhism is that once you have a lot of complexes, even superior or inferior, even equality, they come with a lot of suffering. And because of these notions that humans have – right, wrong, good, bad – we start to discriminate. And to practice Buddhism and to touch one of the doors of liberation is to see the emptiness of everything and is to help us be more free.”

“You are who you are, but you are made of everything. And because you have that insight, you are also free from your own ego.” 

“You cannot call a mountain a mountain until you see that it is not a mountain.”

“Practising signlessness, if you look at the mountain, it is made of rocks, dirt, soil, trees, and much, much more. And if you remove all of that, then suddenly the mountain is not there. That is the practice of seeing that the mountain is not a mountain. You are free from the sign that that is just a mountain; if you break it down, you see that it is all of these other elements. So this may be a meditation with which we can look into our own attachments, including to ourselves, like ‘I want to be like that for me to be happy.’ But is that image that we are creating for ourselves really happiness? Or is that just a sign that we have been educated to run after and to see as success? And so, if we break free from all these signs, we’ll become a little bit more free.” 

“Man is not our enemy. The enemy is ignorance. It is hatred. It is discrimination. So we have to help others recognize that so that they can transform too, because everyone has Buddha nature inside of them.”

“Part of the way we try to define ourselves as individuals is by making someone else the enemy, or wrong – because that feeds our need to be right and intelligent [etc].” 

“Happiness is a goal we should all touch in our daily life, because in true happiness you might realise that you don’t need more. What you have is more than enough. What you are is more than enough. And because you are fulfilled, you are at peace, you are free, you have time to love, you have time to be loved, you have time for the ones around you. Isn’t that success? Isn’t that happiness?” 

Welcome to episode 17 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, are joined by special guest, entrepreneur and author Lindsay Levin, to discuss wise leadership and new ways of creating change and harmony in turbulent times. 

“Serial entrepreneur” Lindsay Levin founded Leaders’ Quest in 2001 as her “last startup”, to help leaders and companies align profit with purpose. Her work explores collective humanity through vulnerability and listening. She also launched the Leaders’ Quest Foundation to build leadership capacity in grassroots communities. 

Her passion for finding common ground between diverse perspectives and opposing voices prompted her to co-lead the launch of the alliance Future Stewards, after the Paris Climate Agreement. Her book, Invisible Giants: Changing the World One Step at a Time (2013), is a celebration of the everyday heroes who have inspired her to ask tough questions, and to strive to be the change she wants to see in the world.

Together, all three also talk about: the balance between urgency and patience; purpose; polarisation; and becoming agents of change. And: at a planetary level, how do we know when to slow down and when to speed up? 

Lindsay Levin further shares her relationship with the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community, and about: working with leaders; dealing with competing interests and egos; spiritual values in the business world; self-awareness; tolerance in the climate movement; listening to others’ lives and widening circles of compassion; responsibility; the gap between cleverness and wisdom; ‘quests’; collective and individual development; planetary well-being; and honouring anger and grief. 

Brother Phap Huu talks about his own experience of dealing with disagreements in the community as abbot of Upper Hamlet, and shares stories about Thich Nhat Hanh as a leader. He also delves into the importance of listening in leadership; applying Buddhist teachings into daily life; bringing together conflicting parties; discriminative mindsets; inclusiveness; adapting to change; avoiding burnout; nourishing compassion; learning to be in stillness; and not postponing ‘simple opportunities’.

Jo shares the story of a company which lost its way after taking the space to create and reflect away from its staff. He delves into the pressure of short-termism; Indigenous insight into decision-making; and being observers of our own selves. And: is time money? 

All three share the simple routines they use to nourish themselves in what they do.

The episode ends with a short meditation on gratefulness, 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 

Lindsay Levin
https://futurestewards.com/team/lindsay-levin/ 

Leaders’ Quest
https://leadersquest.org/ 

Future Stewards
https://futurestewards.com/

‘Please Call Me by My True Names’ (song and poem)
https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem/ 

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://www.parallax.org/product/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ 

Trần dynasty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_dynasty

Lý dynasty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BD_dynasty

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/ 

The opioid crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_epidemic 

The Great Acceleration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Acceleration 

Moore’s law
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

The TED Countdown Summit
https://countdown.ted.com/events-in-2021 

The secretary-general of the United Nations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary-General_of_the_United_Nations 

Quotes 

“Thay’s teachings are about the essence of life, and beautifully simple yet profound.”

“In our teachings of Buddhism, we say that we are seeds of everything. We are seeds of goodness, but also seeds of evil. And we have to help people see the goodness inside of them. Whatever suffering there is, we have to be there because we can be the light of hope.”

“Go into action and lead by example.”

“Thay created a day of mindfulness where we all come together as a community: we sit together, we listen to a teaching or have a sharing and sing songs, we cook for each other, we help each other relax. And for maybe six hours, we don’t talk about the work, because there’s a side of us that we have to nourish to keep our aspiration alive, and to continue the work that we aspire to do. This is what we call taking care of our well-being. And this is very important in the teachings of Buddhism.”

“There’s a beautiful simplicity to Thay’s teachings; remembering that it comes out of a deep, practiced understanding of suffering makes it applicable to any situation, to any of the challenges we may feel we’re facing. You are not [experiencing anything] harder than what he went through – and there’s a great power to that, which is very exciting.” 

“We learn to flow as a river. And the river is always moving. This image really helped me shed my ego, because Thay teaches us that we all need to learn to be a drop of water in this river. And because we are part of the river, there are moments when we can help lead at the front. And there are moments when we are in the middle, when we can help hold the front and back together; and sometimes we are at the back. The young can help push elders forward by using their voice, their aspirations, sharing with us, with the changes of the world. And so listening is very important for leadership and for growth.”

“One of the fundamental teachings in Buddhism is that man is not our enemy; it is ignorance, it is hatred, it is discrimination.”

“You change the world by how you show up, even in the hardest of circumstances, even in a very conflicted situation; how you turn up to that conversation or that situation changes the outcome. And maybe you can’t change everything, but you can change the outcome; that’s the nature of being interconnected, of living in this interconnected world. That’s the nature of interbeing.”

“For me, one of the [most important] images is that we’re all – I am, at least – a tiny grain of sand in this incredibly beautiful universe. But I want to be a good grain of sand. So how do I make the most of that opportunity?”

“If you’re not open, then you won’t be able to learn. You won’t be able to contribute because you’re not generous.”

“Thay teaches us that, ‘Sometimes we have to learn from our ancestors, and our ancestors include animals. When an animal gets hurt, what does he or she do? They know to stop hunting, to stop looking for a mate, and instead to rest, sleep for many days if needed, and to take care of the wound.’” 

“We have to let the surface of the water be still for it to really reflect.”

“The notion that time is money, I think we have to change that story. Time is life. I think that is the truth, because in our teaching of Buddhism, one of the core teachings of the Buddha is that this moment, here and now, carries the past and is building the future.”

