There is a lot already said about Awakening, Enlightenment and Non-attachment by many ancient masters and teachers. This blog/website began about 8 years ago following a sort of sudden awakening while trance dancing in the jungles of Goa. My humble expressions of truth which I have gathered from various sources are all put together here on Psychedelic Adventure. That one experience propelled my life in an unknown direction, with some unseen intelligence guiding me along each step ... while telling me to trust my intuition and surrender to what comes forth while following your passion in life ... which for me is the quest for truth so i can bring more meaning to this earthly sojourn, my life.

After this awakening followed a series of realizations and magical discoveries about this exciting universe we are an integral part of. Magic is all around us, all we need is the eyes to see it. After I lost a dear friend quite suddenly, my life changed in a big way as it made me question everything. This was the first time I experienced the death of someone close to me, until then it was all theoretical. Now I begun asking questions pertaining to my own existence and what happens to us when we leave the physical body. On this quest to find meaning I came across many interesting things on the Internet. Some of these subjects I resonate with deeply and have blogged about quite extensively are Crop Circles, Shamanism, Orbs, Healing, Psychedelics and Altered States of Consciousness just to name a few.

The difficult part about waking up is that not everyone around you may be experiencing a similar shift in consciousness as you are. This can be a bit troublesome as the friends who once hung out with you suddenly stop coming over and you too feel like you have gone beyond the need for people being around you all the time and you truly value and appreciate those moments spent in complete silence. :) You would rather be by yourself pursuing certain new found interests which bring more joy and happiness in your life than anything else you have previously known. If you have felt any of this, trust me you are not alone. There are so many of us feeling a storm stirring deep within our soul pushing us towards our imminent evolution, which is showing us a new way of living, in harmony with all beings we share this space with. A new vision of a new sense of self is emerging within each one of us tuned into our heart space ... operating from a place of much peace and divine guidance.

Living consciously, while being sensitive to energies around us can be a gift and a curse at the same time as most empaths would agree. Like most labels, the label of an Empath may seem like a special title to inflate one's ego but it really is an innate capacity within each one of us and there are ways to listen to that inner voice that guides us, which begins with silencing our noisy mind and clearing up the excessive mental clutter. To be in this world, yet detached from the illusions of the ego mind, is the path to true freedom which allows one to live more fully and in alignment with natural laws. Once we live our lives from a place of awareness, brand new realizations pour into our nascent consciousness from time to time ... allowing us to free ourselves from the shackles of the egoic mind while tuning into higher realms of divine consciousness, the true essence of who we are.

One of the eternal teachings of Buddha is that of non-attachment ... I came across this beautiful article by Matt Valentine on Buddhaimonia !





Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.

– The Dalai Lama

You’ve probably seen or read something like it before on the Internet.

A beautiful image with a short quote that says something to the significance of “let it go” (if you don’t believe me, type “let go” into Google and look under the images tab).

And I’m not talking about the Frozen theme song, I’m talking about the idea of letting go of things in your life, whatever that may be.

But rarely is it actually explained how to actually “let it go”. More often than not it’s become no more than a slogan for happy living, with vague guidance at best.

What I do find interesting though is that most of us seem to realize intuitively how important it is to live without clinging to things, even if we’re not exactly sure how that’s supposed to happen.

But there’s a vast amount of wisdom in Eastern thought that can help us learn how to let go of the many things which bind us and keep us from finding peace as well as keep us from experiencing the limitless freedom that exists in our everyday lives. That’s where the teaching on non-attachment comes in.

The teaching on non-attachment, as described in Buddhist and Hindu thought, is often misunderstood- especially in the West.

It’s usually misunderstood as the detaching from all worldly things in a physical sense. Which most of us aren’t all that interested in doing (and, also intuitively, we feel is unnecessary). The common image of a monk or yogi living and meditating away from civilization doesn’t help that misconception either.

