I’ve not posted here at Metta Refuge for quite a while, which I something I plan to remedy, and I thought I would begin by sharing an excerpt of a wonderful talk from my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s called “Healing Through Resting,” though it could just as well be called “Healing Through Resting […]
Continue reading
Tag Archives: Thich-Nhat-Hanh
Ken Mcleod on how to use Thich Nhat Hanh’s Five-Step Method of Emotional Releasing
2013/07/10 
4 Comments
One of the most skillful Buddhist teachers I know of and someone whose skillful teachings have brought immense healing into my life is Ken McLeod. I can’t recommend enough his book: Wake up to your Life: Discovering the Buddhist Path of Attention or his wonderful Unfettered Mind website: http://www.unfetteredmind.org/ which has dozens and dozens of […]
Continue reading Jesus and the Buddha on Good Friday
2013/03/29 7 Comments
On this Good Friday March 29, 2013, I offer these excerpts from a dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh on December 24, 1997 in Plum Village, France. Jesus and Buddha as Brothers “There was a film maker who lives in Sweden who wanted to come and ask me this question: “If Jesus and Buddha met today what […]
Continue reading How Practice and Creativity Can Open Up Your Metta
2013/03/20 7 Comments
It was an honor to join millions around the world in giving metta, loving-kindness meditation, to my fellow beings on World Day of Metta! Although, like most Buddhists, I do “formal” metta every day, as well as “metta in the moment,” it felt good to set aside a special time to give metta with so many […]
Continue reading Take Time to Be Present Before You Rush Off to Do
2012/09/21 7 Comments
Take time to be present before you rush off to do. One of the skillful Zen koans is “What is this? ” It doesn’t mean looking at something and saying, “That’s a chair. ” It doesn’t mean identifying where you are, i.e, “What is this? This is my front room. This is a mountain trail, […]
Continue reading The Buddha’s Warning Against Getting Caught in Doctrines
2011/12/02 4 Comments
The following conversation was reported to have taken place between the ascetic Dighanaka and Gautama the Buddha. This recounting is from the book Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. ♡♡♡ Dighanakha asked the Buddha, “Gautama, what is your teaching? What are your doctrines? For […]
Continue reading Holy as the Day is Spent-Thich Nhat Hanh on the Holiness of Mindfulness
2011/09/27 2 Comments
This excerpt below is from “The Blooming of the Lotus: the Nature of No-birth and No-death.” It’s a dharma talk given by my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh on May 3, 1998 in Plum Village, France. It is followed by the beautiful and profound song, “Holy as the Day is Spent” by Carrie Newcomer from […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh – A Simple Teaching on Bringing Mindfulness to What Arises
2011/09/03 11 Comments
“There are some practitioners who want to bend and twist their breathing the way they think it ought to be. The Buddha said that is not the correct way. You only be aware of your breath and do not try to intervene. You don’t need to do anything, just know. You just observe, you do […]
Continue reading Skillful Ways to Deal with Your Demons
2011/07/17 3 Comments
Recently, on Facebook, I posted a Photo to my Wall with a comment about working with “demons.” As I said at this Photo post: “Demons are not bloodthirsty ghouls waiting for us in the dark; they are the forces we find inside ourselves that fabricate around ego-clinging and that we project “out there” on others, […]
Continue reading What to Do in Meditation When You Are Flooded with Mental Pain
2011/06/22 2 Comments
Each meditation is so different. Today, as I settled into my breath, I was immediately aware of a great deal of mental pain. The pain didn’t seem to be tied to anything in particular, but was more an existential kind of pain—just “being” felt painful. One I got mentally quiet enough to feel its full […]
Continue reading Whose Silence Are You? Thomas Merton Poem and Music
2011/06/14 5 Comments
Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who was well-known as a social activist, writer, and poet. An deep student of comparative religion, Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith dialog. He became close friends with prominent Eastern spiritual teachers, such as the Dalai Lama, D.T. Suzuki, and my own heart teacher, Vietnamese Zen Master Thich […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh – “Contemplation” – Poem and Music
2011/06/11 0 Comments