“If we want peace in the world, we have to know how to cultivate peace in ourselves. If we want healing in the world, we have to also heal ourselves – or else we’re just going to keep running after an idea.”

“Peace in oneself, peace in the world: that sense of peace isn’t ‘I’ve solved everything’, but that I recognize what’s going on.”

“Looking at, admiring, and respecting the incredible wisdom of nature, and the intelligent life that is all around us and the rhythm that it follows, I find that immediately calming. You can sit and watch a tree very carefully and see the tree breathing because of how the branches or the leaves are moving. Just watch a leaf and see that. So that’s something that I can come back to at any time; no matter where I am, I can usually find some part of nature to touch.”

“We’re a clever species: we invent stuff. We fix stuff. We figure things out. We’ve harnessed science in so many ways. And so it’s easy to fool yourself into thinking that we are becoming ever, ever smarter. Well, we’re not, and we’re certainly not becoming ever wiser. If you were to plot our wisdom or our individual or collective development, it’s certainly not a graph that’s shooting off the top of the page. It’s more of a slow incline. And I think part of the urgency, pain, fear, and uniqueness that we’re feeling right now is because there’s a gap between how fast the world is changing – in many ways as a result of our actions, some of which have come from clever things that we figured out how to do, often with unintended consequences – and our own capacity, our inner wisdom, our ability to connect, to deeply appreciate our existence, what existence is, what it means to be alive, and what it means to be to be part of life.”

“I often talked to business leaders about this: you’re not going to be able to keep up by running faster. There is no way that, by running ever faster, you are going to catch the pace of change. So in response to that urgency, including urgency over dramatic issues, the importance of justice and planetary well-being and so forth, we actually, perversely, have to slow down. We have to develop the capacity for reflection, for introspection, for developing our sense of connection; for all the things that you teach so beautifully here at Plum Village.” 

“I’m really hopeful because I do think there is a waking-up going on. A lot of things are changing and I think we are waking up, individually and collectively. Maybe not fast enough, but change is happening, and in that process we need to extend to one another. We need to trust one another. People who have [the necessary] skills, which I absolutely do not have, are going to need to be part of designing the new systems that we’re moving towards.”

“Anger needs to be expressed. It’s very real. It’s really valid. It needs to be honored. Grief needs to be honored and valued and heard and respected. And then we have to keep moving; we have to integrate that and look to the other side of it. Why are we in such grief and fear and pain and anger? Well, it’s because we love life. It’s because life is beautiful. Life is an incredible gift.”

“In Indigenous wisdom, there’s the idea of seven generations: that every decision you take, you should think back seven generations in the past and seven generations into the future to say, ‘Where does this idea sit within historical context and what impact will it have in the far future?’ And yet, people are in panic mode. They’re not even thinking one generation ahead. People say, ‘Oh yes, I recognize that I need to do things for my children’, but I almost don’t believe that. People don’t act on it. In part because they are locked into this system where everyone acts the same way – so everyone supports each other in being in denial.”

“We are all leaders. This was an empowerment that our teacher gave us. When we learn to come back to mindfulness, concentration, and insight or wisdom, we all have an opportunity to lead our life, to be mindful. We have a chance to transform our lives, to recognize the habits that lead us down a path that may not give happiness, that may bring us more suffering; to have agency for our own transformation.” 

“Thay teaches us that you don’t have to wait to be an example to change the world after 20, 30 years of practice; today, as you practice, if you’re able to smile, that smile can change somebody’s energy just by causing them to recognize your freshness, your way of being present for someone, or your stability. You’re listening to them with your full attention; that is also leadership, that is telling the other person, ‘I am here for you.’”

Welcome to episode 16 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 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. 

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 

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/ 

Richard Dawkins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins 

The tragedy of the commons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons 

Elinor Ostrom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom 

Music for Difficult Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YarhXTDs8Z4

‘Introduction to Namo Avalokiteshvara’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjBUZrrqAVQ 

Kundun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundun

Gandhi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_(film) 

Comfortably Numb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfortably_Numb

Siddhartha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_(novel) 

The Matrix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Four Noble Truths: Vulture Peak Gathering’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-four-noble-truths-vulture-peak-gathering-2016-06-04-lower-hamlet-sr-dinh-nghiem/

Multi-level selection theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation_%28evolution%29#Multi-level_selection

The Five Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/ 

The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/ 

Quotes

“When everything is motivated by love, you don’t burn out.”

“My dad wrote me a letter that said, ‘You know, in life, it’s not for me to hand you a rose, but to hand you an onion, where you peel every layer and you cry.’ It’s like we find ourselves through suffering. And it’s the suffering we go through in order to find joy. We can’t bypass suffering.” 

“They say ‘It’s darkest just before the dawn’, and we seem to be at this crossroads where, if we don’t have what Thay would call a collective awakening, we are very, very likely heading for a catastrophe that is unimaginable in terms of the suffering it will create. And there’s an opportunity for this time to turbocharge the change into a new paradigm.” 

“Every single drop that we put in the bucket of mindfulness increases our zone of freedom and our capacity to notice difficult feelings arising in our body and mind. Then, when anxiety is coming up, we’re going to see it coming. You get to see it because you’ve put energy in, maybe five, 10 minutes every day. You paid attention to your steps on the way to work. You made that commitment and you’ve invested. And when you do that, in the difficult moments, you have that little bit of extra time and extra freedom, and you notice that energy coming up; you see it coming and you can go, ‘I see you.’ That’s mindfulness.”

“Dare to feel.”

“What’s interesting is to learn that we have resources, we have ways to meet those difficult feelings, and to transform them, and to not be alone with them. And that’s the power of our community: that we can be in that process of holding, of embracing the pain and the fear, and that we can do it together.” 

“That is enlightenment: to be free from all attachment; we’re not striving for happiness, but we enjoy the path because the path is happiness. We have this notion that we have to accomplish to receive happiness, to arrive at success. But then, [by doing that] we bypass all of these beautiful present moments.” 

“Thay gave a speech to MPs and members of the House of Lords. And one member of the House of Lords said, ‘Well, Thay, the UK political system is, by nature, conflictual. We sit opposite each other, we argue against each other. We’re always trying to point out what’s wrong with each other. What do you think of that?’ And Thay looked at him and after what seemed like an age, he just asked, ‘Does it make you happy?’ That was a really profound moment because it was so far outside the normal conversation. And it feels like, increasingly, we need to be outside of the normal conversation.”

“One of the things that may contribute to a burnout is starting to feel negativity all the time, that kind of blaming. It may actually be true that other people are not doing enough. But the point is that we have to keep our sovereignty. We have to keep our peace, our freedom, and know when we’re being colonized by that energy of judgment and hatred; we have to know how to handle that.”

“Be brave to feel your feelings. Be brave to see what your mind is producing. Once you do, you see the roots of it. And this is the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: to only change and have transformation as you come to the root of it. So then you start to look at how you live your life: ‘What is it that I’m doing that nourishes this view?’ And if you see the root of it, then you see a way out of it. But seeing is not enough. Then, you have to walk the path; you have to change your way of living. And for me, this is where real transformation happens.”

