Thay Thich Nhat Hanh offers a special Dharma Talk to the 2009 Parliament of World Religions being held in Melbourne Australia.  This very special and powerful talk, transmitted by video to hundereds of people in Australia, opens the doors of practice available through the Five Mindfulness Trainings.  The Five Mindfulness Trainings offer a concrete path of practice that can lead to a collective awakening, that can transforming our hatred, fear and greed, in turn bringing healing to ourselves and our planet, solving the problems of climate change, terrorism, and poverty at their root.

In this talk given at Stonehill College during the 2009 U.S. Tour, Thay shares on three themes: the beauty and importance of the sangha; transforming mano; and the 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing.  

Beginning with a teaching for the children on the wonders of the true sangha, Thay shares the value of sangha building and how the sangha can bring joy, peace and hope to our society.  

In the second part of the dharma talk, Thay teaches about the relationship of mind consciousness and store consciousness to mano.  Characterized by attachment, clinging and delusion, mano manifests in six ways: seeking pleasure; avoiding suffering; ignoring the dangers of seeking pleasure; ignoring the goodness of suffering; ignoring the law of moderation; and always trying to own and possess. His teachings show us how to use mind consciousness and meditation to transform mano and relieve our suffering.

In the final portion of his talk, Thay introduces the 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing and how they apply to the four realms of Body, Feeling, Mind and Object of Mind. He uses many of his classic stories to illuminate teachings on happiness, impermanence, the wisdom of non-discrimination, and the true nature of birth and death.

Source URL: http://vimeo.com/6651403
Video Author: Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhist Understanding of Reality – 21 Days Retreat “The Path of the Buddha”

Some notes from the dharma talk:

Engage Buddhism was born during the midst of the war.  Engage Buddhism is not true if you are only engage in social acts, it has to be while you are alone also.  To be able to take care of yourself is to take care of others.  Now we use the word “Applied Buddhism”.
-    to be able to shed light, understand our feelings.

What can Buddhism do to reduce tension?
Using applied buddhism, relaxing the body, loving speech, the sutra of mindful breathing.

Retreat offered in Kim Lien Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam on Engaged Buddhism in the 21st Century.  Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh offered two dharma talks on "Definition of Engage Buddhism" and "History of Engage Buddhism" during the one week retreat.  This week, we offer you the Dharma talk "History of Engage Buddhism", enjoy the talk.... You can also click here to listen to the "Definition of Engage Buddhism" which was offfered last week.

Source URL: http://vimeo.com/6428782
Video Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Transcribed by: Nyanabhadra

Dharma talk during the 21 days retreat in Plum Village on the topic of True Love...

Source URL: http://staging.vimeo.com/6325476
Video Author: Thich Nhat Hanh

There is true sangha because there is harmony, brotherhood, joy, peace. A true sangha is has the quality of mindfulness, concentration, insight, peace and harmony, brotherhood, sisterhood. True sangha, buddha is there, when I breath out I greet the buddha, I know you are there, because the true sangha is there.

Buddha is not something abstract, but embody by the practice of sangha, if the buddha is there then the dharma also there. Buddha dharma and sangha is not something far away, it is right here and now in our sangha.

The teaching on love in buddhis tradition is very clear, we all need love because love make us happy, if it doesn’t then it is not a love. Love has a lot of meaning, but we had abuse love.

When we say I love hamburger, that love doesn’t mean anything, that is mean I like to eat hamburger, we need to heal the word of love or else it will lose it meaning, from time to time we need to cure / heal, make it healthy again. Love is a wonderful thing.

In Buddhist teaching, love is able to bring happiness, to offer happiness, to relief suffering, to offer joy, and to transcend all kind of separation barriers.