8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

1/13

Winter/Spring 2009 A Publication of Plum Village Issue 50 $8/E8/6

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

2/13

Dharma Talk

4 Life Is a Wonder!By Thich Nhat Hanh

May 2008 in Vietnam

10 Return to Vietnam for Vesak

11 Retreating to My RootsBy Loan To Phan

13 The Journey HomeBy Van Khanh Ha

16 Deepening Dharma in Hong KongBy Sister Hanh Nghiem

Vesak Conference

17 The Buddhas MedicineBy Larry Ward

19 War,ConictandHealing:Buddhist PerspectiveBy Ha Vinh Tho

22 SavingIndrasNet:BuddhiTools for Tackling ClimateChange and Social InequityBy Angela Tam

25 AppliedBuddhismandtheIsraeli-PalestinianConictBy Bar Zecharya

ISSUE NO. 50 - Winte

Dying into Life

28 SanghaasRefuge:The Dharma ofCaringforAlisonK.By Lauren Thompson

31 The Question ofOverpopulationBy Brother Phap Lai

34 Resurrection in thePresent MomentBy Sister Chau Nghiem

39 Letting GoA poem by Susan Hadler

40 The Guest

A poem by India Taylor

Sangha News

41 Buddhist InstituteOpens in Germany;AReportontheIndia Trip

Book Reviews

45 TheWorldWeHave:ABuddhistApproachtoPeaceand EcologyBy Thich Nhat Hanh

45 What Book!?Buddha Poems fromBeat to HiphopEdited by Gary Gach

46 Andofnote...

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

3/13

4 Winter/Spring 2009 the Mindul

Thich Nhat Hanh in India photo by Bonnie Wiesner

A

On May 10, 2008, during the Engaged Buddhism or the Twenty-First

Century retreat at the Kim Lien Hotel in Hanoi, Thich Nhat Hanh

answered questions rom retreatants. Here are a ew o those questions

and answers.

A Beautiful ContinuationA written question: My ather is retiring ater fty-fve

years o leading companies. He has decided that unless hecan remain a very important person by having a high posi-

tion or being afliated with a prestigious institution, he is

irrelevant. As a result he does not want to live. He has said

he cares about no one and has no interests let in lie. Ive

tried watering his good seeds and spending time with him.

But his anger is very deep and hismanas is 72 years strong

[laughter]. How can I help him?

We might help him by telling him to lear n to look deeply into

his own person, to understand himsel. We are usually caught in

our notion o sel. We are not aware that a sel is made only o

non-sel elements, just as a fower is made only o non-fower

elements. Sometimes we notice that we have certain talents and

skills, but we should know that these talents an d skills have come

rom our ancestors. When you know that your own talents, as

well as your suering and your happiness, have come rom your

ancestors, you are no longer caught in the idea that all these things

belong to you.

In the Buddhist tradition when we Touch the Earth we make

the gesture o opening our two hands to show that we have noth-

ing in us. Everything has been transmitted through our ancestors.

There is nothing to be ashamed o, nothing to be proud o. We

inherit many things rom our ancestors. In that light we can release

everything very quickly. The insight that sel is made up o non-

sel elements can be very liberating. Then it will be possible or

us to see ourselves in our children and in our riends.

We know that the disintegration o this body doe

our end we always continue! We continue beauti

so beautiully, depending on how we handle the prese

I in the present moment we can produce thought

kindness, orgiveness, and compassion, i we can sa

words, i we can perorm beautiul acts o compassio

will have a beautiul continuation. We have sovereig

present moment.

I your ather has access to that kind o insight he

and he will suer less. He will have joy in living. He w

he is in you and that you will carry him into the ut

talents and experiences are not lost you will conti

them, and you will do your best to transmit these qualiuture through your children and grandchildren.

A Deep Grievous LongingA lay woman asks: My husband and I have bee

conceive a child or a long time. My sister and he

have recently had a pregnancy loss, so weve both

riencing a lot o suering. One o my highest aspi

experience the miracle o having a child. Sometim

intense emotionally, the intensity o lie wanting

itsel, it causes a dee p grievous longing. I work in a

practices Chinese medicine to help couples with

So its very difcult not to water those seeds o su

my most sincere intention to nourish my healing p

my patients healing rom the heart o my own

Its rom here that I ask or your guidance.

Someone said that happiness is something that

recognize when it is there. You eel that, once it is gon

lost it. Happiness can occur in dierent orms. We m

our attention on one thing and we call it the basic co

our happiness. I we dont have that thing then we

happiness. But there are many other conditions or hap

are present in the here and the now, and we just ignor

think that only the other object is a true condition or

which now we dont have.

Not only is the rose wonderful, not only are the

clouds and the sky wonderful, but the mud and the

suffering are also wonderful.

dharm

Life Is A Wonder!

Dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh

dharma TALK

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

4/13

6 Winter/Spring 2009 the Mindul

photo by Bonnie Weisner

Someone looking at you may recognize all the conditions o

happiness that he does not have. That person may wonder why with

plenty o conditions or happiness like that you do not enjoy your

lie and you are looking or something else. So the practice is rst

o all to say that happiness can be ound in many orms.

Looking deeply into the human person we see that the human

person wants to continue long into the uture. We want to have chil-

dren and grandchildren; we want to last a very long time. That is

also the nature o animals and vegetables. Every living thing wants

to be continued long into the uture, not just human beings.

But who knows?! Enjoy the conditions o happiness you ac-

tually have and one day you may enjoy that happiness also. But I

think that i you enjoy this you may be completely satised. Every

door is open. Good luck!

Treating DepressionSr. Tung Nghiem speaks: Dear Thay, we had a ew riends

who wrote to Thay ater Thay spoke about depression and

how nothing can survive without ood. They wrote either

dont turn on by themselves. They are turned on by our way o

thinking, our eelings, our perceptions, and our environment. It is

the environment that helps turn on the negative and positive genes.

The genes are equivalent to the bijas, the seeds that we talk aboutin the teachings o the Buddha.

Neuroscientists ask the questions: Is it tr ue that the brain pro-

duces the mind? How could the activities o neurons bring about

the subjective mind? But the brain and the mind inter-are. This isbecause that is; this is not because that is not. Its not that the bodyproduces the mind or the mind produces the body, but mind and

body are two aspects o the s ame thing. The mind always relies on

the body to maniest. Its like a coin there is the head and thetail. Without the tail the head cannot exist and vice versa.

The seed o depression that now maniests may have been

transmitted to us by many generations o ancestors. There may

have been generations when that seed did not maniest. But

now, because o the new environment, that seed has a chance to

maniest. That is why we have to take into account the element

o environment.

The environment is an object o consumption because ele-

ments o the environment touch and turn on the genes in us. That

is why the teaching o the Buddha on ood is very important. We

consume not only edible ood but also what we see, hear, eel, and

touch; sensory impression is the second kind o ood. The third

kind o ood is intention, our volition, the deep desire in us. The

ourth kind o nutriment is consciousness; we consume conscious-

ness. I we live with a number o people around us, we consume

their collective way o thinking and perceiving. For instance we

may see something as not beautiul but because everybody aroundus sees it as beautiul, slowly we also come to see it as beautiul.

We are infuenced by the collective thinking around us and that is

also consumption. Our depression has to do with all these sources

o nutriments.

Medication can help but dont rely on medication alone. You

have to change your way o lie and your environment, and one

day youll be able to stop taking medication. I you dont change

your way o lie and you continue to use the medication, at a later

time it will not work because your body gets used to it.

Scientists know ull well that it is our environment and our

attention that turn on the seeds in us. There is a practice called

yoniso manaskara, appropriate attention, where we ocus our atten-

tion only on things that turn on the good seeds in us. For example,

when we hear the sound o the bell, i we are a practitioner we

naturally stop thinking and go back to our breathing and enjoy

the present moment. The sound o the bell helps with appropriate

attention, to turn on the good seeds.

We should create an environment where the good seeds and

genes in us have many chances to turn on. I you are in a bad

environment you know that even i you are taking medication it

will not be a long-term solution. So go on and take the medication

that you need but you should do something more. Change your

way o lie. Look at the source o nutriments you are using to eed

yoursel. Look at your environment to see i it is turning on the

negative things in you. And i possible, just change your environ-

ment even i you need to live in a smaller house, dri

car, have a meager salary. I you can move to a better e

do not hesitate to do so because your health depends

Why Are We Here?A lay woman asks: What is the purpose o lie?