“In the dharma, we always say, ‘Peace in oneself, peace in the world.’ Which means that, to achieve transformation outside of ourselves, we need to start with ourselves.” 

“Many people have asked me, ‘After Thay passes, who’s the next Thich Nhat Hanh?’ I say, ‘Nobody.’ Thay has told us very clearly that the continuation of Thay is the community. So each and every one of us will be his continuation. Each and every one of us will share that responsibility; that’s the power of community.”

“Learn to go as a river; be a drop of water in the river. Don’t be that drop of oil which doesn’t penetrate into it.”

“My inbreath, the outbreath of the trees. My outbreath, the inbreath of the trees.”

Welcome to episode fifteen 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 episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, talk about the art of community living, and take a closer look at the Plum Village community’s four decades of existence.

The conversation touches upon key friendships – like that between Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh; ‘the beloved community’; collective energy; the spirit of togetherness; sustaining a community; deep listening; the importance of the sangha (a community of practitioners) for individuals’ practice of mindfulness. And: can two people form a community?

As abbot of Upper Hamlet and former attendant to Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Phap Huu shares inspiring inside stories from the Plum Village community, including unexpected turns of events; the impact on the community of practitioners of Thay’s withdrawal from public life; the secrets to a resilient and harmonious community; sharing opinions versus voting. What is it like to lead a community as a young abbot or abbess? And can you guess Thay’s true ‘masterpiece’?

Jo muses on the importance of vulnerability and of a conscious community; dharma sharing; and how sanghas he joined in different countries impacted his own practice.

The episode ends with a short meditation on community and friendship, 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 

Loving Speech & Deep Listening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDJBKEOe7Pg 

Bhikkhu/bhikshu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikkhu

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

International Sangha Directory
https://plumvillage.org/about/international-sangha-directory/ 

Martin Luther King Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr. 

Dharma sharing
https://plumvillage.org/extended-mindfulness-practises/ 

Vesak Day
https://plumvillage.org/articles/vesak-day-2021/

Dharma Talks: ‘Beloved Community’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/beloved-community/ 

Brothers in the Beloved Community
https://www.parallax.org/product/brothers-in-the-beloved-community/

Letter from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967
https://plumvillage.org/letter-from-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nominating-thich-nhat-hanh-for-the-nobel-peace-prize-in-1967/

“Man is not our enemy”
https://plumvillage.org/articles/blog/poems-of-thay/alone-again-song-recommendation-thays-poetry/ 

Quotes

“Community living is complex, difficult, and needs a lot of openness, deep listening, and negotiation.”

“In the Buddhist language, there’s a teaching on letting go. So we have to really learn to let go of our own ideas of what happiness is, what success is, and to see that our individual happiness is not an individual matter, but that happiness is actually a collective matter. Like, when I’m happy, I think you’ll be happy. And when you suffer, I will also suffer. Maybe not directly, but I can feel it from you. I can also find a way to support you, though. And so, community living is a practice in itself.”

“Our spirit is that everyone shares their opinion and we sit in a circle. So whenever we share an opinion, it’s not about ‘me’; we’re sharing it for the collective community.”

“When Thay says, ‘We don’t need one Buddha, we need many Buddhas’, that is the heart of what is now known as distributed leadership. The world is very complex, so you cannot have one leader who knows everything. What you need to do is give people in each area the responsibility and the accountability that goes with it, rather than having one person at the top of the pyramid. And Plum Village has been doing that for 40 years now.” 

“Thay said, ‘We’re all allowed to suffer. Suffering is a noble truth that is taught in Buddhism, it’s a gem that the Buddha gave to us to have insight. But our responsibility is also to practice with our suffering.’ So, I can suffer, but I’m not just going to go and vent everywhere about it and complain; that’s not the spirit. We all suffer, we all have difficulties, but our practice is to acknowledge it, take care of it, embrace it, and find ways to transform it. And that is very key in our community.”

“We often complain that if we’re to avoid climate change or to deal with social injustice, we are reliant on our leaders to change everything. Yes, of course we need leaders to change things, of course we need policy, of course we need people to change – but, actually, we need to change too. And if everyone takes responsibility for their own contribution, then the world will start to change.”

“Everyone, especially men, we hear a problem and want to solve it. But often people don’t need it to be solved. They need it to be shared, and so it is called dharma sharing for that very reason.”

“In a group setting, each person who shares will at some point share an aspect of themselves – because the whole purpose of Thay’s teaching is about interbeing, that I’m not by myself alone. If you’re suffering but I’m quite happy, it doesn’t mean I have to take on your suffering. But it does mean that, at some level, I recognize your suffering and feel for you in the same way as if I was experiencing it myself.”

“When we want to walk the path that offers us strength, compassion, love, understanding, it’s much easier to do so with friends around you that support it. We call that conditions. And that’s why we say that in spirituality it is so important to have friends. It’s like eating rice with soup. Sometimes the rice can be so dry – but soup helps you swallow. So sometimes friendships are like that sweet, gentle support, that soup that helps you slide through the difficulties more easily.” 

Welcome to episode fourteen 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest, Zen Buddhist nun Sister Jina (Sister Chân Diệu Nghiêm). A former abbess of Lower Hamlet in Plum Village, since 1990, Sister Jina has been one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s first European monastic disciples. 

Together, these three delve into what it means to arrive home in our bodies, in the present moment. And what is the present moment?

Sister Jina talks about her path to meditation – from yoga teacher in County Wexford, Ireland, to Plum Village, France, via Hokyoji Temple in Japan; her new book of poetry, Moments of Joy (“Instamatic photographs of my daily life but in words”); and her thoughts on meditation after more than 30 years’ practice.

She also shares further wisdom on Buddhist psychology; self-acceptance and self-healing; the importance of sangha; store consciousness (both individual and collective); the benefits on daily life of practicing meditation; guidance on the spiritual path; gladdening the mind and focusing on what’s right in the world. You’ll also find out how walking meditations can sometimes alleviate migraines. 

Brother Phap Huu recollects moments of joy, wisdom, and support from the former abbess, while Jo tells of an unexpected encounter with a real estate agent.

Informed by memories of how others touch our lives, gratitude runs through the whole conversation. By the way, what are you grateful for today?

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 

Sōtō
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%8Dt%C5%8D

Dōgen Zenji
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen

Eihei-ji temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eihei-ji

D.T. Suzuki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._T._Suzuki

The Mindfulness Bell
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell// 

Ayya Khema
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayya_Khema 

Wabi-sabi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

‘Discourse on the Dharma Seal’
https://plumvillage.org/sutra/discourse-on-the-dharma-seal/

Moments of Joy
https://www.parallax.org/product/moments-of-joy/

Quotes

“I have come to the right place in the right way, aware of every step I take.”

“It’s who we are, individually and collectively, that changes the world.” 

