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.

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 "Definition of Engage Buddhism", next week we will offer you "History of Engage Buddhism".

Source URL: http://vimeo.com/6261980
Video Author: Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing in I feel alive, breathing out I smile to live inside of me.

Good morning dear sangha, today is may the sixth 2008, we are in Hanoi, Kiem Lien hotel for our retreat with the theme Engaged Buddhism in 21st century.

There is a technical term, formation (Skt. Samskara), Buddha said that all formations are impermanent, always changing, you can distinguish between physical formation, biological formations and mental formations, a flower is a formation because many elements has come together in order to help flower to manifest. you see the cloud, sunshine, the seed, soil, farmer, the gardener and many elements that had come together in order to help  the flower to manifest, that is why a flower is called a formation.

Follow Thay as he leads retreats for veterans, as well as retreats for politicians in Washington, D.C.

  Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh discusses what he calls the most important practice in Buddhist meditation—the practice of letting go or “throwing away.”

Wrong perceptions, ideas and notions are at the root of our suffering—they are the ground of all afflictions. In order for us to touch happiness in the here and now, we need to throw away the ideas and notions that prevent us from learning and growing. The Diamond Sutra suggestions four notions that should be thrown away: self, human being, living being and life span. The substantive portion of this talk is dedicated to elaborating on these notions as well as our attachment to views, pairs of extremes, and rules and rituals. The talk concludes with the suggestion that we write a letter to help suicide bombers throw away the notions that have created fear and hatred in their hearts.

Upon the publication of his book, "The Energy of Prayer", Zen Master the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh was asked by Publishers Weekly to answer ten questions about prayer and about his teaching. This dharma talk is a response to those questions

"Some Christians -- those who think of God as someone external and powerful and transcendent -- would be surprised to know that Buddhists pray. What would you say to them?” “Why is it important to pray with the body?” “How can you avoid falling into the trap of falling into routine when you’re praying, the trap of going through the words or motions without paying attention?” "There’s a chapter on meditation in your book on prayer. How do you see the relationship between meditation and prayer in your own life?” “How can people find the time to pray every day? “What is the one thing people can do every day that will bring them closer to the happiness they seek?” “How is prayer related to peace and to peacemaking?” “Should Christians who are attracted to Buddhist teachings become Buddhists?” "What did you find in Vietnam when you returned in 2005? What were your impressions?” “You will be 80 this year. Do you plan to retire as a spiritual teacher at any point?”

True social change begins by going home to ourselves and creating a strong base for action. In this dharma talk, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explores the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths to show how mindfulness can create that base.

Life contains ill-being and well-being, suffering and happiness. By becoming aware of what we bring attention to, we can develop conscious habits that nourish compassion and understanding – both for ourselves and for others. These habits will help to bring joy and solidity to action for social change.

From the Colors of Compassion Retreat: Honoring Our Ancestors – Embracing Ourselves on the Path.

Thay shares about the basic practices of mindfulness and how we can cultivate them in our daily lives.