That is philosophy! [laughter]

No, but there must be a reason! Why are we here

This is a chance to discover the mystery o lie.

ing! [laughter] You have something to discover, som

deep, something very wonderul. That practice o loocan satisy your curiosity, and that is one reason to be

discover yoursel, to discover the cosmos. This is a jo

You might like to ocus your question on how

caught always in the why. Lie is a wonder! We are

perience the wonder o lie. I you have enough mind

concentration, you can have a breakthrough and get d

reality o the wonder.

Lie is a wonderul maniestation. Not only is th

derul, not only are the clouds and the sky wonder

mud and the suering are also wonderul. So enjoy to

discover the mystery o lie. And dont spend your t

metaphysical questions! [laughter]

Defusing the Bombs in the HeartA lay woman asks: Dear Thay, dear Sangha, beor

Vietnam I had the privilege to spend several wee

where I was able to meet with many people who

aected by the war. As I stood in felds that sti

o unexploded ammunition, sometimes orty or

in a small feld, I elt overwhelmed with sadness

Speaking to people who continue to be aected, w

riends or amily who are killed by the unexplode

tion, or a poor armer who had his arm and his le

at a young age, plunging his a mily into urther po

very sad. This young armer said to me that this

was his luck. I fnd it hard to accept that such e

can be luck! Is this karma? And is this a time wh

be righteously angry? What is the mindul way t

these intense emotions?

Many social workers we trained in the School o Y

cial Service died because o bombs, guns, and assassin

lost one oot, one arm. A young lady got more than 30

metal in her body, rom a type o bomb called anti-pers

dropped by the American bombers. The doctors helpemany pieces o metal but there are still hundreds o

body. When she was in Japan or treatment she could

electric blanket because o these pieces o metal in he

they are my own students, my disciples.

I know that there are many unexploded land mines

in Vietnam and in Laos, that continue to kill people

to get the attention o people in the world and ask th

remove these engines o death. There are dedicated pr

rom their own experience or the experience o a loved one

or a client i they wrote as a psychotherapist. They shared

their belie that theres also a physiological aspect causing

depression and some people truly need to take medication.

The riends who wrote were concerned that Thays teaching

could be misunderstood by the people who still need to have

medicine and who may stop taking their medicine i they

think they only need to stop consuming those things that are

harmul to their mind and thats enough. So they ask Thay

to clariy.

In the teaching o the Buddha the biological and the mental

inter-are. They maniest based on one another. Our emotions and

eelings are very connected to the chemicals in our bodies. Our

emotions and eelings can produce chemicals that are toxic or that

inhibit the production o certain chemicals like neurotransmitters,

and create an imbalance in your body. The mental can create the

biological and the biological can have an eect on the mental. We

dont reduce the importance o one side.

All o us have the seed o depression, all o us. All o us h ave

the seed o mental illness. We have received these genes rom our

parents and our ancestors, and we know rom science that genes

Someone like myself, a

monk, also has the desire

to be continued. That is

very normal every human

being wants to be continued

beautifully.

Someone like mysel, a monk, also has the desire to last into

the uture, to be continued. That is very normal every human

being wants to be continued, and to be continued beautiully.

We know that there are those who have children b ut who are

not happy with their children. They say i they had not given birth

to these children they would be happier. You have to take into ac-

count all these things.

I mysel do not have blood children but I have a lot o spiritual

children and they make me very happy. They carry me into the u-

ture and I am very satised! I do not need to have a blood child.

Transmission can be done in many ways. You want to transmit

the best thing you have into the uture. You can transmit yoursel

genetically or spiritually. When you look into my disciples and

riends and spiritual children you can see me.

We are not blood children o the Buddha but we eel that we

are real children o the Buddha because we have inherited a lot

rom the Buddha. He has transmitted himsel to us not genetically

but spiritually. I you take into account these dierent modes o

transmission you will see that we need not suer because we can-

not transmit ourselves genetically into the uture.

dharma TALK dharm

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

5/138 Winter/Spring 2009 the Mindul

photo by Ton Boelens

photos by David Nelson

who are helping. What is essential is to learn how to do it with

compassion because that amount o violence is part o our legacy,

our heritage. We should make the strong aspiration not to repeat

that kind o action rom now on.

But the bombs are not only embedded in the land, they are in

the hearts o many people today. I you look around you see that

many people, even young people, are ready to die and are ready

to punish others.

How to deuse the bomb in the heart o man is very important

work also, how to remove the hate in the hearts o so many people.

So ar the war on terrorism has not diminished the number o ter-

rorists. In act it has increased the number o terrorists, and each o

them has a bomb inside his or her heart. Terrorists want to die or a

cause, they want to punish others. That is why cultivating compas-

Buddha, to Jesus Christ and all our spiritual ancestors to support

us in this compassionate action. We should think o our children

and their children, and we should clean the Earth and our hearts,

so that our children will have a better place to live.

Thank you or refecting on this.

An Inoculation of SufferingA lay woman asks: Dear Thay, dear Sangha: Yesterday you

taught us that we should never give the negative seeds a

chance. I agree with just 90% o that. [laughter] Ten percent

o that is this question: there are young people who grow up

in a very loving and supportive environment but when theygo to big cities or other countries to study or to work, they

will ace some really negative pressure and the challenge is

In act we cannot grow without experiencing suering. When we say we should

not give the negative seeds a chance we are reerring to the teaching o Right Dili-

gence. This means rst o all that when positive seeds are present we should keep

them alive as long as possible. One example o a positive seed is compassion. We

should keep the seed o compassion alive in our hearts and our minds. One way to

keep this seed alive is to be aware o the suering. The practice o Right Diligencesecondly means that we do not give negative seeds like hatred and anger a chance

to increase by watering them everyday. I you are experienced in the practice o

mindulness you can complete the practice o Right Diligence by the practice o

embracing strong emotions.

From time to time there is a mental ormation that reuses to be replaced, like

a CD that plays over and over. Even i you have a strong intention to replace it, it is

too strong. I you are a skillul practitioner you will not try to change the CD. You

will say, You want to stay? Its okay! [laughter] You accept the CD; you accept

the eeling, you embrace it tenderly and look deeply into it. That is also the teach-

ing o the Buddha, to recognize the painul emotion, not to ght it but to recognize

and embrace it in order to get relie. Look deeply into its nature in order to nd all

the roots o that eeling or emotion, because understanding is the way o liberation.

Mindulness and concentration lead to insight that is liberating.

Suering exists in the context o amily and school. There should be collabora-

tion between parents and teachers, between parents and children, between teachers

and students, to teach them how to handle their suering. This is very clear in the

tradition o Asia. When you come to learn rom a teacher, what you have to learnrst is how to behave how to behave with others and with the teacher. You learn

ethics rst. And then ater that you learn to write, to read, to study literature, his-

tory, mathematics, and so on. It is possible or us to do that in the context o amily

and school.

Making a living is important but that is not everything. Parents should show

their children that although they are busy making a living or the whole amily, they

also devote enough time to make sure that harmony and happiness exist in the amily.

You can bring home a lot o money but that is not enough. You have to be there or

your partner, your spouse, your children.

Their happiness depends on your way o being around t hem. The same must be

true with school teachers. Not only do they need t o transmit technical knowledge so

that students will get a job later on, but we have to transorm school into a amily,

into a Sangha. We should devote enough time to just being together. I there is deep

communication between school teachers and children, the atmosphere o school will

be pleasant. This helps the learning process to happen easily. So we have to oer

retreats to parents and school teachers so they can take better care o their amilies

and their students.

And that is part o Engaged Buddhism.

Transcribed and edited by Janelle Combelic, withhelp from Barbara Casey and Sr. Annabel, Chan Duc.

sion and helping these people to remove their hatred and anger is

also very important work. That is also to deuse the bombs.

You can see that the situation in the Middle East is very

dicult. Not only are there bombs that explode on the land but

there are bombs in the hearts o very many people. Compassion

is the only answer.

As we help to deuse the bombs, whether in the land or in

the heart, we should keep our compassion alive. I admire those

o us who continue to help removing those death engines rom

the soil, but I also urge my riends to practice in order to deuse

the bombs in the hearts o many people around us. We pray to the

so big that they cannot deal with it. My suggestion is that we

should vaccinate their mind and we should give them a bit

o challenge when they are still young, so that their immunesystem is ready. What do you think o this? [laughter]

Thay says sometimes that each o us needs a certain dose

o suering. Remember? Suering can instruct us a lot and help

us cultivate compassion and understanding. So the art is to give

each person an appropriate dose o suering. [laughter] With too

much suering people will be overwhelmed and their heart will

be transormed into stone. That is why parents and teachers have

to handle this with care and intelligence.