“The journey is the goal. It’s walking the path, it’s practicing. And to arrive in every step, every moment. It’s not, ‘I’m going to run because I want to get straight to enlightenment.’ That’s not how to get to enlightenment. In fact, enlightenment, if I’ve understood correctly, is in the present moment: to arrive in every step, to be fully present in every step, to live fully every moment.”

“This present moment holds the past and the future.”

“The present moment is the only moment we have. And if we realize that, we will live our lives differently.” 

“Nowadays you hear a lot about self-compassion; I think that it’s a door that leads to full self-acceptance and to arriving home. The oneness of body and mind. My body is the home of my mind.”

“People tend to look for the problems in life, rather than looking at what’s right.”

“What goes into the mind, comes out of the mind.” 

“We’re not headings, we are beings.”

“[Plum Village in 1990] looked like a very welcoming place. It had a meditation hall, a dining hall, and there were teachings. So, for me, that’s the monastery, that’s what makes a monastery. You have teachings, you have clothing, food, and a roof over your head – what else do you want?”

“I made a distinction between what I called passive thinking – thoughts just passing by – and active thinking: engaging with the thought that passed through my mind and caused pain.”

“If a tree dies in a garden or a forest, the mistake is to give all your attention to that one tree, when actually it’s really important to look at all the other trees that are still healthy and vibrant.”

“I think home is that sense of collecting all the fragments of our life back together.”

“My experience is gratitude, and gratitude is definitely one way to gladden the mind. So look at what is right in our lives. Even if a lot of things go wrong, look for what is still right, and I’m sure we will find something. And then allow what is right to gladden our mind.” 

“Let’s say store consciousness is like the Earth, which contains all the seeds. And the seeds that you water will grow into plants. But when they grow into plants and flower, they become mental formations. And you have positive mental formations, not-so-positive mental formations, and neutral mental formations. So I practice, ‘What do I consume? What seeds do I water? What plants am I growing? What is my garden of the mind looking like?’” 

Welcome to episode thirteen 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino talk about sensual pleasures, temptations, and what the Buddha had to say about these topics, 2,600 ago. They further ponder how to come back to our true selves rather than looking outside of ourselves for happiness and indulging in fame, sex, and power. And is it true that what you put in your head manifests in your daily life?  

Brother Phap Huu reads relevant gathas from Discourse on Youth and Happiness and digs deeper into the four elements of love and the three complexes. He also talks about finding joy and happiness in a simple monastic life (do you know why monastics shave their head?); true connection; the joy of being part of a retreat for thousands of people; witnessing transformation; togetherness; becoming ‘a place of refuge’ for others.

You’ll find tips on recognizing when the ego takes over, how to direct sexual energy into something wholesome, and how to not become a slave to pleasure.  

Jo delves into spotting insecurities; breaking through the myths we create about others; letting go of inferiority and superiority complexes; humility and trust.

You’ll get some journalistic tips for editing your own life. And talking of life, if you were a sunflower in a field, which one would you be?

The episode ends with a 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

Discourse on Youth and Happiness
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-youth-and-happiness/ 

‘Creating Gathas’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/creating-gathas-mindfulness-at-play/ 

World Economic Forum (Davos)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum 

Dr. Seuss
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss   

Sutras
https://plumvillage.org/genre/sutras/ 

Quotes

“When we become a monk or a nun and we enter into a spiritual commitment, we are learning to let go of something, learning to put a stop to our habits, a stop to our desire. So when we shave our heads and commit ourselves to this life, it is also a sign of determination that I am ready to cut off all my friction, cut off all my desire and learn to live deeply in the present moment and be free from it.” 

“To learn to recognize suffering, sometimes we have to learn to recognize our habit of running after pleasure.”

“The Buddha teaches me that I am not chasing something in the future. I am learning to live deeply in the present moment because the desire that we run after can offer just a little sweetness, but much bitterness later on.”

“When we run after pleasure, we are losing ourselves.”

“For most of us, the truth is that we don’t know ourselves and we don’t spend the time to come back to ourselves. So we get caught in this pattern of chasing after things we think will make us happy. But ultimately, we always know that you can’t find happiness outside of yourself. That’s why this podcast is called The Way Out Is In, because it’s only by coming back to ourselves and understanding who we truly are that we can be happy.”

“So much in life is a creation of our mind, and if we pierce it, we find truth. And I would much rather get to know someone more deeply than to have a fantasy about them.” 

“The way you navigate in today’s world is not only internally, but you also have to take care of your connections, your environment, and the people around you, because they are also influences. They can also give some hooks unmindfully through conversations or even ideas and views.”

“The whole purpose of Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy, is to find true happiness.”

“Most of Western society now is built on bypassing our suffering, thinking that happiness is to avoid suffering, not to go through our suffering. Because the truth is that it’s by going into our suffering that we find our way through.” 

“We have to heal this idea of what love is.”

“Ending desire, overcoming the three complexes,
Our mind is stilled, we have nothing to long for.
We lay aside all affliction and sorrow,
In this life and in lives to come.”

“If you think you are greater, less than, or equal, you cause dissension. When those three complexes have ended, nothing can agitate your mind.”

“Life continues in so many different ways. And the Buddha, even though he passed away 2,600 years ago, is still present today through his teachings. So each and every one of us, as human beings, we have many ways to continue in this life, even after we are not here.” 

“One of the things within Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness training is to be careful what we consume because the fact is, what we consume is what we become.”

“This is because that is. We all inter-be, we all are flowers of humanity, and each flower is unique in its own way.”

“We’re always growing, we’re always changing, and that is the beauty of us. And if we recognize that we’re always changing and that the way we take care of ourselves in this very moment will shape who we will be tomorrow, then our future is very bright.” 

Welcome to episode twelve 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest, eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.

A scholar of Buddhism, systems theory, and deep ecology, Joanna Macy, PhD, is one of the most respected voices in the movements for peace, justice, and ecology. She interweaves her scholarship with learnings from six decades of activism, has written twelve books, and teaches an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects. 

Together, all three discuss: the relevance of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings to the crises we face today as a species; the energy of simplicity; truth-telling and the power of facing the truth; the grounds for transformation; impermanence; interbeing. 

Joanna recollects what Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and activism have meant to her, and shares a special meeting with him in the early 1980s, during a UN peace conference, when Thay read one of his essential poems in public for the first time. Joanna’s activism, forged during many campaigns, and her practice and study of Theravada Buddhism, shine through in her priceless advice about facing the current social and ecological crisis, grieving for all creation, and finding the power to deal with the heartbreaking present-day reality. She also addresses how grief and joy can coexist in one person, and how to be present for life even in the midst of struggle.

Their conversations will take you from the current “great unravelling” and the “gift of death” to Rilke’s poetry; the magic of love as solution; active hope; the contemporary relevance of the ancient Prophecy of the Shambhala Warriors; the possibility of a “great turning”. And can you guess her aspirations at 92? Could a swing be just the perfect place to discuss the evanescence of life?