In fact, when Buddhism first came to China somewhere around 2,000 years ago by way of these reclusive and hermit-like practicing Buddhists, the Chinese apparently didn’t dig it all that much either. They didn’t see the point of removing yourself entirely from worldly activities and becoming these sort of recluses from society.

But they were very much interested in Buddhism in general, and would go on to spur one of the most significant reforms in Buddhist history- the birth of what’s called “Mahayana” (or “the great vehicle”) Buddhism.

The reason I mention this story is to illustrate why it can be so dang confusing to understand what’s meant by non-attachment in ancient Eastern thought. This is because technically there is a side of Buddhism that’s about becoming that mountain recluse or hermit and living by yourself for the rest of your life.

Fortunately, the Chinese realized the truth early on that such a way of living only aided in the path to realizing peace and was in no way a requirement.

The truth is peace and the ultimate freedom can be obtained right here within everyday life. So then if stripping yourself of all possessions and worldly responsibility isn’t the point of non-attachment, what is?


What is Non-Attachment?

The Buddhist teaching on non-attachment is ultimately about realizing the truth of yourself. That is, realizing that you’re an expression of the entire cosmos. That you’re in the cosmos, that the entire cosmos is in you in a very real and observable way, and that there is no separating the two (and everything that comes with the realization).

And the teaching on non-attachment is about living in such a way that you live without such obstructions that keep you from realizing this.

So, for instance, it’s not about not being able to get married, something which Chinese Buddhists began allowing which Indian Buddhists didn’t, it’s about not attaching yourself to your spouse or the concept of marriage.

This means living in a way that instead of keeping this image of your spouse in your mind and falling in love with that image, consequently running into problems when that image changes, you let them free and accept them fully for who they are in each moment no matter what changes.

In Zen Buddhism, when students complete their study they’re allowed to enter back into a “normal” life and do things such as marry and take jobs. This is because it’s understood in Zen that non-attachment isn’t about physical items, locations, and such, it’s about the ideas we occupy our minds with.

It’s about what we believe about ourselves and the world around us.

This means that you could lead a perfectly normal life on the surface, but from within live in a way that you don’t attach yourself to any of the things that are a part of your life.

This doesn’t mean you stop caring about them, on the contrary you appreciate them so much more because you’re ever-aware of that they won’t last forever.

So just as you can hold a picked flower in your hand, being well aware that the flower will wilt and die in a matter of days, taking in the smell and beauty of the flower, you can live your entire life savoring every moment knowing that in each moment everything can (and often does) change.

How We Attach in Our Everyday Life

Any belief that you’re this separate entity which exists detached from the rest of existence, and your attempts to cling to these ideas as well as your attempts to cling to expectations about the way the world is supposed to work, cause friction between yourself and the rest of the interconnected world and result in pain and the inability for you to find peace. Ultimately, in a nutshell, that’s what it all comes down to.

But what does this look like in your everyday life? Putting aside all the cosmos this and interconnected that talk, how can we begin to notice this in our daily lives?

When it comes down to it, all attachment originates with the ego. The ego, a construct which was built through years of conditioning and is in no way a “real” part of you at all, is what convinces you that you’re this separate entity disconnected from all other living and non-living things.

So how does this look in our everyday lives? Your ego is an image, it’s who you believe yourself to be. And when reality doesn’t match up to the image, friction happens and pain occurs. Pain caused by your attachment to the ego could come from:

• Not hitting your personal performance goals at work, leading you to question if your abilities are declining.
• Not performing as well during a basketball game with some old friends as you used to when you were younger, realizing you’re not as fit as you used to be and maybe no longer the athlete you thought yourself as.
• Finding out your spouse cheated on you and your dream of having a family and living the rest of your life with this great person consequently shattering.

Also, when life doesn’t = your expectations, the same happens:

• Losing a loved one and having to come to grips with the fact that this person who meant so much to you and who you’re used to having in your life is gone forever.
• Being fired from the job you’ve had for the past 10 years and thought you’d spend the rest of your life at.
• A co-worker whom you trusted stabbing you in the back to win a promotion over you.
• To see this more clearly, think about something that doesn’t surprise you. Think about a sandwich. Let’s say you really like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you’re used to having one every afternoon for lunch.