Suffering can instruct us a lot and help us

cultivate compassion and understanding.

dharma TALK dharm

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

6/1310 Winter/Spring 2009 the Minduln

Loan between her parents at the Sanghas Parents A

photos courtesy of the Lang Mai website

I

I

In the Autumn 2008 issue o t he Mindulness Bell, we

published several articles on the biannual United Na-

tions Day o Vesak, which was held or the rst time in

Vietnam. We are pleased to continue our coverage o

that historic event.

Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanhs lielong teachings on

Engaged Buddhism, the conerence explored Buddhist

Contributions to Building a Just, Democratic, and Civi-

lized Society. Five thousand Buddhist monastics and

laypeople rom all over the world participated. Thich

Nhat Hanh was the main keynote speaker and many o

Thays students made presentations on various panels.

Four o those talks are reproduced here.

Beore the conerence Thay gave a series o retreats,

culminating in a seven-day retreat in English at

Golden Lotus Hotel in Hanoi. Four hundred people

attended; in this issue we oer refections rom two othe retreatants.

From Vietnam several monks and nuns traveled to Hong

Kong, where a strong Sangha has developed in recent

years. Sister Hanh Nghiem shares her thoughts about

the Buddhas Enlightenment Retreat, where Mindul

breathing was our peace, joy, and reedom.

I am a Vietnamese-born Australian citizen. While attending a

winter retreat at Plum Village in November 2007, I got in touch

with my ancestral roots on a level that over the last twenty-three

years has been unacknowledged and unexplored, almost oreign.

Boi dap goc re, khai thong suoi nguon (nourishing our roots,clearing our streams) were the themes at Plum Village that awoke

a deep gratitude and curiosity about my blood ancestors. I real-

ized that my existence came rom a lie orce that runs through

my parents, grandparents, and continuing back and back through

many generations beore them.

Growing up in a generally individualistic society has distanced

me rom my roots. Ironically, this has created a blank space that

allows me to bring a beginners mind to explore and understand

mysel through knowing my ancestors. What better way to ndanswers to these questions than a trip to Vietnam?! And what

better conditions than Buddhist retreats with opportunities to

deeply contemplate mysel and hence my ancestors in me?! It was

particularly meaningul to be able to do this with my parents.

Dharma Rain at Bat NhaThe rst retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh or Thay (Vietnamese

or Teacher) was a ve-day retreat at Prajna Monastery in Bao

Loc, Lam Dong province. The spacious monastery and temperate

weather o the green highlands near central Vietnam were ideal

conditions or practice. In total there were approximate 3500

people o all ages attending this retreat. I was surprised to see so

many young people there, some as young as teen students

and young people working in business, lm industry, social work,

health, etc. They all shared a search or meaning as well as relie

rom the diculties aced in their increasingly demanding and

pressured environment.Vietnamese people really enjoy socializing; in particular they

like to be lively and vocal. However, during meals together and

walking meditation all one could hear were the click-clacking o

plastic cutlery and crockery, or the melodies o bird songs and

rustling o leaves.

Thay spoke lovingly to the young people about having ideals

and purpose in lie, recounted unny love stories, and explained

how having values or guiding principles as outlined in the Five

Mindulness Trainings can help restore and improve the quality

o our relationships. He urged the young people to be determined

and diligent in their practice o returning to the present moment

by ocusing on their breathing as they go about daily tasks. He

explained how to listen deeply to cultivate understanding and Be-

ginning Anew, a practice o reconciliation and expressing hurt in a

constructive way. Brother Phap An gave a compelling account o

his personal experience in dealing with a block o suering he had

gained during his childhood as a result o the war. Brother NguyenHais explanation on the Five Mindulness Trainings contributed

to inspiring about a third o participants to take the commitment

to study and practice the Mindulness Trainings and take reuge

in the Three Jewels.

The regular aternoon exercise time came to lie with tra-

ditional Vietnamese games such as bamboo stick jumping and

Vietnamese hacky-sack, singing songs o meditation and joyul

practice, or just walking around the beautiul gardens o Prajna.

The question-and-answer session contained some qu

orming and maintaining a Sangha or young people.

As a Viet-kieu I was impressed at the opennesswisdom my young Vietnamese riends had drawn rom t

ences. For some, Thays Dharma talk was a conrma

hard-earned lie lessons, while or others the retreat pla

o curiosity about what it means to live engaged Bud

The pouring monsoon, symbolising Dharma rain,

generously as we shared deeply our experiences o lie

Return to Vietnamfor VesakMay 2008

Retreating to

My RootsBy Loan To Phan

Life is every step. Healing is every step. Miracle. Freedom.

Together we listened and

deeply our inner sufferin

lenges, and experiences in l

Buddhists teachings.

may 2008 VIEmay 2008 VIETNAM

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

7/1312 Winter/Spring 2009 the Minduln

photos by Karen Hilsberg

I

and successes during Dharma discussion groups. The tents that

we slept in became soaked but it didnt dampen our spirits. We

just rolled up our sleeping mats and joined the snoring choruses

o the young at heart participants in the main meditation hall.

In act, the hard foor, lack o sleep (because it was colder than

expected so some o us could not get good sleep) actually made

our memories o the joy and peace in newly ound riendship even

more memorable!

Retreat for the Young People of HanoiContinuing their tour to the north, Thay and the Plum Village

delegation held another our-day retreat or the young people o

Hanoi, at Bang Temple, Hoang Mai province. Bang Temple was

still under construction when over a thousand people crammed

into its grounds, overtaxing its already limited accommodation

and sanitary acilities. I was particularly moved to see elderly

women bent over rom their hard laboured lie as well as young

people rom well-to-do amilies determined to receive the Dharma

so much that again, the wet weather, hard foors, simple meals did

not deter them rom ully participating in the mindul practices.

My Dad, who only attended the last session and lunch, was

moved to tears by the collective energy o the our-old Sangha

eating mindully. The walking meditation through the narrow lo-

cal streets brought curious aces to the doors, preschool children

oering their joined palms in respect and bright smiles as the river

o Sangha fowed past, silent and reverent.

A highlight o this retreat was the session between young

people and young monastics o Western and Vietnamese back-

ground. There was lively singing that accompanied eager questions

about monastic lie and aith. These questions illustrated the young

peoples collective responsibility through concerns about their u-

ture as a generation acing the challenge o living in a society with

increasing materialism and consumerism, cor roding morality, and

where Buddhism is a religion rather than a way o lie and practice.

The question-and-answer session with Thay was also dominated

by questions rom young retreatants about monastic aspirationsand how to deal with the tribulations o romantic love.

Busy Hotel to Tranquil MonasteryThere couldnt be more o a contrast between the last two

retreats and the twelve-day retreat titled Engaged Buddhism or

the Twenty-First Century held at the Kim Lien Hotel in central

Hanoi. This included the UN Day o Vesak 2008 and a three-day

conerence on the theme Buddhist Contributions to Building a

Just, Democratic and Civil Society.

In May, Van Khanh Ha traveled to

Vietnam with her daughter Lauren

and her riend Karen Hilsberg.

Here are excerpts rom the journal

she wrote to her loved ones back in

the United States.

3 May Return-ing Home Again

Yesterday morning our

plane landed in Hanoi smoothly.

My heart was lled with joy and

peace. As I walked out, I was

welcomed by so many sweet

amiliar aces and warm and

humid air. The memories o

war and its destruction are ad-

ing. Hanoi today is alive more

than ever.

I stopped and breathed

deeply to the act that, yes, Im

returning home again, aterthirty-seven years.

5 May ADream Come True

Hanoi impresses me with

its beauty and wonderul culture. Im taking each step, each breath

with deep gratitude to the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma,

and the Sangha. Lauren and I are happy here. Everyone is wearing

the temple robe ao trang Lauren is so cute in this outt.

We continued to explore the historical sights o Hanoi: Chua

Tran Quoc, Den Ly Thai To, the botanical garden, and the water

puppet show. As I listened to the classical opera, I elt as i Papa

was there listening w

embracing me with

love.

This was a prom

made to him beore h

that some day I would r

to his beloved village

to visit his ancestors t

And now this is it. My

come true or mysel

dear Papa.

Last night we had

tion with Thich Nhat H

were our hundred retre

more than orty die

tries. I looked aroun

lled with people, as

simple, and humble m

His Dharma talk was d

and with a great sense

He gave wholeheart

received his words wit

with joy and tears. The

dwelling happily in

moment.

9 May Pea

Ourselves, Pethe World

The Golden Lotus Hotel where we are staying ha

and only two computers or guests to share. So its a ch

we are learning to be very skillul with our time.