Brother Phap Huu shares a lesson in patience from Thay, and adds to the teachings of touching suffering, recognizing and embracing the truth, consumption of consciousness, finding balance, and smiling at life. 

Jo reads a special translation of one of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies, expands upon some of Joanna’s core books and philosophies, and recollects “irreplaceable” advice about overwork.  

The episode ends with a guided meditation by Joanna Macy.

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  

Lotus in a Sea of Fire (1967)
https://plumvillage.org/books/1967-hoa-sen-trong-bien-lua-lotus-in-a-sea-of-fire/

Call Me By My True Names
https://plumvillage.org/books/call-me-by-my-true-names/

Celestial Bodhisattvas
https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/buddhas-and-bodhisattvas-celestial-buddhas-and-bodhisattvas

Rainer Maria Rilke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke 

Duino Elegies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duino_Elegies 

The Tenth Elegy
https://www.tellthestory.co.uk/translatedpoemduino10.html

The Book of Hours
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Hours 

Satipaṭṭhāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana 

World as Lover, World as Self
https://www.parallax.org/product/world-as-lover-world-as-self-a-guide-to-living-fully-in-turbulent-times/

‘The Shambhala Warrior’
https://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=236 

The Shambhala Warrior Prophecy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14dbM93FALE 

Bardo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo 

‘Entering the Bardo’
https://emergencemagazine.org/op_ed/entering-the-bardo/ 

Maitreya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitreya 

Ho Chi Minh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh

Śūnyatā
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9A%C5%ABnyat%C4%81

Svabhava 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svabhava

Kṣitigarbha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E1%B9%A3itigarbha 

Parallax Press
https://www.parallax.org/

Ānāpānasati
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anapanasati 

Satipaṭṭhāna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana

Quotes 

“Do not be afraid of feeling pain for the world. Do not be afraid of the suffering, but take it. That’s what a bodhisattva learns to do, and that makes your heart very big.”

“Life is only difficult for those who pick and choose. You just take it. And that helps you feel whole, and maybe flying with the birds helps you be with the deep levels of hell. But this is life and it’s all given to us and it’s given free.”

“It doesn’t take a poet; all of us can feel that there are times when a shadow passes over our mood and we taste the tears. Taste the tears. They’re salty. It’s the living Earth. We are part of this.” 

“All Rilke says is, ‘Give me the time so I can love the things.’ As if that’s the great commandment. So I want more time to do what I’m made to do. Why else do we have these hearts with more neurons in them than our brains? Why else are we given eyes that can see the beauty of this world and ears that can hear such beautiful poetry? And lungs that can breathe the air. We have to use these things for tasting and loving our world. And if she’s ailing, now is the time to love her more.”

“You are the environment; the environment is not outside of you.”

“We are in a space without a map. With the likelihood of economic collapse and climate catastrophe looming, it feels like we are on shifting ground, where old habits and old scenarios no longer apply. In Tibetan Buddhism, such a space or gap between known worlds is called a bardo. It is frightening. It is also a place of potential transformation. As you enter the bardo, there facing you is the Buddha Akshobhya. His element is Water. He is holding a mirror, for his gift is Mirror Wisdom, reflecting everything just as it is. And the teaching of Akshobhya’s mirror is this: Do not look away. Do not avert your gaze. Do not turn aside. This teaching clearly calls for radical attention and total acceptance.”

“We all have an appointment, and that appointment is with life. And if we can touch that in each moment, our life will become more beautiful when we allow ourselves to arrive at that appointment.”

“Even in despair, we have to enjoy life, because we see life as beautiful; [we see] that planet Earth is still a miracle.”

“We know we are still alive, and because we are alive, anything is possible. So let us take care of the situation in a more calm and mindful way.” 

“Even wholesome things can become a distraction if you make them take the place of your sheer presence to life.” 

“Maybe this really will be the last chapter. But I’m here, and how fortunate I am to be here. And I have imagined that it’s so wonderful to be here.”

“Impermanence: the fragrance of our day.”

Welcome to episode eleven 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest novice Zen Buddhist nun Sister Hien Tam of the New Hamlet in Plum Village. This time, they explore monastic life: why do people want to become monastics? What happens between aspiring to be a monastic and actually becoming one? And what’s it like to live in a monastery? 

The two monastics talk about: their own journeys; engaging in society as nuns and monks; the secret to a long-lived community like Plum Village (40 years old next year!); individualism; transformation; conflict; practices that support the community. 

Sister Hien Tam tells the story of her pre-monastic life as a busy, restless, consumerist TV writer in Korea, and the unplanned visit to Plum Village which led to her becoming an aspirant and then a nun in less than three years. She candidly shares about saying goodbye to “external expressions”; her family’s reaction; ditching her “fancy”, colourful clothes for the brown robe; following clear guidelines; sharing a room with many sisters after having lived her life alone; dealing with habit energies; inner beauty; the “Buddha company”.

In addition, Brother Phap Huu discusses moderation; aspirations; inferiority complexes; loving clothes as a monk; learning to live a simpler and happy life; growing up in a monastic community; the practices of Shining Light and Beginning Anew; observing and training new aspirants; community work days.

Jo shares his own formula for a ‘mini’ Shining Light in individual relationships, and having to face his own suffering when the distractions of the outside world fade away.

Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation on generating peace.

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 

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/

‘Becoming a Monastic’
https://plumvillage.org/about/becoming-a-monastic/ 

Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication
https://plumvillage.org/books/beginning-anew/ 

How To: ‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/ 

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta

‘Slow Down, Rest, and Heal: The Spirit of the Rains Retreat’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/slow-down-rest-and-heal-the-spirit-of-the-rains-retreat/ 

Sangha
https://plumvillage.org/about/international-sangha-directory/ 

‘Deciding to Become a Monastic in Plum Village’
https://wkup.org/become-monastic-plum-village/ 

‘Life as Monastic Aspirants in Plum Village’
https://wkup.org/monastic-aspirants-plum-village/

Quotes

“Be beautiful, be yourself.”

“Everyone needs a spiritual dimension in their daily life to help them maintain their balance. And within ourselves, we have this seed. We call it bodhicitta. Everyone has this. It’s called the mind of love or the mind of awakening.” 

“As I became a monk, I learned that that is a way of engagement that we practice – not just to be peaceful and happy for ourself, but that our practice is a way of contributing to society, to those around us.”

“I always remember Thich Nhat Hanh saying that relationships never break up out of the blue, from something major happening. It’s from the very minor drip. He talked about it like a stalagmite or a stalactite in a cave: the small drip of problems which, at the time, are very often not addressed.”

“We share our joy and we share our success. That’s really important because in our time, where individualism is prioritized, growin up, we’re all taught to be successful by ourselves. And now, in a community, we have many talents and many types of leaders. I think a community needs a leader, but we don’t need one leader. We can have many types of leaders and when we offer a retreat, we have people leading dharma sharing, people leading Dharma Talks, people leading walking or even cooking. And for me, that’s leading like a team.”

