Welcome to episode 81 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

This new installment was recorded before a live audience, in the Stillwater Meditation Hall of Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, in December 2024. In its first section, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino talk about what it means to let go of the past and create a new future. They delve into the Buddhist meanings of renewal, alongside personal reflections on the challenges and achievements of the past year.

The conversation also touches on the role of Plum Village in renewing and transmitting Buddhist teachings to new generations; the importance of ‘beginner’s mind’ and the ability to adapt and evolve, both as a community and as individuals.

In the second section, the hosts answer questions from the audience on the topic of renewal, such as, ‘What practical strategies can maintain mindfulness and presence in the face of demanding responsibilities?’, and ways to reduce overconsumption. 

Enjoy!

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong

Sister Chan Duc
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-chan-duc

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://www.instagram.com/brotherspirit/

Sister Hien Nghiem (Sister True Dedication)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem 

‘The Pebble Meditation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation

Dharma Talks: ‘Pebble Meditation for Adults’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/pebble-meditation-for-adults-br-phap-huu-spring-retreat-2018-05-13

The Art of Living
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-art-of-living/ 

Mahayana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

Old Path White Clouds
https://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds/ 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Feel It to Heal It: The Dharma of Music (Episode #79)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/feel-it-to-heal-it-the-dharma-of-music-episode-79

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path 

Bodhicitta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta 

A Beginners Mind for a Beautiful Future: Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_F_cxM9d5Q&t=0s

Quotes

“I die and I am reborn in every moment.”

“When I reflect on renewal, it is to be reminded that everything is impermanent. So this moment will be impermanent. I will be alive in the next moment, and it will help me remember that life is constantly flowing. So we are also constantly changing.”

“Mindfulness and our practice of dwelling in the present moment allows us to be in touch with the here and now. And it’s different from yesterday. It’s different from what we thought yesterday also. But it’s thanks to what we did yesterday that we have, maybe, a new way of seeing, a new way of being, a new way of listening, a new way of speaking. It is wonderful to know that every moment, therefore, is a new moment. This gives us an opportunity to heal the past. And gives us an opportunity for a new aspiration: to have new hope for oneself and for the world. So renewal is the action of constantly being born and constantly dying.”

“As it was falling, the leaf knew that it was not dying. The leaf was very much alive during the spring and the summer. And it contributed everything it could during those seasons. And when the time came for the leaf to, in our language, die and fall, it had no regret. Because the leaf was only returning to the earth, to nurture the earth in order to nourish the tree, which would then produce new leaves when the spring comes. And when we have this insight, there’s no more fear, because we understand this nature of life, this rhythm of life that is coming and going.” 

“If you don’t touch suffering, then you’re not really practicing right mindfulness.”

“One element of our spiritual practice is our responsibility to learn to cultivate joy and happiness in the very here and now, even amidst the pain and suffering of the world.”

“Thay called his hut the Sitting Still Hut. He said that when you come to Plum Village and want to be in touch with him, you just need to sit still and you can feel his presence, you can feel the breath that he has transmitted in the very here and now.”

“Often, people will practice mindfulness because they want to get from place A to place B in their life – whether it’s a career move or whatever – and the mindfulness is there to help with their concentration and their focus on that. But true mindfulness may lead to you questioning place A in the first place and whether you really want to get to place B.”

“Everything we say and do is to enhance the harmony, not the separation. And we even have a vow that when we are emotional, we don’t speak; we wait until our emotions are settled and then speak.”

“When we first come to the practice, we feel very encouraged and very hopeful. But if we don’t renew ourselves, that state of mind becomes very stale and we will lose motivation. So, even in our practice, we have to constantly renew ourselves.” 

“The work in the monasteries is never finished in one lifetime.”

“Be beautiful, be yourself.”

“Love is stronger than force.”

“The Buddha was human, but he was enlightened. We’re all human; we can be enlightened also.”

“Every generation needs to renew Buddhism to make it relevant for people living today, because if it’s not relevant, then the teachings will die.” 

“You are enough.”

“The beginner’s mind, in the Zen tradition, is your openness, your willingness to learn, your willingness to relearn, sometimes to unlearn.”

“Our way of being able to cultivate inner peace, to transform the bombs and the guns inside of us, the hatred inside of us: that is a gift that we can offer to the present moment and the future generations so that new wars won’t start.”

🔔 SENSITIVE CONTENT Disclaimer: The information in this video is not intended to diagnose or treat any mental health condition. If you are in crisis, or in need of immediate assistance, we encourage you to reach out to friends, professionals, and other groups to gain relevant support for your particular situation.