Contemplation A Poem by Thich Nhat Hanh Since the moon is full tonight, let us call upon the stars in prayer. The power of concentration, seen through the bright, one-pointed mind, is shaking the universe. All living beings are present tonight to witness the ocean of fear flooding the Earth. Upon the sound of the […]
Continue reading New Year Message from Thich Nhat Hanh on Suffering
2011/01/01 5 Comments
“The New Year is a great opportunity to begin anew. Because many people look at the new year, the year to come, with hope. “I will do better next year,” you promise yourself…Of course we have made mistakes. Of course we have been not very skillful. Of course we have made ourselves suffer. Of course […]
Continue reading Song and Message for those Alone or Bereft on Thanksgiving
2010/11/24 6 Comments
As I do every year, I offer this song, “By Way of Sorrow,” to all those who may be alone this Thanksgiving, without family and friends—or maybe even without hope. Please don’t give up! There is a way “home.” The first step may be hope and trust in our own innate capacity to change, to […]
Continue reading A Buddhist Grace for Thanksgiving
2010/11/23 10 Comments
A Timeless Thanksgiving Message from Thich Nhat Hanh “We like the idea of being thankful to the cosmos, to everything that offers itself to us as food. That is why in Plum Village we organize a Thanksgiving Day, and we address our thanks to four objects: first of all to our father and our mother, […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh on Loving Ourselves by Looking Deeply into Ourselves
2010/10/25 9 Comments
SELF-LOVE From Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh “Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be of much help to others.” We begin practicing this love meditation on ourselves May I be peaceful, happy and light in body and spirit. May I be safe and free from injury. […]
Continue reading Yes, God is Gay-and Straight, and Black, White, and a Flower!
2010/10/18 3 Comments
The spate of suicides and deaths of gay and lesbian young people reported in the news recently has broken my heart and the hearts of many. But these tragic stories are but the tip of the iceberg: In in “Death of California youth puts focus on rise in antigay bullying,” the Christian Science Monitor wrote: […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh-Can We Understand the Suffering of our Enemy?
2010/08/06 6 Comments
Few people in the world have worked as tirelessly for the cause of peace, individual and collective, as Thich Nhat Hanh. His effort to bring peace—to be peace—began during his days as a young Buddhist monk during the Vietnam War and led Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in […]
Continue readingIf We Could Poll the Dead Iraqis-Poem, Music, and Interview with Thich Nhat Hanh
2010/06/17 2 Comments
I wrote this poem this week after listening to an American soldier talk about his deep regret over his part in the Iraqi war and his sorrow over his role in the destruction and loss of so many lives. After the poem, please have a listen to John Gorka’s powerful song, “The Road of Good […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh-Kiss the Earth-Poem and Music
2010/06/17 2 Comments
Kiss The Earth Walk and touch peace every moment. Walk and touch happiness every moment. Each step brings a fresh breeze. Each step makes a flower bloom. Kiss the Earth with your feet. Bring the Earth your love and happiness. The Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves. by Thich Nhat Hanh […]
Continue readingMay All Beings Be Happy
- Looking at the Ninth Zen Precept-I Do Not Indulge In Anger
- True God, True Buddha
- The Difference Between Compassion and “Idiot Compassion”
- Ajahn Brahmavamso teaches Loving-kindness Meditation
- Now-and-Zen-Are you still carrying her?
- A Buddhist Mantra based on the Prayer of St. Francis
- Mindfulness of Breathing-The Anapanasati Sutta
- Buddhist Forgiveness-When We Have Hurt Another-Part 3
- Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing
- Practicing the Middle Way-not too much, not too little
- Look at the Three Characteristics in Terms of Actions
- Thich Nhat Hanh – Healing Through Resting in the Breath
- How Metta Can Help You When Meditation is Hindered by Overwhelming Feelings
- The Importance of Taking the “Should” out of Spiritual Practice
- Can We “Choose” to Be Happy? No—and Yes!
- Ken Mcleod on how to use Thich Nhat Hanh’s Five-Step Method of Emotional Releasing
- Non-resistance and the Art of Resisting without Resisting!
- Don’t be fooled! There is a Way and We Can Walk It!
- The Importance of Compassion in Assessing Our Dharma Progress
- Jesus and the Buddha on Good Friday
Metta Refuge 