“The simple life makes me very creative […] I feel I have more energy to take care of my inner beauty.”

“Sometimes the answers are the most obvious ones, but we don’t immediately think of them, we don’t realize that the reason I’m not fully happy is because I’ve stopped and I’m having to face myself. I’m feeling this tension in myself because I’m in Plum Village, not in spite of being in Plum Village. So this idea of how we stop means we have to look at ourselves as if we really stop and take away all the extraneous stuff: cinemas, Netflix, restaurants, and everything. All we’re left with is ourselves, and that’s quite a challenge.” 

“The practice teaches us to see ourselves like a mirror. Everything you do is you. You can’t put that blame on anyone else and you cannot hide away from it.”

“We are all cells of one body, so if I shine a light on you, I am also shining a light on myself.”

“I remember Thich Nhat Hanh would say about couples that you can share the same bed, but if you don’t have the same dream, then actually it can never work out.”

“Thich Nhat Hanh always says that love is understanding. And I think what you’re saying is that, unless we start to more deeply understand each other, then actually you don’t really generate love.”

“Thanks to the practice, we learn about moderation. And when you have one thing that is beautiful and it does what it needs to, you don’t have to search for anything else. And so I apply that to everything, even to happiness or my community. Even though we’re not the best and we have shortcomings, that’s good enough. I don’t need to keep searching or else I’m just going to be going round and round looking for something.”

“Letting go of the extraneous stuff, letting go of things outside and just saying, ‘Actually, I’m good enough as I am and actually I want to be myself.’ I don’t want to be this egoic mask of myself that’s seeking to feel better about myself by proving anything. I can just be truly who I am and be at peace. And it makes life so much more enjoyable, not wanting to grasp things or think that something outside of us is going to make us happy.”

Welcome to episode ten 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest Zen Buddhist nun Sister Sinh Nghiem (Adornment with Liveliness). Together, they look deeply into healing childhood wounds. 

All three further discuss: inner healing, from healing the child within to collective healing and how to face our challenges, traumas and suffering to find a way through;  the possibility of transformation and healing past relationships; the original fear.

Brother Phap Huu expands upon: the importance of understanding the source of inner wounds in order to start healing them; Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on childhood traumas; the Four Noble Truths; his own experience of being bullied as a child and its consequences; understanding and compassion for those we think are responsible for our suffering; apologizing and forgiveness; stopping the cycle of hate.

Sister Sinh Nghiem shares insights about: her journey to becoming a nun, from escaping Vietnam on a boat with her family after the war, to her career as a psychologist, and finding Thay through another teacher in the Theravada tradition; how the practice of mindfulness helped her deal with abuse suffered as a child; healing her inner child after she became a monastic. She also discusses specific spiritual practices that helped her healing process, like reconnecting with the body, and mindful movement.

Jo recollects a workshop by John Bradshaw on healing the inner child and the deep experience of transformation. He further muses on childhood and creative visualization, defense mechanisms, and the importance of understanding the context of our parents’ lives.

Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation on generating love for our own selves.

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 

Plum Village Community
https://plumvillage.org/

The Inner Child (short guided meditation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zauJYihF2fQ 

Stream Entering Monastery
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/stream-entering-monastery/

John Bradshaw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradshaw_(author)

Theravada tradition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada 

Understanding Our Father
https://plumvillage.org/articles/understanding-our-father/ 

The Four Noble Truths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA 

‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing/ 

Qigong
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong 

Tai chi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi 

Engaged Buddhism
https://plumvillage.org/series/engaged-buddhism/    

Quotes

“I’ve always been very impressed with Thich Nhat Hanh because he has integrated the very depths of Buddhist teachings with Western psychology. And he focuses a lot of his teachings on healing our childhood wounds, and that the wounds we receive as children tend to stick with us throughout our lives.”

“In Buddhism, we always practice in order to have liberation – but liberation has to be the liberation of something. Much of the time, as an adult, we want to understand our suffering. And in Buddhism, we have to shine light into the reality of what is happening in the here and now. In meditation and in mindfulness, when you are aware of yourself, you can start to recognize what is causing you pain and what is causing you suffering.”

“When suffering is present, happiness is also there. These opposites go hand in hand. If there is happiness, then we know that suffering is also present – and we have to understand that suffering is not solely negative, because if you truly look deeply into it, you start to understand yourself more.”

“When we meditate on our suffering, we can recognize that it is a continuation of the past. A lot of us experience early suffering as a child. If we didn’t have the chance, as a child, to transform it or to have a breakthrough and be free from it, then that suffering will still be very present with us today.”

“I had all the knowledge and all the wisdom and all the understanding to be able to go and sit with myself as a child and start that healing process.”

“Tai chi and qigong for me are not just about the movement, but about learning to be mindful in my movement.” 

“We may forget about the event itself, the situation, the story, but the body remembers the wound; the body remembers the events that happened.” 

“Even though our practice is to learn to dwell in the present moment and not be carried away by the future or be swept away by the past, in meditation itself we have to also visit the three times. The three times means we have to know how to reflect on the past, no matter how miserable it can be; it can be a lesson, it can be an insight that allows us to stop because we recognize that what has happened to us gave us so much suffering. And if we don’t transform this, we will offer the same suffering to the next person that is close to us.”

“If we don’t let go, then the perpetrator continues to make us suffer; we never break that cycle.” 

“I have learned through Thay’s teaching that, as an adult or as a parent, as an elder brother, as an elder sister, an uncle, an aunt, or a friend, our way of being is a teaching. The way we interact is a transmission in its own right. So my suffering has given me a lot of awareness about how I behave, and that has an immediate impact.” 

“We’re all on that path, we are all hurt, we all suffer; Thich Nhat Hanh talks about this original suffering existing from birth. It’s not that we must have had a traumatic experience growing up, but that, actually, birth itself is a traumatic experience.”

“I realized it’s so important to be able to heal through these very simple things, like being able to reconnect with your body to relax and release the tension in it.” 

“Our teacher emphasizes a lot about brotherhood- and sisterhood-friendship. This is one of his messages to all of us: that we need communities as individuals. Yes, we can recognize our own suffering, but sometimes our own dark corners are too big for us to illuminate. We need friends to help us see the blind spots so that we can step out of our suffering, to recognize and transform it.” 

“This present moment is creating the past. This is one of the keys that helped me become more free in this present moment. If we live it deeply, it will become the new past.”

“When you come here for the practice, you learn to bring the practice into your daily life, so that you become more solid, more stable, and more peaceful, in order to embrace the really difficult stuff – because you need that. If you don’t have a solid foundation of peace and connectedness and groundedness, then when your suffering comes up, you are automatically carried away. You are overwhelmed by the past and are not able to be grounded in the present moment with your breath. And that is a really, really important daily practice, which enables you to heal deeper wounds.”

Welcome to episode nine 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 episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they look deeply at the whole concept of engaged Buddhism, and ways in which Thich Nhat Hanh made ancient teachings relevant to day-to-day questions.