Welcome to episode 80 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino talk about how to come home to ourselves, why it can be so difficult for people to feel at home in their own skin and to feel that they are enough, and why people go searching for things outside of themselves in order to feel better about themselves on the inside. 

The hosts further explore self-love and self-acceptance; compassion; overcoming perfectionism and feelings of inadequacy; redefining beauty; true generosity; dismantling self; the Buddhist teachings on interbeing and dwelling in the present moment; and more. They also share personal experiences and insights from Thich Nhat Hanh’s own journey to inner freedom and stability. 

The episode concludes with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. 

Enjoy!

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://www.instagram.com/brotherspirit

‘Three Resources Explaining the Plum Village Tradition of Lazy Days’
https://plumvillage.app/three-resources-explaining-the-plum-village-tradition-of-lazy-days/ 

‘Thich Nhat Hanh on Discrimination and Complexes’
https://plumvillage.app/thich-nhat-hanh-on-discrimination-and-complexes

Dharma Talks: ‘What Is the Equality Complex?’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/what-is-the-equality-complex

How To: ‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew

Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Remembrances’ 
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17

The Way Out Is In: ‘Feel It to Heal It: The Dharma of Music (Episode #79)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/feel-it-to-heal-it-the-dharma-of-music-episode-79

The Way Out Is In: ‘Shining Light (Episode #63)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/shining-light-episode-63 

Quotes

“Where there’s a stillness, the energy of mindfulness is present.”

“Thich Nhat Hanh would speak about how, sometimes, we have to expand our mind and expand ourselves to see that our suffering is not ours alone: it is a shared suffering. And, also, when we transform the suffering, it is not only our transformation: it is a transformation for the greater collective. And we don’t discriminate about whether it is a small or a large transformation, because all transformations have an impact on the greater consciousness of our society.” 

“When we talk about coming home to oneself, that is the whole journey of meditation: dwelling happily in the present moment. It means that, in the present moment, whether there’s a storm, whether it is a moment that is blissful and peaceful, I can be happy. And if there is a moment when there is suffering, like if I am unwell and I’m not experiencing joy and happiness, I can learn to still tap into my happy conditions and be there for this moment. So I can generate happiness in this moment, even in the midst of suffering and pain.” 

“The word love in Buddhism is very deep; there’s so many layers to it. And a part of love always starts with oneself – like, can we learn to be kinder to ourselves? Can we make ourselves a little bit kinder, so that our home in ourselves is a little bit kinder?” 

“We, as practitioners, know that we’re not only conditioned from the outer energy, we also have the capacity to condition ourselves. And that is part of the journey of arriving home: starting to redevelop the foundation of our home.”

“A lot of people in the West suffer from two negative qualities that really rub up against each other. People suffer from self-loathing and they suffer from perfection. In other words, they don’t like themselves and they’re trying to be perfect – and that combination is pretty catastrophic.” 

“It takes time to really look at and be honest about what we don’t like about ourselves and where that is coming from. You can’t just tell someone, ‘Well, start loving yourself. What is there not to love?’” 

 “Meditation is a journey where the destination can be reached in every moment. The destination is not in five years, in 10 years, or only reached when I can sit and not move and have no feelings. To erase all feelings and emotions and thinking is not the aim of meditation. It’s learning to ground ourselves, it’s learning to guide our energies and to guide our mind.” 

“Why is it that we can’t love ourselves? What makes it so difficult to say the word love? But, at the same time, when I say ‘learn to love yourself’, it doesn’t mean that we have to say, ‘Oh, I love me.’ Loving yourself can happen in so many ways. For example, acceptance is love. So, expanding the value of loving oneself is important, like redefining what our values are. It’s like, when I am overwhelmed I know how to take a pause: I go for a walk on the grass; I touch the grass or I go into the forest and I give myself a moment of just relaxation. That’s learning to love yourself.” 

“People think compassion is very soft or very weak, but part of the journey of coming home is that there has to be the element of compassion. Compassion becomes a foundation that allows us to accept ourselves, to accept the unwholesome actions that we have already performed.”

“As we progress on the path of life – not even in terms of meditation – I think that our definition of home continues to evolve and our way of being in the present moment continues to deepen.” 

“You can only be you with the non-you elements.”

“How can we dismantle this concept of self? It has to come into action with the insight of interbeing.”

