Ancient Paths for Modern Times: Nurturing Tradition in Contemporary Challenges

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’.”