Fifth Mindfulness Training

Looking back at the blog, I realize that I never posted the 5th of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Here it is for your contemplation:

The Fifth Mindfulness Training

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

Workplace Practice

"We can begin creating a "workplace Sangha" by practicing love and understanding with co-workers - seeing each person as a beloved brother or sister. We can embody the mindfulness practice in our relationship with them by practicing flower-watering in our daily interactions. We can practice walking meditation every time we move through a corridor.

If possible, we can sit, walk, or eat mindfully together with one other person during our breaks. Some people put a screen saver on their computer to remind them to stop and return to their breathing. Others have introduced the bell of mindfulness and telephone meditation practices into their workplaces, and have even found a way to set aside time during staff meetings."

Excerpt from "Friends on the Path" by Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace in the World

Spirituality in the 21st Century: Part 3

"We suffered tremendously during the twentieth century. Individualism prevailed. Families were broken up, society was deeply divided. That is why if the twenty-first century is to be a spiritual century, it should be built by the spirit of togetherness, where we do things together, we do everything together. When you live in a community, you learn how to see the Sangha body, the Sanghakaya, as your own body.

Whether we live in Amsterdam, London, Munich or New York, it is our role to build a Sangha. We need each other to practice solidity, freedom, and compassion, and with our practice we can remind people in our society that there is always hope, the blue sky is always there, the Kingdom of Heaven is always at hand. We should walk and breathe in such a way that the Kingdom of Heaven, the Pure Land of the Buddha, is available in every step, in every breath. This is what we should do."

(From transcriptions of talks given by TNH in Plum Village, December 2001.)

Spirituality in the 21st Century: Part 2

“A true Sangha is a community that practices the teaching of liberation and becomes free; a true Sangha practices the teaching of understanding and becomes more understanding; a true Sangha practices compassion and becomes more compassionate. Climbing the hill of the twenty-first century can be very joyful if we climb as a Sangha. If we support each other, we become much stronger, and we can more easily resist the temptation of despair.

Despair is a great temptation of our century. Whether you are a political leader, a businessperson, a social worker, a teacher, or a parent, everyone needs to be reminded that the blue sky is still there for us. We should not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by despair. That is why we need a Sangha; a Sangha can help us from sinking into despair. Sangha-building is the most important practice – the most important action – of our century. How can the twenty-first century be a century of spirituality if we do not take up the work of Sangha-building?"

(From transcriptions of talks given by TNH in Plum Village, December 2001.)

Spirituality in the 21st Century: Part 1

"It has been said that the twenty-first century will be a century of spirituality, and I think it must be a century of spirituality if we are to survive. There has been so much violence, so much suffering, so much despair, confusion, and fear. So it must be a century of spirituality, or no century at all.

Spirituality is something we can cultivate. To be spiritual means to be solid, calm, and peaceful, and to be able to look deeply inside and around us. It means having the capacity to handle our afflictions - our anger, craving, despair, and discrimination, It is being able to see the nature of interbeing between people, nations, races, and all forms of life. Spirituality is not a luxury anymore; we need to be spiritual in order to overcome the difficulties of our time.

Alone we are vulnerable, but with brothers and sisters to work with, we can support each other. We cannot go to the ocean as a drop of water - we would evaporate before reaching our destination. But if we become a river, if we go as a Sangha, we are sure to arrive at the ocean. Taking refuge in a Sangha will allow the Sangha to carry us, to transport us, and we will suffer less."

(From transcriptions of talks given by TNH in Plum Village, December 2001.)

Sangha Building

"It is my deep desire that communities of practice in the West be organized... as families in a friendly, warm atmosphere, so that people can succeed in their practice. A Sangha in which each person is like an island, not communicating with each other, is not helpful. It is just a collection of trees without roots. Transformation and healing cannot be obtained in such an atmosphere. We must be rooted if we want to have a chance to learn and practice meditation. I think that Sangha-building is the most important art for us to learn... We have to build a Sangha that is happy, where communication is open."

Excerpts from "Touching Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh

Sangha Update

The organizational meetings have been very productive, and we are getting close to deciding on a format. Overall, it will remain consistent with the practices of other Thich Nhat Hanh sanghas, and we are currently researching the possible variations. In response to suggestions to have more time to get to know each other, we have decided to incorporate a short social break at some point during the evening.