The retreat here with Thich Nhat Hanh is wonderu

ery morning, we start our day with walking meditation.

mindully with each step and we ollow him with our

I went rom a traditional incense-perumed, spiritual environ-

ment with austere acilities to a relatively afuent, Western, secular

hotel in downtown Hanoi. From sleeping on the foor and using

squat toilets to serviced beds in air-conditioned rooms I realised

how attached I am to Western creature comorts! I am amazed at

how in both o these environments the mindul practices can cre-

ate wonderul and joyul energies, which conrms the universal

nature o the Buddhas teachings.

I am blown away at how a ew simple collective practices o

over our hundred participants rom orty-one dierent countries

can transorm a busy worldly hotel into a tranquil monastery (not

that there are any real dierences in the ultimate sense!).This retreat was special in that there was an ordination cer-

emony or the Order o Interbeing with over ty people commit-

ting themselves to living the Fourteen Precepts, and close to one

hundred taking reuge in the Three Jewels and Five Mindulness

Trainings.

Ater a week o solid practice one young person elt glad to

call the hotel home ater spending a day out in the hectic streets

o Hanoi. Other under-thirty-ve-year-old participants reported

that their discussion groups provided an open, sae, and honest

context where young monastics were accessible to lay riends, and

together we listened and shared deeply our inner suering, chal-

lenges, and experiences in living the Buddhist teachings. These

were precious moments where we elt connected and supported

to express ourselves; we could practice being the change we want

to see in our lives and relationships with others.

The whole Sangha really fowed and practiced as one body

as we did walking meditation around the beautiul Hoan Kiem

(Returning Sword) Lake. Physically we must have looked quite

impressive, all wearing the uniorm grey robes or brown o the

monastics, walking with each step contemplating the gatha: Lie

is every step. Healing is every step. Miracle. Freedom.

We ate together in silence and stayed within the hotel com-

pound to preserve the wonderul collective energy, which was

contagious as the hotel sta reciprocated our calm and respectul

manners.

In his Dharma talks Thay warmly and humourously talked

about the Four Noble Truths, Seven Factors o Enlightenment,

Four Practices o True Diligence, and Three Doors Liberation. His

presentation was always captivating, down to earth, and relevant to

the current times, so that we could see daily applications.

Equipped with a weeks solid practice and new-ound riend-

ship and connectedness we attended the UN Day o Vesak 2008

with a strong and wonderul collective energy that moved andinspired other conerence participants.

May all ind a Sangha and low as a river o clarity

and reshness.

Loan To Phan, Tam Tu Hoa (Loving Harmony of the Heart), liveswith her parents in Brisbane, Australia. She practices with the

Solid and Free Sangha (Vung Chai Thanh Thoi) while working asa psychologist in a mental health service.

Thay spoke lovingly to the

young people about having

ideals and purpose in life.

The Journey HomeBy Van Khanh Ha

I thought after living in the U.S. for most of my life, I had lost

with my own roots but the frst step in Hanoi, I know Im home, w

own brothers and sisters.

may 2008 VIETNAM may 2008 VIE

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

8/13

14 Winter/Spring 2009 the Minduln

our smiles. Outside o the hotel, the streets are crowded with people

going to work. The sound o silence is mixing with the sound o

cars and motorcycles to become an orchestra o real lie.

Ater breakast is the Dharma talk. Imagine a big room lled

with hundreds o people and its quiet except or Thays voice. His

voice is gentle, yet his message and his mission or peace are very

powerul: With deep listening and loving speech, we can trans-

orm our suering. Peace in ourselves, peace in the world.

Last night Lauren woke me up to say: I love Hanoi, I enjoy

Vietnam so much. Thank you, Mommy. At that moment, I knew

deep inside my heart that Ive made a good decision or both

o us to return to our roots, to our ancestors, and to discover

Vietnam together. We are very grateul to be here and to receivethe beautiul teachings o love and compassion rom Thay with

many o our riends.

12 May Friendliness to ForeignersThe retreat ended, leaving a great impression on me and many

others looking at this gentle monk in his eighties who puts out

so much energy or mankind with one simple wish: that the world

be a better place to live or all beings.

Today is the beginning o the UN celebration o Vesak, the

Buddhas birthday. The theme this year is Buddhist Contributions

to Building a Just, Democratic and Civilized Society.

Yesterday Lauren, Karen, and I went to the One Pillar Pagoda,

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Temple o Literature. Again, we

went to our avorite Indian restaurant. We also had a chance to

have ao dai [the traditional long silk tunic] made at the tailor shop;

they are going to be so beautiul!

Despite the crowds and noise, Lauren and I embrace Vietnam

with the connection to our ancestors. This trip has made me ap-

preciate even more the old values and virtues o Conucius. I still

see the happiness o the people, and the riendliness they oer to

oreigners, even Americans. Lie is dicult or most o the people

here, but they accept and nd peace in their lives.

16 May Wholesome Seeds ofCompassion and Peace

Today is the conclusion o the United Nations Day o Vesak

Celebration 2008. The last three days have been so amazing.

Being here helped to water and cultivate the wholesome seeds

o compassion and peace in me. Many representatives and guest

speakers rom over sixty countries came together or one purpose

to promote peace in the world. We are united as one to bring

happiness and love to all beings on this Earth.

I eel so blessed to witness such a sacred event. This is the rsttime or Vietnam to host this special event, and the organization

did a wonderul job. Every meal, we were served with a banquet

o delicious oods, desserts, and resh ruits. The entertainments

were excellent a combination o old and new rom traditional

music and songs to modern dance.

Tomorrow we go to the Avalokiteshvara Cave, Chua Huong

and then to Ha Long Bay or two days.

18 May Ha Long BayToday we went to Ha Long Bay. Its so beautiul. We visited

the caves and walked up to the mountain, the scenery is unbeliev-

able. Every moment living in Vietnam made me appreciate the

beauty o this land even more. Lauren and I are sharing a room

with ocean view.

People here are simple and so loving. They are glad to know

that Im Vietnamese. I thought ater living in the U.S. or most

o my lie, I had lost touch with my own roots but the rst step in

Hanoi, I know Im home, with my own brothers and sisters.

20 May Proud to Be Both

We are in Hue now. It is much more quiet and tranquil, eventhough our hotel is located in the heart o downtown. Meals are

served with many types o special dishes. The dining area is on

the balcony o the top foor overlooking the city and the Perume

River. Its so nice, especially at nighttime.

Yesterday we went to Tu Hieu Temple. Thay with h is gentle

steps on the ground o his root temple brought tears to my eyes.

This trip is more meaningul or us because o the practice and o

his teachings. Im orever thankul.

In the aternoon we visited preschools in the remote areas

o Hue. The children sang songs and danced or us. They live on

small boats or on stilt homes by the river. The living conditions

are very poor but they are ull o laughter and big smiles.

Last night we went on a boat to celebrate Vesak. We chanted

and then released sh back to the river under the light o the ull

moon.

This trip continues to nurture my deep connection to my

homeland and its beauty. I treasure my time here and just like Papa

said: You should be proud to be an American, but never orget

your roots and your values. Hes a wise man and I know in my

heart that Im proud to be both.

24 May Visiting AncestorsYesterday Lauren and I went to visit my parents birthp laces

near Hue with my relatives Chu Phu and Cu Chaus children

that I have not seen or over orty years. We went to La Chu, my

athers village, then later to Vi Da where my mother was born

ninety-three years ago. Being by my grandparents and great-

grandparents graves, I elt the deep connection to them, even

those I never met.

Early in the morning we walked on a narrow dirt road leading

to my grandmothers last resting place. Both sides o the road were

rice elds ready to be harvested. The wet roads were so slippery,

Lauren almost ell into the ditch. We burned incense and touchedthe earth three times to each o the tombstones.

Later, we went to Nguyen Khoa cemetery where my maternal

grandparents are buried. I knew that Lauren and I are the continu-

ation o our ancestors. There is no birth and no death. They are

in us, in our every cell, and in every breath we take. And I could

eel their love sent to us rom above.

Central Vietnam is hot, with humid weather, an

dripping with sweat. But we looked orward to bein

ancestors, so we just smiled and embraced the mome

Today we visited the Emperors tombs and the Forb

When Chi Hoa, Mu Chucs daughter, ound out that we

she came to visit us in the hotel. She told us many sto

my amily and she warmly greeted us with deep true l

1 June Memories and GratituAter Hoi An we went to Da Nang, where I spent

childhood and where I nished my education rom ele

high school. It brought back many warm memories

riends, and the beautiul beaches. My Papa oten too

ocean so my sisters and I could play in the water.

Lauren and I took a tour to the Cham Museum. It h

that are thousands o years old. Then we visited my be

teachers home Mr. Bui passed away years ago bu

wie welcomed us warmly. I sat there holding her

and her heartbeat and mine became one. We did not

but deep inside our love was interconnected. It was a

day, and our visit was sweet. I was touched by her tran

her kindness.

