Reading his book helped me overcome one of the darkest period in my life. Just a few paragraphs in a random book that I picked up. My heart lifted just a little bit, enough for me to carry on living. Peace to you my friend.
Thich Nhat Hanh has died
71–80 of 133 posts
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#72I haven't heard of him until today. I am very interested in learning meditation/mindfulness, but as an agnostic I tend to shy away from religious teachings. Are his methods heavily religious?
I think most Buddhist traditions are “non theistic.” This is different from atheism and theism, in that it essentially says “Even if God exists, God is mostly if not completely beside the point. The point is relying on yourself to save yourself.”
My reading of the Tipitaka is that it says:
1. There are a lot of gods, as well as demons, etc. Typically the Sanskrit or Pali terms devas and asuras are used untranslated, in part because the ontological categories of different mythologies may not correspond exactly.
2. One of them was first and lives longer than the others. He says he's eternal and created everything else in the universe, but he's mistaken about both of those things.
3. The gods are better off than humans are, and they understand more than ordinary humans, but they still suffer and die; they all die every time the universe ends, which has happened many times.
4. So even the gods need to follow the path of awakening in order to end their suffering, which can lead to awareness that encompasses even the many creations and destructions of the whole universe. Some of the gods follow the Buddha for this reason.
5. But lots of people (and gods) have been able to observe some part of this picture and think they've seen the whole thing, which leads them to beliefs like monotheism, polytheism, atheism, or nihilism.
6. Thinking and debating about the gods and the nature of the universe is just a distraction from the meditation and awakening you need to end your own suffering.
The Tipitaka is much bigger than the small part I've read, so I don't know if I'm accurately representing what it says, and of course it's only one of many Buddhist canons. But I think the overall cosmology is not really a major point of disagreement between the different Buddhist traditions, especially because of point #6.
Still, I don't think it's accurate to describe Buddhism as nontheistic. If you think the devas aren't real you must think that the Tipitaka is at best an extremely unreliable guide to reality, at which point you're really just following whoever your personal guru is, not the teachings of Shakyamuni. Hopefully he's a good guru and not somebody like Baker-roshi.
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#73I was just listening to his audiobook.
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#74Who 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…
It's like FOSS - it's up to us.
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why can't you just do it?
I don't have a space that is inherently away from electronics, inherently peaceful, that is still around people but not in a way where people want to engage in non-mindful ways, I am not fully skilled or understanding in ways others who have done this before can guide. I generally am a fan of the Nike, "just do it", but have found it can be significantly beneficial to be surrounded by those who do it better than you.…
I am turning a room in my house into a technology-free space. No phones allowed, just books and a typewriter, pen, and paper for writing. This could be another use of that room.
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
A retreat would seem helpful :)
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#77I haven't heard of him until today. I am very interested in learning meditation/mindfulness, but as an agnostic I tend to shy away from religious teachings. Are his methods heavily religious?
I'm an atheist and I am really enjoying reading "The Heart Of Buddhas Teaching" by him. I wouldn't say his teachings are heavily religious from what I've read so far. But some parts require a lot of imagination. You don't have to become a monk after reading his books. Sometimes good teachings transcends differing beliefs.
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you know of anyway to find more of those? I'm in Oakland and that sounds delightful.
Why can't you just do it?
Peace is not just the absence of violence but the presence of community.
I similarly attended these retreats and the community was profound. At every retreat I went to attendees participated in communal work, kitchen cleaning, food prep, compost rotation, temple cleaning. Nothing was a chore, not even silence, because you weren’t isolated. A big part of community was also the integration of monks, nuns and lay people (attendees). The kindness, acceptance and joy the “contemplatives” (monks and nuns) shared with attendees was really very special.
So, theoretically one could meditate alone at home during a weekend but…that’s an entirely different experience.
Short of attending a retreat, the next best thing is finding a Sangha locally and practicing together. Not every journey begins on a lonely road, some start walking slowly alongside others.
https://plumvillage.org/about/international-sangha-directory...
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#79Wow. 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.
In Oakland I wouldn't leave the phone in the car.
(Sorry, irresistible joke. Also, dear downvoter, this is not intended as a criticism of Oakland.)
Re: Thich Nhat Hanh has died
#80Who are the Thich Nhat Hanhs of today?
Thanissaro Bhikkhu https://www.dhammatalks.org/mp3_index.html
Agreed Venerable Thanissaro Bhikkhu is a serious Buddhist. He teaches a no-fluff Dharma. If you want to know what Buddha taught, listen to his talks. His translations and contributions are extensive.