Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Practicing self-compassion and gratitude helps in embracing authenticity and connecting with others.
- Learning from past mistakes and practicing forgiveness fosters self-acceptance and interconnectedness.
- Embracing humility and adaptability through mindful practices cultivates unity and compassion towards oneself and others.
Deep dives
Practices of Connecting to Self and Others: Embracing Loneliness
Learning to navigate through feelings of loneliness and disconnection, the podcast discusses various practices to foster self-awareness and genuine connection. Sharing personal experiences of loneliness and vulnerability, the speakers emphasize the importance of humility and self-compassion. Practices such as coming back to the breath, mindfulness in daily life, and humbling oneself through gestures like touching the earth are highlighted. By recognizing the interconnectedness of all beings and cultivating gratitude and awareness in the present moment, individuals are encouraged to embrace their authentic selves and extend compassion to themselves and others.
Cultivating a Sense of Gratitude and Understanding: Finding Peace Within
The podcast encourages listeners to cultivate self-compassion and gratitude by acknowledging the causes and conditions that shape their actions. Through practices like self-forgiveness and understanding, individuals can learn to accept their imperfections and past mistakes. By focusing on the present moment and aligning with nature and one's ancestors, a sense of interconnectedness and wholeness can be fostered. Embracing the wisdom of past experiences and allowing space for growth and transformation, individuals can develop a sense of peace and openness towards themselves and others.
Practices of Humility and Adaptability: Nurturing Connection Through Flexibility
Discussing the significance of humility and adaptability in fostering connection, the podcast explores practices like bowing and tree hugging as ways to cultivate a sense of unity with nature and others. Demonstrating the power of being present and flexible in social interactions, the speakers highlight the importance of offering love, understanding, and compassion to oneself and those around. By embracing moments of humbleness and open-heartedness, individuals can navigate challenging situations, such as family gatherings, with grace and empathy, fostering genuine connections and mutual respect.
Honoring Ancestral Roots: Practices of Mindfulness and Gratitude
The podcast delves into the practice of touching the earth as a way to honor one's ancestral roots and cultivate deep mindfulness. By humbling oneself and acknowledging the interconnectedness of all beings, individuals can find peace and strength in the present moment. Embracing practices of gratitude, self-love, and compassion, listeners are encouraged to tap into their innate joy and wisdom, fostering a sense of interconnectedness with themselves, their ancestors, and the world around them.
Expressing Appreciation and Gratitude: Fostering Community and Connection
In closing, the podcast expresses gratitude towards all those who contribute to its creation and maintenance, showcasing the power of community support and collaboration. Emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the interconnectedness of all beings, the speakers extend heartfelt thanks to listeners and supporters. Through practices of mindfulness, self-love, and humility, individuals are encouraged to cultivate genuine connections, embrace vulnerability, and extend compassion to themselves and others, fostering a sense of unity and gratitude in all interactions.
Welcome to episode 43 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.
In the last podcast recording of 2022, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Jina (the special guest in episode 14, ‘I Have Arrived, I Am Home; What a Blessing’). Together, they discuss loneliness, and how the Buddha’s teachings and Plum Village practices and exercises can help us come back to ourselves, and feel connected and part of life. The three also share moments of loneliness from different points in their lives.
Sister Jina (Sister Dieu Nghiem, translated as Sister True Wonder) further shares about coming home to oneself; creating self-compassion; people’s fears about looking inside themselves for answers; and learning from our mistakes.
Brother Phap Huu shares about Thich Nhat Hanh’s view of happiness, gratitude, and on identifying the goodness in life; ignoring our suffering; connecting to our true self; the temptation to retell stories of our suffering; the void and taking care of our wellness; learning to forgive; learning to be flexible; the practice of touching the earth; tree hugging; and silence.
Jo shares about feeling worthless and lonely in front of 400 people; reaching out to others when suffering from loneliness; learning to love oneself; gifting presence to ourselves and others; and interbeing.