Provided everything goes as normal, you enjoy your sandwich and have a pleasant lunch. But if it turns out your husband or wife pranked you and threw some soy sauce in there when they made your sandwich (no wonder they offered to make it today…), you wouldn’t have a very pleasant lunch.

The surprise of the PB&J not adding up to your expectation is what caused you the pain, not that soy sauce was in it.

If you were to have eaten that sandwich like you had never had a peanut butter sandwich before in your life, without expectations, not only would the real thing have tasted better, experiencing every bite like the first time, but you wouldn’t have been disappointed when you were pranked with the PB&JS (peanut butter and jelly-soy) your spouse made for you because you would have had no expectation of how it should taste.


How to Let Go

The same basic ingredients apply in all methods of letting go, but there’s multiple ways to go about doing it. One very important point I want to mention with regards to the entire subject though is to not attach yourself to any one method of letting go.

It sounds odd that you can find a new attachment through trying to let go of all attachments, but it’s a very real thing to look out for. Don’t get mixed up thinking the finger pointing the way to the moon is the moon itself.

What this means is, first and foremost non-attachment is a state of mind. New attachments will always threaten you, so to live with the state of mind of non-attachment, to realize the importance of living in a way that you go with the natural flow of things and respect the impermanence of all life, is the basis of realizing non-attachment.

Again, there’s many ways to go about it all, but the first step is generally to begin working to identify the ego.

This is generally done through some form of meditation, particularly mindfulness as it allows you to observe yourself “silently” in a way and watch what unfolds and arises from within you. This can take time, and can be challenging, but the process itself is very rewarding.

To strive to live with mindfulness in each moment, whether you’re sitting on the meditation cushion, walking from one place to the next, or are at work, is to shine a light on your entire life and uncover the presence of the ego in each area of your life, even the furthest reaches that lay hidden deep in your subconscious.

To live with mindfulness is also to live fully engaged and yet unattached in that very moment. To be mindful is to be open and accepting of whatever may come in any moment, so mindfulness is a multipurpose tool in letting go of the many attachments we often hold.

But there’s another way to help us let go in our everyday life. To look deeply at those things in our everyday life, especially ourselves, is to realize not only the interconnected nature of all things but also the impermanence (that is, the fact that nothing lasts forever).

This is a technique I go into detail about in Zen for Everyday Life, but because there’s so many ways to use it I’d like to go over another way you can use contemplative meditation to begin helping you let go of the many things you cling to.

Meditating on the End of Your Life

Meditating on death sounded like a bit of a harsh title, but that’s essentially what this meditation is about. Keep in mind, you don’t have to go too deep here. If you do choose to do so though, be careful, you might not like everything you find (which is the same in all forms of meditation, but especially so for this). But I can promise you it will be healing.

This is just another way of taking contemplation, the act of looking deeply at a thing as far back as it will go, and using it on yourself to help you let go of the various attachments that inhibit you from finding peace.

To meditate on death, simply imagine it’s your time and everything that will come with it. You could be on a hospital bed, your personal bed, or somewhere else.

For best effect, imagine the process is pretty far along, and you’ve been looking back on your life. You’ll likely have to sit with this exercise for some time before things begin coming to the surface, but they will come.

Maybe you begin seeing flashes of your daughter, who you’ve fought with for years, come into your mind. You won’t always know why, but by focusing your mind on this near-death event certain things will arise naturally.

Part of this process can be active with contemplation, trying to actively imagine what kinds of things you might regret, want to have done differently, or feel relieved you can finally let go of, and another part of it could be more passive by simply thinking about the situation to yourself for a moment and then proceeding to sit and follow your breath with mindfulness and then acknowledging whatever thoughts arise as a part of that.

