Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh

 

01.20.2023 REMEMBERING THICH NHAT HANH This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement, Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away on January 22, 2022 in Vietnam. Affectionately referred to as “Thay,” by his students, Thich Nhat Hanh is widely considered one of the most important spiritual leaders of our time. In his 95 years, he made a global impact as a teacher, author, and activist. His simple yet deeply profound teachings led countless people toward a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace and helped define Buddhism for the modern world. The three pieces below offer a look into the remarkable life and teachings of this wonderful teacher, and how his community of students are continuing to carry his dharma forward. In his book, At Home in the World, published in 2016, Nhat Hanh addressed the idea of his death, writing: “Even when the cloud is not there, it continues as snow or rain. It is impossible for the cloud to die. It can become rain or ice, but it cannot become nothing. The cloud does not need to have a soul in order to continue. There’s no beginning and no end. I will never die. There will be a dissolution of this body, but that does not mean my death.” “I will continue, always.” —Lilly Greenblatt, Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar

A Cloud Never Dies Andrea Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue. I wondered if I would ever see Thich Nhat Hanh again. It was 2013, during his final North American teaching tour, and we were at Blue Cliff Monastery in the Catskills. The retreat had just wrapped up, and I’d stayed to interview him. We talked about many things — his family, karma, the key to happiness. Then at the end, feeling a mix of happy and sad, I put my hands together in gassho. It was wonderful to connect with Thay, as his students call him, but he was getting older, frailer. Would this be the last time I’d see him?

Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness The great meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh teaches five mindfulness exercises to help you live with happiness and joy. Mindfulness gives birth to joy and happiness. Another source of happiness is concentration. The energy of mindfulness carries within it the energy of concentration. When you are aware of something, such as a flower, and can maintain that awareness, we say that you are concentrated on the flower. When your mindfulness becomes powerful, your concentration becomes powerful, and when you are fully concentrated, you have a chance to make a breakthrough, to achieve insight. If you meditate on a cloud, you can get insight into the nature of the cloud. Or you can meditate on a pebble, and if you have enough mindfulness and concentration, you can see into the nature of the pebble. You can meditate on a person, and if you have enough mindfulness and concentration, you can make a breakthrough and understand the nature of that person. You can meditate on yourself, or your anger, or your fear, or your joy, or your peace.

Continuing Thay’s Teachings Eight of Thich Nhat Hanh’s students who are now teachers themselves share how they’re helping to carry his dharma into the future. At one of the long summer retreats in Plum Village, I spoke publicly about spending time with my mother during the last few months of her life. A nun who felt touched by my story came over to me at the start of walking meditation. She bowed and took my hand. She did it in such a clear and straightforward way that I felt very happy as we walked together with Thich Nhat Hanh and the sangha around the lotus pond. I hardly knew her; there had even been a minor incident earlier when I caught myself judging her because she had behaved in a way that I didn’t approve of. Now she had come to me, had taken my hand, and we were walking together as if we were best friends. To simply feel her warm hand and to settle into every step taken together very mindfully was enough to let go of any prejudice I might have harbored against her.

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