The general format will be as follows:

First hour: Alternating sitting and walking meditation
Second hour: Ceremony or discourse reading, followed by a short social break, ending with dharma discussion.

We are intent upon keeping the gathering to a maximum of 2 hours, which will be challenging with the addition of the social break. If duration becomes an issue the social time will be moved to before the sitting, and will then become optional. On evenings where we perform a ceremony we may focus our dharma discussion on an aspect of the ceremony instead of introducing a new topic. Whereas on evenings without a ceremony we will have more time to present a topic of discussion (or listen to a tape or video) and follow up with a discussion.

As we continue to plan, your continued input is welcome.
info@wavesandwatersangha.com

Request for Input

This week we are having an organizational meeting to discuss the direction the Waves and Water Sangha will take in the coming months. We encourage everyone who is interested to send their suggestions and comments to:

info@wavesandwatersangha.com

Topics to consider may include:
- format of the weekly meeting
- which ceremonies to include and how often
- topics of discussion
- where to meet, possible venues
- sharing of sangha duties
- events such as a regular "Day of Mindfulness" or guest speakers
- personal goals - what would you like to accomplish, and how can the Sangha help?

The Wave and the Water

"An example we often use in Buddhism is that of the wave and the water. The wave springs from the ocean and when you observe the phenomenon of the wave, you see there is a beginning and an end. You see the coming up and the going down, you see the presence and the non-presence of the wave. Before arising it seems that the wave did not exist, and after going down, we don't see it existing either. We distinguish between one wave and another wave. One wave may be more beautiful, higher, or lower than the other wave. So concerning the world of phenomena we have all kinds of concepts: beginning, ending; high, low; more beautiful, less beautiful - and that creates a lot of suffering.

But at the same time we know the wave is also water. It's possible for a wave to live her life as both a wave and water at the same time. As a wave, she belongs to the world of phenomena: she has a beginning, an ending, a coming up, a going down. She distinguishes herself from other waves. But if she has time to sit down and to touch her nature deeply, she'll realize that she is water. She is not only a wave, she is also water. The moment she realizes she is water, she loses all her suffering, about being there or not being there anymore. Water represents the noumenal world, the world of no-birth and no-death, no coming and no going."

(Excerpt from "Buddha Mind, Buddha Body" by Thich Nhat Hanh.)

US Teaching Tour 2009

We are happy to announce Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh will be coming to the United States from August - October of this year to teach and practice with us.

Below are nearby events including public talks and retreats.

MASSACHUSETTS EVENT
August 11 - 16 - Mindfulness Retreat
Be Peace, Be Joy, Be Hope
Stonehill College, Easton, MA

NEW YORK EVENTS
October 2 - 6 - Mindfulness Retreat
Enlightenment is Now or Never
Blue Cliff Monastery, Pine Bush, NY

October 9 - Public Talk
October 10 - Day of Mindfulness
Building a Peaceful and Compassionate Society
Beacon Theatre, in association with the Omega Institute, New York City, NY

For more information about the retreats, public talks and days of mindfulness:
visit the tour website: www.tnhtour.org
e-mail: info@tnhtour.org
or call: 1-760-741-CALM (or 2256)

Practicing in the Sangha: Part 2

"The function of the bell in the Sangha is to bring us back to ourselves. When we hear the bell we come back to ourselves and breathe, and at that point we improve the quality of the Sangha energy. We know that our brother and our sister, wherever they are, will be stopping, breathing, and coming back to themselves. They will be generating the energy of right mindfulness, the Sangha energy. When we look at each other, we feel confident, because everyone is practicing together in the same way and contributing to the quality of the Sangha. So we are friends on the path of practice.

The Sangha is made out of the work of individuals, so we have the duty to help create the energy of the Sangha. Our presence, when it is a mindful presence, contributes to that energy. When we are absent during the activities of the Sangha, we are not contributing to the Sangha energy. If we don't go to a sitting meditation, we are not feeding our Sangha. We are also letting ourselves go hungry, because we are not benefiting from the Sangha. We don't profit from the Sangha, and the Sangha doesn't profit from us.

Don't think that we sit for ourselves. You don't sit for yourself alone, you sit for the whole Sangha - not only the Sangha, but also for the people in your city, because when one person in the city is less angry, is smiling more, the whole city profits. If we practice looking deeply, our understanding of interbeing will grow, and we will see that every smile, every step, every breath is for everybody. It is for our country, for the future, for our ancestors.