However you decide to do it, meditating on the end of your life, the entire experience in as much detail as you can possibly imagine, can be a powerful and highly beneficial exercise.


The Power of Letting Go

What is it like to let go completely? You’ll have to find out for yourself, but there’s a few major changes that will occur as a result of you learning how to overcome all attachments and live freely:

1. You’ll see the beauty in all of life and experience it in its fullness without any “distortion”.

2. You’ll be completely free in each moment and in the truest sense, no longer chained down to attachments.

3. You’ll find peace through having learned how to let go, stop causing friction to your being, and ultimately expressing your true nature.

4. You’ll gain the ability to adapt to any and all changes and keep your peace of mind.

5. You’ll find a great sense of joy in every moment and realize life as one great big adventure because you’re no longer held down by anything.

If you want to learn how to let go and live truly free in each moment, Zen for Everyday Life is a great resource that can begin you on the path and equip you with the tools you’ll need. You can get Zen for Everyday Life and learn more about the book by clicking here:

Get Zen for Everyday Life: How to Find Peace and Happiness in the Chaos of Everyday Life

The topic of letting go and non-attachment is surely a big one, far larger than any single post could cover, but I hope this has helped move you forward in some way towards greater freedom in your everyday life.

Reference : Let Go & Find Peace


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A study published in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice reveals that Zen meditation and its secular sister, mindfulness meditation, effectively reduce depression, anxiety, and pain—and are “beneficial for general psychological health and stress management in those with medical and psychiatric illness,” its authors write.

It’s the latest of many studies suggesting that a practice honed by Japanese monks in remote temples 1,400 years ago can combat such maladies as breast cancer, asthma, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, HIV, PMS, and irritable bowel syndrome.



Mindfulness meditation trains the brain to release fear, anxiety, and other negative emotions. This lessens stress and boosts the immune function, as thoughts and emotions actively shape our brains, for better or worse.

“Mental activity requires neural activity; neural activity sculpts neural structure,” says neuropsychologist Rick Hanson, founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and author of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom . As new neurons form constantly, he says, “changes in the mind associated with changes in the neural system leave lasting traces in the structure of the brain.

“Neurons that fire together wire together. Mental states become neural traits.”


Like a wet washcloth, “the mind takes the shape of whatever it rests upon. If you routinely rest your mind on self-criticism, anger, or anxious rumination, your mind will take a negative shape.”

MRIs reveal that even eight weeks of mindfulness meditation create a “positive shape”—structural changes in the hippocampus “that calm down the brain’s alarm system,” Hanson notes.

That’s surely why, in 2007 alone, health care providers advised more than 6 million Americans to use meditation and related mind–body therapies, according to a Harvard Medical School–affiliated study released last year.



Could an ancient spiritual practice put antidepressants, painkillers, and other pharmaceuticals to the test?

“Mindfulness-based approaches may effectively replace medications for some patients,” asserts University of New Mexico associate professor of psychology Bruce Smith, who led a 2008 study examining meditation’s powers against depression, stress, binge eating, and pain.

“Of course, medications are readily available, well marketed, and fit with the value our society places on quick fixes,” Smith adds. “The challenge regarding mindfulness is to motivate people to practice enough to where they begin to really see the benefits.”

Hanson instructs those under his care to start by meditating just one minute per day.

“One,” he says, “is infinitely more than zero.”

Reference : Zen Medication : Can Meditation Heal Us


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• How to Do Mindfulness Meditation
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Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means "meditation" or "meditative state."

Zen has been surrounded by myth, taboo and misconception. The Zen Mind is a journey across Japan to explore the practice of zen and expel some of these myths. "The Zen Mind - A Zen Journey Across Japan" is a documentary full of contrasts as we travel across the width and breadth of Japan to explore Zen today.

In Japan, the cloistered lifestyle of the zen monk is declining, but zen is finding a renewal among the baby boomers in the cities. Our journey starts here with a visit to the Dogen Sangha or zen center, tucked among the office buildings of a Tokyo suburb, where commuters and office-workers stop by for meditation.

