Thich Nhat Hanh Dharma Talks

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1. Live Happily in the Present Moment

   7 februari 2021 · 11 min

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   This 59-minute talk was given on May 13, 2004 in New Hamlet, Plum Village, France. The talk was given between retreats to the monastic community and a small number of lay residents and guests. Lees meer

   Thank you to Chân Phúc H?i for writing the summary and providing a time-stamped transcript.

   Thay begins this talk with a description of the concept of Apranihita or aimlessness. Our tendency is to be constantly running, constantly searching. We need to stop and reestablish ourselves in the here and now.

   Walking meditation is a wonderful way to learn how to stop. Can we walk with freedom and happiness?

   The Buddha said it was possible to live happily in the here and now. In the sutra given to the White Clad People (Upasaka Sutra) “live happily in the here and now” occurs five times.

   The first time our planet was seen from space we were made aware of what a beautiful and precious place the Earth is. The Earth is the bastion of life. It is a real paradise. The pure land is right here.

   What are you searching for? Are you looking for love, for freedom, for understanding? We need to get in touch with the wonders of life. Our practice is to get in touch. Mindfulness is a very concrete way to go home to the here and now.

   Having a sangha is of great benefit. In a sangha we remind each other that it is fortunate to be alive. If we know how to stop running, how to take care of ourselves, how to water seeds of happiness every day, we can transform our suffering. Doing this together is wonderful.

   Thay tells a story about visiting a prison. Even in prison a person can be free. And even outside of prison a person can be a prisoner of anger, despair, and hate.

   Freedom is freedom from fear, from anger, from forgetfulness. And our practice is the practice of freedom. Our practice is the practice of awakening.

   The twenty-four brand new hours given to us every morning are a precious gift. The day when we lay down to die we cannot bargain for another day. Today is available, and if we ar…

2. How do we Practice as a Sangha

   21 januari 2021 · 1 uur 17 min

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   2000-06-03 (77-minutes) – It’s been a long while since posting a dharma talk for you all, and for that I apologize. Today for our Day of Mindfulness at Deer Park Monastery, we heard this talk from June 3, 2000 at New Hamlet, Plum Village. The talk is part of the 21-Day Retreat that year with the theme of Eyes of the Buddha. Lees meer

   For this talk, we take a deep dive into what it means to be sangha. Some of what Thay shares is for the monastic sangha, but can be equally applied to a lay community. Right out front, Thay says the very minimum number for a sangha is four people. He then proceeds to outline the steps for the Sanghakarman Procedure.

   From this presentation, the rest of the talk focuses on the Six Togethernesses. A real sangha must practice all six.

   Body. Being physically present in one place.

   Mindfulness Trainings

   Sharing. Dharma discussion. Nonverbal action. Presence. (View, insight, understanding, wisdom)

   Speech. Loving speech. Calm and gentle.

   Material resources are shared equally

   Happy and joyful. Synthesis of all ideas.

   Toward the end, Thay explains the difference between the core sangha and the extended sangha.

   I hope you enjoy the talk.

3. Making Peace with Ourselves

   6 juli 2020 · 1 uur 56 min

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   The date is November 25, 2001 at Plum Village, Upper Hamlet. This is the first talk of the 3-month winter retreat. The talk is offered in English. Lees meer

   00:00 Connecting with Green Mountain Dharma Center and Deer Park Monastery
   09:10 Chanting
   34:12 Going Home to Ourselves
   41:08 Drinking our Tea
   43:22 Mindfulness of our Body
   46:04 Body
   52:50 Feelings
   56:26 Perceptions
   1:01:38 Mental Formations
   1:05:14 Consciousness
   1:06:01 Reclaiming Our Sovereignty
   1:14:01 The Sangha
   1:17:58 The Energy of Mindfulness
   1:24:55 Healing from Within
   1:29:04 Looking Deeply
   1:37:53 Building a Sangha

   What is the 3-month retreat? How do we practice together? Our practice is to build brotherhood. How do we know if we are succeeding in our practice? To practice to be happy together. It is a kind of daily food. Through our sitting mediation, walking meditation, eating in mindfulness. These help build our sisterhood and brotherhood. This is done by building peace within ourselves so it can manifest around us.

