Thich Nhat Hanh and The Art of Mindful Living

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist monk, writer, poet, and peacemaker. He was exiled from Vietnam–his homeland–because of his peace activities during the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. In his nomination, Dr. King said:

“I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced tick-not-hawn) is among the world’s most respected Buddhist leaders and nearly as revered as the Dalai Lama.  He’s the author of over 70 books on what he calls the art of mindful living.  The following quote is a great summation of his world philosophy:

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

Here are five YouTube videos in which Thich Nhat Hanh teaches the art of mindful living:

Anything Can Be the Object of Your Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh defines mindfulness as follows: “Mindfulness is the capacity to be aware of what is going on, and what is there. The object of your mindfulness can be anything.”

He adds that you can look at the sky, breathe in, and say: “Breathing in, I am aware of the blue sky.”  At that moment you are mindful—or aware–of the blue sky; the blue sky becomes the object of your mindfulness.  Then you can add the following: “With each breath I come back to the present moment.”

You can turn to look at a tree, or at someone walking by, and do the same thing.  According to the Buddhist monk, through mindfulness we can appreciate the beauty and wonder of each moment of life.

In addition, Thich Nhat Hanh explains that you can be mindful of your eyes which have the ability to see the world around you. You can be mindful of your heart, which functions normally, which is a good thing.

By being aware of your actions, you can enjoy your life while you make tea, or while you wash the dishes.  All of this means that you can stop running after things which you think will make you happy.  By being aware of what you already have–and of the beauty that surrounds you–you can be happy right here, right now.

(If you’re reading this by email you may have to visit the blog to watch the video.)

Thich Nhat Hanh Talks About the Ego

In the YouTube video below, Thich Nhat Hanh explains that his right hand has written many poems, while his left hand hasn’t written any. However, his right hand doesn’t have a superiority complex. It doesn’t turn to the left hand and say: “I write poetry and you don’t. I’m better than you are. You, left hand, are good for nothing.” At the same time, his left hand doesn’t have an inferiority complex. It doesn’t feel bad about itself because the right hand writes poetry and it does not.

Thich Nhat Hanh goes on to say that he was trying to hammer a nail into the wall but he missed the nail, and he ended up hitting the thumb on his left hand with the hammer. His right hand immediately put down the hammer and held the left hand very tenderly, as if it was taking care of itself.

The right hand did not then say to the left hand:  “Left hand, remember that I, the right hand, have taken good care of you. You have to pay me back some time in the future.”  At the same time, the left hand didn’t say: “Right hand, you’ve done me a great harm. Give me the hammer. I want justice.” The two hands know that they’re together; they know that they’re in each other’s care.

(If you’re reading this by email you may have to visit the blog to watch the video.)

Thich Nhat Hahn Talks About Anger

In the interview shown in the video below, Thich Nhat Hahn speaks about anger. He explains that we should hold our anger in a tender way, like a mother holding her baby. Loving kindness is a part of us, but so is anger; so it’s basically one part of us taking care of another.

Another way of saying “loving kindness” is “mindfulness”. Every time the energy of anger is present, we should invite the energy of mindfulness to be present as well, so that it can take care of the anger. We invite mindfulness to be present through mindful breathing. When you breathe mindfully you’re not ignoring anger, you’re mindful of your anger; you’re taking care of your anger.

Say the following to yourself as you breathe: “Breathing in, I know that I am angry. Breathing out I am taking good care of my anger.” This is embracing anger with the energy of mindfulness. If we do this for some time, there will be a transformation in the heart of the anger.

To illustrate his point, Hahn uses the metaphor of flowers that are closed in the morning. When the sun shines on them, penetrating deeply into the flower, eventually the flower opens to the sunshine. Our anger is like a flower that needs the care of sunshine, that is, it needs mindfulness.

(If you’re reading this by email you may have to visit the blog to watch the video.)

Suffering Comes From the Nature of Our Perceptions

Thich Nhat Hanh explains that most of our suffering comes from the nature of our perceptions.  He indicates that in our daily life we are seldom free from our feelings, emotions, wrong perceptions, and mental formations.  We’re like a leaf floating on the ocean, with the waves pushing us back and forth.  We don’t have sovereignty over the situation; we allow ourselves to be pulled away by our feelings and perceptions.

He adds that we need to lead our own lives, instead of allowing our lives to be led by the circumstances that surround us.   That’s why it’s so important to master the situation and master ourselves; we do this by mastering our feelings and our perceptions.  (Source).

Thich Nhat Hanh explains that in Buddhism, Nirvana is the cessation of all suffering.  At the same time, as explained above, our suffering comes from our wrong perceptions.  The practice of meditation removes our wrong perceptions, so that we can be free of the afflictions and the suffering that arises from wrong perceptions.

As an example of a wrong perception, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about death.  We may be afraid of dying, and thinking about death may cause us suffering, because we have a wrong perception of death.  People tend to think of death as nothingness. However, the Buddha taught that birth and death are simply notions. The fact that we think they’re true creates a powerful illusion that causes our suffering.

You look at a cloud in the sky. Then it rains and you no longer see the cloud. You think that the cloud no longer exists. However, if you look closely, you can see the cloud in the rain. It’s impossible for a cloud to die: it can become rain, snow, or ice, but the cloud can’t become “nothing”. That is why the notion of death cannot be applied to reality. There’s a transformation, there’s a continuation, but you cannot say that there is death.

In this same way, you can examine all of the perceptions that bring you suffering and realize that these perceptions are wrong.  In addition to meditation, this is how you remove suffering. Nirvana can be translated as “freedom from wrong views”. (Source).

Conclusion

To conclude, here’s a beautiful quote by Thich Nhat Hanh:

“Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace.  It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

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(Thich Nhat Hanh photo courtesy of Sweeping Zen)

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