Our frequent distractions amid constant changes in the outside world provoke our survival mode frequently. We easily become restless, which affects both our physical and mental health. We seem to lose touch with our innate calmness. In recent years, I find out that practicing mindfulness by turning our antenna from outward (e.g., refreshing social media, binge viewing shows, etc.) to inward (focusing on our breath, fleeting thoughts and senses) anchors me on what I can control vs the external forces that are beyond my control. In this blog post, I am going to share with you teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, whose calm and peaceful image has always inspired me to carry on my practice during difficulties.
who is Thich Nhat Hahn?
Some people think of religious leaders as ones who withdraw from the world, whose only goal is to seek enlightenment in remote refuges. For Zen master and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, this image cannot be further from the truth. Thay (what his students call him) was the founder and lifelong propellent of Engaged Buddhism, which focuses on mitigating injustice and sufferings in the world with our daily actions, instead of spiritual pursuits in monasteries. Born in Vietnam under French rule in 1926, Thay lived through both the independence war and Vietnam war. The opposition effort he led against the latter resulted in his exile in the late 60s to France, where he spearheaded the now world renowned spiritual center Plum Village. In his autobiography At Home in the World, he shared how he practiced non-violent activism to fight for justice under bullets and death threats. Recalling several episodes with the French army (independence war), American troops (Vietnam war), and negotiating with various national governments for the boat refugees during the 70s, he demonstrated how a calm and determined attitude saved all parties from slipping down the cliff of death. His calmness and compassion served as the driving force under his conviction to do what was right for those who suffered. Without those, a strong conviction alone would easily drive a kind-hearted person to just focus on the good intention and emotionally escalate the life-and-death situation to poor outcomes.
I first met Thay’s teachings 10 years ago when I picked up the book Anger to better manage my emotions via breathing exercise. I found the content very approachable and easy to digest. Thay was a prolific writer and a good storyteller, always using everyday metaphors like gardens and nature to explain his ideas. A lot of his books deal with modern day lives and common troubles, such as spousal relationships, stress at work, worrying about our society, etc. Thay offered compassionate and caring tips to ease the conflicts, scaling from his experiences during wartime. Reading his books, it sometimes feels like talking to a therapist who really wants to help you live well, without any religious tone at all.
Another book that I really enjoy reading is Fragrant Palm Leaves, a collection of his journals from 1962-66 when he was facing persecution in Vietnam and working with activists in the US to end the war. Thay was very honest with his emotional swings in the journals, and he didn’t edit out those content that expose his darker thoughts (e.g, the urge to dissolve into the forest, or when he felt his original self has faded away and his true self which was both more beautiful and uglier than he thought emerged). Rather, he was upfront and open with his internal struggles, anger with the current situation, worry for his friends and fear for uncertainty. In this turmoil, he didn’t succumb to the emotions, but continue to do what was right for greater good. He never lost sight of long term goals, and lived each day the best as he could. As he said,
my life is my teaching, my life is my message.
what did he teach?
Thay’s caligraphy. Credit: Plum Village
The most important idea I grasp from Thay’s teaching is to always return to the here and now, as an anchoring home. Each present moment is to be cherished as a unique and wonderful moment. He also emphasized the importance of planting good seeds (kindness, strength, etc.) in our heart, and continously cultivating their growth. His other important concept is interdependence, that we are not as individualistic as we thought, but rather depend on and connect with others unconsciously.
The book that really changed my life was At Home in the World. It is non-technical, containing just small, warm stories he shared from his life. You walk along him as he matured from a young monk in Hue, Vietnam to the leader of a new movement to bring medical supplies and education to villages in war-torn Vietnam, to being the founder of Plum Village and a revered teacher worldwide. What strikes me the most was that he was not the kind of monk who lived in isolation, looking for spiritual enlightenment and bliss. He was a real person living in a tormented time, using calmness and wisdom to mitigate humane disasters. And that’s what makes his words so convincing, because his teachings came from real engagements in the darkest time, not lofty idealistic theories developed in the cloud.
Here are 3 episodes that move me deeply,
- Thay viewed everything as a continuation. For example, when he missed his mother who passed away, and saw the moonlit forest, he felt that his mom has never left but lived on via the light bathing him. One of his favorite parable is to inquire about the nature of a cloud. As he explained, a cloud never dies, but lives on as falling rain, groundwater, river, ocean, evaporation, and finally back as a cloud. In the same way, I think Thay’s life continues in his teaching, whenever I practice what he teaches, I feel that he has never left this world, that he is still close by, manifesting as the trees that accompany my morning exercises, the plants that bloom, and a smile from the people I interact with.
- his close encounters with death, at gunpoint with an American solider. He had to use calmness and determination to show the soldier that he was harmless. He was able to transcend the situation by understanding that the other person was as nervous as him, that easing the soldier’s anxiety was key to diffuse the threat. This episode has changed me a lot, it taught me the importance of practicing calmness and deescalation in crisis.
- he was angry with political situations but nevertheless maintained composure to keep his projects running. In helping the boat people in Singapore when they were refused dockage, he showed me that you could have emotion, but still execute plans regardless of the external environment.
When I worked with my therapist while facing a serious illness last year, one thing we kept exploring was how to deal with anxiety. It was really a hit or miss game for me as I couldn’t be calm all the time. When we recalled the successful episodes, I gradually came to realize that it was Thay’s teaching that I have internalized through the years of reading his books. The mental image of him looking serene, talking about facing every situation with grace has helped me tremendously in getting through my own sufferings.
how to apply his teachings?
Most of Thay’s teachings are very practical for daily lives. Yes you can do cross-leg meditation and study the scriptures, but what he was most passionate in was to help us see that we could just be mindful whenever and wherever we are. There is no need to set aside a specific time to practice it, and it’s not technical at all. Rather, invite it to any moment of your daily life. As long as you turn attention from external to inside, be with yourself, you can be mindful whenever you walk (feel how your feet hit the ground), wash dishes (feel water, bowl and your hand synchronized together), drink water, and breath (in and out, feel how your body takes in air). The unifying thread is paying attention to what happens now, here, with yourself.
Whenever we feel overwhelmed, we can return home, which is present, here. The only certainty we have is the now and here, as we couldn’t relive the past or take control of the future. “Now, here” becomes a mantra for me. When I was overwhelmed by fear, I recite this mantra to distinguish whether it is a present crisis that demands my immediate attention, or was it a cached emotion for past experience, or a fear of future. And, am I worrying about something that is not arising from where I am now, am I crossing boundary to somewhere else? This helps me to quickly return to base and offers me extra space to examine the situation in details.
A handy tool for getting a taste of Thay’s teaching is the Plum Village app which offers many guided meditations, short talks or soothing music.