   The Energy of Mindfulness

   Buddhist meditation has a universal value. The energy of mindfulness help us to there, to be fully present in every moment of our daily life. To be there for us. Our body, our feelings, our perceptions – they are all there, but are we taking care of them? Our practice is to go home to ourselves and tend to our feelings, perceptions, and our body. Our tendency is to run away from ourselves.

   Drinking our tea. Are we fully present to drink our tea? Or are you drinking like a machine? Mindfulness of drinking. Everyone can do that. If we are not careful, we may follow our habit. Mindfulness is the energy to be there for what is going on. Through breathing, walking, eating, etc.

   Mindfulness is the kind of energy that helps you to be fully there. This is the first action for peace. Have you abandoned yourself? Mindfulness can help you come back to yourself. We start with our body. Your breath is part of your body. When you breathe in, bring your mind back. Mindful breath…

4. Happiness is Right Here

   17 april 2020 · 44 min

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   A 43-minute segment on the third door of liberation – aimlessness. The talk takes place on August 17, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness and this is part four of a four-part series. Lees meer

   Aimlessness

   You don’t put something in front of you and run after. It is a wonderful practice. It can bring you peace. We have the habit of running after something. Fame. Profit. Wealth. Even enlightenment. People imagine that monastics are running after enlightenment. But that is not the practice.

   If you have received the Five Mindfulness Trainings, you belong to the lineage of Linji. His teaching is very strong on this aspect of running. Don’t run after what you already are. Stop running. Happiness is right here. In this very moment. Just one step. Peace. Joy. Healing. Enlightenment. Are all in the present moment. This is the teaching of aimlessness.

   Are you enlightened already? But how can we make plans for the future? The answer lies in the teaching of aimlessness.

   Enlightenment is not something you strive for. The moment you are aware you are breathing in, that is a moment of enlightenment. We also practice to be aware of the present moment. We don’t live in a dream anymore. There is no way to enlightenment. Enlightenment is the way.

   To be there for each other. At the breakfast table. There are things we can do so that mindfulness is there. If we organize well, breakfast can be a celebration of life.

   So, let us take care of the present moment. The future is contained in the present moment. And let us not lose ourselves in regret about the past.

   Nirvana

   In the Buddhist tradition they speak of nirvana. Nirvana is the absence of notions. Notions like birth and death. Nirvana is not a place or space located in time. We have a notion of time. That we have birth and death.

   We hear the story of the flame.

   Pairs of opposites.

   Birth and death

   Being and nonbeing

   Coming and going

   Samen…

5. Falling in Love with a Cloud

   15 april 2020 · 14 min

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   A 13-minute segment on the second door of liberation – signlessness. The talk takes place on August 17, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness and this is part three of a four-part series. Lees meer

   Signlessness

   The second door of liberation. Sign here is the appearance. When we look deeply we have to see the nature of signlessness. The seed of corn has an appearance, we see it as a seed of corn. But when it grows, it no longer appears as a seed of corn. But the seed of corn is still there; it’s only changed how it appears.

   Say you fall in love with a cloud. Thay helps us smile by recognizing our beloved cloud. It has not died. A cloud never dies. This too has been confirmed by scientists.

   Piece of paper. Can you establish the birthdate of this sheet of paper? Was it at the paper mill? But the paper hasn’t come from nothing. Even if we burn the sheet of paper, it will continue. Being and non-being are just ideas. They do not apply to reality. These are conventional designations.

   More examples. A drop of water falls from the sky. What happens? Does it become nothing? Before you were born. Were you there? Did you exist before the moment of conception? It is all a continuation. The same applies to “so called” death.

   In the moment of great despair, great anguish, signlessness is there to rescue you.