Ater that, we stopped to see my high school, Phan

I used to walk with my riends to class; we shared o

years with so much laughter a nd silly jokes. Another s

courthouse where my ather worked as a judge or tw

I could not nd our old home in Da Nang because i

oce building.

The last stop in Da Nang was My Khe beach. La

were so happy when our eet touched the white sandwater. It was a perect day, the sky was blue with patch

clouds. Warm summer breezes caressed our aces sot

up some seashells and eathers on the beach. I took a

breaths to treasure my youth, and my presence in th

the now.

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) three

Its a lovely break: we called our time here are our

great ood, and nice times spent with my brothe

We also visited with Uncle Tus children, Aunt Dieu

daughter, and my dear riend Thuy Anh that I have n

orty-ve years.

Lauren and I eel very ortunate to be able to tak

together. Vietnam has helped us to open our hearts and

to be touched by the kindness o many people and to b

my homelands natural beauty.

Im looking orward to being back in America sobeings be at peace.

Van Khanh Ha, True Attainment of the Fruit of thleft Vietnam in 1971 to study in the United States,

married and had a daughter, Lauren Mai. Her fathebeen a federal judge before the war, and her m

able to come to the U.S. and live with Van in their opractices with Sanghas in Maryland an

This was a promise that I

made to Papa before his death

that some day I would

return home to his beloved

village of La Chu, to visit his

ancestors tombstones.

may 2008 VIETNAM may 2008 VIE

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

9/13

the Minduln16 Winter/Spring 2009

Larry Ward with Renita Woo in Hanoi photo b

Sr Hanh Nghiem with friends in Hanoi photo by David Nelson

M

The mind can go in a thousand directions,

but on this lovely path I walk in peace.

With each step, a gentle wind blows.With each step, a ower blooms.

This is a gatha, a practice poem that was sung in the hearts o the

monastic and lay practitioners at the seven-day retreat in Hong

Kong. The Buddhas Enlightenment Retreat took place May 24 to

30, 2008 with Brothers Phap An and Phap Trach, and Sister Hanh

Lien and mysel rom Plum Village, along with Brothers Phap Tu

and Trung Hai rom Vietnam.

We came to the retreat, held at the Kadoorie Agricultural

Research Centre o Hong Kong University, to learn about Bud-

dhist psychology. (From the program: Zen Master Thuong Chieu

o Vietnam in the thirteenth century said that our practice would

become much easier once we had a better understanding o its

process. The teaching o Master Vasubandhu on consciousness will

be used as the oundation or the retreat. We will briefy investigate

the philosophical atmosphere in the pre-Buddhist period in order to

understand and ully appreciate the enlightenment o the Buddha.We will ... then trace the historical development o the Yogacara

School, which leads to the teaching o Master Vasubandhu as given

in Cheng Wei-Shih Lun. The key teachings o the Thirty Verses

will be discussed and applied to the daily diculties o modern

lie. The basic practice o sitting meditation, walking meditation,

and other practices will also be emphasized as oundation or a

deep transormation.)

We wanted to have a better intellectual grasp, but we came

home with a practice to heal our hearts and understand our mind.

We were given the tools to live with reedom, more mindully, in

our daily lie.

In a city that hustles and bustles rom the moment it awakes

till it alls asleep, it wasnt easy or people to get o seven days

to come to practice as a Sangha, study the Buddhas teachings,

and realize the Dharma o his or her lie. Each o us gured out

a way to be present at the retreat or what was called camp. Some

o the eighty retreatants had to leave or a night to go work and

then they would return to the retreat. Others couldnt leave their

amilies, so they had to commute every day in order to be able to

attend the retreat.

We knew our priority was to learn, study, and practice the

Buddhas teachings, so that is what we did. Most o the retreatants

were older in age because the topic or the retreat was quite

advanced, but the ew young olks sure did bring character and

spice to the retreat!

The rst ew Dharma talks by Thay Phap An were dedicatedto the basic practice and a brie history o Buddhism, and then

remaining days were devoted to Buddhist psychology. Still, the

basic practice was highlighted to take home.

The retreat was organized by the local Hong Kong Sangha

rom A to Z. The monks and nuns made the schedule and helped

lead the activities, but the smooth fow o the retreat was thanks

to the Hong Kong Sangha. Every morning we heard the mini-bell

invited to wake us up and the bell was also invited beore each

activity by the lay practitioners. We also had other bells o mind-

ulness to bring us back to the beautiul environment surrounding

us, such as the croaking o the bull rogs, the buzzing and biting

o the mosquitoes, the luscious green vegetation, and the peace

and quiet. This particular section o H.K.U. was donated by a

amily with the intention to promote more understanding o the

environment and a way to preserve and develop the vegetation

that already existed in the area.

The heavens treated us well because every day it rained, butnonetheless when it was time to do walking meditation, the sky

cleared up or us. In the E ast rain is an auspicious sign that heaven

is happy and the celestial beings are coming down to hear the

Dharma being pronounced.

We also had the opportunity to practice chi qongevery dayor nearly two hours led by Thay Phap An. It was a great success

and very healing or a number o people.

The Beginning Anew presentation and practice were carried

out very elegantly by Brother Phap Trach. The contribution o the

retreatants brought much enlightenment to our being together. They

would go into the center o the circle to pick up the fower and then

bring the fower to the person they wanted to share with. Many

people shed tears o happiness because they were so touched by

the kind calm words that were being spoken to them.

One unusual occurrence during the retreat was that the chie

cook hurt her arm and couldnt cook, so they ordered us pizza. The

misortune allowed us all to enjoy a very pleasant picnic dinner to-

gether outside and to bond a little closer beore the retreat ended.

We let the retreat with an understanding o how to live our lie

rather than bury ourselves ten eet underground with the question,

what is the meaning o lie? We could breathe, because we are alive.

Mindul breathing was our peace, joy, and reedom.

Sister Hanh Nghiem, True Action, lives inNew Hamlet at Plum Village.

Many o us understand the Buddha as a doctor who shared and

continues to oer his medicine o the teachings and practice to us.

This great oering is to help us in healing and transorming our

individual and collective suering. One can say the medicine o

Buddhism is truly deep and lovely. It is the medicine o waking

up the good within our hearts and minds.

Something today is dierent. And Im kind o slow so it takes

me a while to gure things out. What I nally realized is that or

thousands o years the question o salvation has been What must

I do to be saved? This is the central question o our spiritual tradi-

tions. But you and I live in the rst moment in history in which

this question is now expanded to What must we do to be saved?

And by we I mean the whole planet. I mean every person, every

race, every tribe, every nation, every organization and wholesomespiritual tradition. I am aware that this is a challenging way to

describe the salvation question. However, it does not leave behind

the question o individual liberation but dares us to remember our

deep Bodhisattva vows.

It is not only humans and institutions who are asking this

question o salvation. The snow-capped mountains and the deep

blue oceans are asking the question. The trees and the land itsel

are calling to us: What must we do to be saved?

Opening Dharma DoorsWe have been experimenting in the Plum Village Sangha

with ways o opening Dharma doors in response to this question.

I want to name a ew o the doors or you so that you might get

a resh idea on a door you might open where you practice, where

you live, and where you serve the Dharma.

Recently I was involved in leading a retreat or an organiza-

tion in Canada that is committed to working with AIDS in Arica.

The retreat was designed to help those involved in the aid work

to be nourished and not to burn out or to be overwhelmed by the

grie they experience every single day that they give their lives to

the service o the children and the women and the men suering

rom AIDS.

A ew years ago we had a wonderul retreat or individuals

involved in law enorcement and criminal justice police ocers,

lawyers, parole ocers, and social workers. We engaged that group

o people in exploring what it means to be a Bodhisattva, what it

means to engage mindully in their work in the world. We oered

the Five Mindulness Trainings to many who desired to practice

them in the context o their daily lie and work.

I can tell you that the retreat, which was attended by several

hundred people, was a transormational experience. I am sure that

the communities and institutions they went back to serve ound

that the quality o kindness and thoughtulness and compassionhad been nourished and grown.

Weve oered a retreat or individuals connected to the en-

tertainment industry lmmakers, artists, writers, and poets. It

was held at Deer Park Monastery in Southern Caliornia, not ar

rom Hollywood.