“I was always so captivated by how magnetic our teacher Thay was around the walking meditation, when all the kids would want to hold his hand and sit around him. But he wasn’t saying anything; he was just drinking a cup of tea or walking in silence. And I think the beauty that he was expressing was his way of being: that he could move so freely on this planet, and transform so much of his pain and suffering through what he experienced in life without being caught up in that. But he was walking with steps of freedom in the present moment, not taking for granted that moment of joy, of peace, and of connection.” 

“For those of us who are young, we are always going to be tackling the question, ‘Am I enough?’ And even those of us who are older – guess what, young people? We still have these questions. But let us collectively transform this, so that what we can transmit to the next generation is, ‘You are enough and your potentials are all there. You just have to water the right seeds.’” 

“Thay found his home in the midst of fire and fury. He found his home in the midst of being banished from his homeland. Thay found home wherever he was, rather than in a place.”

“Your pain is not yours alone.”

Welcome to episode 79 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by musician/producer Jack Peñate and frequent guest Brother Phap Linh, Dharma teacher/musician. Together, they talk about the release of A Cloud Never Dies, the debut album by the Plum Village Band – a musical meditation on love, continuation, and non-fear, inspired by and dedicated to Thich Nhat Hanh.

The album was produced by Jack, with the two monastics joining the conversation as co-creators of the album and representing the Plum Village Band: a collective of Zen Buddhist monks and nuns from Plum Village Monastery, France, plus musician-meditator friends from around the world.

In the first part of the episode, the guests discuss their musical journeys, from childhood to this point; the power of music as a portal to share the Dharma; music and Buddhist tradition; making music as a spiritual form; art as a Zen practice; and more.

In the second part, they share songs from the album and discuss their origins, meaning, creative process, and production stories. And we get to listen to the discussed songs too. 

Listen to the album and find out more about it here.

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Jack Peñate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Pe%C3%B1ate

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://www.instagram.com/brotherspirit

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong 

‘Recommendation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/recommendation

Album: A Cloud Never Dies
https://plumvillage.org/album-a-cloud-never-dies 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Regeneration and Musical Inspiration: The North American Tour (Episode #53)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/regeneration-and-musical-inspiration-the-north-american-tour-episode-53 

Pirates Blend
https://piratesblend.com/

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village

Aretha Franklin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Franklin

Billie Holiday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_%22Scratch%22_Perry

Narcissus and Goldmund
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_and_Goldmund

The Glass Bead Game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Bead_Game

Hermann Hesse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse

Bhagavad Gita
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita

Quotes

“Music and Zen go together.”

“There’s art in making tea and there’s art in life, in the way that we live our days.”

“The highest music, the best kind of music, is breathing.”

“Everything could become practice. It just depends on our heart and our intention.

We feel like we can be very authentic practitioners and teachers of mindfulness and meditation and combine that with playing music, singing, creating. Because our teacher showed us how to do that, and how to be real in the doing of that, to make the music a meditation as well.”

“Music not as a performance, but as an invitation to touch the present moment.”

“When you know what your path is, you have to completely follow that, and be completely aligned with your intuition and your instinct about that.” 

“Harmony isn’t something that you’re always in, but it’s something you’re always striving for.”

“You deal with the desire for fame by finding a deeper desire, one that’s more important to you. And then you can handle the other one, and the desire for fame looks silly in comparison. That’s a practice that people can do together. And it’s a discipline. And it’s a way of life. And that’s what I love about it. But what I’m interested in is how we get aligned in our purpose and aspiration. And are there things that we can actually do as practices?”

“Music as an offering. We’re not doing this to be known, to make money, to be famous, to be successful, to do any of these things. We’re doing it to connect with the suffering that’s in the world, with the struggle that’s in us in relation to that suffering. The struggle of, ‘How do I help?’ When we see the strife, the pain, the killing, the destruction of humans – humans by humans and humans of ecosystems, of the beauty and diversity of the Earth – for me, it’s incredibly painful and there’s a feeling of, ‘How can I respond?’ How can I use what I have to try to help in some way, to alleviate some of the pain, to make things a little bit better for somebody, somewhere? And, as a musician, I do feel that music’s relevant to that somehow.” 

“I really feel like we can’t make the more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible without music. Music is going to be part of it. Music is going to give us the courage to do it; the fearlessness, the vision. It’s going to help us to keep coming back to our vulnerability, to stay honest with ourselves when we get into pride.”

“You have to feel it to heal it. If we don’t feel our pain, then there’s no hope for us to embrace it, to understand it, to transform it, to look deeply into it. So it starts with feeling it. And music, I think, really can get past all of our psychological defenses, our armor, and our intellectual reasons and justifications and explanations and rationalizations; it can cut to the heart of the matter, which is the heart, and take you right there. And suddenly you find yourself feeling things that, maybe, without the music, it wouldn’t feel safe to feel.” 