We join the formal ceremonies of Kyoto’s largest zen temple and witness the rituals that have managed to survive a thousand years. In the depths of the surrounding countryside we visit a zen center that is carrying on the very spar tan and simple zen lifestyle that many temples have abandoned. This contrast heightens as we enter Japan’s largest soto zen monastery and live with the zen monks and disciples. Our cameras film unrestricted as we join the monks.



Throughout this journey is the underlying practice of zazen or meditation, the act of sitting and concentrating the mind to an emptiness—to reach a self-realization and enlightenment. Intimate interviews with the spiritual heads or Roshi reveal their methods and precepts for zazen and keeping their students on the path to enlightenment. One of Japan’s leading flute players, Christopher Yohmei Blasdel provides the unique soundtrack of shakuhachi flute fused with digital melodic tones. The combination of beautiful photography, compelling narrative and striking music create a memorable Zen experience.

This video is filmed entirely on location in Japan at the following Zen monasteries and center: Soji-ji Monastery, Tenryuji Temple, Ryoanji Temple, Nanzenji Temple, Ginkakuji Temple, Kyoto Kokusai Zendo, Dogen Sangha-Tokyo, Komazawa University and Eishen-ryu Iaido dojo.


“Absolutely amazing and wonderfully shot. After watching it I was truthfully extremely relaxed and ready to take on more stress from my every day life. I cannot recommend this film enough. It showcases the most beautiful temples in Kyoto and brought back many fond memories. Braeley did a first class job and I take my hat of to him.” Don Warrener, Hollywood, California. 09/27/2007

We have always been fascinated by zen. What does it do (nothing)? What is it (not much)? How do you practice (do nothing)?. So how do you make a documentary of something that you cannot see or touch? Well, I think we succeeded, by the great reviews we keep receiving. This story could not be told without the great music of Japan’s top Shakuhachi flute player – Christopher Yohmei and the melodies of Synthezer player, Uehara. The soundtrack is also available.

First, we decided to film on location in Japan and at the widest range of zen centers and monasteries – from the zen centers in downtown bustling Tokyo to the mountains above Kyoto, it is an incredible film of contrasts. Secondly, we talked to every teacher and roshi that we could find – and then narrowed this down to some of the best interviews on zen life and zen daily practice. Travelling from the top to the bottom of Japan and across its breadth. Deep into the countryside of Kyoto, to a Rinzai zen center for foreigners to the largest Soto zen monastery in Japan. In this unique film, we are allowed to witness the daily life of the zen monk, preparing food, at work, and learning and seeking answers. You will watch the rituals inside the zendo or meditation hall and of zazen (meditation) and use of Koan’s (questions) to go deeper and deeper into the subconscious. It is a fascinating journey that could change your own life forever.



Any idea of "what is" takes us away from what is - to be in the moment, all ideas need to be gone. There's not even an "I" to have the ideas.

The natural being acts as an outcome of the movement of the universe, in the same way that an artist's brush is moved by its "universe".

All "teachings", "spiritual" paths or "sacred" practices actually take us away from the moment, because it needs an "I" to do them, with an agenda of some kind, something to gain. All of which removes our beingness from the identity-free moment.

The only way that "what is" can be experienced is to lose all traces of self, in which case the "what is" can't be experienced because there is no one there to experience it.

Any description of the state of the natural mind is false, including this one. "It" cannot be described. "It" is always "bigger" than the limiting description.

There is not even an "ultimate" state to gain, because the very idea that there is, takes us away from it.

All there is, is the operation of the universe in its all-ness. There's no such thing as "enlightened" or "unenlightened". These are just ideas of what is.

Even "bliss" or "transcendence" is a state of mind that needs an "I" to experience those feelings.

Thoughts are the glue of our belief structures. "I" is the creation of thoughts and beliefs.