Additionally, they discuss: how Plum Village is shedding the stereotypes about Buddhist monastic life; how to refresh Buddhism through a hands-on approach and engaging teachings in daily life; what it means to not take sides; the roots of evil; reducing suffering through compassionate action; healing; patience. 

Brother Phap Huu digs into: what it means to apply Buddhism in contemporary life; the spiritual dimension of breathing; the importance of communities and practice centers as spiritual refuges; the dynamics of anger coming up; moving from anger to peace in activism. Plus: can you guess the one time it’s best not to do sitting meditation?

Sister True Dedication shares insights about: the early events in Thich Nhat Hanh’s life which led to the inception of the engaged Buddhism movement in war-torn Vietnam; Thay’s peace activism and his exile; Buddhism’s potential to deal with injustice; Plum Village monastery’s engagement with the outside world and what this busy community of monastics has to offer it, through retreats and active engagement in various causes. She also delves into ways of handling strong emotions, deep looking, understanding the roots of our suffering, and the importance of dialogue. And what does compassion look like in a time of crisis? How can we listen to those people in our lives who we least want to listen to?

Jo remembers his first visit to Plum Village, and tea with Thay. He further muses on: how feeling steady and grounded can act as “the tuning fork” of our being; how we can perpetuate mindful living by simply approaching the world mindfully; failure and criticism.

Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation on embracing suffering with compassion.

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 

Engaged Buddhism
https://plumvillage.org/series/engaged-buddhism/ 

Mindfulness, Suffering, and Engaged Buddhism
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/interviews-with-thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanh-on-mindfulness-suffering-and-engaged-buddhism/

The Practice for Engaged Buddhism
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-practice-for-engaged-buddhism/

Please Call Me by My True Names
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-poem/

Israeli Palestinian Retreat
https://plumvillage.org/teachings/israeli-palestinian-retreat/ 

Invoking the Bodhisattva
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/invoking-the-bodhisattva-dharma-talk-by-sister-lang-nghiem-2020-6-21/

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta

Gross National Happiness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_Happiness

Greta Thunberg
https://www.instagram.com/gretathunberg/

Koch brothers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_family

Quotes

“We need to act with the urgency of today and the patience of a thousand years.”

“Thay says that it doesn’t matter if you’re Buddhist, Jewish, or Christian; as long as you’re breathing, you have a spiritual dimension and can practice.”

“I’d describe Plum Village as a beautiful oasis, and an engine of healing, transformation, and training. So we’re really training in practical skills that we can later take back into life outside the monastery.” 

“The most effective tool in my toolbox is to turn up mindfully, because it gives others the chance to also come home.” 

“[Thay] said, when we hear the bombs falling all around us, how can we sit there and do nothing, or sit there and just chant? It’s not enough. Our compassion has to reveal itself.”

“In multiple talks, Thay says that everyone needs a spiritual dimension in order to cope with what’s happening in the world, or to themselves. We may have that aspiration, but we need companions to support us. That’s where a community comes in and can be an example, can lead, and can also be a companion.”

“When Thay was exposed to peace activists and events and retreats and conversations and dialogue, his realization was that there’s a lot of anger in the peace movement. This became the kernel of Thay’s development of real practices of peace, so that, as an individual peace activist, we have a way to calm our body, to calm our emotions, to keep our mind clear, and to be truly nonviolent in body and mind.”

“You could send all the bombs to the moon, but you would still have the roots of war in people’s hearts and minds. It’s not about destroying all the nuclear warheads; it’s about destroying the nuclear warheads that are there because we hate each other, because we resent each other, because we can’t handle the other side politically, because we can’t handle people who have betrayed us. So for Thay, then, the challenge became this much deeper, human one: of creating environments where we can heal, transform, and look deeply, and make use of Buddhist teachings.”

“Our practice is to understand the roots of our suffering.”

“A bigger impact is what we carry from thought into our daily action, whether by words or by deed.”

“Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance, fear, and despair that is the root of all of this negative action.”

“When we say that, in our tradition, we do our best to not take sides, we don’t deny that people are doing what we would call wrong action or wrong speech, or perpetrating injustice against others and creating harm. What it means is that we position ourselves a little differently, and want to avoid placing blame and the aggressive stance of labeling someone a perpetrator. Because, with our way of looking at things, the perpetrator is themselves also a victim, of their wrong view, and of the wrong way of seeing the world, which is leading to this hate speech or hateful action.”

“Man is not the enemy. The enemy is wrong views. And, according to Buddhist teaching, the way to liberate ourselves from wrong views is with deep looking, and with listening, and reexamining what’s going on. And for that, we need a huge amount of compassion and collective energy, which monastics can help to bring.” 

“When you’re angry, you are not very clear, you are not very present, and you won’t really see what to do and what not to do. Because, at that moment of energy erupting inside of you, the natural tendency is to act, to punish. Anger goes with punishment; they are very linked. And often we will want to retaliate, to make the ones who made us suffer, suffer themselves. But in Buddhism, we want to break free from that; we see that they make us suffer because, actually, they suffer.”

“Taking time to see the hurt that precedes the hatred and the anger, and to give that hurt the witness, the embracing, the holding, and ultimately the healing by bringing it out to the light and saying, actually, it is this hurt that we need to take care of. That work takes time. It’s not the work of one or two days; in Plum Village, those retreats would be at least two weeks long. Fourteen days of breathing, of living simply, of mindful walking, mindful eating, quiet time, sitting and breathing and meditation, as well as the support of a whole community.” 

“We cannot possibly build a future unless we’re able to talk to each other, unless we’re able to dialogue across the divide, unless we’re able to respect each other’s differences and different needs.”

“When we’re angry at someone, we’re always angry at ourselves. When we see someone else being wrong, we’re always, to some extent, thinking that we’re wrong.” 

“There’s enough suffering already, we don’t have to contribute more.” 

Welcome to episode eight 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 episode, on the eve of Thich Nhat Hanh’s 95th birthday (or continuation day), presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino take a walk down memory lane, remembering behind-the-scenes stories about Thay (Vietnamese for “teacher”): the humble monk, rather than his well-known public persona as spiritual teacher.

They do so in Sitting Still Hut in Upper Hamlet, Thay’s residence during his years in Plum Village. By taking a tour of the hut, they trace the teacher’s daily routine and linger over the minimal but essential objects in his life. With fine strokes, the conversation portrays Thay the gardener and community builder, his (compassionate) fierceness, his incredible memory, and his ability to turn complex teachings into simple, accessible ones. 

Through many memories, Jo and Phap Huu muse about minimalism, sharing, consumerism, simplicity, the beginner’s mind, being grounded, nourishing humility and humbleness, the power of smiles, and some of Thay’s major teachings and legacies.

Befittingly, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation.

Happy continuation day, dear Thay!

