Brother Phap Huu, Jo Confino, and Sister Trai Nghiem discuss mindfulness, concentration, dealing with emotions, awakening awareness, and the importance of resting in today's society. They share insights on personal changes from mindfulness practices and the advanced nature of the 'lazy day' in a monastery.

Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss Right Livelihood in Buddhism, finding joy and connection at work, balancing ego and compassion, and being present while planning for the future. The conversation includes insights on aligning work with values, healing emotional wounds, embracing joy in the journey of work, and practicing mindfulness in the workplace. The episode ends with a guided meditation by Brother Phap Huu.

Welcome to episode 34 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 time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, talk about the modern diseases of busyness, overwhelm, and burnout, and how Zen Buddhist practices and Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings can help us regain our balance.  Brother Phap Huu shares his thoughts on busyness in a monastic environment; coming home to ourselves and learning to stop in the midst of crises; the four elements (the practice, the study, the service, the joy); the noble silence practice in a retreat, and becoming one with the silence; learning to stop and listen to ourselves; the practice of deep belly breathing; impermanence. And do you know how the Zen Master himself would face up and deal with overwhelm?Jo shares his thoughts on the Climate Leaders retreat and makes a case for an “age of community.” He further reflects on allowing vulnerability in our overwhelm and busyness; compassion for ourselves; selfishness and selflessness; simplicity in the practice; guilt.   The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. 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  ‘Wake Up Humanity 2022’ retreathttps://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/international-wake-up-retreat-2022/  Plum Village Retreats Calendarhttps://plumvillage.org/retreats/retreats-calendar/  Five Skandhashttps://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Five_skandhas  Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Skandhas of Grasping and Non-Self’​https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-skandhas-of-grasping-and-non-self%e2%80%8b-dharma-talk-by-br-phap-lai-2018-06-08/  Songs: ‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’ https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing/  ‘Connecting to Our Root Teacher, the Buddha’https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/connecting-to-our-root-teacher-a-letter-from-thay-27-sept-2014/ Thay’s Poetry: ‘Please Call Me by My True Names’ (song & poem)https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem/  ‘The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend’https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend/  Quotes “Mindfulness means to be aware of what is happening in the here and now. And when we associate to this practice, a lot of the habits that we have as a practitioner, especially practitioners, we want to feel the good sensation more than the negative. But here, in the spirit of Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha, when we speak about mindfulness, it is to embrace everything that is happening.” “A lot of monks in this time, and generations before us, have Zen gardens. They have gardens that they would take care of because that is also a way of directing energy, so overwhelming is an energy. So our practice is learning to identify the energy and directing that energy so that it can bring us back to balance.” “What I think is core to Buddhist practice is that we can only be useful in the world if we’re in balance ourselves. And it’s not selfish to look after yourself, it’s actually selfless because it’s only when our bowl is full and overflowing that we’re able to naturally give to other people. And when our bowl is empty, actually we’ve got nothing to give.”  “When you come to our practice in the retreats, this is the first thing we teach everyone: learning to stop. That’s why these bells in the monastery are so important. We have this aspiration to stop, but our habit, our ancestral habit, our habit from society is so strong in us that we feel like we have to do something.”  “Learn to listen to yourself.” “Don’t wait for life to be difficult to start practising, but learn to practise in the good times so that when a difficult time comes, we’ve already built that into our system. Because a lot of people think, ‘Oh, well, life is fine. Why do I need to be mindful? Why do I do this? Because everything’s good.’ But it’s when we have space in the good times to focus and to understand how our mind works, how our body works, how we can reflect on ourselves, that in the moments where things get very tough and we lose that space, that we already know how to act. And I think a lot of people feel that they can just do this when times are bad.”  “Coming home to oneself is the beginning of transformation, because when we have the capacity to come home, that’s when we can work on oneself.” “We want to create sustainability outside, but we have to create sustainability inside also.” “When you come home to yourself, this is transformation at the base.” “An important aspect of dealing with overwhelm is to be vulnerable with it, because often we feel that to cope we have to close down, and we have to protect ourselves. Whereas, more than often, the truth is we open up, we share, we are present, we show our weaknesses, we show our scars. And that gives other people permission to do the same.” “I think so much of dealing with overwhelm, dealing with busyness is to be vulnerable in it. Because if we all feel alone and none of us are sharing about it, then all we’re doing is exacerbating it. We’re not letting anyone offer their support. No one can offer their care because we’ve closed the door.” “Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance.”

Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner Jo Confino discuss the concept of impermanence in Buddhist philosophy, emphasizing the importance of living in the present moment and not being attached to anything. They explore how understanding impermanence can help us deal with suffering and create our own happiness. The podcast also includes insights on renewing Buddhism for new generations and the profoundness of Buddhist teachings.

Welcome to episode 35 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 time, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino, discuss the art of happiness according to the sutras from the Buddha’s time. Their conversation explores the many layers of the Discourse on Happiness, each of the 11 causes of ‘the greatest happiness’, as shared by the Buddha, and how these ancient texts help us create the conditions in which our own happiness can ripen today. Both Brother Phap Huu and Jo dig deeply into their own private and professional lives to exemplify and support these subjects; from ‘living our values’ and the Four Gratitudes to the power of the sangha, meaning and purpose,  generosity, forgiveness, Thay’s memorable calligraphies, and many other topics. The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. 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  Sutras: ‘Discourse on Happiness’https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-happiness/  Tathāgatahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tath%C4%81gata  Devahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism)  Buddhahoodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuddhahoodSutras: ‘Discourse on the 5 Ways of Putting an End to Anger’https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-five-ways-of-putting-an-end-to-anger/  ‘The Order of Interbeing’https://plumvillage.org/community/order-of-interbeing/ ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/  ‘Dharma Sharing’https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/  TWOII: ‘Engaged Buddhism: Applying the Teachings in Our Present Moment (Episode #9)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/engaged-buddhism-applying-the-teachings-in-our-present-moment/  The Four Noble Truthshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA  Tếthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E1%BA%BFt  Quotes “There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way.” “Thay said that happiness is not outside of you, happiness is in you and around you already. It’s whether we have the mindfulness to recognize the wonderful conditions that are there. And so, if we change our perceptions, we start to see that happiness is the way. Just being is the way. And so we can free ourselves from the habit of running after happiness.” “Not to be associated with the foolish ones, but to live in the company of wise people, honoring those who are worth honoring – this is the greatest happiness.” “[Thay suggested sometimes calling] a good friend, a soulmate, someone who understands you, someone who helps you see your shortcomings, and has the courage and the intention to share with you your own ignorance, so that you can grow from it. That is happiness.”  “To live in a good environment, to have planted good seeds, and to realize you are on the right path – this is the greatest happiness.” “The environment is not outside of you; you are the environment.” “Every thought is planting a seed. Every idea I conjure up in my mind is planting a seed. Everything I say is planting a seed. Everything I do is planting a seed. And I think people tend not to see the full nature of what it is to plant seeds; that, actually, there’s nothing neutral [about it].”  “To have a chance to learn and grow, to be skillful in your professional craft, practicing the precepts and loving speech – this is the greatest happiness.”  “To live honestly, generous and giving, to offer support to relatives and friends living a life of blameless conduct – this is the greatest happiness.”  “Most of the time, we make ourselves very busy and we think we love and we define love as always giving each other presents. But love is to give each other presence, our true presence, our heart, our ears, our eyes: ‘I see you for who you are. I’m here to listen to you.’”  “Being honest means never having to remember what you said.” “To avoid unwholesome actions, not to be caught by alcoholism or drugs, and to be diligent in doing good things. This is the greatest happiness.”  “To be humble and polite in manner, to be grateful and content with a simple life, not missing the occasion to learn the dharma – this is the greatest happiness.”  “Be grateful and content with a simple life. That always brings me to one of Thay’s calligraphies: ‘You have enough.’ That line tells us to continue to learn to have moderation. We are a species with a lot of greed; we take more than we need. We see things as just things, so we keep taking and taking and taking. But what we have learned in our times is that everything is interrelated; that’s why we are in the state that we are in. And that’s why we need this collective awakening. Simple life should be the new culture.” “To be humble is to be free, because as soon as we believe we’re something more than ourselves, it’s a shaky superstructure. To keep it going, we have to keep feeding it, and building it, and protecting it. And, again, it feeds into that egoic mask. Actually, we just lose ourselves. And the more we lose ourselves, the harder it is to come back to ourselves, because the distance becomes so great.” “Practicing Buddhism is not to escape this world, but to be more alive in it.”