Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, known as Thay by his followers, spoke at the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. He urged the Americans to stop the bombing in Vietnam. He was speaking about the people in Vietnam that he knew were dying. He did not put the […]
Equanimity and Wisdom Work Together for a Happy Life
November 16, 2014 by
Andrew Olendzki is one of my favorite writers on Buddhism. Together with S. N. Goenka, we learn that equanimity and wisdom work together for a happy life. In the Tricycle article, Andrew says, “Mindfulness is the thin edge of a wedge that, if inserted deeply enough into our minds, will open them to wisdom. Whether […]
Life is Available Only in the Present Moment
November 15, 2014 by
Dear Friends: Now that the world knows that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) is in intensive care, it is important to remember one of his major teaching: “Life is available only in the present moment.” Tricycle also picked up on this theme with these words of wisdom from Thay. It is funny that things […]
Thich Nhat Hanh is Ill in Bordeaux
November 13, 2014 by
I am sorry to report that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is ill in Bordeaux. Perhaps these words of wisdom will help us remain strong during this trying time. “This body is not me; I am not caught in this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never […]
Let Your Mind Settle
November 12, 2014 by
Here is a story and a quote that teaches you how to let your mind settle. You may want to do this prior to taking an action when you are disturbed or upset. In The Sun My Heart: From Mindfulness to Insight and Contemplation, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay by his followers) […]
Compassion and Wisdom
November 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Compassion and wisdom and are the cornerstones of Buddha’s teachings. Compassion and Wisdom | November 10, 2014 The one thing I always come back to is that compassion and wisdom are at the heart of the BuddhaÂ’s teaching. If you cannot find either wisdom or compassion in something, then I donÂ’t feel that it […]
The Better Way to Live Alone
November 10, 2014 by
My teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known affectionately by his followers as Thay – teacher) , often teaches on the better way to live alone. His teachings are based on the words of the Buddha passed down orally until they were written down. These writings are called sutras. In this article, we are going to review Sutra […]
How to Regard All Beings
November 6, 2014 by
Here is a quote from Huineng on how to regard all beings. Other than the quote, which is from Tricycle.com, this is my recollection of his role in Zen Buddhism. Huineng was the sixth patriarch of Zen. He was born in 638 and died in 713 at the age of 75. He began his spiritual […]
Can We Avoid Becoming Complete Robots
November 5, 2014 by
D. T. Suzuki was one of the seminal figures in bringing Zen to the West. He noted that our modern civilization is dehumanizing us at a rapid rate, even back then when he wrote in the ’50s and ’60s, he could see this was already becoming true. Now it is worse than ever. Can we […]
Our True Home
November 3, 2014 by
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that our true home exists in the here and in the now. There is only the present moment, and if we are present, we are home. We sing a song that goes like this: I have arrived, I am home. In the here and in the now. I […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.