When we practice mindfulness in our daily lives, says Thich Nhat Hanh, we open to the wonders of life and allow the world to heal and nourish us. Everyone has the seed of suffering inside. Sometimes it slumbers in the depths of our consciousness and sometimes it manifests as a very noticeable energy. When suffering manifests, it’s difficult to feel joy or happiness. The [...]
Don’t Always Trust Your Perceptions
Thich Nhat Hanh offers a short teaching on perception and the value of remaining calm. Breathing in, I see myself as still water. Breathing out, I reflect things as they are. Near the mountain, there is a lake with clear, still water reflecting the mountain and the sky with pristine clarity. You can do the same. If you are calm and still enough, you can reflect the [...]
Buddhahood in Three Dimensions
In these teaching on chapters one and twenty of the Lotus Sutra, Thich Nhat Hanh discusses the three dimensions in which all beings and things reside – the ultimate dimension, the historical dimension, and the dimension of action, represented here by the bodhisattva Never Disparaging. Chapter 1 of the Lotus Sutra takes us to Vulture Peak, near the city of Rajagriha in the [...]
The Life of Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen master, peace activist, teacher of mindful living — he is one of the most important spiritual leaders of our time. His teachings are clear, profound, and original. He addresses the personal and global challenges we all face. He has brought dharma to millions and helped define Buddhism for the modern world. Lindsay Kyte tells the story of what is perhaps his greatest [...]
On his 92nd birthday, a Thich Nhat Hanh post-stroke update
The monks and nuns of Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village community in France today issued an update on the current state of the Vietnamese teacher of Zen and mindfulness's life and health after suffering a stroke in late 2014. The piece was written in acknowledgement of Thich Nhat Hanh's 92nd birthday on October 11, and refers to him throughout as "Thay," by which he's [...]
Listening Deeply for Peace
Without deep listening and gentle loving speech it is very difficult to move towards peace. Peace will only become a reality, says Thich Nhat Hanh, when world leaders come to negotiations with the ability to hear the suffering at the root of all conflicts. A traditional Vietnamese Zen garden is very different from a Japanese Zen garden. Our Zen gardens, called hon non bo, [...]
5 Practices for Nurturing Happiness
"The essence of our practice can be described as transforming suffering into happiness," says Thich Nhat Hanh. Here, he offers five practices to nourish our happiness daily. We all want to be happy and there are many books and teachers in the world that try to help people be happier. Yet we all continue to suffer. Therefore, we may think that we’re “doing it wrong.” Somehow [...]
The Buddhist Teachings on Rebirth
Moment to moment, lifetime to lifetime — death and rebirth are happening all the time. Ten leading Buddhist teachers explain the concept of rebirth. Thanissaro Bhikkhu Rebirth has always been a central teaching in the Buddhist tradition. The earliest records in the Pali Canon indicate that the Buddha, prior to his awakening, searched for a happiness not subject to the [...]
Finding Peace after a Lifetime of War
Vietnam Veteran Claude Anshin Thomas shares how he learned to live with the past by living intensely in the present. From the Lion's Roar archive, originally published in the November 1993 Shambhala Sun. I would like you to think about rain. Close your eyes, and think about rain, and the thoughts and feelings it brings up in you. I want to share with you what happens to me [...]
Rest in the River
Resting is a very importance practice, says Thich Nhat Hanh. Our physical body needs rest to restore itself, and our consciousness is no different. My dear friends, suppose someone is holding a pebble and throws it in the air and the pebble begins to fall down into a river. After the pebble touches the surface of the water, it allows itself to sink slowly into the [...]