In the all o last year we participated in a conerence or

people who are therapists and psychiatrists, called Mindulness in

Psychotherapy; 1800 people showed up at UCLA. Their cap acity

DeepeningDharma in

Hong KongBy Sister Hanh Nghiem

The Buddha

MedicineBy Larry Ward

The new society that is

democratic, and civilized ca

take place on the ground of

spiritual sensibility.

ta lks frommay 2008 VIETNAM

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

10/13

18 Winter/Spring 2009 the Minduln

Ato embody mindulness while they care or and ser ve their clientsincreased in wholesome ways.We now oer annual amily retreats or couples and or ami-lies with children. Young people are getting together or camps

songs, art, poetry, yoga, and meditation practice; this is a very

successul annual gathering o young people. Students have had

special retreats designed to introduce them to the benets and

principles o mindulness practice.

Over the last ew years we have oered people o color

retreats in the United States or minorities to support these indi-

viduals and groups in the practice o mindulness. This eort is

enabling the teachings to go with people back to the neighbor-

hoods, communities, and local institutions. I can report to youthat there are schools in the United States where the classroom

morning begins with the sound o the bell. I can repo rt to you that

there are young people in dicult situations who come to class

and enjoy meditation and the tea ceremony.

Thay has already mentioned the work at Plum Village with

Palestinians and Israelis, but you should also know that many o

our colleagues are creating special initiatives on their own that are

taking place every week, every day, to build peace and to oster

reconciliation.

We have had gatherings o business people to talk about

mindulness and ethics and what it means to be a business person

who practices mindully. This includes mindully developing

products and mindully managing their prot. The Buddha did

not complain about business people, the Buddha only wanted to

make sure that we made money the right way, without causing

suering, and that when we made it, we spent it the right way,

without causing suering.Weve had veterans retreats in the United States, or many

years oered by Thay and the Plum Village Sangha. You may have

already encountered the tremendous transormation and healing o

some o the veterans o many wars, including the Vietnam War.

What We Are LearningWhat we are learning through the process o oering so many

dierent kinds o retreats and mindulness days to so many di-

erent people and proessions is three-old. First, the post-modern

mind or soul is seeking an experience o transormation and heal-

ing more than an explanation o transormation and healing. I an

explanation comes along ater Im healed, or while Im getting

healed, its deeply appreciated.

The second thing we are learning is that oering the medicine

o our tradition is not a matter o conversion. It is not a question

o religious roots but rather a question o generating authentic

aspiration. This is a matter o oering the Buddhist teaching withclarity and practical relevance through humble sincerity.

The third aspect is that this way o transmitting the teachings

is about application and translation. Depth scholarship is certainly

important but we must nd new ways it can be applied to the su-

ering that is pervasive in our time and space. This is crucial i we

are to untie the internal and social knots that block us rom our

best selves and best societies.

Seeds of a New SocietySo the true value o the teaching is not tr apped in the orm o

its delivery. Skillul means is one o the undamental teachings the

Buddha has given us to help living beings to relieve their suering.

The practices that we have been given by the Buddha and all o our

teachers ater him can be applied in every kind o situation i

we apply them without attachment to orm.

In the midst o these very concrete retreats and mindulness

days we have ound that sometimes the Dharma Gates o Libera-

tion open wide. While sharing the practices o sitting, walking,

eating meditation, deep relaxation, Dharma talks and discussion,

deep listening, and loving speech, people nd themselves not only

healed but transormed.I you look and listen closely, you will see that we are in the

midst o a new kind o society. But the kind o society that you and

I would be happy living in, and most people I know on this planet

would be happy living in, is not yet here. The seeds o it are here.

However, the new society that is just, democratic, and civilized

can only take place on the ground o a new spiritual sensibility.

And, brothers and sisters, we are that ground the g round o that

resh spiritual sensibility o the post-modern age.

You may ask where the Buddha is in all o this. Master Lin

Chi reminds us that the Buddha is not a statue. Other ancestral

teachers remind us i we are going to nd the Buddha we should

look close, close to where we are, close to our heart, close to our

own mind, or we will not nd him, or we will not nd her.

In closing I oer you a poem rom this weeks experience:

We engage through our love,

opening 10,000 Dharma Doorswith a true mind and a true heart.What do we call this urgency, this Buddhism?It matters not.

The sun rises and the moon shines without conusion.Listen to the rogs do they remind you o anyone?The bamboo chimes dance in the wind without clinging.Our chants sing out beautylike the birds greeting the morning sun.

We are here to be engaged, to remember the promisewe made, many lietimes ago,the promise not to leave anyone behind,the promise not to ignore the suering o any being.

The promise to remember our noble calling It has not changed.It is still: Wake up, wake up, wake up.

Larry Ward is a Dharma Teacher in the Order of Interbeingand he is currently pursuing a doctorate in Religious Studies

(Buddhism) from Claremont Graduate University in California.

He is co-author with Peggy Rowe-Ward ofLoves Garden: AGuide to Mindful Relationships (Parallax Press, 2008).

According to the rst o the ve precepts (panca sila) given bythe Buddhato his lay disciples (upasaka):

Lay students o the Buddha rerain rom killing, put an end

to killing, rid themselves o all weapons, learn humility beore

others, learn humility in t hemselves, practice love and compas-

sion, and protect all living beings, even the smallest insect. They

uproot rom within themselves any intention to kill. In this way,

lay students o the Buddha study and practice the frst o the Five

Mindulness Trainings.1

Even though all religious and spiritual traditions agree to

condemn the destruction o lie, and although the precept do not

kill is one o the most universally recognized ethical rules, war

and violent conficts remain an ever-present reality in the historyo mankind. For this very reason, it is o utmost importance to

refect on ways to prevent conficts, to alleviate suering once

conficts have occurred, and to acilitate reconciliation and healing

in post-confict situations.

The Preamble to the Constitution o UNESCO declares that

since wars begin in the minds o men, it is in the minds o men

that the deenses o peace must be constructed.

The objective o this presentation is to show how the practice

o Engaged Buddhism can contribute to the construction o the

deenses o peace in the mind.

Developing the Great CompassionI work in the eld o humanitarian action; I train young people

to help civil populations, war prisoners, the wounded and the sick

in situations o war, armed confict, and natural catastrophe.

Although neutrality and impartiality are the very guiding

principles o true humanitarian action, it is oten dicult to main-

tain this attitude when conronted with the harsh reality o violent

confict. To reuse to take a stand and to maintain an attitude o

neutrality can be perceived as a lack o courage or lucidity. Indeed,

how not to take sides or the weak against the strong, or the victim

against the perpetrator?

I will argue that meditation on the universal law o interdepen-

dence, on non-sel and on the nature o suering, is the oundation

o the Great Compassion which allows us to develop an attitude

o neutrality which is not cowardice and o impartiality which is

not indierence.

In the current world situation, characterized by the conronta-

tion o cultures, religions and civilizations, it is more than ever

necessary to develop non-attachment to opinions and to wrong

perceptions. The Buddha teaches skillul means allowing lielong

learning, and an attitude o tolerance and authentic opening.

I recently acted as a mediator in a dialogue between Israelisand Palestinians, and one o the participants explained:

Our problem is that there are two competing narratives or

one and the same situation.

Not only is there a competition over land and resources, but

there is a competition over the interpretation o reality. Each party

is convinced, and wants to convince the world, that his story is

the true story.

Each time one is conronted with violent conficts,

serve this phenomenon the two sides have competing

competing stories. And each side sees itsel as the the

versus the other side perceived as the bad guys. Mos

called Deense Forces; or instance the German arm

Second World War was called Wehrmacht, German

Force, and on the buckle o the belts o the soldiers

Gott mit uns: God with us, or God on our side.

I dont know o any state that calls its army Aggre

es the aggressor is always the other side. The dem

the other side is a recurring phenomenon in any confict

how would it be possible to kill and maim the so-calle

each one was ully aware that the other is just like on

To give another example, during the Rwandan ge

actual physical violence had been prepared through in

propaganda by the Radio Tlvision Libre de Mill

(RTLM) that was broadcasting slogans like: Kill al

roaches, reerring thus to the moderate Hutus and to

War,

Conflict

and

HealingA Buddhist PerspectiveBy Ha Vinh Tho

The demonizing of the othe

is a recurring phenomenon

conict; otherwise, how wo

be possible to kill and mai

so-called enemy?

ta lks from VESAK ta lks from

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

11/13

20 Winter/Spring 2009 the Minduln

These ew examples show clearly that since wars begin in

the minds o men, it is in the minds o men that the deenses o

peace must be constructed.

But how can we build these deenses?

The Reality of SufferingIn his irst teaching, The Turning o the Wheel o the

Dharma, Lord Buddha began by explaining the Four Noble

Truths, and the First Noble Truth is the truth o suering (dukkha).

Because o this, some people who do not understand the deeper

meaning o the Dharma think that Buddhism is a pessimistic

world view that emphasizes suering over joy, and only sees lie

as a burden best gotten rid o. But this is a very supercial view;

the Buddha acknowledges suering in the same way a doctor

acknowledges illness: in order to cure it.

