The Way Out Is In

Welcome to episode eleven 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 this episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest novice Zen Buddhist nun Sister Hien Tam of the New Hamlet in Plum Village. This time, they explore monastic life: why do people want to become monastics? What happens between aspiring to be a monastic and actually becoming one? And what’s it like to live in a monastery?  The two monastics talk about: their own journeys; engaging in society as nuns and monks; the secret to a long-lived community like Plum Village (40 years old next year!); individualism; transformation; conflict; practices that support the community.  Sister Hien Tam tells the story of her pre-monastic life as a busy, restless, consumerist TV writer in Korea, and the unplanned visit to Plum Village which led to her becoming an aspirant and then a nun in less than three years. She candidly shares about saying goodbye to “external expressions”; her family’s reaction; ditching her “fancy”, colourful clothes for the brown robe; following clear guidelines; sharing a room with many sisters after having lived her life alone; dealing with habit energies; inner beauty; the “Buddha company”. In addition, Brother Phap Huu discusses moderation; aspirations; inferiority complexes; loving clothes as a monk; learning to live a simpler and happy life; growing up in a monastic community; the practices of Shining Light and Beginning Anew; observing and training new aspirants; community work days. Jo shares his own formula for a ‘mini’ Shining Light in individual relationships, and having to face his own suffering when the distractions of the outside world fade away.Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation on generating peace. 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  Plum Village Communityhttps://plumvillage.org/ ‘Becoming a Monastic’https://plumvillage.org/about/becoming-a-monastic/  Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communicationhttps://plumvillage.org/books/beginning-anew/  How To: ‘Begin Anew’https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/  Bodhicittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta ‘Slow Down, Rest, and Heal: The Spirit of the Rains Retreat’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/slow-down-rest-and-heal-the-spirit-of-the-rains-retreat/  Sanghahttps://plumvillage.org/about/international-sangha-directory/  ‘Deciding to Become a Monastic in Plum Village’https://wkup.org/become-monastic-plum-village/  ‘Life as Monastic Aspirants in Plum Village’https://wkup.org/monastic-aspirants-plum-village/ Quotes“Be beautiful, be yourself.”“Everyone needs a spiritual dimension in their daily life to help them maintain their balance. And within ourselves, we have this seed. We call it bodhicitta. Everyone has this. It’s called the mind of love or the mind of awakening.”  “As I became a monk, I learned that that is a way of engagement that we practice – not just to be peaceful and happy for ourself, but that our practice is a way of contributing to society, to those around us.” “I always remember Thich Nhat Hanh saying that relationships never break up out of the blue, from something major happening. It’s from the very minor drip. He talked about it like a stalagmite or a stalactite in a cave: the small drip of problems which, at the time, are very often not addressed.” “We share our joy and we share our success. That’s really important because in our time, where individualism is prioritized, growin up, we’re all taught to be successful by ourselves. And now, in a community, we have many talents and many types of leaders. I think a community needs a leader, but we don’t need one leader. We can have many types of leaders and when we offer a retreat, we have people leading dharma sharing, people leading Dharma Talks, people leading walking or even cooking. And for me, that’s leading like a team.” “The simple life makes me very creative […] I feel I have more energy to take care of my inner beauty.”“Sometimes the answers are the most obvious ones, but we don’t immediately think of them, we don’t realize that the reason I’m not fully happy is because I’ve stopped and I’m having to face myself. I’m feeling this tension in myself because I’m in Plum Village, not in spite of being in Plum Village. So this idea of how we stop means we have to look at ourselves as if we really stop and take away all the extraneous stuff: cinemas, Netflix, restaurants, and everything. All we’re left with is ourselves, and that’s quite a challenge.”  “The practice teaches us to see ourselves like a mirror. Everything you do is you. You can’t put that blame on anyone else and you cannot hide away from it.” “We are all cells of one body, so if I shine a light on you, I am also shining a light on myself.” “I remember Thich Nhat Hanh would say about couples that you can share the same bed, but if you don’t have the same dream, then actually it can never work out.” “Thich Nhat Hanh always says that love is understanding. And I think what you’re saying is that, unless we start to more deeply understand each other, then actually you don’t really generate love.” “Thanks to the practice, we learn about moderation. And when you have one thing that is beautiful and it does what it needs to, you don’t have to search for anything else. And so I apply that to everything, even to happiness or my community. Even though we’re not the best and we have shortcomings, that’s good enough. I don’t need to keep searching or else I’m just going to be going round and round looking for something.” “Letting go of the extraneous stuff, letting go of things outside and just saying, ‘Actually, I’m good enough as I am and actually I want to be myself.’ I don’t want to be this egoic mask of myself that’s seeking to feel better about myself by proving anything. I can just be truly who I am and be at peace. And it makes life so much more enjoyable, not wanting to grasp things or think that something outside of us is going to make us happy.”

