Understanding the Eight Realizations

Welcome to episode 82 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 installment sees Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication to discuss the Eight Realizations of Great Beings. This ancient Buddhist sutra provides guidance on overcoming suffering, putting an end to misunderstandings and difficulties, and making progress towards or even attaining enlightenment: “leaving behind the world of birth and death, [and] dwelling forever in peace”.

In this, the first of two parts, the three contributors explore the first four realizations, which cover the impermanence of all things, the suffering caused by desire, the tendency of the mind to seek fulfillment outside of itself, and the importance of diligent practice to transform unwholesome mental states. 

Their conversation also touches upon the relevance of these teachings for modern life and the need for a balanced approach that combines inner work and outward service; the value of community; and a non-judgmental approach to one’s own mind and body as key to the Buddhist path of understanding and love.

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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/

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List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Sister Hien Nghiem (Sister True Dedication)
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem 

Sutras
https://plumvillage.org/genre/sutras 

The Eight Realizations of Great Beings 
https://www.parallax.org/product/the-eight-realizations-of-great-beings

Dharmakaya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmak%C4%81ya 

Pali Canon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali_Canon

Parthian Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_Empire

Sister Jina
https://plumvillage.shop/authors/sister-jina-van-hengel/ 

‘The Three Dharma Seals’
https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/the-three-dharma-seals/ 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Remembrances’ 
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://www.instagram.com/brotherspirit

Mahayana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

‘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 

Pema Chödrön
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pema_Ch%C3%B6dr%C3%B6n 

Bodhisattva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva 

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Quotes

“When we talk about non-self in Buddhism, it is to understand that we cannot exist by ourselves. That is non-self in a nutshell.”

“Those things we might hold on to as important are also impermanent. In this realization we’re touching both the good news and the challenge: the good news of impermanence and the challenge of impermanence. So those things that are causing great injustice, hardship, suffering, fear, and despair: they are impermanent. That can give us some relief when we really look into the broad scale of things and the broad scale of time. But, also, things we cherish are impermanent. The house that we saved up to build, to renovate, to take care of – where will that house be in two thousand years’ time? In twenty thousand years’ time? We can pour our whole heart into a project – but where will that project be in ten thousand years? And this is an important contemplation, because it’s one of the unlocking keys in Buddhism. Everything is a formation, made of other parts, but we grasp on to and we hold on to these things and we sacrifice our life and our happiness, our present moment, and our relationships chasing after those things, investing in those things – and we lose the wonders of the present moment.” 

“If you look at the global situation, it can be quite easy to despair. But if you look at your local community and what you can do, that can be very empowering.” 

“What gets me up and what continues to motivate me is that we are developing and nurturing the continued spiritual tradition that we have received.” 

“In Buddhism we have this line, ‘The mind is a field to be cultivated.’ There are seeds and we have to take care of the ones that come up as weeds and the ones that will come up as good things that can nourish us.”

“You are the guardian of this body; you better be careful how you handle all those impulses, because, left unhandled, they lead to this impulsive, short-sighted behavior which is the root of suffering and injustice in the world. So both our body and mind are something for us to take care of.” 

“The mind is an organ. It’s an uncultivated organ until we become really familiar with it and learn how to take care of it with a lot of compassion and understanding.”

“All hardships in daily life arise from greed and desire. Those with little desire and ambition are able to relax their body and mind, free from entanglement.”

“You can lose your practice in your monastic life very easily if there is no deeper desire to have the impact of change, of compassion, of love, and of transformation.”

“We’re always picking up what’s going on outside, but often not actually listening at all to what’s going on inside.”

“If we generate joy inside of ourselves it naturally flows into the world.” 

“The fourth realization is the awareness that indolence is an obstacle to practice.” 

“What I love about Buddhism is that Buddhism loves lists. We often say this. And we also love repetition.”

“There are things that we think are important but actually aren’t, and they’re taking our time and energy from a deep pursuit of something inside that can really unlock understanding of suffering, can really unlock insight and help us live a deeper, more meaningful, healing, and loving life.” 

“The main point here is: guard your mind and feed your mind good things, and apply effort every day, every week.” 

“The fire of birth and death is raging; this is something we are bearing witness to as humans on this planet. And simply how I consume and take that in is a cultivation of the mind – so I don’t want to have a lazy mind, an indolent mind, when I’m reading the news. It’s not that the news is happening to me.” 

“When we say that we observe what is happening in the mind, this mere recognition is already a power, because we’re saying, ‘I am more than this thing’.”