Suering can be a powerul way to develop compassion and

in the Fourteen Mindulness Trainings o the Order o Interbeing,

the Fourth Training addresses this reality:

Awareness of Suffering Aware that looking deeply at the

nature of suffering can help me develop compassion and nd

ways out of suffering, I am determined not to avoid or close my

eyes before suffering. I am committed to nding ways, includ-

ing personal contact, images and sounds, to be with those who

suffer, so I can understand their situation deeply and help them

transform their suffering into compassion, peace and joy.2

I would like to share an experience that I had some years ago,

and that helped me understand in a more concrete way the reality

o this Mindulness Training. During a peace conerence, I heard

a lady rom Northern Ireland tell how her sister had lost her sonin a terrorist attack, and how, soon ater, the man who had killed

her nephew had also been shot dead. The mother o the young man

who had been killed decided to visit the mother o the one who

had killed her son, not in order to seek revenge, but to console

her. She said:

Only a mother who has lost a child can understand another

mother who has had the same experience.

These two women started a powerul peace movement in

Northern Ireland that was instrumental in bringing about the Good

Friday Peace Agreement that stopped a violent confict that had

been raging or decades.

In the same way, in Israel and Palestine there is a movement

called the Parents Circle; all members o this circle have lost

a son or a daughter in the confict. I have had the privilege to

acilitate meetings o the Parents Circle. It is a deeply moving

experience to see how these people have transormed suering

into compassion. They have been able to overcome the natural

striving or retaliation and revenge and to come together, united

by their common experience o a terrible loss, to share a message

o peace and reconciliation. When they meet, they share their sto-

ries, the memories o their lost children, but out o this grie theydraw strength, energy o love and compassion, and a strong will

to bring an end to war and to violence. Whoever

listens to them can only be deeply moved because

they speak rom the depth o an experience that

no theory or abstract ideal can match. They have

discovered through their own suering the reality

o the Buddhas saying:

Hate is not overcome by hate; by love (metta)

alone is hate appeased. This is an eternal law.

The Realization of Interde-pendence and Non-Self

From the point o view o confict prevention

and peace building, interdependence and non-

sel are the most important tools that Buddhism

has to oer. What I have called the problem o

competing narratives is always based on the alseassumption o a radical, unbridgeable dierence

between me and you, between my community and

your community.

At rst sight, good and evil, right and wrong, victim and per-

petrator seem to be completely separated realities; we may think

that i we get rid o the negative, only the positive will remain.

But interdependence or, as Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh calls it,

interbeing, is the realization o the interconnectedness o all lie.

The more we become aware o the reality o interbeing, the more

we realize our shared responsibility or the state o the world. On

one hand, this can seem like a burden; on the other, it makes us

conscious that we are not passive onlookers, but that we can do

something to bring about transormation and healing. I would

like to quote venerable Thich Nhat Hanh who shared a powerul

example o this insight:

One day we received a letter telling us about a young girl on

a small boat who was raped by a Thai pirate. She was only twelve,and she jumped into the ocean and drowned hersel. When you

rst learn o something like that, you get angry at the pirate. You

naturally take the side o the girl. As you look more deeply you

will see it dierently. I you take the side o the little girl, then it

is easy. You only have to take a gun and shoot t he pirate. But we

cannot do that. In my meditation I saw that i I had been born in

the village o the pirate and raised in the same conditions as he

was, there is a great likelihood that I would become a pirate. I saw

that many babies are born along the Gul o Siam, hundreds every

day, and i we educators, social workers, politicians, and others

do not do something about the situation, in twenty-ve years a

number o them will become sea pirate s. That is certain. I you or

I were born today in those shing villages, we may become sea

pirates in twenty-ve years.3

I we awaken to the reality o interbeing and non-sel, we

awaken to the wisdom o non-discrimination. This is the wisdom

that can break the barrier o individualism; with this wisdom we

see that we are the other person and the other person is oursel.

The happiness o the other person is our own happiness, and our

own happiness is the happiness o the other people, plants, animals,

and even minerals.

This is not only true on a personal level; it is also true or

communities, countries, religions, and civilizations.

Buddhism is made only o non-Buddhism elements. I we

look deeply we can see that the elements o non-Buddhism have

made Buddhism Its exactly the same as a fower. A fower is

made rom non-fower elements; the sun, the clouds are not fower,

soil is not fower, water is not fower. The sel is made o non-s el

elements. It is the same with the other religions.4

The more this insight can become not a mere theory, but an

actual experience, the more we can realize that the so-called en-

emies are always part o a common interdependen t reality. And i

we strive or the reedom, the peace and the happiness o our own

community, the only way to achieve it is by protecting the reedom,

the peace and the happiness o the other community. This is true

between Israelis and Palestinians, between Americans and Iraqis,

between Tutsis and Hutus, between Tibetans and Han Chinese.

This is also the key insight that helps us to be neutral andimpartial without being indierent. I have personally struggled

with this dilemma more than once, and I would like to share an

experience that had a transormative eect on me.

The rst time I visited a detention center, I went to meet with

security detainees in a military prison. I spent most o the day hav-

ing interviews with the detainees and met with dozens o men. I

was listening to one story ater the other, stories o violence, o

ear, o injustice, o hat red, o despair. Taking all these stories in

my heart, it was easy to eel a lot o compassion with them and,

on the other side, to eel anger arising against the soldiers who

had all the power, the weapons, the authority. At some point, I was

taking a short break in the courtyard, resting rom the intensity

o the encounters, rom the stench and the claustrophobic atmo-

sphere in the prison cells, when a young soldier came to sit next

to me. I elt he wanted to talk to me. He was very young most

soldiers are very young, war is always about elder men sending

out young men to do things that they would not do themselves.I asked his age and he was several years younger than my own

son. He began to tell me about his lie beore the military, he told

me about journeys he had taken, countries he had visited, and he

also said that he was active in his community, helping teenagers

who had problems with their amilies. He told me that ater the

army, he wanted to study education and do something useul or

the youths. I elt he wanted to show me another side o himsel,

he needed me to see beyond the uniorm he wore and the machine

gun he carried. Ater we had talked or a while, he sud

me: Do you think I am a bad person?

The question touched me deeply. I realized how

perceive only the soldier, the one having the power and

the prisoners. In a fash, I realized that i the causes and

had been dierent, I could have been the one with t

gun and he could have been the humanitarian worker.

not be absolutely sure that i I had been the one with t

I would have not been more cruel and harsher on th

than he was. So I told him very sincerely: No, I don

are a bad person, I understand that you are in a situa

not easy, just try to do the best you can.

Meditation and MindfulnessTrue insight into the nature o suering, interd

and non-sel can bring about peace, reconciliation, a

but it cannot come rom intellectual reasoning alone

be nourished by lie experience, by mindulness in ev

by meditation.

Meditation is not about turning away rom reality a

in an illusionary inner peace, ignoring the suering th

people and other living beings experience day ater da

Meditation is looking deeply into reality as it is

and around us. It is training ourselves not to react im

with sympathy or antipathy: I like, I dislike, I want, I

I grasp, I reject.

But rather to create an open space, ree o judgm

notions and preconceived ideas, allowing reality to

reveal itsel in our heart and mind. By doing this,

compassion arise naturally, eortlessly, or they are theo our deeper being.

1 Upasaka Sutra, Madhyama Agama 128

2Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines or Engaged Buddhism, T

Hanh, Parallax Press

3 Peace Is Every Step: The Path o Mindulness in Everyday

Nhat Hanh, Bantam, 1992

4 Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh on December 4, 19Village, France

Ha Vinh Tho, Chan Dai Tue, ishalf-Vietnamese, half-French.

With his wife of thirty-eightyears, Lisi (both Dharma

teachers ordained by Thich NhatHanh), he founded the Eurasia

Foundation for the developmentof special education in Vietnam.

Tho is the head of traini ng,learning, and development in a

humanitarian organization whosemission is to protect the livesand dignity of victims of war

and internal violence.

Meditation on the universal law of interde-

pendence, on non-self and on the nature of

suffering, is the foundation of the Great Com-

passion which allows us to develop an attitude

of neutrality which is not cowardice and of

impartiality which is not indifference.

ta lks from VESAK ta lks from

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

12/13

Unless we are aware of the

connection between our habits

and the planetary problems we

have, nobody will change.

22 Winter/Spring 2009 the Mindfuln

photo WWe had some sort o good news last December, when governmentleaders met at the Bali Summit on Climate Change. They agreedto make deep cuts to carbon emissions, albeit without speciy-ing how deep. They also agreed to transer clean technologies todeveloping countries and reward those countries or protectingtheir orests.