Sister Sinh Nghiem, a Zen Buddhist nun from Australia with a psychology background, shares her transformative journey after escaping Vietnam and embracing monastic life. The discussion delves into healing childhood trauma through mindfulness and compassion. They explore the importance of addressing inner wounds, the role of forgiveness, and nurturing the inner child. The conversation emphasizes personal and collective healing, urging listeners to face their suffering to foster growth and empathy within communities.

Welcome to episode nine 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 this episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they look deeply at the whole concept of engaged Buddhism, and ways in which Thich Nhat Hanh made ancient teachings relevant to day-to-day questions. Additionally, they discuss: how Plum Village is shedding the stereotypes about Buddhist monastic life; how to refresh Buddhism through a hands-on approach and engaging teachings in daily life; what it means to not take sides; the roots of evil; reducing suffering through compassionate action; healing; patience.  Brother Phap Huu digs into: what it means to apply Buddhism in contemporary life; the spiritual dimension of breathing; the importance of communities and practice centers as spiritual refuges; the dynamics of anger coming up; moving from anger to peace in activism. Plus: can you guess the one time it’s best not to do sitting meditation? Sister True Dedication shares insights about: the early events in Thich Nhat Hanh’s life which led to the inception of the engaged Buddhism movement in war-torn Vietnam; Thay’s peace activism and his exile; Buddhism’s potential to deal with injustice; Plum Village monastery’s engagement with the outside world and what this busy community of monastics has to offer it, through retreats and active engagement in various causes. She also delves into ways of handling strong emotions, deep looking, understanding the roots of our suffering, and the importance of dialogue. And what does compassion look like in a time of crisis? How can we listen to those people in our lives who we least want to listen to? Jo remembers his first visit to Plum Village, and tea with Thay. He further muses on: how feeling steady and grounded can act as “the tuning fork” of our being; how we can perpetuate mindful living by simply approaching the world mindfully; failure and criticism. Finally, Brother Phap Huu ends the episode with a guided meditation on embracing suffering with compassion. 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  Engaged Buddhismhttps://plumvillage.org/series/engaged-buddhism/  Mindfulness, Suffering, and Engaged Buddhismhttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/interviews-with-thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanh-on-mindfulness-suffering-and-engaged-buddhism/The Practice for Engaged Buddhismhttps://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-practice-for-engaged-buddhism/ Please Call Me by My True Nameshttps://plumvillage.org/library/songs/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-poem/ Israeli Palestinian Retreathttps://plumvillage.org/teachings/israeli-palestinian-retreat/  Invoking the Bodhisattvahttps://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/invoking-the-bodhisattva-dharma-talk-by-sister-lang-nghiem-2020-6-21/ Bodhicittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta Gross National Happinesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_HappinessGreta Thunberghttps://www.instagram.com/gretathunberg/ Koch brothershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_family Quotes “We need to act with the urgency of today and the patience of a thousand years.” “Thay says that it doesn’t matter if you’re Buddhist, Jewish, or Christian; as long as you’re breathing, you have a spiritual dimension and can practice.” “I’d describe Plum Village as a beautiful oasis, and an engine of healing, transformation, and training. So we’re really training in practical skills that we can later take back into life outside the monastery.”  “The most effective tool in my toolbox is to turn up mindfully, because it gives others the chance to also come home.”  “[Thay] said, when we hear the bombs falling all around us, how can we sit there and do nothing, or sit there and just chant? It’s not enough. Our compassion has to reveal itself.” “In multiple talks, Thay says that everyone needs a spiritual dimension in order to cope with what’s happening in the world, or to themselves. We may have that aspiration, but we need companions to support us. That’s where a community comes in and can be an example, can lead, and can also be a companion.” “When Thay was exposed to peace activists and events and retreats and conversations and dialogue, his realization was that there’s a lot of anger in the peace movement. This became the kernel of Thay’s development of real practices of peace, so that, as an individual peace activist, we have a way to calm our body, to calm our emotions, to keep our mind clear, and to be truly nonviolent in body and mind.” “You could send all the bombs to the moon, but you would still have the roots of war in people’s hearts and minds. It’s not about destroying all the nuclear warheads; it’s about destroying the nuclear warheads that are there because we hate each other, because we resent each other, because we can’t handle the other side politically, because we can’t handle people who have betrayed us. So for Thay, then, the challenge became this much deeper, human one: of creating environments where we can heal, transform, and look deeply, and make use of Buddhist teachings.” “Our practice is to understand the roots of our suffering.” “A bigger impact is what we carry from thought into our daily action, whether by words or by deed.” “Man is not our enemy. It is ignorance, fear, and despair that is the root of all of this negative action.” “When we say that, in our tradition, we do our best to not take sides, we don’t deny that people are doing what we would call wrong action or wrong speech, or perpetrating injustice against others and creating harm. What it means is that we position ourselves a little differently, and want to avoid placing blame and the aggressive stance of labeling someone a perpetrator. Because, with our way of looking at things, the perpetrator is themselves also a victim, of their wrong view, and of the wrong way of seeing the world, which is leading to this hate speech or hateful action.” “Man is not the enemy. The enemy is wrong views. And, according to Buddhist teaching, the way to liberate ourselves from wrong views is with deep looking, and with listening, and reexamining what’s going on. And for that, we need a huge amount of compassion and collective energy, which monastics can help to bring.”  “When you’re angry, you are not very clear, you are not very present, and you won’t really see what to do and what not to do. Because, at that moment of energy erupting inside of you, the natural tendency is to act, to punish. Anger goes with punishment; they are very linked. And often we will want to retaliate, to make the ones who made us suffer, suffer themselves. But in Buddhism, we want to break free from that; we see that they make us suffer because, actually, they suffer.” “Taking time to see the hurt that precedes the hatred and the anger, and to give that hurt the witness, the embracing, the holding, and ultimately the healing by bringing it out to the light and saying, actually, it is this hurt that we need to take care of. That work takes time. It’s not the work of one or two days; in Plum Village, those retreats would be at least two weeks long. Fourteen days of breathing, of living simply, of mindful walking, mindful eating, quiet time, sitting and breathing and meditation, as well as the support of a whole community.”  “We cannot possibly build a future unless we’re able to talk to each other, unless we’re able to dialogue across the divide, unless we’re able to respect each other’s differences and different needs.” “When we’re angry at someone, we’re always angry at ourselves. When we see someone else being wrong, we’re always, to some extent, thinking that we’re wrong.”  “There’s enough suffering already, we don’t have to contribute more.” 