“There was no difference, at a certain point, between composing and praying and crying and healing.”

Welcome to episode 78 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

This special episode – part two of two Q&A installments – marks the launch of the first book by Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino. Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnout is intended to help readers navigate these experiences, relieve stress, and reconnect to their inner joy through mindfulness and compassion practices inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Instead of discussing the book, the two presenters asked listeners to submit their questions on these timely topics. Listeners’ generous, vulnerable questions answered in this episode include: What are some practical tips for staying grounded and mindful amidst the busyness? How can I get back into practicing mindfulness? How can I practice mindfulness while doing multiple things at once? How can I be of service to others while still caring for myself? How can busy people know when it’s enough and draw a line? How does Plum Village deal with the burnout issues that also exist in the outside world?

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Being with Busyness 
https://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness

The Way Out Is In: ‘Being with Busyness Q&A, Part One (Episode #77)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/being-with-busyness-qa-part-one-episode-77

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-miracle-of-mindfulness

Pema Chödrön
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pema_Ch%C3%B6dr%C3%B6n

Start Where You Are
https://pemachodronfoundation.org/product/start-where-you-are-book/ 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong 

‘Three Resources Explaining the Plum Village Tradition of Lazy Days’
https://plumvillage.app/three-resources-explaining-the-plum-village-tradition-of-lazy-days/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Fours Pillars of Spiritual Life’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-four-pillars-of-spiritual-life-dharma-talk-by-sr-dang-nghiem

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

Quotes

“The Buddha explains that each and every one of us has an island within us that we have to tend and take care of. That island is our way of being, our calm that we can bring to the chaos. And it doesn’t mean that our surroundings are calm, but that we are calm inside. Even just a slice of calmness can relieve everything that is happening around us.” 

“The art of a meditator among busyness is to not be dispersed or carried away. When we are dispersed and carried away, we have the ability to come back to that island of practice. And this is an ongoing practice that we can all develop. We develop it when we’re at peace, when we have calm, when there is stillness.” 

“Our mindfulness is what we’re cultivating in our mind at the present moment.”

“When you’re washing your plate, that is a moment when you’re just washing your plate, not thinking about the next project; that is mindfulness.” 

“The spiritual dimension is an old technology. It’s free and can be practiced from day one, right now, right here.” 

“Letting go in the space of Dharma is to grow and to have freedom. But if we’re to let go, to give up, that’s a different energy. So we also have to know that taking a step back to have more space, and then continuing, is also okay.” 

“People have dual problems. One is that they have self-loathing; the other is that they wish for perfectionism. In other words, not only do we not feel we’re enough, but we often don’t like ourselves. And then, on the other end of the spectrum, we’re trying to be perfect. That is the perfect storm for overwhelm and burnout.” 

“A hungry ghost: never satisfied and always desperate.”

“The idea that there is a perfection to mindfulness is a wrong view because it doesn’t embrace the insight of non-duality: that suffering and happiness lean on each other. So imperfection and perfection play their part in life, in meditation, in love, in joy, and in community.” 

“Two people can share the same bed, but if they don’t share the same dreams then there’s no foundation for that relationship.” 

“When your generosity is no longer there and you don’t have any more to give, you have to rebuild. So the Buddha teaches that we have to learn to take care of the island within us. We have to know how to understand our capacity; this is very difficult.”

“Being able to witness what’s going on in the world and also maintain our own sense of love, self-love, and love for the world is so important.” 

“The work of temples is never done.” 

Welcome to episode 77 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

This special episode – part one of a two Q&A installments – marks the launch of the first book by Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino. Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnout is intended to help readers navigate these experiences, relieve stress, and reconnect to their inner joy through mindfulness and compassion practices inspired by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Instead of discussing the book, the two presenters asked listeners to submit their questions on these timely topics. Listeners’ generous, vulnerable questions answered in this episode include: Can mindfulness help us observe busyness, set limits, and let us savor boredom and solitude? How do you handle the phone as monastics in Plum Village, and what do you do to not get pulled in? How can I make long-lasting change when our culture demands constant attention? How do I survive when I desperately want to leave my line of work but can’t for financial reasons? 

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Being with Busyness 
https://www.parallax.org/product/being-with-busyness

‘Three Resources Explaining the Plum Village Tradition of Lazy Days’
https://plumvillage.app/three-resources-explaining-the-plum-village-tradition-of-lazy-days/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path 

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

Christiana Figueres
https://www.globaloptimism.com/christiana-figueres 

Quotes

“The title, Being with Busyness: it’s not getting rid of busyness, it’s not fixing busyness, but it is a way of being with busyness. But it’s not about fixing it, it’s about how to be in it and how to be with it; how to move through these particular strong energies of our society so that we don’t lose ourselves.”

