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.”

Welcome to episode 71 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.

We’re delighted to share this special two-part installment with you, which was recorded in June 2024 at the recent Plum Village retreat, Ancient Path for Modern Times.

This is the second recording of a panel discussion based loosely around the 14 mindfulness trainings – Thich Nhat Hanh’s ethical guidelines for living, a modern distillation of the traditional Bodhisattva precepts of Mahayana Buddhism. The trainings are followed by monastics and lay friends who have made a formal vow to receive, study, and observe them. 

In the panel, you will hear from leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino, Sister Lang Nghiem, one of the senior nuns in Plum Village, and Elli Weisbaum. Their conversation focuses on what it is to feel safe in the world, what it is to belong, and what it is like to feel at home in the world, and touches upon topics such as healing the past in the present moment; spiritual homes; community building; localization; being aware of indoctrination; challenging our worldviews; misinformation; creating resilience; and much more.

Dr. Elli Weisbaum, BFA, MES, PhD, has worked internationally facilitating mindfulness workshops and retreats within the sectors of education, healthcare, and business. She is currently the Acting Program Director for the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health Program (BPMH), at New College, University of Toronto, Canada. At the heart of her teaching and research is an interest in cultivating learning and occupational environments where all members of the community can flourish and thrive. She attended her first retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at the age of 10 and has continued to train with the Plum Village community. Elli’s background in both academic research and traditional mindfulness practice provides a distinct approach to her ongoing work teaching and researching in the field. Read more on her website.

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 Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings

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

Elli Weisbaum
https://www.elliweisbaum.com/ 

Sister Chan Lang Nghiem
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem 

The Order of Interbeing
https://orderofinterbeing.org/ 

Jamie Bristow
https://www.jamiebristow.com/

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

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

Dharma Talks: ‘Nutriments for Healing’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/nutriments-for-healing

Deer Park Monastery
https://deerparkmonastery.org/ 

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

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

Quotes

“You practice in the good times so that when the bad, difficult times come, you’re prepared to act.” 

“Our thoughts, we consume them first. They lead to our actions.”

“As a practitioner, I often look around in my day-to-day life and ask, holding up the four nutriments, what am I consuming beyond edible foods? And how is this impacting my internal landscape?”

“How am I contributing to the landscapes of consciousness around me?”

“Our practice is to turn towards suffering and embrace it. And, for me, the spaces where I feel safe are ones where that permission is given. And when that permission is given, then we also have the opportunity to touch happiness.”

“When a woman feels safe, she’s at home.”

“Home is to be at peace within myself.”

“Our joy is in our suffering, and our suffering is in our joy. So to try to separate them is itself a mistake.” 

“I met up with someone who’d been a local journalist in Texas, who was bemoaning the fact that there were no longer any journalists sitting on the local government committees. And so all accountability had gone; there was no one to report on what was going on. So the only narrative was the official narrative, which could be manipulated at will.”

“We need to educate ourselves into different worldviews, because it’s so deep within us that we’re completely unaware. And, of course, that’s why there are so many dangers with the contraction of real journalism into misinformation and individual bubbles where people just confirm their belief system. That is so intensely dangerous, because it’s going one way but many, many millions of people are going very rapidly in the other direction, saying, ‘I’ll choose my own truth’.”

Welcome to episode 70 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.

We’re delighted to be able to share with you this special two-part installment, recorded in June 2024 at the recent Plum Village retreat, Ancient Path for Modern Times.

This is the first recording of a panel discussion based loosely around the 14 mindfulness trainings – Thich Nhat Hanh’s ethical guidelines for living, a modern distillation of the traditional Bodhisattva precepts of Mahayana Buddhism. The trainings are followed by monastics and lay friends who have made a a formal vow to receive, study, and observe them. 

In the panel, you will hear two of our frequent guests, Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem) and Christiana Figueres, as well as Dharma teacher Shantum Seth.