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is remembered in a heartfelt podcast episode, focusing on his simplicity, gardening, community building, and teachings. The conversation explores minimalism, consumerism, humility, and the power of smiles. Brother Phap Huu ends with a guided meditation, celebrating Thay's continuation day.

In a serene setting, the hosts explore the profound significance of the Rains Retreat, a 90-day period for spiritual reflection inspired by Buddha's teachings. They discuss the healing power of community support in personal aspirations and the vital role of stillness for introspection. Personal anecdotes highlight struggles with material possessions and the journey towards emotional well-being. The contrast between external excitement and inner peace serves as a reminder of the importance of mindfulness and connection to nature.

The hosts explore the sacred ritual of tea drinking, transforming a hurried habit into a mindful practice. They discuss the importance of slowing down to appreciate the tea-making process and its power to foster connection. Personal anecdotes highlight tea's role as a meditative tool, grounding us in the present moment. The episode also dives into the cultural significance of various teas in a Zen monastery and how simple gestures, like offering tea with both hands, can create deeper connections.

Discover how our ancestors shape our identities and personal growth. The hosts discuss transforming generational trauma through forgiveness and compassion. They explore ancestral connections to land and the importance of mindful stewardship. The transformation of a former Gestapo building into a monastery highlights the healing power of love. Emphasizing the integration of ancestral wisdom into daily life, they encourage listeners to connect deeply with their heritage and the environment, fostering community and compassion.