“The first wing of meditation is the art of stopping and recognizing the present moment. But there is a fear of doing nothing, because we have been educated – dare I say, brainwashed – to think that we have to do something in every moment of life, because time is money. Time is projects; time is to succeed. And this has driven our society into a mindset of not knowing how to be in the now.” 

“Thay always reminds us that the purpose of being alive, first and foremost, is to be here, to know what is happening in the very here and now.” 

“Knowing that we have habits that are taking us away from the present moment is already mindfulness.”

“A mindful life, the art of mindfulness, is not about just cutting off bad habits; it’s also about developing enough good habits to replace the bad ones.” 

“I really love this idea of reciprocity: the idea that if you’re given something valuable then the most natural thing is to want to give something valuable back.”

“It’s not about the laptop. It’s about how we use it; it’s about what kind of practice we build around it.”

“There is a system pushing us to be a certain way. There is a system making demands of us – but, actually, within that system we always have agency. There is always something we can do.”

“Dwelling happily in the present moment doesn’t mean that that moment needs to be happy for us to be happy – but it is about being happy no matter what.” 

Welcome to episode 76 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino put a modern twist on the Four Nutriments – one of the Sutras of the Buddha – using it as a framework to explore what it is to be a mindful consumer of life. 

With each of the Four Nutriments – edible foods, sense impressions, volition or aspiration, and consciousness – the Buddha gave a little story which the presenters explore and bring into the reality of our times.

The ensuing conversation touches many topics and ideas, like how and why to invest in our spiritual dimension; individual and collective consciousness; shifting consciousness, generating community and a fairer society; practicing moderation; cultivating compassion; habit energies; rebuilding our connection to food; changing the way stories are told; suffering as a bell of mindfulness; and more.  

Brother Phap Huu shares deeply about experiencing burnout; speaking our minds; and adapting Buddhist teaching for each new generation. Jo complements this episode’s theme with personal stories and a new approach to what it is to be courageous. 

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/zasp?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=twoii&utm_campaign=zasp

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Sutras
https://plumvillage.org/genre/sutras

Sutras: ‘Discourse on the Four Kinds of Nutriments’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-four-kinds-of-nutriments 

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

Douglas Tompkins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Tompkins

The Order of Interbeing
https://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing 

John Bell
https://www.parallax.org/authors/john-bell/ 

Who Cares Wins: How to Protect the Planet You Love
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/305695/who-cares-wins-by-cole-lily/9780241309148 

Quotes

“Every being has a spiritual dimension and we need to invest in our spiritual dimension. And if young people can invest in it earlier, then the future has a greater hope and a more wonderful and sustainable livelihood that we can lead ourselves towards.”

“Consuming is not just what we eat and drink but what we listen to, what we smell, what we taste, and so on.”

“It’s not that wanting a state of peace means that we can suddenly have peace; we have to nurture the peace inside of us.” 

“Mindfulness gives us the lens of awareness to go inwards and see what we are consuming on a daily basis. What is intentional and what are we consuming that we’re not even aware of?”

“Our way of being is also food for elements that are outside of us.”

“We’re creating a cacophony of thoughts, feelings, and actions that form an individual basis, then create a collective. Often, people don’t feel that their individual behavior has an impact on the collective; often, they think that the collective is the only thing influencing them.”

“Trust the seeds that you plant, but don’t expect them to grow right away.” 

“The Buddha says every action has an impact on the past, the present, and the future. So our actions today actually have an impact 1,000 years later.”

“When we practice a vegetarian or a vegan diet, it is because we are aspiring to cultivate our compassion.” 

“Vulnerability opens support.”

“We know that habit energy is not ours alone: it’s society’s habit, it is our ancestors’ habit. So if we come from a family that has addictions, we know we have addictions in us.” 

“Once we know where food comes from, our gratitude manifests; it is born. And when you have gratitude, food automatically tastes better.” 

“The Buddha says that our world is lived by our shared consciousness.”

“The work that we are doing in Plum Village is helping, wanting to shift consciousness, and showing that love is possible and that love is there and that peace is action.”

“Sense impressions are also teachers. And this is why, for us, the Dharma is not just spoken Dharma, but the way we live, how we show up. That is a sense impression. That is a teaching in itself.” 