The best thing we can do is to transform ourselves into a positive element of the Sangha. If members of the Sangha see us practicing well, they will have confidence and do better. If there are two, three, four, five, six, seven of you like that in the Sangha, I'm sure the Sangha will be a happy Sangha and will be the refuge of many people in the world."

(Excerpt from "Friends on the Path" by Thich Nhat Hanh.)

The Parallel Sayings

"A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein

"True happiness comes not from a limited concern for one's own well-being, or that of those one feels close to, but from developing love and compassion for all sentient beings." - The Dalai Lama

(Excerpt from a little book by Thomas McFarlane called "Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings" that juxtaposes quotations from Eastern contemplatives and Western scientists.)

Practicing in the Sangha: Part 1

"If you are beginner in the practice, you should not worry about what is the correct thing to do. When surrounded by many people, we might be caught by the idea, "I don't know what is the right thing to do." That idea my make us very uncomfortable. We may think, "I feel embarrassed that I'm not doing the right thing. There are people who are bowing, and I am not bowing. People who are walking slowly, and I am walking a little bit too fast." So the idea that we may not be doing the right thing can embarrass us.

I would like to tell you what is really the right thing. The right thing is to do whatever you are doing in mindfulness. Mindfulness is keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality. To bow may not be the right thing to do if you don't bow in mindfulness. If you don't bow but are mindful, not bowing is the right thing. Even if people are walking slowly and you run, you are doing the right thing if you run mindfully. The wrong thing is whatever you do without mindfulness. If we understand this, we will not be embarrassed anymore. Everything we do is right provided we do it in mindfulness. To bow or not to bow, that is not the question. The question is whether to bow in mindfulness or not, or not to bow in mindfulness or not."

(Excerpt from "Friends on the Path" by Thich Nhat Hanh.)

Photo: Thay Sitting

Exercises in Mindfulness: Part II

Here are a few more suggestions from "The Miracle of Mindfulness" of how we can bring mindfulness into our lives.

Washing the dishes
Wash the dishes relaxingly, as though each bowl is an object of contemplation. Consider each bowl as sacred. Follow your breath to prevent your mind from straying. Do not try to hurry to get the job over with. Consider washing the dishes the most important thing is life. Washing the dishes is meditation. If you cannot wash the dishes in mindfulness, neither can you meditate while sitting in silence.

Deep breathing
Lie on your back. Breathe evenly and gently, focusing your attention on the movement of your stomach. As you begin to breathe in, allow your stomach to rise in order to bring air into the lower half of your lungs. As the upper halves of your lungs begin to fill with air, your chest begins to rise and your stomach begins to lower. Don't tire yourself. Continue for 10 breaths. The exhalation will be longer than the inhalation.

Mindfulness while making tea
Prepare a pot to tea to serve a guest or to drink by yourself. Do each movement slowly, in mindfulness. Do not let one detail of your movements go by without being mindful of it. Know that your hand lifts the pot by its handle. Know that you are pouring the fragrant warm tea into the cup. Follow each step in mindfulness. Breathe gently and more deeply than usual. Take hold of your breath if your mind strays.

Why we need a Sangha

"In my tradition we learn that as individuals we cannot do much. That is why taking refuge in the Sangha, taking refuge in the community, is a very strong and important practice. When I say, "I take refuge in the Sangha," it does not mean that I want to express my devotion. No. It's not a question of devotion; it's a question of practice. Without being in a Sangha, without being supported by a group of friends who are motivated by the same ideal and practice, we cannot go far.

If we do not have a supportive Sangha, we may not be getting the kind of support we need for our practice, that we need to nourish our bodhicitta (the strong desire to cultivate love and understanding in ourselves). Sometimes we call it "beginner's mind." The mind of a beginner is always very beautiful, very strong. In a good and healthy Sangha, there is encouragement for our beginner's mind, for our bodhicitta. So the Sangha is the soil, and we are the seed. No matter how beautiful, how vigorous our seed is, if the soil does not provide us with vitality, our seed will die."

"...right mindfulness for someone who has only just started the practice is still weak, and the forgetfulness of the people around us is very great and capable of dragging us away in the direction of the five cravings. Because most people around us are being drowned in the five cravings, it is this environment that drags us away and stops us from practicing right mindfulness.