These three panelists explore how the Buddha faced war and violence in his own time; the principle of ahimsa and Gandhian nonviolence; handling anger, despair, and burnout as activists; practicing in times of polarization and division; insights around the victim-perpetrator dynamic; sanghas as sanctuaries, and their role in activism; different aspects of engaged Buddhism and its evolution over time; the spiritual dimension of change; and much more. And does anger help?

Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, was a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and is a valued member of the Plum Village Sangha. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016, she is also the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the Outrage + Optimism podcast, and co-author of the bestselling The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. 

Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings for the past 35 years. Since 1988, he has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia. He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition.

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 Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings
https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mahatma Gandhi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi 

Jan Smuts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Smuts 

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

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

Paris Peace Accords
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Accords 

The European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
https://plumvillage.org/practice-centre/eiab 

Quotes

“I need to find a way of being peace, not just fighting for peace.”

“There’s no teaching as clear as ‘no mud, no lotus’, because that is the kernel of transformation. And if we can all give that to ourselves every day, then we can make space for the despair and the anger and maybe even the hatred. And, at the same time, be able to make space for the reconciliation and for the growth in our shared humanity.”

“What has always been important for me, as a guidance, is to understand that, because of the truth of interbeing, we all play a role. We all have our different positions, our different opinions, our different interests, and they’re all necessary.”

“I wake up, honestly, most mornings, despairing at what I’m seeing. The question for me, then, is: do I let that control my day? Do I let that control my thought, my word, and my action? Or do I use the despair as the very rich mud to transform into the lotus?” 

 “I know the reasons for anger. And if anger is directed at me it’s probably a good direction, because it means that it won’t be reflected back.” 

“Whatever is in me, I mirror out there in the world. Whatever I do has an effect on the world. The other option is to let the world determine what goes on inside me. I did that for many years, and it doesn’t lead to good results. So the invitation is to actually take responsibility. What is the world in here doing, and how do I reflect that onto the outside world?”

“If you can still see that the flowers are smiling, you’re okay.”

“True mindfulness or right mindfulness always contains ethics within it. And if it doesn’t have ethics in it, like, for example, using mindfulness to hold a gun and pull the trigger, then, actually, that’s not mindfulness. That would just be concentration or focus. Mindfulness is your whole being, including the ethical values that are there in the present moment.”

“You could send all the bombs to the moon, but the roots of war would still be in our hearts and minds.”

“The way we show up, the quality of our presence – whether it’s teachers or leaders in politics, the climate movement, our own organizations, or in our families – that quality of applied mindfulness in our presence is our engagement, and that’s what the world needs most.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of our applied mindfulness, the quality of our presence in the most simple moments. That is how we can take our civilization in the right direction.”

Welcome to episode 69 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.

With Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu away, leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino holds the fort with a special episode about the art of land regeneration, happy farming, and reconnecting deeply to nature. This time, Jo is joined by special guests and happy farmers Mick McEvoy and Sister Trang Lam Hy (Sister Forest of Joy), two of the people behind the Happy Farms agroecology project in Plum Village.

The conversation touches upon many topics, from Zen philosophies, the Diamond Sutra, and deep ecology, to seasonal planting and practicing mindfulness while working the land; producing food AND caring for the Earth; collective awakening and beginning anew; empathy for our food; reclaiming the nobility of the farmer; the importance of growing (beautiful) vegetables in a time of polycrisis – even in small quantities; land regeneration and Zen Buddhism; Thich Nhat Hanh’s gardening metaphors; and more.

Enjoy and thank you for listening!