Welcome to episode four 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 this episode, presenters Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino are joined by special guest Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they address contemporary environmental crises and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s ethical framework of living, to help us reach a better future – as presented in his new book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet.  The three further discuss Buddhist insights into the many existential crises faced by the global community; practical ways people can become empowered; not being overwhelmed by the suffering in the world, and how to work with our emotions to take positive action.  Jo recollects interviewing Christiana Figueres, the architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, including on how the practice of mindfulness was instrumental in her achievements, and the importance of deep listening in global talks.  Brother Phap Huu explains the insight of interbeing; the practice of gratitude; and shares about walking the (sustainability) talk in Plum Village; the ‘no car days’, shifting to veganism during a 800-people retreat, and starting a happy farm to become more self-sufficient and in touch with the Earth as a community of practitioners.Sister True Dedication talks about editing Thich Nhat Hanh’s new book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet; the hardest part of working on a book; Thay’s involvement in the environmental movement since the early 1970s, as a pioneer of deep ecology; the importance of joy and vitality for facing hard times; falling in love with the Earth; accessing the insight of interbeing in our daily lives, and having fulfilled present moments; finding peace and equanimity in a suffering world; practicing deep truth; taking care of our despair.  Finally, the sister ends the episode with a guided meditation. 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 Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://www.parallax.org/product/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet/ Deep ecologyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecologySpiritual ecologyhttps://plumvillage.org/book/spiritual-ecology-the-cry-of-the-earth/  Sister Chan Khonghttps://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecologyhttps://www.parallax.org/product/the-world-we-have-a-buddhist-approach-to-peace-and-ecology/Other key books by Thich Nhat Hanhhttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/key-books/ Alfred Hasslerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hassler  The Diamond Sutrahttps://plumvillage.org/sutra/the-diamond-that-cuts-through-illusion/   Christiana Figuereshttp://christianafigueres.com/#/ Jo Confino interviews Christina Figuereshttps://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/climate-change-unfccc-christiana-figueresParis Climate Agreement https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement  Blue Cliff Monasteryhttps://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/  Happy Farmhttps://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm/  A koanhttps://plumvillage.org/bg/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/bat-nha-a-koan/ Quotes “To be able to see heaven on earth is part of our mindfulness practice.” “What we learn in this kind of spiritual practice is that it’s a very embodied, complete, fully human experience of what it means to be alive and to be on this planet.” “If we allow ourselves to fall in love with the Earth, we will know what to do and what not to do to help. When there’s love, the possibilities open up right away. The priorities are clear; we would sacrifice anything for the one we love.” “This [planet] is the source of all life, our shared home, a miracle in the middle of a very spartan cosmos. And we want to do everything to ensure that the Earth can have a healthy and beautiful future, and that humans can have a part in that.” “Through the eons of history, everything comes into manifestation and everything passes. And that’s true of civilizations; civilizations rise and civilizations fall.” “The environment is not outside of you; you are the environment. So interbeing, this insight, lets you see that the way we live, the way we are, is already a contribution.” “It’s important to do one thing well, not to take on the whole weight of saving the planet on your own.” “I have learned to sit well and walk well.”“As children of the Earth, activists for the Earth, and as members of humanity, while doing what we can to save the Earth it is really important to not lose the present moment, because the present moment is life.”“If we lose the present moment, we lose everything. The future is only made of the present moment.” “The beauties of Mother Nature can nourish us and give us the strength we need to keep going, to find balance, and to sustain ourselves.”  “If we know we have done our part, made our contribution, and done our best, that is how we can have peace.”  “Thay once asked the question, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen?’ And he said, ‘Your despair is the worst thing that can happen.’ We have to be vigilant against despair. We have to take care of our despair and metabolize it into the kind of action that can give cause for hope.” “We want to transmit an energy of hope, of possibility, of living fully, and of fearlessness. These are the qualities that future generations will need. And it’s up to us to develop them now.”  “We look for our own happiness. We look for our own success. We look for our own pleasure. And therefore, we act in a way that only relates to our wellbeing; we don’t see how our action has an effect. But with the insight of interbeing, when you have awareness, when you have mindfulness, you start to see how what you consume has an impact on the earth.” “The first thing to do with a meditative practice, a mindfulness practice – any kind of contemplative practice where we’re trying to see how we can help our beloved planet – is to come back to our body, a body that has come from the Earth, and to really touch what it means to belong to this beautiful realm.” “One action contains thousands of actions within it.” “The planet doesn’t need to be saved once. It doesn’t even need to be saved only in the next 10 years. It needs to be saved by countless generations for hundreds and thousands of years to come. So we need to discover truly sustainable ways of being with the Earth, and being with our human nature. Ways that don’t burn ourselves out, and don’t burn the Earth out, so that we can really find peace and simplicity in what we are doing, with a massive resonance across space and time.” “This meditation is about facing something and then being with that fear, being with that grief, listening to it in our hearts, in our bodies. Not repressing it, not pretending it’s not there, but allowing it to be present, embracing it with the energy of mindfulness and compassion in order to metabolize it into not only a quality of peace, but a quality of action that can then follow.” “It can seem paradoxical to accept the likelihood of a very bad end to our civilization in order to have the energy to take actions that will change that destination. It’s a strange reverse engineering, but it’s very powerful as an exercise and it comes from an original Buddhist meditation on contemplating our own impermanence.” “Our next task is to see how we can make the book a force for change in the world, not simply something that sits on the bookshelf.” “Whatever we can do about the future is rooted in the present moment.”

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 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.