To practice right mindfulness we need the right environment, and that environment is our Sangha. Without a Sangha we are very weak. In a society where everyone is rushing, everyone is being carried away by their habit energies, practice is very difficult. That is why the Sangha is our salvation. The Sangha where everyone is practicing mindful walking, mindful speaking, mindful eating seems to be the only chance for us to succeed in ending the vicious cycle.

And what is the Sangha? The Sangha is a community of people who agree with each other that if we do not practice right mindfulness, we will lose all the beautiful things in our soul and all around us. People in the Sangha standing near us, practicing with us, support us so that we are not pulled away from the present moment. Whenever we find ourselves in a difficult situation, two or three friends in the Sangha who are there for us, understanding and helping us, will get us through it. Even in our silent practice we help each other.

In my tradition they say that when a tiger leaves the mountain and goes to the lowland, it will be caught by humans and killed. When a practitioner leaves his or her Sangha, he or she will abandon her practice after a few months. In order to continue our practice of transformation and healing, we need a Sangha. With a Sangha it's much easier to practice, and that is why I always take refuge in my Sangha."

(Excerpt from "Friends on the Path: Living Spiritual Communiities" - Thich Nhat Hanh)

Exercises in Mindfulness

In "The Miracle of Mindfulness" Thay suggests a number of mindfulness exercises for us to try. He encourages us to pick those that we like best and find most suitable for our own unique needs, and reminds us that although these exercises are relatively easy, they are the foundation on which everything else is built. Here are a couple for you to consider:

Half-smile when you first wake up in the morning
Hang a branch, or other sign, or even the word "smile" on the ceiling or wall so that you see it right away when you open your eyes. This sign will serve as your reminder. Use these seconds before you get out of bed to take hold of your breath. Inhale and exhale three breaths gently while maintaining the half smile. Follow your breaths.

Half-smile when irritated
When you realize you're irritated, half-smile at once. Inhale and exhale quietly, maintaining the half-smile for three breaths.

Counting your breath
Sit in the half or full lotus or take a walk. As you inhale, be mindful that "I am inhaling, one." When you exhale, be mindful that "I am exhaling, one." Remember to breath from the stomach. When beginning the second inhalation, be mindful that "I am inhaling, two". And slowly exhaling, be mindful that "I am exhaling, two." Continue on up through 10. After you have reached 10, return to one. Whenever you lose count, return to one.

Photo: The River

The 14th Mindfulness Training

Right Conduct
Aware that sexual relations motivated by craving cannot dissipate the feeling of loneliness but will create more suffering, frustration, and isolation, we are determined not to engage in sexual relations without mutual understanding, love, and a long-term commitment. In sexual relations, we must be aware of future suffering that may be caused. We know that to preserve the happiness of ourselves and others, we must respect the rights and commitments of ourselves and others. We will do everything in our power to protect children from sexual abuse and to protect couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. We will treat our bodies with respect and preserve our vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of our bodhisattva ideal. We will be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world, and will meditate on the world into which we are bringing new beings.

Peace Movement in America

John Malkin: What did you learn from Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the United States?

Thich Nhat Hanh: The last time Martin Luther King and I met was in Geneva during the peace conference called Paix sur Terre—"Peace on Earth." I was able to tell him that the people in Vietnam were very grateful for him because he had come out against the violence in Vietnam. They considered him to be a great bodhisattva, working for his own people and supporting us. Unfortunately, three months later he was assassinated.

John Malkin: What is your view of the current peace movement in the United States?

Thich Nhat Hanh: People were very compassionate and willing to support us in ending the war in Vietnam during the sixties. But the peace movement in America did not have enough patience. People became angry very quickly because what they were doing wasn't bringing about what they wanted. So there was a lot of anger and violence in the peace movement.

Nonviolence and compassion are the foundations of a peace movement. If you don't have enough peace and understanding and loving-kindness within yourself, your actions will not truly be for peace. Everyone knows that peace has to begin with oneself, but not many people know how to do it.

The 13th of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings

Generosity
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, we are committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants, and minerals. We will practice generosity by sharing our time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. We are determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. We will respect the property of others, but will try to prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other beings.

