Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk, author, poet and soft-spoken peace and human rights activist from Vietnam. He started his training as a monk at the age of 16 and has been living in exile from his country since 1966. His teaching in mindfulness meditation has influenced many in the West, appealing across religious, spiritual, and political lines. His philosophy has influenced many notable people, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Catholic mystic Thomas Merton, and California politician Jerry Brown. He lives and teaches at the Plum Village monastery in France. He leads retreats worldwide in the art of "mindful living." http://www.plumvillage.org/thay.html http://www.dharmamemphis.com/magnolia/tnhbio.html He promotes a dual practice of loving kindness and mindfulness for transformation within and without. http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/book-reviews/true-love-thich-nhat-hanh It is said that his influence on Buddhist thought in the West is second only to that of the Dali Lama. Both leaders are in exile from their home countries. http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln260/TNH.htm

This page contains a facts section on the right regarding details about Thich Nhat Hanh and below there are some of his quotes regarding compassion, peace, happiness, God, meditation, breath and enlightenment. Below that section are some of the many books that he has written to give an overview of the breadth of his work. Brief summaries of these books are given in some cases. A featured video covers mindfulness walking meditation as a means of achieving peace and transformation. Additional links are provided on this page for more information about this important, ecumenical spiritual teacher.

• Compassion:
• "Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side."
• "We should treat ourselves with much respect, much tenderness and compassion. It is very important that we treat our body with the utmost respect, with comprehension, with compassion. If you known how to treat your body and your feelings with such a respect, you will also be capable of treating another personne with the same respect and it is in this way that we will build peace."
• "Hatred and fear blind us. We no longer see each other. We only see the faces of monsters, and that gives us the courage to destroy each other."
• Peace and Happiness:
• "If we are not peaceful, if we are not feeling well in our skin, we cannot demonstrate real peace, and we cannot raise our children well either."
• "We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment."
• "Be Yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be."
• "Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."
• "And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation. Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to contribute our peace and serenity. The most important thing is for each of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart, some peace in our heart. Only then will we be able to relieve the suffering around us."
• God:
• "If you touch the phenomenal realm deeply, you touch the ultimate realm which is the realm of no birth and no death. The ultimate is nirvana, it is God, and it is available to us twenty four hours a day."
• Meditation:
• "We should be able to bring the practice of meditation hall into our daily lives. We need to discuss among ourselves how to do it. Do you practice breathing between phone calls? Do you practice smiling while cutting carrots? Do you practice relaxation after hard hours of work? These are practical questions. If you know how to apply meditation to dinner time, leisure time, sleeping time, it will penetrate your daily life, and it will also have a tremendous effect on social concerns."

• Breath:
• "Breathing in I calm my body. Breathing out I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment!"
• "Breath is aligned with both body and mind and it alone can bring them together."
• Enlightenment:
• "The Seven Factors of Awakening are mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, diligence, joy, ease, concentration, and letting go."
• "There is no enlightenment outside of daily life."

• Being Peace, 1987 - a collection of essays from Thich Nhat Hanh's speeches that may be best read as bits of inspiration on the practical aspects of mindfulness meditation practice.
• Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, 1992 - Serenity can be found in the most mundane actions with the power of present moment awareness. Practices are given to help make that a reality for you. Highly recommended book on Amazon.
• Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living, 1992
• Living Buddha, Living Christ, 1997 - Reflections on living Christ and living Buddha in your life. Free of dogma and full of advice on living in the moment.
• True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart, 1997
• Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers, 1999
• The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation, 1999
• The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist/Christian Awareness, Daniel Berrigan (Co-author), 2000
• Anger, 2002
• Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment', 2007
• Understanding Our Mind, 2006

1. Mindfulness meditation
2. Walking meditation
3. Ram Dass interviews Thich Nhat Hanh
4. Living in the present moment
5. Surrender yourself to the Now
6. Mindful movements
7. Ego
8. 7 steps of reconciliation, part 1
9. 7 steps of reconciliation, part 2
10. The Here and Now
11. Offering only my best
12. Joy of meditation as nourishment
13. True love in action
14. No death, no fear, part 1
15. No death, no fear, part 2
16. Morning meditation
17. The process of cognition, part 1 of several parts (featured video)