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.”

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.”