Photo: Sherbrooke Quebec - 2005

Thay leading walking meditation during a retreat in Sherbrooke Quebec, 2005.

The 12th of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings

Reverence for Life
Aware that much suffering is caused by war and conflict, we are determined to cultivate nonviolence, understanding, and compassion in our daily lives, to promote peace education, mindful mediation, and reconciliation within families, communities, nations, and in the world. We are determined not to kill and not to let others kill. We will diligently practice deep looking with our Sangha to discover better ways to protect life and prevent war.

Nobel Peace Prize Nomination - 1967

January 25, 1967

The Nobel Institute
Drammesnsveien 19
Oslo, NORWAY

Gentlemen:

As the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 1964, I now have the pleasure of proposing to you the name of Thich Nhat Hanh for that award in 1967.

I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam.

This would be a notably auspicious year for you to bestow your Prize on the Venerable Nhat Hanh. Here is an apostle of peace and non-violence, cruelly separated from his own people while they are oppressed by a vicious war which has grown to threaten the sanity and security of the entire world.

Because no honor is more respected than the Nobel Peace Prize, conferring the Prize on Nhat Hanh would itself be a most generous act of peace. It would remind all nations that men of good will stand ready to lead warring elements out of an abyss of hatred and destruction. It would re-awaken men to the teaching of beauty and love found in peace. It would help to revive hopes for a new order of justice and harmony.

I know Thich Nhat Hanh, and am privileged to call him my friend. Let me share with you some things I know about him. You will find in this single human being an awesome range of abilities and interests.

He is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. The author of ten published volumes, he is also a poet of superb clarity and human compassion. His academic discipline is the Philosophy of Religion, of which he is Professor at Van Hanh, the Buddhist University he helped found in Saigon. He directs the Institute for Social Studies at this University. This amazing man also is editor of Thien My, an influential Buddhist weekly publication. And he is Director of Youth for Social Service, a Vietnamese institution which trains young people for the peaceable rehabilitation of their country.

Thich Nhat Hanh today is virtually homeless and stateless. If he were to return to Vietnam, which he passionately wishes to do, his life would be in great peril. He is the victim of a particularly brutal exile because he proposes to carry his advocacy of peace to his own people. What a tragic commentary this is on the existing situation in Vietnam and those who perpetuate it.

The history of Vietnam is filled with chapters of exploitation by outside powers and corrupted men of wealth, until even now the Vietnamese are harshly ruled, ill-fed, poorly housed, and burdened by all the hardships and terrors of modern warfare.

Thich Nhat Hanh offers a way out of this nightmare, a solution acceptable to rational leaders. He has traveled the world, counseling statesmen, religious leaders, scholars and writers, and enlisting their support. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.

I respectfully recommend to you that you invest his cause with the acknowledged grandeur of the Nobel Peace Prize of 1967. Thich Nhat Hanh would bear this honor with grace and humility.

Sincerely,

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Vietnam - 2005

Thay greets children at Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue, Vietnam - 2005. This was his first visit to Vietnam since the travel ban was lifted. His citizenship was revoked and he was banned from the country in 1966 for his role in trying to end the violence of the Vietnam war.

11th of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings

Right Livelihood
Aware that great violence and injustice have been done to our environment and society, we are committed not to live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. We will do our best to select a livelihood that helps realize our ideal of understanding and compassion. Aware of global economic, political and social realities, we will behave responsibly as consumers and as citizens, not investing in companies that deprive others of their chance to live.

The 10th of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings

Protecting the Sangha
Aware that the essence and aim of a Sangha is the practice of understanding and compassion, we are determined not to use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit or transform our community into a political instrument. A spiritual community should, however, take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

The 9th of the 14 Mndfulness Trainings

Truthful and Loving Speech

Aware that words can create suffering or happiness, we are committed to learning to speak truthfully and constructively, using only words that inspire hope and confidence. We are determined not to say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people, nor to utter words that might cause division or hatred. We will not spread news that we do not know to be certain nor criticize or condemn things of which we are not sure. We will do our best to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten our safety.

The Eighth of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings

Community and Communication

Aware that lack of communication always brings separation and suffering, we are committed to training ourselves in the practice of compassionate listening and loving speech. We will learn to listen deeply without judging or reacting and refrain from uttering words that can create discord or cause the community to break. We will make every effort to keep communications open and to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.