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 

The Happy Harm
https://thehappyfarm.org/ 

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

‘The Five Earth Touchings’
https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings

Happy Farms: ‘Reverence for the Land’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/reverence-for-the-land 

‘Happy Farm: Rewilding – Healing, Regeneration, and Transformation for the Land’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/happy-farm-rewilding/ 

Sutras: ‘The Diamond That Cuts through Illusion’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/the-diamond-that-cuts-through-illusion

Dharma Talks: ‘Free from Notions: The Diamond Sutra’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/free-from-notions-the-diamond-sutra 

Deep ecology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology 

Vandana Shiva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandana_Shiva 

Grow It Yourself
https://giy.ie/ 

Eating Meditation
https://web.plumvillage.app/meditations/eating-meditation

Mary Oliver
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Oliver

The Bodhi Tree
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree 

Global North and Global South
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South 

Braiding Sweetgrass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass

Quotes

“I can pivot 360 degrees, and I can see countless examples of what Thich Nhat Hanh refers to as interbeing, this interconnectedness of all life.” 

“Happy Farm literally grounds people in [mindfulness] practice.”

“We are the Earth that carries us.”

“Go home to nature and let nature heal you.”

“Thay was a revolutionary to bring the community of humans, the community of practice, out into the forest to practice walking meditation every day. And that is so unique and healing in and of itself.”

“We’re probably the first generation, at least in the Global North, that have been separated in our choices, and how our communities and cultures have evolved to be separate from the gifts and knowledge of how to grow some of our own food. And in rediscovering how to do that, we took a lot from and have a lot of reverence for the ancestors: our blood ancestors, our family, our spiritual ancestors, and our land ancestors, those who lived on these lands. And many people lived on these lands here, in Plum Village, going way back into historical times when people hunted in these valleys or farmed these lands. And all our neighbors around us still farm these lands, not just on the Happy Farm.” 

“Vandana Shiva says that the most important thing we can do at this time is start a food garden and be soil builders; that’s why, on the Happy Farm, we’re definitely soil builders.”

“We’re all flowers in the garden of life.”

“The weeds don’t take a lazy day, like we do” 

“It’s not about the carrots, it’s about the collective awakening.”

“There is no way to harvest; to harvest is the way.” 

“We can harvest insights and collective awareness and joy and happiness during every moment of being together as a farming family, living within the community. So it’s not just waiting until the endgame, until we bring the harvest home; every moment with consciousness and intention and awareness and choice is a moment to harvest.” 

“When conditions are sufficient, things will manifest. And when conditions are no longer sufficient, things will cease to manifest.”

“We take for granted our food, but by growing it, we can dissolve that sense of apathy and inherently create a sense of empathy for our food, which can then ripple out beyond the food we eat ourselves, into our global food systems, our global food economy.” 

Welcome to episode 68 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 episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss Right Livelihood in Buddhism. After starting with what this means, they dive more deeply into practical steps and examples. How can we find joy, feel deeply connected, and also make a positive impact on the world through our daily work?

The conversation also touches upon ‘bringing our cosmic body to work’; the insight of responsibility; the difference between doing what we love and doing what we’re good at; ego and compassion in the workplace; planning for the future while being in the present; and much more. 

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

Enjoy and thank you for listening!

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 

Dharma Talks: ‘Right Livelihood and True Love’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/right-livelihood-and-true-love 

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

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

Dharma Talks: ‘Our Cosmic Body’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/our-cosmic-body 

Buddha Mind, Buddha Body
https://www.parallax.org/product/buddha-mind-buddha-body/ 

Sister True Dedication
https://www.instagram.com/sistertruededication/ 

The Art of Living
https://plumvillage.org/books/the-art-of-living

Quotes

“Each and every one of us has a spiritual dimension inside that we can generate wherever we go, and that is a contribution to what we want to build.” 

“By being we do more effectively.”

“Don’t just do something, sit there.”

“Time is being, time is to be alive.”

“When you have anger, it can be a bell of mindfulness that tells us when we see injustice, when we see suffering. And we can be with that anger. And that anger can become a voice for us, to have empathy, to have compassion. Because compassion can come from anger sometimes. It can come from what we’re seeing, because it tells us that this is wrong. But if we allow anger to always be there and not transform, and we don’t channel it into another energy, then we will become one with exactly that outer energy that made us angry in the first place.”

“Sometimes silence is the loudest noise.”