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 

A Precious Gift for Thich Nhat Hanh’s 95th Continuation Day: Deep Listening for Mother Earth
https://plumvillage.org/articles/giftforthay/

The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend/

Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames
https://www.parallax.org/product/anger/

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/

Dalai Lama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

Joan Miró
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Mir%C3%B3

Beginner’s mind (shoshin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin

Plum Village Practice Centers
https://plumvillage.org/monastic-practice-centres/

Plum Village Hamlets
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/visiting-us/hamlet/

Deer Park Monastery
https://deerparkmonastery.org/

Quotes

“Simplicity and nothing extra: everything in the hut is something that he uses and has a meaning.” 

“Humility comes through action; not through what you say, but through how you live.”

“Meditation is the capacity to really be in the present moment to connect to oneself and to others.”

“In Buddhism, we have to learn to identify the simple joys in our life and our simple happiness. We may think that happiness is something very far away, something that we have to work hard to achieve. But if you touch the present moment and are really in touch with what you have right here, right now, are you sure that those conditions aren’t enough for you to be happy?”

“Thay made the teachings so simple just by the way he walked, by the way he was there with us.”

“Thay’s way of renewing Buddhism is to make the teachings of the Buddha and the teachings of mindfulness part of everyday life. And it’s not something that you seek for 10 or 20 years of practice, then say, ‘I got it’; you can say ‘I got it’ in this very moment.” 

“It’s only when you go very deep into something that you can make it simple.”

“In our daily life, it is okay to make mistakes. But to continue, to move forward, we have to stand up and we have to clean up our mistakes.”

“Thay often talks about the fact that the Buddha was not a god, but a human being. And I think, by teaching that, he’s saying that anyone can be like the Buddha. The Buddha wasn’t a god, so everyone has the opportunity to transform. But also, everyone has his weaknesses; Thay talks a lot about the fact that, when he was enlightened, the Buddha didn’t just stay enlightened: he needed to continue his practice and keep on working on his stuff.”

“Having a garden helps you connect to reality in the present moment, but you can’t rush the process.”

“There is something about who Thay is, deeply: he’s completely present, but also invisible. Because he’s made himself invisible, but the teachings are full, they speak for themselves. A teacher often thinks they own their teachings, so they think that they are an important person. Whereas Thay always faded into the background, but his teachings were very alive.”

“As a human being, Thay was able to cultivate the practice and remain true to his aspiration, his ethics, and his direction.”

“The spiritual dimension is not far away: it is within your own breath, within your capacity for connecting to the present moment. This is something that Thay has said on multiple occasions: that you don’t have to be Buddhist to practice meditation, because as long as we’re breathing, we all have the chance to practice.”

“My actions are the ground upon which I stand. We all will leave a mark, a legacy on our planet. Know that what we think, what we say, and what we do all have an impact. So allow yourself to be mindful of your actions in daily life. Be mindful of what you say, as it has a profound effect. And be mindful and take care of the thoughts that are generated throughout the day; they all are impacts that we leave behind.”

Welcome to episode seven 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 episode, hosts Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino were recorded in Thich Nhat Hanh’s former residence in Plum Village, the ‘Sitting Still Hut’. 

Here, they talk about the yearly Rains Retreat – a 90-day retreat started by the Buddha – including the aspirations and other key concepts at the core of this gathering of practitioners. Brother Phap Huu explains in detail the origins of this ancient tradition, and how it unfolds in Plum Village, including some special insights from this year’s retreat.

Both then share their own aspirations, and discuss taking refuge in the sangha, the need to slow down, stillness, getting support from the community for our aspirations, and that even zen masters need constant reminders to practice. (Did Thay need help from the sangha? And is Phap Huu as busy as the others think?)

The conversation touches upon our (and their) relationship with ‘stuff’; a free yard sale in the monastery; how to know when we have enough; and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s jackets, and how he relates to his few material possessions.

Jo opens up about his youth and the burden of collective pain; letting go of possessions; and getting some of his best creative ideas while sitting still on a train.

You’ll also find out where the yellow-orange in our podcast’s logo comes from. And autumnal fruit trees make a cameo appearance.

Finally, Brother Phap Huu shares daily tips for beginners’ practice, and ends the episode with a guided meditation to find calm and solidity.

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 

Alms Round – The Practice of Love, Humility, and Gratitude
https://plumvillage.org/articles/alms-round-the-practice-of-love-humility-and-gratitude/ 

‘Breathing In, Breathing Out’
https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/breathing-in-breathing-out/

The Faces of Manas Revealed
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/live-dharma-talk-by-sister-tue-nghiem-2020-11-29-plum-village/ 

The Green Mile 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Mile_(film)

Monastic robes
https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/monastic-fashion/

Monkey mind
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_mind

Rains Retreat 2021
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2021-gems-of-the-plum-village-tradition/

Rains Retreat Opening Ceremony
https://plumvillage.org/articles/rains-retreat-opening-ceremony-2021/ 

The Spirit of the Rain’s Retreat
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-spirit-of-a-rains-retreat/

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/

Store consciousness
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/interbeing-and-store-consciousness/

Sutra
https://plumvillage.org/sutra/ 

Theravada tradition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theravada

Quotes

“The Rains Retreat carries the spirit of being still; not running from suffering or chasing after an idea of happiness. This is an opportunity to return home to oneself, to take refuge in our spiritual family, to enrich and deepen our dharma body with our mindfulness practice, and to continue our teacher’s legacy in our sangha body.”

“Even though we devote ourselves to a monastic life and the practice of transformation for ourselves and our spiritual growth, it’s still very important to be connected to everyone in the world.”

“Walk just to walk, and do it with ease.”

“When we stop is the only time we’re able to face ourselves.”

“When we are still, our internal aspirations, voices, and perceptions have a chance to really reveal themselves. Then, we have the clarity to look at them with the eye of a practitioner, in order to take care of them.”

“This stillness that we cultivate is not only for our aspiration, our internal stories, or our internal reflection; it is also very important in the present moment, where we need rest or healing. We are so busy. We are not aware of our body. We’re not aware of our posture. We’re not aware of where there is stiffness, of where there’s stress. So learning to be still is an art for healing. And this is very important. To have total relaxation is one of the core teachings in the Plum Village tradition.”

“Stop, rest, and heal.” 

“In modern Western society, we don’t trust natural processes. We think we need to intervene in some way. But, actually, sometimes the art of simply stopping, of resting, creates the healing.”

“Through the stories, the history, and the sutras that we read, we see that even the Buddha, after enlightenment, continued to keep his practice alive – because the practice is a living energy that you have to maintain.”

“That evening, the meeting ran late and I went straight home. I was sitting on the train – no computer, no phone, no book, no bag; just me. And I had one of my best creative ideas in years, which manifested into a whole new section of The Guardian. If I’d had my phone, my computer, or a book, I would have filled that time. But because I couldn’t, I just had to stop. And what I realized in that moment was that, when we stop, we allow more than just our mind to take place. Some people call it grace – well, there are all sorts of names, but it exists in those moments.”