It looks like governments have responded to the UNs call

and mustered the political will to take action. Whats more, even

businesses appear to have come round to the need to protect the

environment: they are recycling paper, planting trees, participating

in carbon trading. And citizens and NGOs, o course, have been

at the oreront o the call or action.

But lets put all this in perspective.

The issue o climate change has been around or some time:

i we go back about hal a century, we would nd the New York

changing our habit at all. I was at an eco-expo recently where

someone was selling disposable lunch boxes and mugs made

rom corn. He was very happy about the high oil prices, because

they made his products more attractive to potential buyers, but I

couldnt help thinking about all the water and land that are used

to make disposable lunch boxes rather than grow crops to eed

people. So do we want ood or everyone, or do we want dispos-

able lunch boxes?

The Root Cause of Climate Change:Craving

Eorts to protect the environment have ailed in the past and

will continue to ail or as long as we are blind to the interrelatednature o all the issues and remain ignorant o our interdependence

that we are all in this Indras Net together. Living in cities where

we unction only as consumers, with little knowledge o the impact

o the processes that bring ood to the table, clothes on our backs,

and PlayStations in our childrens bedrooms, its hard to see how

our whole way o lie is hurting the planet and ourselves. Green

NGOs take people to visit landlls because the experience allows

them to nally put two and two together and the eect can be quite

dramatic: they see or themselves how all the waste sta

they switly stop using plastic bags, or example.

Unless we are aware o the connection between ou

the planetary problems we have, nobody will chang

nately, even landlls show very little o the impact our c

liestyle imposes on both people and the environment.

picture this: somewhere in an Asian village a piece o

is cleared to make way or actories where migrant w

paid a small wage to churn out the shoes, toys, and gadg

by consumers around the world. Crops are lost to th

and suddenly the villagers are sick and the remainin

poisoned by the polluted rivers.

In the meantime, consumers in the developed wor

lost their stable jobs in manuacturing are getting by o

or poorly paid contract work while relying on credit to

cheap imports which wont be cheap or much long

the prices o raw materials and transportation have g

to climate change. Many countries make-believe tha

attracted oreign investment, but other than the meage

to the migrant workers, what else have the hos t countr

Times editorial entitled How industry may change climate,

dated 24 May 1953, that environmental scientist David Keith o

the University o Calgary has reerred to in a talk.1

Earth Day has been around since 1970, but i we think back

to Henry David Thoreau and the Transcendentalists, then the

environmental movement has been around or even longer. Un-

ortunately, despite the long-standing awareness o the threat and

the persistent call or action, nothing much has been done, and

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had to issue a

dire warning2, telling us that, eectively, we now have just seven

years (eight when the report came out in 2007) to sort it all out

beore its too late.

So now the worlds suddenly woken up to carbon trading,

hybrid vehicles and technological solutions that include sending

some kind o sun-shading device into space to cool the planet.

Is It Enough?Heres some ood or thought:

Supposeeveryoneswitchestoenergy-savinglamps,but also buys new, big plasma TVs along with variouselectronic gadgets. Would the outcome be an increase ordecrease in energy use?

Supposecarmanufacturersallstartmakingelectrichybrids to Euro V standard, but millions more take to theroad. Would the outcome be an increase or decrease in oilconsumption?

Supposeweswitchtobiofuels,wouldwehavethelandand water resources to produce enough for both our carsand us?

The World Wildlie Fund (WWF) Hong Kong commissioned

a survey on climate change3 and the results are set out below:

92%ofthepeopleinterviewedstatethattheyareveryorsomewhat concerned about climate change

87%agreedthatindividualsshareagreatresponsibilitytoactandover90%saidtheywouldbuyenergyefcientlamps(94%),turnoffstandbyappliances(91%)oradjustthetemperatureofair-conditioning(91%);but

69%didntagreethatutilitytariffsshouldberaisedtodiscourage wastage

You see, the way the world economy works is predicated on

an externalization o costs that makes it possible or goods and

services to be sold at remarkably low prices. And unortunately,

those o us in the developed countries have become so accustomed

to this that, as much as we want to do our bit or the environment,we dont want the eort to cramp our style. We dont want, or

instance, to lose the convenience o using disposable cups, chop-

sticks, and take-out lunch boxes, even though they create waste

and pollution everywhere, not to mention the energy and resources

required to make them, to be used just once beore being thrown

into a landll.

Themarketisverysmart;itknowsthatifitcancomeupwith

disposable alternatives that are green, we wouldnt think about

ta lks f romtalks f rom VESAK

Saving

Indras NetBuddhist Tools for Tackling

Climate Change and Social Inequity

By Angela Tam

8/7/2019 MB50-pt1

13/13

24 Winter/Spring 2009 the Mindfuln

Elultimodese

I

actories gained other than pollution, loss o cropland and depletion

o natural resources that, once lost, will never be available again?

A ew attain material afuence, and certainly the top managers in

the companies selling these goods and their nancial backers

make lots o money out o this, but or the majority, do their wages

and long working hours compensate or the loss o contentment

and the sense o community that grounds them? Is this really how

we want to see the world come ull circle?

All this has been happening or a while, but we have not been

aware o the bind were creating or ourselves because we are too

busy wanting this, buying that. Buddhism, however, gets right

into the heart o the matter because it tells us that, actually, no,

the real cause o climate change is not high levels o greenhouse

gas emissions, but our craving. It is because we crave all thesegoods and services that so much energy and resources are devoted

to their production, which, in turn, lead to the release o so much

greenhouse gas as well as a widening wealth gap.

AndBuddhismdoesntjusttelluswhatswrong;itgivesus

the tools or tackling the problem as well, in the orm o the pre-

cepts and the Noble Eightold Path. Thays elaboration o the ve

precepts is particularly useul because they are made relevant or

the modern world. The Fith Mindulness Training is particularly

relevant or the modern consumer because it reminds us to be

mindul o not only what we traditionally regard as intoxicants,

but also o what we see on TV, read in magazines, and so on. Ater

all, advertising, whether subtle or not so subtle, is responsible to

a great extent or the craving thats causing so much diculty

or us.

The environmental movement has been slow to make headway

because, most o the time it is, as the saying goes, preaching to

the converted or up against sti resistance. It owes its success orecent years to the act that dierent elements o the movement

havebeenco-optedbyconsumerists;looknofurtherthanthecraze

over the Im not a plastic bag campaign.

Skillful Buddhist MeansBuddhism, on the other hand, stands a better chance o reach-

ing people o dierent persuasions because, whether we know it at

this moment in time or not, we all want to be happy and nd mean-

ing in lie. Three Buddhist concepts are o vital importance:

1. Dependent origination

2. Mindfulness

3. Sangha

We need people to understand what the concept o dependent

origination means or them, in a language that everyone can un-

derstand. When I talk to architects and surveyors about sustainable

building, I like to use a technical term they can relate to liecycle cost. But really the idea is no dierent rom that o the

clouds, the sun, and the soil contributing to the growth o a beau-

tiul fower. Bringing personal experience to bear, like the green

NGOs taking people to see landlls, is even better. We need to nd

ways to make the ancient idea relevant to a modern audience.

Mindulness, o course, underpins our appreciation o our

interdependence. So how about teaching mindulness meditation

in schools? Make it as natural as learning to read and write. Theres

a reason why ood companies in the U.S. are now orbidden rom

advertisingsugaryfoodstochildrenundertwelve;advertisingis

so powerul, adults all or them as well, all the time. By making

us aware o the root o the problem, rom moment to moment,

mindulness meditation is a powerul antidote against the adver-

tising that we dont currently realize is responsible or causing so

much craving.

In his bookOne City4, Ethan Nichtern mentions a ashion

magazine designer who, ater taking up meditation, became more

and more aware o the deeply manipulative nature o her job,

and began to wonder whether it was right livelihood. Thats how

meditation can help us and the world. Like the designer, some o

us may be led to question whether our current work represents

RightLivelihood;itisanecessaryquestionandonlybyhavingthecourage to ace it will we stand a chance o coping with climate

change and social inequity.

Finally, we need to widen the Sangha, in the sense o a sup-

portive community. Recent research5 demonstrates something very

interesting: many people are obese not because they eat the wrong

ood or do not exercise, but because their social networks consist

o people who are heavier than the average. Thats how powerul

socialnetworksare.Wewanttobelong;wedowhatourfriends

do. I our riends are always shopping or designer clothes and the

latest mobile phones, we do too. I our riends recycle and avoid

disposable cutlery, we eventually do as well. So i we can cultivate

mindulness Sanghas, we will be able to create social networks

that reinorce earth-riendly behaviour.

Upaya, the Buddhist co