The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.
“We send our hearts out to you and hope that this conversation has brought some balm to your lives, and that over this period of days and weeks you find a sense of peace, a sense of calm, a sense of rootedness, and a sense of love and gratitude for yourself.”
See you in the new year!
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 Jina
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem/
The Way Out Is In: ‘I Have Arrived, I Am Home; What a Blessing’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/i-have-arrived-i-am-home-what-a-blessing-episode-14/
Dharma Talks: ‘Interbeing and Store Consciousness’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/interbeing-and-store-consciousness/
Climate Week
https://www.climateweeknyc.org/
Sutras: ‘Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone’
https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone/
Our Appointment with Life: Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone https://www.parallax.org/product/our-appointment-with-life-sutra-on-knowing-the-better-way-to-live-alone/
Tom Rivett-Carnac
https://www.globaloptimism.com/tom-rivett-carnac
Christiana Figueres
http://christianafigueres.com/#/
Thich Nhat Hanh: Live Our Life Whole: The Surface and the Depth of Our Being (4 February, 1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUNFiPBIsw
‘The Five Earth Touchings’
https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings/
Quotes
“As a young man, rather than true friendship, I was looking to get people to pay attention to me, almost to prove that I was alive and worthy to be alive. And it created an imbalance in my life: rather than thinking I had something to give and offer because I felt strong in myself, I was always looking for other people to mirror my existence.”
“Sometimes when you’re suffering from real loneliness, reach out and be vulnerable and share and allow the love and support of other people to come in.”
“We’re in a time of what’s supposed to be great connection; we’re all connected, but that connection is very often [on the] surface and is leading to more disconnection.”
“In my orientation, I always guide and I always invite people at the retreat to learn to be a friend with their breath, because that breath accompanies you to the west, to the east, to the north, to the south, inside, outside. As long as you are there, that breath will be with you. And the more you are connected to the breath, the more you learn to guide your mind home to your body, then you have a chance to cultivate your mind.”
“We have the view that being together is [only about] being with humans. But in our practice, we start to learn that being together is also [being] with nature, it’s also [being] with the conditions around you. Thay would teach us every morning to be grateful for one thing: ‘When you wake up and you see the sunrise; be grateful for that.’ You’re not alone. The sunrise is there for you.”
“Happiness is a very big word, but in the Zen tradition and in Plum Village, Thay talked about happiness as something as simple as having a cup of tea: feeling the warmth, seeing companions, seeing I’m not alone, and starting to train the mind [to see] that I have goodness inside of me, I have happiness inside of me, I have joy inside of me, I have peace inside of me. I can touch that, even though it’s not long-lasting. But peace is available. So the first steps, and the first attention and awareness that we are taught to identify, is the goodness in life, inside of us and around us. And what’s interesting is that it is very easy to have gratitude for things outside of us. [But] it takes a little bit more effort to have gratitude for oneself.”
“Sometimes we get so lost in our practice or in that present moment, and Thay had a very funny, quirky side, so he would ask one of his students, ‘What moment is this?’ And the right answer would be, ‘This is a happy moment.’ Sometimes we just need to be reminded to show up for ourselves; only when we show up for ourselves we can truly show up for others.”
“We also have to forgive ourselves. This forgiving is a journey, because when we forgive ourselves, we may also be forgiving our ancestors or our parents, who inflicted suffering to us, our society that inflicted suffering on us. And so this forgiving oneself has another layer that is unseen: learning to meet the other conditions, and forgiving, and recognizing them, embracing and transforming them, and letting them go. And when we say let go, it doesn’t mean they are not there anymore, but we’re not attached to them anymore because we, as practitioners, want to learn to be more free, because freedom is an element of self-love.”
“I am as I am because of causes and conditions. And who am I to judge other people? What are their dreams? What are their hopes? What are their fears? And so I think the issue is not the other people; it’s inside of me – and that’s good because I can do something about it.”
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