“When it’s all about the money, we lose our ethical compass and we lose our connection; we lose our sense of responsibility and accountability. And if money is the object, then there’s going to be a lot of suffering.”

“Why don’t we like good news? Because we’re so conditioned to suffering.”

“The Buddha says that we have to reflect and shine our light onto our views, that we are striving towards. And if that view, goal, or aspiration is destroying our well-being, we have to have the courage to walk away.”

“Courage is being prepared to not be like everybody else.”

“What is our worldview? Are we limited? Are we expanding? I think coming to retreats like Plum Village, or traveling, is so helpful for expanding our consciousness that maybe our way of thinking about what is right is very limited. That’s why, when we learn about ethics, we have to be very open. And in Buddhism, one of the greatest foundations is openness, because what we think is right may be totally different in a different culture. So, consciousness: we have to allow it to expand, be flexible, transform, grow.”

Welcome to episode 75 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss the practice of being and doing – in terms of both Buddhist and mainstream-society perceptions. Together, they look at practical ways to create conditions in which our way of being present can be truly valued and made essential in all our daily actions. How can we train ourselves to maintain presence, in spite of our circumstances?

The conversation tackles various relevant topics, such as being as the ground of our actions; being as a state which is crucial for the art of peace; training our concentration; the super-strength of allowing and sharing our vulnerabilities; creating a schedule for practicing being; how ‘to be’ in Zen and what people can get wrong about it; being as a way to access interbeing; doing as an avoidance of being (what is it about being that scares us?); the risks of not bringing being into doing; and more.

The episode ends with a short meditation on being, guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/zasp?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=twoii&utm_campaign=zasp

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ 
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Art of Laziness: Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There! (Episode #41)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-art-of-laziness-dont-just-do-something-sit-there-episode-41

The Way Out Is In: ‘Taming Our Survival Instinct (Episode #65)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/taming-our-survival-instinct-episode-65 

John Bradshaw
https://www.johnbradshaw.com/ 

Quotes

“Mainstream society seems to believe that action equates to what we do, and how we are and the way we are in the world tends to be relegated to a very, very poor second place.”

“In the deep view of Buddhism, ‘being’ can only be when you interbe with everything else.”

“To be is to interbe.”

“Don’t just do something, sit there.”

“We tend to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being. We think that when we are not doing anything, we are wasting our time. That is not true. Our time is, first of all, for us to be. To be what? To be alive, to be peace, to be joy, to be loving. And that is what the world needs the most. So we train ourselves in order to be. And if you know the art of being peace, being silent, then you have the ground for every action, because the ground for action is to be. And the quality of being determines the quality of doing. Action must be based on non-action.”

“This mindset of doing and being has been divided. Whereas, in our training we don’t separate between spirituality and doing.”

“In Buddhism, our actions – which we leave behind in this world – are our truest karma. They are the true continuation of our thoughts, our speech, and our bodily actions: how I open the door, how I see you, how I speak to you, how I engage in difficult conversations.”

“The schedule is our teacher.”

“Being can be very confronting because, when we’re truly there, we start to see ourselves more clearly.”

“The real art is being blissful and being present through every storm that arises.” 

“By being and understanding how to be, you can act with integrity and with understanding.” 

“Don’t try to explain it; be it first.” 

“The essence of our practice is to develop our quality of being present. Being present is the ground of all actions. But, a lot of the time, we don’t do it with the foundation of right intentions. So when we practice meditation, study the teachings of the Buddha, and really put it into practice, it comes down to becoming more and more present and alive for whatever is present for us.”

“We can’t convince people of the importance of being; they have to taste it.” 

Welcome to episode 74 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest Kate Raworth, the creator of Doughnut Economics, to discuss from spirituality to new economic thinking; individual, community, and planetary boundaries; putting ideas into practice; practicing true love and no self; avoiding the trap of fame; and much more.

Kate shares her journey into reimagining economics; the encounters that shaped her vision; regenerative enterprises and the inspiring communities making new economics a reality; and the discoveries made after attending a Plum Village retreat with her family. 

Kate Raworth is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab, and author of the internationally bestselling Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st Century Economist. She is a Senior Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, and Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. 

Over the past 25 years, Kate’s career has taken her from working with micro-entrepreneurs in the villages of Zanzibar to co-authoring the Human Development Report for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, followed by a decade as Senior Researcher at Oxfam. Read more about her work on her website.

