Exploring the Seven Characteristics of MANAS and Ending with a Guided Meditation

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.” 

---