What's happening, when we think we are functioning human beings, is the operating system of the brain, running sophisticated meme/belief structures that create the content of our identities and sense of self.

The only act awareness can "do" is to let go of "self" awareness. Awareness, to be fully there, needs to have no "I" attached to it.

Where there was self, there is now "active" emptiness.

Action, from this place, is an instantaneous, pure response to the call of the moment. It is the moment, the universe acting, not the person.

True peace is an absence of agitation, an absence of self-generated internal activity. So peace cannot be "done", or created - it's an absence of doing. This allows unadulterated "what-is" to be.

All action out of this state is completely harmonious and non-conflicting. There is nothing there to conflict with anything else.

A transcended being feels the world cleanly, whereas an "I", full of beliefs and ideas of self, overlays those unadulterated feelings with external content, imbuing them with emotional "charge". This charge is reactive to the world around it, continually creating conflict as it attempts to dissipate.

Whatever is actual or real can only be there when all ideas, all thoughts, all belief, all traces of identity are gone - when there is no "I" left to take us out of the moment. If the eternal now moment is all there is, this may be the only way to be in it.

Thought is only necessary, only of any use, when it is called for by the moment, for a particular task. To keep thinking beyond the particular call of the moment is the same as keeping your arm above your head all the time, or hopping on one leg all the time.

What comes out of the moment relates only to that moment. It's already past and nonexistent as it is experienced. To hold to anything experienced or said in that moment, is to live in the dead past.

If you can't touch it, show it, taste it, does it have any reality?



References :

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"Mindful Movements" is a 36 minute video presentation by renowned Zen Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh where he discusses 'Ten Exercises For Well-Being' through practicing mindfulness ...

When you calm your body and your emotions, teaches Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, you restore yourself, and you restore peace to the world around you. On Mindful Movements, this renowned teacher of mindfulness meditation guides you through a series of gentle exercises created specifically to cultivate a joyful awareness of the body and breath. These are the same "meditations in motion" that the monks and nuns of Plum Village Monastery use daily as a complement to their sitting meditation practice.


Developed by Thich Nhat Hanh himself, the exercises taught here combine simple stretching and graceful gestures with mindfulness meditation. Join Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village monk Brother Michael to explore step by step these ten unique movements. Practice them before or after sitting meditation, at home, or at work - any time you have a few minutes to refresh your body and quiet your mind. Mindfulness has the power to sustain and heal you in every aspect of your life.


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Zen : The Best of Alan Watts is a documentary film directed by Elda Hartley presenting the Zen Philosophy as known to Alan Watts. Alan Watts (1915-1973) who held both a master's degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity, is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and Indian & Chinese philosophy in general.

He authored more than 20 excellent books on the philosophy and psychology of religion, and lectured extensively, leaving behind a vast audio archive. With characteristic lucidity and humor Watts unravels the most obscure ontological and epistemological knots with the greatest of ease.


While many in the 60's played the stock market and paid their mortgages, Alan Watts lived aboard a colorful houseboat, writing, speaking, and inspiring a generation to re-assess their values.

For more than forty years, Alan Watts earned a reputation as a foremost interpreter of Eastern philosophies for the West. Beginning at age sixteen, when he wrote essay for the journal of the Buddhist Lodge in London, he developed an audience of millions who were enriched through his books, tape recordings, radio, television, and public lectures.

In all, Watts wrote more than twenty-five books and recorded hundreds of lectures and seminars, all building toward a personal philosophy that he shared in complete candor and joy with his readers and listeners throughout the world. His overall works have presented a model of individuality and self-expression that can be matched by few philosophers.

His life and work reflects an astonishing adventure: he was an editor, Anglican priest, graduate dean, broadcaster, author, lecturer, and entertainer. He had fascinations for archery, calligraphy, cooking, chanting, and dancing, and still was completely comfortable hiking alone in the wilderness. He held a Master's Degree in Theology from Sudbury-Western Theological Seminary and an Honorary DD from the University of Vermont in recognition of his work in the field of comparative religions.