“Why not be soft? Why not be kinder? That softness and that kindness are very loud in a moment of big aggression. The kindness, the softness becomes a louder action because it shows our humanity; it shows the heart of love.”

“Thay emphasized that all of us have a Buddha body. We have [the potential for] awakening inside of us – we just have to cultivate it. And there are moments that we’re not a Buddha. That’s okay. But remember that we have Buddha nature inside of us.” 

“Thay had a calligraphy that really informs us about deep interbeing: ‘The piece of bread in your hands is the body of the whole cosmos.’ And that is for us to have a deep understanding that this piece of bread didn’t just come from nowhere, nothing. It’s the whole lifetime of the existence of time and space. And it’s a miracle to have this piece of bread. So be grateful. Hold it with gratitude. Hold it with reverence. Eat it with gratitude. Eat it with reverence.”

Welcome to episode 67 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 inaugural live recording of the podcast was made in London, England, on April 5th, 2024, before a sold-out audience of more than 400 people. For the first half of this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino explore what it means to step into freedom in the light of Buddhist teachings, drawing on insights from the life and teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, and including much needed practical steps which can be applied to our daily lives. Their conversation touches upon the pressure of perfection; layers of freedom; the best time to make a decision; experiencing gratitude; true happiness; vulnerability as an expression of love; working with the feeling of ‘not enough’; and much more.

The second half of the episode consists of a live question-and-answer session, with questions from the audience covering a wide range of topics: ways to embrace suffering; compassionate sharing; ending wars by cultivating peace; the joy of missing out; cultivating aspirations; empathy and mindfulness; and more.  

And this time you can even enjoy two short meditations guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Thank you for listening! 

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 

Stepping into Freedom: An Introduction to Monastic Buddhist Training
https://plumvillage.org/books/stepping-into-freedom 

‘Cong Phu Journal – Everything You Need to Know About the Practice Notebook’ 
https://plumvillage.app/cong-phu-journal-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-practice-notebook/

Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2 

Rains Retreat
https://plumvillage.org/articles/now-we-have-a-path-2023-24-autumn-winter-rains-retreat 

Christiana Figueres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiana_Figueres 

Dalai Lama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama 

World Wildlife Fund
https://www.worldwildlife.org/

Quotes

“We’re all looking to feel free, to be ourselves, to find happiness, to be recognized, to love and be loved. It’s at the core of our deepest aspiration in life. And yet, oftentimes, we don’t feel like that. We feel disturbed in our mind; we suffer from anger or frustration; we’re too busy; we have many obligations in our lives; we’re constantly bombarded with news and social media. And so we experience a dissonance between this wish to be free and our everyday lives.”

“Practicing mindfulness is, first, a practice of mere recognition, to call our habits by their name and to recognize the sources of energy that emerge in us. That, already, is the first step towards freedom. And freedom is a continuous energy and a continuous insight that we are cultivating. Thich Nhat Hanh was very firm when he said we all have the ability to have freedom, but here freedom doesn’t come from outside in, but is what we cultivate from the inside.” 

“Thay wasn’t ever using the war to affirm who he was. He was free from that. And that is something that I still aspire to walk towards. And when we talk about cultivating, it is very practical; it’s not just a mindset. Mindset is like a will – but, for us, aspiration has to go alongside action. So, very concretely, in the Plum Village tradition of Buddhist practice, in all of our Dharma, we have to engage in everyday life.” 

“Thich Nhat Hanh was once asked, ‘What’s the difference between Buddhism and engaged Buddhism?’ And he said, ‘If Buddhism is not engaged, it’s not really Buddhism. That’s just philosophy.’”

“I practice to look at all beings with the eyes of compassion. That is a choice we have. So, if we recognize this glimmer of life, this glimmer of a moment that we can make into a moment of freedom, we have freedom. And then we don’t just stop there; Engaged Buddhism is a continuous journey.” 

“Smiling is an act of peace.” 

“Why are we meditating? It’s not to run away; meditating is to be present. And if we allow ourselves to be truly present, we start to see ourselves more clearly; we get to identify the energies that pull us away from our freedom.” 