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Doughnut Economics Action Lab 
https://doughnuteconomics.org

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st Century Economist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_Economics:_Seven_Ways_to_Think_Like_a_21st-Century_Economist 

‘Five Contemplations before Eating’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/five-contemplations-before-eating/

Biocentrism
https://www.britannica.com/topic/biocentrism

Lily Cole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Cole

The Raft Is Not the Shore
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-raft-is-not-the-shore/

‘Begin Anew’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew

Club of Rome
https://www.clubofrome.org/

The Art of Power
https://www.parallax.org/product/art-of-power/ 

Herman Daly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Daly

Chants: ‘The Three Refuges’ 
https://plumvillage.org/library/chants/the-three-refuges

Wellbeing Alliance
https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/ 

Economy for the Common Good 
https://www.econgood.org

Elinor Ostrom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
https://www.imf.org/en/Home

TED Talk: A Healthy Economy Should Be Designed to Thrive, Not Grow
https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_raworth_a_healthy_economy_should_be_designed_to_thrive_not_grow?subtitle=en

Barbara Ward
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Ward,_Baroness_Jackson_of_Lodsworth 

Marilyn Waring
https://marilynwaring.com/ 

Donella Meadows
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donella_Meadows 

Janine Benyus
https://biomimicry.org/janine-benyus

Quotes

“Doughnut economics is one way of trying to create an economics that actually is based on this planet, and lives on Earth. Economics, when you go back to ancient Greek, literally means the art of household management.”

“We need to create economies that are distributive by design, that share resources with all, that are regenerative by design, that regenerate the living systems, and that go beyond growth. That’s the essence of doughnut economics.”

“A volition and aspiration is a nutriment. It’s an energy to help us keep going. And the Buddha also gives us another antidote: aimlessness, which is to help us have an aspiration, but not think that, once we’ve arrived and completed that aspiration, that’s when we finally touch happiness.” 

“Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance, it is discrimination, it is ideology.” 

“I have arrived, I am home.”

“In the light of Plum Village teaching, that joy and happiness is not money, it is not success in wealth and in fame, but it is in the mindfulness that in this moment I have eyes to see, I have a family to love, I have a community to be with. I can forgive my parents, my ancestors, because I am their continuation. I am renewing them in this moment.” 

“I wrote a book, but actually it’s the practitioner, the people who want to try it and do it, that turn ideas on a page into a reality.” 

“The Buddha did not say that on the shore there’s no suffering. It’s how to be free, even in our suffering, how to still touch happiness while there are storms and misunderstandings.” 

“Don’t try to be the movement, join the movement.” 

“One of the chapters I wrote in Doughnut Economics is called ‘Nurture Human Nature’, and it starts with looking at ‘rational economic man’, a character that is taught in mainstream economics; it’s the individual, the autonomous, atomized individual, self-interested. He’s got money in his hand, ego in his heart, calculating in his head, nature at his feet. He hates work. He loves luxury. And he knows the price of everything, and he can never get enough.”

“The definition of economics is the management of scarce resources for unlimited wants, the self-interest. So the models we make of ourselves remake us. An economist called Robert Frank and his colleagues did research finding that students who go to university from year one to year two to year three of studying economics, the more they learn about rational economic man, the more they admire him, the more they value self-interest and competition over collaboration and altruism.” 

“Who we tell ourselves we are shapes who we become. And this is a critical insight, not just for economics, but for any discipline, indeed any art, any belief system that tells us who we are. It remakes us.” 

“If you were holding a tiny baby and their temperature hit 40 degrees, would you say, ‘You go, girl, you burst through that boundary.’ No. You would do everything you can because when something is a living being, we know that life thrives within boundaries. Our bodies give us signals about boundaries all day.” 

“We’re all probably lightly sweating now because today’s going to become 40 degrees and our bodies will sweat trying to calm themselves down. Or we shiver when we try to warm up. Or our stomachs will rumble if we’re really hungry or we’re thirsty. So we thrive within boundaries and rules give us a freedom. And when those rules are shared and we know others are following those rules, it allows all of us to be free and to enjoy something, and to come out and be truly ourselves and vulnerable and open, because there’s a deep trust.” 

“I am a drop in a river and we’re going together and there’s no hurry and nowhere to get to.” 

 “Practice first, theorize later.”

“People in a place utterly know their context and know what would be useful and know what would be possible and what they have energy and excitement to try.” 

Welcome to episode 73 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

Nobody escapes pain, but, for most people, knowing how to handle it remains a mystery. That’s why, in this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss ways to cope with painful feelings, both individually and collectively. The two presenters talk about the Buddhist practices of being with pain, and how to handle it, be aware of it, and understand it, in order to start transforming it. 