6. The Raft is not the Shore

   13 april 2020 · 38 min

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   A 38-minute segment on the first door of liberation – emptiness. The talk takes place on August 17, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness and this is part two of a four-part series. Lees meer

   Three Doors of Liberation

   Today we are going to talk about the Three Doors of Liberation. In several discourses reminds us his teachings are only a device to help us liberate ourselves. They are not absolute truth. They are like a raft helping us to the other shore. The raft is not the shore. Make use of the raft. It is also like a finger pointing to the moon. It is not the finger. The finger is only a means to help us see the moon. Don’t be caught by the dharma of the Buddha. We can practice being non-dogmatic.

   The Three Doors of Liberation are like the finger or the raft. These three doors are in all schools of Buddhism. We can use any door to help us get out of suffering. The practice is to have real insight.

   Everything is impermanent. Intellectually we know this. But the notion of impermanence alone will not help us. We need to understand the truth of impermanence. We hear an example of our relationship with a loved one. We need to look deeply to see the true nature of impermanence. The insight will help us to behave wisely. Impermanence makes life possible. It gives us a chance to heal.

   Concentration is to focus your attention on one thing deeply. To see the nature of that thing. It could be your love, you hate, your depression, your fear. To discover the true nature of what is there.

   It can also be the guide offered by the Buddha. To see the true nature of things. This can be liberating.

   The Three Doors of Liberation have also been called the three concentrations.

   Emptiness

   The first door of liberation. Emptiness has to do with our suffering and our happiness. We can get out of our suffering through the door of emptiness. It does not mean non-being. Thay teaches us what emptiness me…

7. The Wisdom of Nondiscrimination

   12 april 2020 · 16 min

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   A 15-minute segment on the Wisdom of Nondiscrimination. The talk takes place on August 17, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness and this is part one of a four-part series. Lees meer

   The Wisdom of Nondiscrimination

   Togetherness is not possible without a kind of wisdom. The wisdom of non-discrimination. The practice of looking deeply helps remove our discrimination.

   Teaching on the umbilical cord. The art of being an expecting mother. Everything you do as a expecting mother, you do for your child. And the father is there to support. Even after the umbilical cord is cut, you are still linked very deeply with your parents. Even if we think are different person as we grow older. This is discrimination. And looking deeply we see are still linked. Non-discrimination.

   Teaching on Thay’s right hand. There is no inferiority and superiority between the two hands. Writing a poem. Hammering a nail. This is the wisdom of non-discrimination. Low self-esteem (inferiority) and high self-esteem (superiority). And even equality. In Buddhism, these three complexes are also a symptom of discrimination. If we have the wisdom of non-discrimination then we will not suffer. We inter-are.

8. Misunderstanding and Fear

   16 maart 2020 · 8 min

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   We continue our series of posts with questions and answers. In this eleventh post, we hear a question on the theme of spiritual leaders being killed. Lees meer

   Jesus, Martin Luther King and Gandhi were all killed and I know that you were exiled from Vietnam. Why do bad things happen to spiritual people?

   The session takes place on August 16, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness.

9. Sexual Abuse at the Family Level

   15 maart 2020 · 14 min

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   We continue our series of posts with questions and answers. In this tenth post, we hear questions on the theme of sexual abuse in families. Lees meer

   Earlier we had a question about transforming suffering from sexual misconduct at a community level. Now we have a question from several people about transforming this at an individual level and the family level. One person shared about being abused as a child and now as an adult, what can I do to help heal this scared little child who feels like the past is the present. Another person shared about sexual abuse in their family and I’m afraid for a new baby’s safety in our family.

   The session takes place on August 16, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness.

10. Working with Judgment and Fear

    12 maart 2020 · 11 min

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    We continue our series of posts with questions and answers. In this ninth post, we hear two questions. Lees meer

    Photo copyright Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism.

    Two years ago I was here extremely depressed and anxious. You said, people feel the storm of the mind when experiencing depression. For now that storm has subsided. I now have fear about losing my mother, and people in my family, and how can I transform this fear?

    Thank you for your light. Often times I struggle with judging, and I think I’m getting better, but when I do judge people I am happy to be proven wrong. The challenge is when I judge other people for being judgmental. How can I overcome this type of judging judging?

    The session takes place on August 16, 2007 during the Stonehill College retreat during the U.S. Tour. The retreat theme is Mindfulness, Fearlessness, and Togetherness.

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