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In this fourth Dharma talk of our 40 Years Retreat, “Now We Have a Path: We Have Nothing More to Fear”, Brother Phap Linh shares how we can recognize trauma in ourselves and those around us, as well as how we can care for it and help it to heal. He describes David Treleaven’s five principles of Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness, and relates these principles to our practice in the Plum Village community. He suggests, for example, that communal practices such as Dharma sharing, sharing mindful meals, and walking meditation can also be seen as powerful means of “co-regulation”, establishing a safe ground on which we can enjoy walking together the path of mindfulness, understanding, and love. Brother Phap Linh shares that shares that when we root ourselves in a deep confidence based on personal experience and time-tested traditions and practices, we can also open and allow these traditions to be enriched by other frameworks and modes of inquiry. He relates his own process of embracing and healing deep trauma by entrusting himself completely to basic practices such as walking meditation. He shares that deep freedom and healing, as well as effective engagement to relieve suffering in the world, is possible when we learn to be in touch with the ultimate dimension and dwell happily in the present moment.

Have you ever felt a sense of deep belonging to a group with a shared aspiration and way of living? Did you feel safe enough to entrust yourself in that group and flow together in the same direction? How can we “go as a river” in a way that brings happiness and helps realize our dream to serve? This talk in our 40 Years of Plum Village Retreat, “Now We Have a Path; We Have Nothing More to Fear”, is offered by our elder sister Định Nghiêm, who spent more than six years alongside of our teacher Thay (zen master Thich Nhat Hanh) after his strokes in 2014. Returning to Plum Village after an absence of several years, Sr Định Nghiêm conveys a deep warmth and understanding of Thay and the community in this intimate sharing. We hope you will be able to offer yourself the time and space to fully savor and enjoy this talk with us. Sr Định Nghiêm tells us that a drop of water may evaporate or lose its way, but if that drop of water can become part of the river, it will reach the ocean. The river of sangha, community that practices the way of non-violence and compassion, has been flowing for a long time. We may fear that by harmonizing with, by becoming one with the river we will lose our individuality and beauty. Yet when we look at the sangha around us and reflect on our experience in the sangha, we may see that it is watering our good seeds and helping bring out the best in each of us; that together, we are much stronger, more able to find healing and joy, to relieve the suffering around us and be of service to the world. With gentleness, skill, and warmth, Sr Định Nghiêm tells us the story of our own sangha river as it has widened and deepened, from Thay’s youth, through the crucible of war and violent resistance, to the present day. We listen to a beautiful recording of a brother singing Thay’s poem “Recommendation”. Thay wrote this poem as a young monk in 1965 to offer guidance to the many students continuing his work in Vietnam, shortly before learning that he had been his exiled from his homeland Sr Định Nghiêm shares about the essence of Plum Village practice, Thay’s great joy upon discovering such jewels as the “Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing”, and how to live happily in the sangha, “as a river”. She concludes by reminding us of all the favorable conditions we have inherited after so much struggle, and by singing the same deeply moving song she sang less than five months ago at Thay’s memorial service near Hue, Vietnam: “Chanson du Bonheur” Discourse on the Full Awareness of Breathing: https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-full-awareness-of-breathing/ Thay’s poem “Recommendation”, with his description of its origins and meaning: https://plumvillage.org/articles/recommendation/

Br. Phap Huu offers his experiences and insights on practicing “I have arrived, I am home”, the First Seal of Plum Village practice. He shares poignant moments by Thay’s side for us to have a taste of Thay’s great wisdom and love. Arriving in our body and mind in order to recognize, embrace and accept what is going on inside and around us is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. As we experience the practice first hand, we develop confidence in our own ability to arrive in the present moment and touch the wonders of life as well as the quality of freedom that is always there. Can we arrive in ourselves and be there for ourselves, accept ourselves and our ancestors? Inside each of us is a meditator, an artist and a warrior. As we walk on the path of practice with spiritual friends, we develop these three qualities, which in turn help us to cultivate joy and face challenges with courage and peace. Please participate in supporting Thich Nhat Hanh’s community and legacy at: https://plumvillage.org/support

