Thich Nhat Hanh Teachings

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Comment by Luna Arjuna on March 18, 2017 at 4:07pm

Breathing in, there is peace while sitting.
Breathing out, there is joy while breathing.

Breathing in, peace is the sitting.
Breathing out, joy is the breathing.

- Thich Nhat Hanh
(part of an exercise in ”The Blooming of a Lotus”)
Image: Tatiana Gorilovsky

Comment by Rosmarie Heusser on October 12, 2016 at 9:32pm

Comment by Rosmarie Heusser on September 3, 2016 at 8:25pm

Comment by Eva Libre on December 21, 2015 at 12:25am

"The roots of war are in the way we live our daily lives–the way we develop our industries, build up our society, and consume goods. We have to look deeply into the situation, and we will see the roots of war. We cannot just blame one side or the other. We have to transcend the tendency to take sides."

— Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step

Comment by Rosmarie Heusser on December 20, 2015 at 5:28pm

The quality of our life depends on what seeds we water in our consciousness. — Thich Nhat Hanh

Comment by Luna Arjuna on July 17, 2015 at 7:16pm

The Buddha said that if you get caught in one idea and consider it to be "the truth," then you miss the chance to know the truth. Even if the truth comes in person and knocks at your door, you will refuse to open your mind. So if you are committed to an idea about truth or to an idea about the conditions necessary for your happiness, be careful. The first Mindfulness Training is about freedom from views:

"Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding means to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill or die for."

This is a practice to help free us from the tendency to be dogmatic. Our world suffers so much from dogmatic attitudes. The first mindfulness training is important to help us remain free people. Freedom is above all else freedom from our own notions and concepts. If we get caught in our notions and concepts, we can make ourselves suffer and we can also make those we love suffer.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, in " No Death, No Fear".
(Image: Head of a smiling Buddha, Greco-Buddhist style, from Afghanistan)

Comment by Luna Arjuna on December 13, 2014 at 1:42am

Looking Deeply Into My Anger

I am determined not to speak when anger manifests in me.
I will practice mindful breathing and walking to recognize and look deeply into my anger.
I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and the other person.
I will speak and listen in such a way as to help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Comment by Luna Arjuna on December 11, 2014 at 10:43am

We call expressing our appreciation “watering the flower” in the other person, because we each have a flower in us—our freshness, humor, joy, and lightheartedness. We need to help water and maintain the freshness of the flower in our beloved ones. Often we only speak out when something is wrong, but so many good things are happening all the time that we forget to notice. Our child may be in good health, our partner may be helping out with some household chores. We should not just complain when things go wrong, but take time to name all that we are grateful for. When our flower is watered regularly, it is much easier for us to accept constructive criticism and cheerfully change our behavior to be more supportive of the family.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Comment by Luna Arjuna on November 18, 2014 at 10:21am

If we are not empty, we become a block of matter.
We cannot breathe, we cannot think.
To be empty means to be alive, to breathe in and to breathe out.
We cannot be alive if we are not empty.
Emptiness is impermanence, it is change.
We should not complain about impermanence,
because without impermanence, nothing is possible.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Comment by Luna Arjuna on November 17, 2014 at 4:59pm

"Earth brings us into life
And nourishes us.
Earth takes us back again.
Birth and death are present in every moment."

 - Thich Nhat Hanh

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