Last night at the Community for Mindful Living sangha in Hanoi we practiced “Touching the Earth”. This practice involves acknowledging the contribution of your ancestors and spiritual masters in your being and then extending love and compassion to those whom have made you suffer. The practice was devised by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen master living in exile in France.
What was remarkable about this practice, as well as its profound effect on oneself, was that in the words that described the country that one lived in, Thay (as he is known to his students) wrote about the Vietnamese people that had died to protect the country against the Chinese, the French and the Americans. He is able to acknowledge the deaths of those whom had placed him in exile, and acknowledge their sacrifice to the nation.
Thay during the ongoing conflicts in Vietnam formed the Unified Buddhist Church to practice engaged Buddhism and help all sides of the conflict. This resulted in deaths amongst his people because each side thought that they were helping the other side. He describes his anger at such happenings and how he had to practice mindfulness and breathing to let the anger go.
In his book “Calming the fearful mind- a Zen response to terrorism” he writes about how terrorism cannot be fought with more violence, that what it requires is compassion and deep listening. He proposes that there be a reconciliation commission like that in South Africa between Arabic nations and America, and for America to listen with compassion first to her own people and then to her enemies to discover why she is hated so.
Perhaps one first reaction to the book would be that his ideas are naive and idealistic. However if one attempts to practice compassion in a sangha (a group of practising individuals) then one can discover the powerful energy that can be created from such practice that can be taken to the outside world.
Thay’s teachings are practical in that he realises the great anger, resentment and hatred war and acts of violence can create. His advice after September 11 also outlined in “Calming the fearful mind” was to first listen to your own anger and hatred and treat yourself with compassion. Wait for some time to pass because acting out of anger will result in more acts of violence and hatred. His book outlines the practice of mindfulness and breathing that will assist in letting go of anger, hatred and fear.
If one man and his followers can still practice mindfulness and compassion after witnessing the suffering of war there is hope for all of humankind. Ironically his exile in the West has probably led to him being known as one of the most famous Buddhists alongside the Dalai Lama. Sanghas that follow his teachings are all around the world and his books have many readers both inside and outside Vietnam.
More information on his practices, books and sanghas around the world can be found at his Plum Village website at www.plumvillage.org
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