He held fellowships from Harvard University and the Bollingen Foundation, and was Episcopal Chaplain at Northwestern University during the Second World War. He became professor and dean of the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco, made the television series "Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life" for National Educational Television, and served as a visiting consultant for psychiatric institutions and hospitals, and for the United States Air Force. In the mid-sixties he traveled widely with his students in Japan, and visited Burma, Ceylon, and India.


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The renowned Zen Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh at the "Colors of Compassion Retreat – Healing Our Families, Building True Communities" Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, California.

In this first talk of a week-long mindfulness retreat for people of color, Zen Master the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh – whom Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – gives instruction in the basic mindfulness practices of sitting meditation, walking meditation, and awareness of the present moment.


Buddhist mindfulness techniques can help to bring the mind back to the body so that you are fully present here and now. For sitting meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh describes simple practices of awareness that increase a sense of well being and release tension in the body.

He offers walking meditation as a practice that can help you to live deeply every moment of your life, free from the prison of the past and of the future. He gives instruction, too, in addressing pain and anger in your heart and developing a deeper awareness of and appreciation for everyday moments of life: cooking, cleaning, driving, and working in such a way that you feel peaceful, mindful,and happy.


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One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today. A poet & peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thây by his students) has led an extraordinary life. Born in central Vietnam in 1926 he joined the monkshood at the age of sixteen. The Vietnam War confronted the monasteries with the question of whether to adhere to the contemplative life and remain meditating in the monasteries, or to help the villagers suffering under bombings and other devastation of the war. Nhat Hanh was one of those who chose to do both, helping to found the "engaged Buddhism" movement. His life has since been dedicated to the work of inner transformation for the benefit of individuals and society.

In Saigon in the early 60s, Thich Nhat Hanh founded the School of Youth Social Service, a grass-roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, resettled homeless families, and organized agricultural cooperatives. Rallying some 10,000 student volunteers, the SYSS based its work on the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. Despite government denunciation of his activity, Nhat Hanh also founded a Buddhist University, a publishing house, and an influential peace activist magazine in Vietnam.


After visiting the U.S. and Europe in 1966 on a peace mission, he was banned from returning to Vietnam in 1966. On subsequent travels to the U.S., he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and so helped to galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently, Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

In 1982 he founded Plum Village, a Buddhist community in exile in France, where he continues his work to alleviate suffering of refugees, boat people, political prisoners, and hungry families in Vietnam and throughout the Third World. He has also received recognition for his work with Vietnam veterans, meditation retreats, and his prolific writings on meditation, mindfulness, and peace. He has published some 85 titles of accessible poems, prose, and prayers, with more than 40 in English, including the best selling Call Me by My True Names, Peace Is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace, Living Buddha Living Christ, Teachings on Love, The Path of Emancipation, and Anger. In September 2001, just a few days after the suicide terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he addressed the issues of non-violence and forgiveness in a memorable speech at Riverside Church in New York City. In September of 2003 he addressed members of the US Congress, leading them through a two-day retreat.


Thich Nhat Hanh continues to live in Plum Village in the meditation community he founded, where he teaches, writes, and gardens; and he leads retreats worldwide on "the art of mindful living."


Teachings

Thich Nhat Hanh's key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live in the present moment instead of in the past and in the future. Dwelling in the present moment is, according to Nhat Hanh, the only way to truly develop peace, both in one's self and in the world.

Writing to Thich Nhat Hanh ...

If you'd like to write a letter to Thich Nhat Hanh, you can mail it to one of his addresses in Plum Village or send your letter to [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will forward your letter to Thich Nhat Hanh.

How do you pronounce Thich Nhat Hanh?

The English pronunciation is: Tik · N'yat · Hawn

However since Vietnamese is a tonal language, this is only a close approximation for how one would pronounce it in Vietnamese. (His name is sometimes misspelled as Thich Nhat Hahn, Thich Nhat Han, and Thich Nat Han.)

