Interfaith Book Group discussion

We will be discussing No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh, to be facilitated by Valerie.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

For this session, we'll be meeting on the Meditation Chapel zoom for the first time.

Interfaith Reading Group – 7/17/25 Discussion Questions for
No Mud No Lotus- The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh

Discussion Questions:

1.) This book is deceptively simple. Thich Nhat Hanh’s prose is spare, short and gentle. He follows Buddhist teachings by laying out the entire premise in a few concepts: a.) Pain and suffering are part of life (the “first arrow”); b.) we cause additional suffering by the ways in which we react to that pain and suffering (the “second arrow”); c.) when we refuse to face and acknowledge pain and suffering we perpetuate it, and d.) it is possible to cultivate happiness right now by choosing to follow a few basic practices. But underlying this book’s seeming simplicity is the reality that each of these practices requires deep commitment, concentration, dedication, self-discipline, stamina and the willingness and courage to let go and be transformed. What are your thoughts and/or experiences around this viewpoint?

2.) The underlying theme that Thich Nhat Hanh returns to over and over again is that there is no such thing as a life without suffering. He states that when we expect to be able to have a life without suffering, we are deluding ourselves (p.11). How do you understand suffering? How would you describe your own expectations for suffering in your life?

3.) Thich Nhat Hanh shares a story where the Buddha encourages a farmer to let go of clinging on to things, and to “release his cows.” Thich Nhat Hanh goes on to say that “A whole country can be caught in a single cow. A nation of hundreds of millions may believe that such-and-such ideology is crucial for the country to become a big power in the world, and that superpower status is essential to the people’s happiness. So they invest everything in that ideology, and insist that it is the best way, the only way” (p. 60). Are there any ‘cows’ that you, personally, need to release? Do you see any collective ‘cows’ that need to be released, perhaps in your home, community, religion, state, country? If so, what might your responsibility be within the collective for helping to release those ‘cows’?

4.) Thich Nhat Hanh says that “The main affliction of our modern civilization is that we don’t know how to handle suffering inside us and try to cover it up with all kinds of consumption” (p.16). He goes on to say that we only wind up feeding our suffering when we run away from it by distracting ourselves with food, talking, texting, gossiping, television, computer games and other addictive behaviors. Are there any painful things in your life that you might be running away from? On reflection, do you believe that you might be engaging in any behaviors that distract you from your pain?

Just a general comment...I want to publicly thank Smith Jackson, Tracy, Valerie Edwards, today's facilitator and all facilitators for their willingness to help this group continue to stay "alive" by migrating to our new platform. I know that you have given your time and attention to many details to make this happen. Thank you for your continued support of our "Interfaith Reading Group."

Many thanks again for your willingness to participate in today's meditation. As requested, here is the text of my meditation overview.

7/17/25 MEDITATION OVERVIEW by Valerie Edwards
Meditation is a practice that helps us discover who we truly are, beyond our body, our emotions, our thoughts and our egos. We have a body, but our highest source of Consciousness and Being is not our body. We have emotions, but we are not our emotions. We have thoughts, but we are not our thoughts. We have an ego, but our highest source of Consciousness and Being is not our ego.

When we are born, we are not equipped to exist as Consciousness and Being: We are embodied beings, and we need a container. The container is our body, which enables us to survive within the physical world. We are built with emotions and instincts that enable us to detect, evaluate, feel, perceive and distinguish what is safe and unsafe, what is pleasant and unpleasant, and what is nourishing and what is unhealthy. We are built with a thinking mind that solves problems, communicates, learns, and processes all the information that we encounter every day. We are also built with an operating system, which is our ego. It is the ego that motivates us to achieve, earn a living, build a family, strive for success. It is the ego that constructs our identity, our sense of self as a separate individual. It is also our ego that places us as the center of the universe. The ego-self is necessary for our development and survival, but our self-identification with our ego is not the final step in our spiritual evolution.