The conversation touches upon personal stories of transformation, including snippets from Thich Nhat Hanh’s life; the general fear of being with our suffering; the ability to touch joy in daily life; deep happiness; accessing the wisdom in ourselves; eight practical stages for dealing with our pain, based on Buddhist practices; and much more. 

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ 
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation (Episode #18)’ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18 

The Way Out Is In: The Heart of Meditation – Part One (Episode #61)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-heart-of-meditation-part-one-episode-61 

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Heart of Meditation – Part Two (Episode #62)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-heart-of-meditation-part-two-episode-62  

51 Mental Formations
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation

‘Texts for the Practice of “Touching the Earth”’
https://plumvillage.org/texts-for-the-practice-of-touching-the-earth 

Quotes

“I think pain is a universal thread that connects all of us human beings, because it is inevitable that each and every one of us experience pain, whether it is physical or emotional. And part of the Buddha’s journey of spiritual investigation was how he could touch deep freedom and deep awakening.”

“When we are taking care of our happiness, we are also taking care of our pain and our suffering. And these emotions coexist. They are like light and darkness, up and down; like all opposites. These two fundamental elements of  life are very important ingredient of spirituality.” 

“If we know how to look deeply into suffering, we will know how to suffer.”

“In kindness there’s patience.”

“Understanding pain and suffering is a very important element of spiritual growth.” 

“Someone like Thay, who experienced war, would never take a peaceful day for granted. And that became a root of his insight; he went through so much suffering, so much despair, so much killing, that the peace he was able to experience in 24 hours was the greatest gift.” 

“When we can touch our own pain and our own suffering, that is already mindfulness: just knowing that we suffer.” 

“The path is to be with our suffering in order to generate happiness.” 

“As a practitioner, we have to remember to nourish an important element in our daily life: the ability to experience joy in the present moment. And then recognize that happiness in the present moment.”

“You are more than your emotions.”

“Don’t think about your breath; feel your breath. Don’t think about your body; feel your body.” 

“Each moment is creating a new past. Each moment is creating a new future.”

Welcome to episode 72 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss finding a spiritual path and the conditions that need to exist for someone to feel at home with a spiritual practice. And what is it to find a spiritual practice and truly rest in it and develop it over time? How do we know if we’ve found a practice that works for us, and what is it to go deeply into one way of seeing the world?

The conversation touches upon many other ideas and topics such as bringing the sacred into the everyday; to be in service to the past and/or the future; Buddhist practices for people from different religious backgrounds; Dharma sharing and trust; and many more.

Brother Phap Huu also shares stories of many spiritual paths that are being told at the current Plum Village retreat.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Thank you for listening, and enjoy!

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing 

The Sun My Heart
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-sun-my-heart/

Understanding Our Mind https://www.parallax.org/product/understanding-our-mind/ 

‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ 
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village

Quotes

“To find a practice, a spiritual practice, Thay says that’s a treasure in life. And this is why we always have to practice gratitude. I’m very grateful every day that I have a community, I have a practice, and that I’m still part of the practice.”

“When we say ‘I take refuge in the Buddha’, it means ‘I take refuge in the seed of awakening inside of me’.”

“What I like about Plum Village is that there are very strong guidelines about sharing: to deeply listen with love; to speak only from the heart; not to cross-talk or answer back. And not to give people advice, but just be present for them, to offer a safe space into which they can pour their pain and let it be released but not to have to justify it, not have to answer questions about it – just know that people are present for them.” 

“Buddhist practices are not in conflict with any religion; they actually coexist alongside very beautifully.” 

“When we lose our sense of being, we don’t touch interbeing, which is the deep connection that comes from us all being interrelated.”

“Buddha means awakening.”

“When we don’t know how to take care of our pain, we go and consume. We are ready to create more pain for other people, because we don’t know how to cope with our pain. We don’t know how to transform our pain.” 

“We don’t have the ability to sit with nothing, to sit with the sense of pain in us. Or, sometimes, we don’t have the ability to be there and do nothing.” 

“Don’t just do something, sit there.”

“For those who would really like to be Buddhist, they can be Buddhist. And those who would like to keep their tradition but also be Buddhist and practice mindfulness, go ahead.”

“The first wing of meditation: stop. Know what you have. Check in. Where are you in your life?”

“This idea that when you practice, you don’t suffer; we have to review that idea. We have to give a new language to that.” 

“Sometimes, joy and happiness can coexist at the same time as suffering.”

“My mantra has been, ‘There are other wonderful human beings on this Earth.’ And we can even coexist also with humans who are not awakened and who have very dangerous and dogmatic views – to reawaken the seeds of goodness that are available in the present moment.”