Monthly Archives: May 2012

21-Day Retreat Begins June 1

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In the last four years, I have not taken any breaks from posting the dharma talks of Thich Nhat Hanh on this blog space. It has been a great joy to listen to all the talks and to repost them here for you, the listener.

As I write this, I am sitting at LAX awaiting my flight to southern France and Plum Village Meditation Practice Center. My intention is to take a complete technology break and to participate with the sangha on the 21-Day Retreat with the theme the Science of the Buddha.

I will still listen to each talk (in-person) and take a few notes for you. Upon my return, I will resume posting the talks from the retreat. If you can’t wait, the brothers of Upper Hamlet may post the talks on our Vietnamese site Lang Mai.

Until then, may your day be well.

Kenley
Chân Ni?m Hy?

Who is the Buddha?

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May 27, 2012. 65-minute recording given at New Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness.

We learn who the Buddha is through the teachings of the Buddha. When we bow to the Buddha, we should see our true connection. Interbeing. The Buddha is enlightened with deep understanding and compassion. How can we produce it? The first step is awareness of suffering. The four noble truths.

The Buddha is a human being. He is not a god. The Buddha is made of non-Buddha elements. Thay then makes the connection to the planet and science. The Buddha can be a sub-atomic particle.

We hear two questions from the audience. How can we handle out habit energy in daily life? How can I heal violence around me?

Thay reminds us the 21-day retreat begins in a few days. This will be part of our 30-year anniversary. For each dharma talk during the retreat, we will sit together in silence for 8-minutes. Stop our thinking and feel the presence of ourselves and others. There should be no noise during this time. Thay also wrote an intimate letter to a young scientist in preparation for retreat.

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Where Can We Practice Mindfulness?

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May 24, 2012. 55-minute recording given at Lower Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness.

Thay announces the next ordination for novices will be on July 4. The practice of Plum Village is mindfulness in order to transform and nourish. We can generate and store mindfulness with any action.

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What is True Love?

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May 20, 2012. 73-minute recording given at Lower Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness and the monastics begin with two chants.

The Buddha taught loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Thay thinks we can add two new elements to True Love: Trust. Confidence. Thay teaches on all these elements in addition to a brief examination of the Diamond Sutra as it relates to Interbeing.

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The Path Healing Us and Healing the World

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May 17, 2012. 116-minute recording given at Upper Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness. At about four minutes into the recording, the brothers are trying to solve a sound problem and the talk resumes in English after 12-minutes.

Today we are stepping from the Four Noble Truths into the Noble Eightfold Path. Mindfulness, Concentration, and Right View. These are the first three elements of the path. But what is right view? Right View is the foundation for all the other elements. It is also the foundation for applied ethics.

Thinking, Speech, Action, Livelihood, and Diligence all have their foundation in right view.

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The Noble Truths of Nourishment

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May 13, 2012. 76-minute recording given at Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is the first talk given during the Health Retreat and the talk was given in French. This recording is the English translation.

Listen, Listen to this sound of the bell. Every breath is a pleasure. Mindfulness. Concentration. Insight.

Thay talks about the relationship between food and the four noble truths and explains the four types of nutriments.

Edible foods
Sense impressions (eye, ears, mind, body)
Volition (deepest desire)
Collective conciousness

Physical health may not be possible without spiritual health. Without compassion, happiness is impossible.

The talk ends with instruction on eating in freedom.

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The Practice of Plum Village

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May 10, 2012. 103-minute recording given at New Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness and the monastics begin with two chants.

The practice of Plum Village is Applied Buddhism. It is characterized by the four dharma seals.

  • I have arrived. I am home.
  • Go as a river.
  • The Interbeing of truth and time.
  • Continuous ripening.

Thay teaches what each of these dharma seals mean and how we can practice with them.

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Where is Plum Village?

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April 26, 2012. 69-minute recording given at Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness and the monastics begin with two chants.

This year is 30th anniversary of Plum Village. Where is Plum Village? We may have wrong perceptions about where it is. The Diamond Sutra is an important text in our tradition. It is the diamond that can cut through illusion. We need to remove all notions. The notions of self, man, living being, and life span.

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The Past, Present, and Future

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April 22, 2012. 63-minute recording given at New Hamlet, Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a Day of Mindfulness and the monastics begin with two chants.

Every step we take can bring freedom. Can scientists analyze and measure this freedom? We should also work to bring freedom to our anxiety. Can scientists analyze and measure our in-breath as it relates to freedom?

A teaching on the past, present, and future. How do we describe time?

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Discourse on Happiness

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April 19, 2012. 65-minute recording given at Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh. The sangha has just returned from the UK and Ireland Tour and this is a Day of Mindfulness for the sangha.

We begin with chanting followed by the dharma talk. Thay gives a short teaching on the first two verses of the Discourse on Happiness. “Spring is a messenger” Thay says. Thay talks about dreaming, having a path and making tofu.

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