Spiritual development, spiritual maturity, requires that we grow beyond our ego-self and into our higher Self. Our higher Self is the Self that connects with the God within us, the God within everything and everyone. In order to access our higher Self, we need to learn how to rest in the truth of the moment. We need to learn how to be at home in the moment-by-moment reality of life. We need to learn to perceive the truth of the moment within the aliveness of the body; and to understand our emotions as phenomena that ebb and flow, that morph and change, as the constantly flowing backdrop of life. We need to learn that our thoughts are not our identity-- we need to learn how to detach from them, and how to see them as formations that take turns manifesting in the mind, and how they are tools that we can learn to use skillfully.

Meditation is the practice of becoming fluent in the moment-by-moment language of reality. Meditation practice builds our skills in discerning what is true for us in each moment. We practice observing our inner landscape, noticing what emotions are flowing through us, what thoughts are forming in our minds, what sensations are occurring in our bodies. We practice meeting each moment without judgement, allowing reality to happen, and cultivating the skills needed to make wise choices in response. As we become more able to rest in the reality of the present moment, we learn how to identify, release and heal old egotistical patterns that are keeping us enslaved. This practice cultivates inner freedom. The more free we become, the more we are able to cultivate the spiritual qualities of love, patience, compassion, joy and equanimity. That is the big “why”, the overarching reason for the practice of meditation. The actual techniques that are usually offered during meditation—breathing, focusing on the breath or another anchor, chanting music or mantras, counting, sitting, walking, praying -- are means to an end. The techniques are in service to this larger vision of spiritual growth.

TODAY’S MEDITATION
• I offer you several formats for today’s meditation. I personally like to sit during meditation, but if you prefer, you can do walking meditation, or chanting.
• The Jewish form of walking meditation is “hitbodedut”, or pouring your heart out to God. With this, you go outside into nature, and then start talking, out loud, to God. You pour out your heart to God about whatever is on your mind or in your heart.
• The Buddhist format for walking meditation is where you choose a small space and walk, very, very slowly, back and forth within that small space—maybe 10 paces-- concentrating on each step, the movement of each toe, each foot, each leg, each arm, the torso, the contact of each foot with the ground, so as to completely focus your mind on the process of walking. Each time you notice your mind wandering, you stop walking, give thanks for noticing, and then start walking again. Some practitioners might count their footsteps (1, 2, 3…10; 1, 2…) as a concentration aid.
• In chanting meditation, which you can do by yourself, or in a group, or with a recording, you choose a chant or a mantra, and sing it over and over again. Allow yourself to become completely immersed in the meaning of the words, the flow of the music, the rhythm of the voice. Notice how the chanting feels in your body. The sound becomes your anchor.

Now I’m going to offer a guided meditation, based on Thich Nhat Hanh’s breathing exercises. I will give prompts interspersed with periods of silence. (15 minutes)

• Find a comfortable position…. Choose your anchor…. I use the breath as my anchor
• Breathe…. Relax…. Notice your body….
• Follow your breath all the way in…. all the way out….
• Notice your body…. Sensations… heat, cold, pain, tension, comfort….
• Notice any emotions that may arise… without judgement, just notice
• Notice what your mind is doing… thoughts arising? Just notice, gently return your attention to your anchor
• It’s ok to return over and over again to your anchor-- if thoughts arise, nothing’s gone wrong, it’s not a mistake, it’s just what minds do
• It may feel very difficult to keep your mind concentrated for more that a second or two, and that’s ok, nothing is wrong, nothing to fix
• Each time your mind wanders, notice where it went with friendly curiosity, give thanks for noticing, and then gently return your attention to your anchor
• Gently returning over and over again without judgment, with kindness and self-love, without giving yourself
• Notice any feelings that arise…Just notice them, without judgement, without trying to change them… You don’t have to feel a certain way, or make anything different
• When you are ready, gently return to the room.

YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW
by Tracy Marks
inspired and somewhat paragphrased
from Thich Nhat Hanh’s
No Mud No Lotus

You have to learn how
to feed your happiness.
You have to daily
water the seeds
of your happiness
if you want to
keep experiencing
the exaltation
of awakening spring
and many rich
and abundant harvests.

Wow Tracy.
This is a beautiful poem!
Thank you for writing and sharing it!
Smith