Drawing on the story of a Zen student asking his teacher for his most advanced teaching, Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh shares his own experiences on how to take care of sadness, anger, loss, injustice, and how to transform the seeds of suffering we have inherited from past generations. Using examples and often humorous stories, this classic talk offers concrete practices and contains the teachings found in his best-selling books Transformation and Healing, Anger, and Interbeing.
Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who then lived in southwest France where he was in exile for many years. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. He was often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.
Not my favorite of Thich Nhat Hanh’s but still a good audiobook available in Scribd (on 1.8x speeeeeed lol). I love how he’s consistent in his concept of hope—it breaks our focus on the present moment. I also liked the emphasis on ‘suchness,’ but I found my attention drifting from time-to-time and I was often yawning that I had to rewind some parts 🥱
This book is amazing in its simplicity it leads you to wonderful places where your soul rejoices and thrives. Most metaphors were about nature, flowers, plants, compost, rivers, clouds. Listening to this gem while gardening was the non plus ultra!!! My last book of the year, perfect to close a very quiet yet wonderful year, 2019. Grateful.
if we lose hope, we lose the connection to the now
to practice meditation is to practice mindful awareness of the moment
when we practice mindful breathing, we recover ourselves, the reality of the experience as it is in the moment, the actual now
most of our thinking is useless
taking refuge in the present moment = living mindfully = meditation in practice, in action - being in touch with the elements that bring matter into being, into the present moment
This is really a recording of a dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh given in 1989. It was wonderful to hear his teaching from such a long time ago. He really hits on so many worthwhile areas but I really appreciated his view on anger and how to take care of it instead of expressing it.
A great little audio if you can find it on Hoopla of a live lecture from Thich Nhat Hanh, the great Buddist contemplative teacher who died a few years ago.
It's hard for me to take Buddhist "wisdom" seriously but I sincerely tried to listen to this audio book with an open mind. I just cannot get past the intellectual arrogance of the speaker and the obvious contradictions in his own words. Anything true the Thich Nhat Hanh said was merely coincidence and was subsequently negated by a corresponding contradiction.