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Thich Nhat Hanh has died

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Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#61

Post by vageli »

markdown wrote: post #57
warent wrote: post #42

Thich Nhat Hanh taught that just like a cloud seems to disappear from the sky, it's not really, it has simply changed form. The appearance of vanishing is just that: an appearance. Really nothing is created or destroyed. In this way, there is no loss here, Thầy has transitioned into another phase of life. A beauty worth celebrating

Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

> Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain?

> This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

But the substance of the cloud is not lost, just transmuted.

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#62

Post by hyperpallium2 »

stickfigure wrote: post #16
christophilus wrote: post #12

RIP My wife thought “Thich Nhat Hanh” was an entrée, because his book “How to Eat” looks like it says, “How to Eat Thich Nhat Hanh”. It’s a good, practical little book. We’ve been reading a passage per night to our kids before supper.

Ah, the popular sequel to "How to Serve Thich Nhat Hanh".

prequel?

apropos: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#63

Post by bananamerica »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #59
warent wrote: post #42

Thich Nhat Hanh taught that just like a cloud seems to disappear from the sky, it's not really, it has simply changed form. The appearance of vanishing is just that: an appearance. Really nothing is created or destroyed. In this way, there is no loss here, Thầy has transitioned into another phase of life. A beauty worth celebrating

That makes me wonder if Zen Buddhism includes an acknowledgement, either explicit or implicit, of entropy.

Yes.

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#64

Post by markdown »

noobhacker wrote: post #60
markdown wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

Buddhism is about recognizing that everything is one, i.e. there's no sky/earth, but just sky-earth as one thing altogether. Of course you don't have to believe it or find it useful, I'm just explaining Buddhist thought in general and Thich Nhat Hanh's thoughts in particular here.

> I'm just explaining Buddhist thought in general and Thich Nhat Hanh's thoughts in particular here.

Thank you. I shouldn't have been so dismissive. Just feeling a bit cynical these days. You have a good day.

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#65

Post by fernly »

KerryJones wrote: post #19
carabiner wrote: post #3

Wow. I used to go to the mindfulness retreats at his affiliated monastery in San Diego. You left your phone in your car, and had 3-5 days (or more sometimes) of meditation, fresh cooked meals, and nature. It was really peaceful, and so different from what I had expected (something like a cult, being plied for donations etc. there was none of that). I stopped going when I left California, but it's hard to feel much mo…

Do you know of anyway to find more of those? I'm in Oakland and that sounds delightful.

Insight Meditation Center (in Redwood City) operates residential retreats out of a location in the hills above Santa Cruz. Here's the schedule:

https://www.insightretreatcenter.org/retreats/

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#67

Post by [deleted] »

vageli wrote: post #61
markdown wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

> Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? > This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook. But the substance of the cloud is not lost, just transmuted.

[deleted]

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#68

Post by carrolldunham »

noobhacker wrote: post #60
markdown wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

Buddhism is about recognizing that everything is one, i.e. there's no sky/earth, but just sky-earth as one thing altogether. Of course you don't have to believe it or find it useful, I'm just explaining Buddhist thought in general and Thich Nhat Hanh's thoughts in particular here.

>Buddhism is about

Not sure you can say that. see e.g. https://tricycle.org/magazine/we-are-not-one/

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#69

Post by SamBam »

markdown wrote: post #57
warent wrote: post #42

Thich Nhat Hanh taught that just like a cloud seems to disappear from the sky, it's not really, it has simply changed form. The appearance of vanishing is just that: an appearance. Really nothing is created or destroyed. In this way, there is no loss here, Thầy has transitioned into another phase of life. A beauty worth celebrating

Surely it's lost to the sky, having fallen to the earth as rain? This is like one of those things people overlay on an image of a flower or a cloudy sky and then post to facebook.

It's extremely easy to sneer at Buddhist teachings because they sound corny, it doesn't make a person smarter to do so.

Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died

#70

Post by dkarl »

wolverine876 wrote: post #14

Who are the Thich Nhat Hanhs of today?

That's a really difficult question. Every aspect of Thich Nhat Hanh I think of, I think of people who are as old as him, or who predeceased him. Hopefully that is my own generational bias.

For example, he was a Zen master whose writings reached a broad audience and provided a modern voice for a tradition where some of the foundational works such as the Platform Sutra are roughly a thousand years old. For other modern Zen voices, there are books such as Three Pillars of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Opening the Hand of Thought, and probably many others. (Albert Low is on my to-read list.) All of those are by authors who died before Thich Nhat Than, though.

He also was an activist and an original proponent of "engaged Buddhism," in which compassion is seen to mandate action for social change. I'm sadly ignorant of the current landscape here; the Dalai Lama and Gary Snyder certainly count, but they are both getting on in years.

He also wrote a lot of books that are light on doctrine but very direct, grounded, and gentle, that people have found comforting and supportive in a crisis. For that, many people look to the books of Pema Chödrön, Tara Brach, and Sharon Salzberg, who are at least a little bit younger, but all in their sixties or older.

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