“Each and every one of us is a flower in the garden of humanity. And a garden that is very diverse is beautiful; it’s colorful and it offers its uniqueness, its different cultures, its different understandings.”

Welcome to episode 66 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 time, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino talk about the practice of gratitude and its power to shine a light in even the darkest circumstances. Their conversation touches on many aspects of gratitude, from the way it has been viewed in Buddhism since the days of the Buddha, to gratitude for life, gratitude as a gift and a rebalancer, and gratitude even when things don’t go well.  

Brother Phap Huu further talks about nourishing our deep connection to interbeing; opening our hearts to suffering; loneliness in the monastic community;  gratitude for the Earth, all living beings, and (even) minerals; the feeling of ‘enough’; the Cong Phu Sheet; and more. And why is gratitude a such a difficult practice, even when there are many opportunities to apply it?

Jo delves into daily practices of gratitude; coming back into balance; Christmas presents and meaninglessness; approaches to economic development in Bhutan; and more. 

The episode ends with a short meditation on gratitude 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 

The Way Out Is In live recording
https://wakeuplondon.org/thewayoutisin/ 

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

Old Path White Clouds
https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2 

Ananda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80nanda 

Shariputra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śāriputra 

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

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

The Alchemist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(novel) 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation or the Three Dharma Seals’ 
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-three-doors-of-liberation-or-the-three-dharma-seals-sr-chan-duc-italian-retreat-2018-05-04

‘Cong Phi Journal – Everything You Need to Know About the Practice Notebook’ 
https://plumvillage.app/cong-phu-journal-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-practice-notebook/

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

‘A Teacher Looking for His Student’
https://plumvillage.org/poems 

Brother Bao Tang (Brother Treasure)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-bao-tang

Gratitude for the Four Elements (short audio meditation by Brother Phap Dung) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWQlmyXF7fc

Quotes

“When we really touch the present moment with the deep insight that ‘what I have here is enough’, we start to touch freedom. But a lot of us are afraid to come home to ourselves. And the whole art of meditation is learning to come home.”

“Gratitude is a practice and a muscle that we need to develop. Because if we have a practice of gratitude, then being grateful is going to flow much more easily.”

“There is a lot of suffering today, but if we focus solely on that suffering, we may also lose the light. Therefore, gratitude becomes a light that we want to protect, to give us hope, to help us know why we are doing what we’re doing, for the activists to know what they are protecting, for the people who are calling out injustice to be grateful that, as human beings, we can use our voices to speak about suffering.”

Welcome to episode 65 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 episode is the second to be recorded live in front of an audience, in the Still Water Meditation Hall of Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

This time, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by frequent guest Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they discuss ‘manas’: in Buddhism, “an aspect of the mind that wants to believe we’re separate, wants to crave after all the pleasures of life, wants to avoid suffering, and does not like the idea of moderation.” 

The two monastics begin by defining manas and their larger context, as well as sharing relevant examples from their lives and the community, to support a better understanding of these concepts. The live discussion touches upon topics such as right diligence, watering the right seeds in us, Buddhist psychology, understanding how the mind works, the laws of moderation, reality checks, the importance of community in taming manas, the seven characteristics of manas, and much more.

The episode ends 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 

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

The Way Out Is In: ‘Understanding How Our Mind Works (Episode #28)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/understanding-how-our-mind-works-episode-28 

Sister Lang Nghiem
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem 

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

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

Dharma Talks: ‘Manas Consciousness, Teachings on Buddhist Psychology Retreat, 1997’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/manas-consciousness-thich-nhat-hanh-teachings-on-buddhist-psychology-retreat-1997 

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

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

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

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

Classes: ‘(Class #13) Right Diligence’
https://plumvillage.org/library/classes/class-13-right-diligence

Quotes

“Mindfulness has to be a verb. Compassion has to be a verb. We have to practise compassion for ourselves.”

“If you want a child to stop playing with something, you have to give him something else to play with.”