Do you feel you have found a path that helps you to live with freedom, and without fear? How can we learn to see such a path clearly in every moment, and develop a confidence in it that is unshakeable? In this retreat we celebrate 40 Years of Plum Village, with the theme “Now We Have a Path: We Have Nothing More to Fear”. In this first talk of the retreat, respected elder Sister Chan Duc tells us that faith in our path is a kind of power, if this faith is not only belief but a deep confidence born from our experience and understanding of the path. She offers us eight English words which our teacher Thay (zen master Thich Nhat Hanh) used to sum up the Plum Village path of practice. These words are the first two of the Four Plum Village “Dharma Seals”, or marks of authenticity, and if we practice them well, we will realize the essence of the third and fourth Seals as well. In 2004, Thay offered this summary of the Plum Village practice: “Arrived, at home. Go as a river: sangha-body”. To practice “I have arrived, I am at home” means to dwell happily in the present moment. The practices of mindful breathing, walking, eating, and working can all support us as we learn to arrive in every moment, in any place or circumstance: even when we suffer, if we can stay “at home” with that suffering, we still have freedom. To “go as a river” means to learn in live in harmony with our spiritual community. It requires training to be able to live as a cell in the “sangha body”, nourishing and being nourished by that body. Sr Chan Duc tells us that the life’s work of Thay and the Buddha has been to build sangha, because they know it is only through the sangha that they are able to continue far and beautifully into the future. When difficulty arises, we stick with our sangha. We learn to embrace that difficulty and to look deeply together in order to transform it and to continue flowing as one river. Practicing these first two Plum Village Dharma Seals, we are also able to realize the third and the fourth. The third Seal is that “the times and truths inter-are”. Because the past, present, and future inter-are, we can live in the present in a way that shines light on the past and future yet are not caught in or burdened by either. We can live with freedom in the world of “conventional truth” by being in touch with the “ultimate truth”, the Middle Way that goes beyond concepts and extreme views. When we see clearly the nature our suffering (the first Noble Truth), we can also see that in this very moment it already contains not only its roots but also the path that leads to liberation from it (the second, third, and fourth Noble Truths). The fourth Dharma Seal is “Ripening, moment-by-moment”. This means that we do not have to wait until we die for our karma, our actions of body, speech, and mind, to ripen; and that this ripening does not require a permanent and separate self. Our body and consciousness are in continual transformation, arising in every moment due to innumerable causes and conditions. These causes and conditions include our actions of body, speech, and mind. By learning to direct these actions along the path of understanding and love, we can overcome fear and learn to live in happiness, safety, and freedom.

The word Bodhisattva means “awakened being”. In the text Invoking the Bodhisatva’s Names, written by Thich Nhat Hanh, 5 Bodhisattvas are mentioned who represent qualities we can all uncover in ourselves.  In this talk, Sister Tu Nghiem offers us an explanation of this text. You can find the text here. The Plum Village Chanting Book is available here.

This talk, the first in our Rains Retreat, was offered by Brother Phap Huu from the New Hamlet of Plum Village, France.

Brother Phap Huu introduces the 2021 Rains Retreat: Gems of the Plum Village Tradition.

What are we made of? What do we transmit to the future, and to the world? How do we connect to our ancestors, understand them, and see how we continue them? How can we practice, so that our practice is an “offering of the heart”? Sister Đào Nghiêm offers this is rich and personal Dharma talk in memory of her father, for the anniversary of his passing. She shares how we can understand our ancestors, and what they have transmitted to us. This understanding will help us to accept what we have received, to see that it is not truly “us”, not “ours”. She leads us in a guided meditation to helps us see what we, in turn, transmit to the future: “My actions are my true continuation”. Each moment, each step taken in mindfulness, peace, and joy, are a gift we offer in every direction. When we see each moment in the light of impermanence, recognizing the contribution of our actions, we will find it easier to be patient. We will see more clearly our aspiration; what we want to transmit to the future. Seeing this can help us identify the true motivation behind each action, and find the determination and insight to transform our habits. Seeing clearly all we have received, and what we truly want to transmit, our practice becomes an “Offering of the Heart”. This talk includes a poem by the beloved Irish poet John O’Donohue (“A Morning Offering”, 0:12:43:00), followed by a song from our monastic brothersd and sisters (“Watering Seeds of Joy”).

What *is* meditation, or mindfulness? Can it be used as a panic room? What is its purpose? What do we need to know to practice it safely and successfully? In this sincere and tender dharma talk from December 2020, Br. Phap Linh (“Brother Spirit”) shares that the practice of meditation has to do with how we relate to the real suffering we face every day in ourselves and in the world. He describes honestly some of the challenges and questions we may face along that path, and emphasizes the importance of finding spiritual friends and spiritual community with whom to share our life and our practice. This makes the practice more joyful, and helps us to support each other and overcome even the greatest difficulties along the way.

A talk from 7 March based on questions that people have sent in. Offered for Mountain Spring Monastery in Australia and the Compassionate Ocean Sangha: www.mountainspringmonastery.org, www.compassionateoceansangha.org. You can support this podcast at https://dana.plumvillage.org/