By his students he is affectionately known as Thay (pronounced "Tay" or "Tie"), which is Vietnamese for "teacher."


An Excerpt from Mindfulness of Ourselves Mindfulness of Others by Thich Nhat Hanh ...




Anger. There's a seed of anger in every one of us. There is also a seed of fear, a seed of despair. And when the seed of anger manifests, we should know how to recognize it, how to embrace it, and how to bring [ourselves] relief. When the seed of fear manifests itself as energy in the upper level of our consciousness, we should be able to recognize it, to embrace it tenderly, and to transform it. And the agent of transformation and healing is called mindfulness.


Mindfulness is another kind of energy that is in us in the form of a seed also. If we know how to practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful smiling, then we should be able to touch the seed of mindfulness in us and transform it into a zone of energy. And with that energy of mindfulness, we can recognize our anger, our fear, our despair. We practice recognizing and embracing.

When a mother working in the kitchen hears the cries of her baby, she puts anything she is holding down and goes to the room of the baby, picks the baby up and holds the baby dearly in her arms. We do exactly the same thing when the seed of anger and fear manifest in us; our fear, our anger is our baby. Let us not try to suppress and to fight our fear and our anger. Let us recognize its presence; let us embrace it tenderly like a mother embracing her baby.

When a mother embraces her baby, the energy of tenderness begins to penetrate into the body of the baby. The mother does not know, yet, what is the cause of the suffering of the baby, but the fact that she is holding the baby tenderly can already help. The energy of tenderness and compassion in a mother begins to penetrate into the body of the baby, and the baby gets some relief right away. The baby may stop crying. And if the mother knows how to continue the practice of holding the baby mindfully, tenderly, she will be able to discover the cause of the suffering of the baby.


When the seed of anger is watered, when the seed of fear is watered, whether by yourself or by another person or by the mass media ... because the mass media in this country has watered a lot the seed of anger and fear in us ... We should know how to recognize, embrace and bring relief to our anger and our fear.

The attitude is the attitude of non-duality, non-violence. Our fear, our anger are not our enemies; they are us. We have to treat our fear, our anger in a most non-violent way, the most non-dualistic way, like we are treating our own baby. So if you are a good practitioner of meditation, you will know exactly what to do when the seed of anger is watered and begins to manifest in the upper level of your consciousness. With the practice of mindful breathing or mindful walking, you generate the energy of mindfulness, and exactly with that energy, you can recognize the energy of anger, of fear in you.

Anger is… energy number one. By practicing mindful breathing or mindful walking, we generate the energy number two: the energy of mindfulness. We call it in Buddhist terms: mindfulness of anger. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. When you drink your water mindfully, that is called mindfulness of drinking. When you eat mindfully, that is called mindfulness of eating. When you breathe mindfully, in and out, that is called mindfulness of breathing. When you walk mindfully, it is called mindfulness of walking.

So, when you recognize your anger, embrace your anger tenderly with that energy of mindfulness, it is called mindfulness of anger, mindfulness of despair, mindfulness of fear. We should be able to learn and help the young people to learn how to do it. It's very important.

The Buddha offers us very concrete and simple exercises in order to become mindful. The first exercise on mindful breathing is: Breathing in ... I know I am breathing in. Breathing out ... I know I am breathing out. You can reduce the length of the sentence to one word. In. Out. While you are breathing in, you just recognize that this is your in breath, and you use the word, in. And you are wholly concentrated on your in breath. Nothing else.

You become your in breath. You're not thinking of anything. You're not thinking of the past, of the future, of your projects. You release everything. You just follow your in breath, and you become one with your in breath. And the energy of mindfulness is generated together with the energy of concentration.


Peace is Every Step : Meditation in Action (DVD)

Peace is Every Step : The Path Of Mindfulness (Book)


References :

• Plum Village
• Explore Faith
• Parallax Press

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