“Mindfulness is always to be mindful of something. The energy of mindfulness is like a light that we are able to generate, and we can shine that light towards ourself.” 

“Our manas is what keeps us alive, and we take care of it with nonviolence, with compassion, and with the insight of interbeing and nondiscrimination. Thay is known for his worldly or political nondiscrimination, but his insights on nondiscrimination extend to our whole being, our whole mind, and what it means to be human. And there’s so much compassion and nonviolence in that.” 

“We always say understanding – true, real understanding, right understanding – will generate compassion. And compassion is one of the elements of true love for oneself and for others.” 

“In the path that Thay has opened up for us, we are allowed to show up with our whole self, including all our shortcomings, and it’s such a special feeling to be accepted for who you are.” 

Welcome to episode 64 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 episode is the first to be recorded live in front of an audience, in the Still Water Meditation Hall of Plum Village, France, during a retreat, rather than in Thay’s Sitting Still hut. 

Together, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino explore the Buddhist concept of ripening, or the Fourth Dharma Seal of Plum Village: the understanding that the care, love, attention, and commitment we put into what’s important in life take time to ripen, and that we shouldn’t expect instant results.

Brother Phap Huu starts off by introducing the first Three Dharma Seals and why Thay created them, before digging deeper into the Fourth Dharma Seal, the main theme of this episode; the process of ripening; the life journey of the practice; and much more.

Jo brings examples of lifelong journeys of forgiveness, and explores trust versus control, dharma rain, and more.

And: how can we all apply this practice of ripening to our own lives?

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 

The Way Out Is In – Live recording information
https://wakeuplondon.org/thewayoutisin/

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

Sutras: ‘Discourse on the Dharma Seal & the Three Doors of Liberation’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-dharma-seal-the-three-doors-of-liberation

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

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

Dharma Talks: ‘Three Doors of Liberation’ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/three-doors-of-liberation-br-phap-khi-italian-retreat-2018-05-01/

‘The Doors of Liberation’
https://www.lionsroar.com/the-doors-of-liberation-may-2014/ 

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

Dharma Talks: ‘Right View: Understanding the Roots of Our True Happiness’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/right-view-understanding-the-roots-of-our-true-happiness 

Old Path White Clouds
https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2

Fragrant Palm Leaves 
https://plumvillage.org/books/1998-neo-ve-cua-y-fragrant-palm-leaves

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

Sister Lang Nghiem
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem 

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

Quotes

“When we practice meditation and mindfulness to come home to the here and now, we start to discover that the present moment is the only moment in which we can be alive. And the present moment embraces the past as well as creating the future.”

“If we don’t have darkness, the light won’t have a chance to appear.”

“It is impossible to physically go back to the past, but I can bring the past into the here and now, and heal it by being right here, right now. By this present moment, I am creating a new path.”

“The world is created by our mind.” 

“The insight of ripening allows us to understand that the path of practice is a wonderful journey, and that it takes time and space for things to mature, for things to transform, for things to heal. When we hear about ripening, we may think of a tree – say, an orange tree. It takes time for the seed to be planted. For the roots to deepen. For the tree and its leaves and flowers to grow. Even when the fruit appears, it takes time to ripen. And so our practice can be viewed as a journey of ripening.” 

“Each thing we say, each thing we think, each thing we do, ripples out. I love that image of a pond or a big lake where you throw in a stone and see the ripples spread in every direction. And even when you can’t really see them, they’re still there in a subtle way, stretching out further and further.” 

“The learning journey is endless.”

“If you know how to suffer, you suffer less.”

“If we take away the need for the outcome and are instead just present for people, then life can show up fully.”

“The Buddha said that the dharma is like fine-tuning an instrument for our path. If we are too intense, too rigid, too extreme, we won’t go the distance. The string might snap because there’s too much effort, there’s too much intensity. But if we’re too lazy, and are just daydreaming about what can be, then the string is loose and doesn’t play the the sound that’s needed.”