To celebrate the continuation of our beloved teacher, we are delighted to share these heartfelt reflections of gratitude and transformation, offered by monastics, Dharma teachers, and lay friends, across our multi-fold Sangha.
Drawn from the Gratitude for Thich Nhat Hanh page, the Mindfulness Bell’s Memorial Issue 89, and personal reflections, they offer a glimpse of how Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings continue to touch lives, inspire practice, and guide us in embodying mindfulness, compassion, and interbeing.
This body of mine will disintegrate, but my actions will continue me
Thich Nhat Hanh
A Spiritual Warrior
When I first heard the song Twenty-four Brand-new Hours sung by Ha Thanh, I was deeply moved and felt a surge of patriotic love evoked within me. Through the song, I could also sense Thay’s deep love for our people and country. Thay said this song was composed when, out of a sudden, he learned that he could not return to his homeland anymore. When Thay went abroad to call for peace and end the war in Vietnam, he had only planned to stay for a few months. All his friends, close ones, and sangha members were still in Vietnam; so upon hearing the news that he couldn’t return, Thay felt so disoriented, like a tree uprooted.
Later, Thay recalled that for five days after receiving the news, he did not tell anyone about it. All he did was practice walking meditation and conscious breathing – no thinking at all. Thanks to that diligent practice, he regained his calmness. It was in 1966, when he was 40 years old and had been a monk for more than 20 years. That proves how important it is not to underestimate the practice of coming back to our breathing, our steps, to re-establish our peace, regardless of how long we have been in the practice. In the song Twenty-four Brand-new Hours, Thay recollected familiar images of his homeland to nourish himself. Being abroad, everything around him was unfamiliar. Thanks to his deep love for his country and his people, Thay was able to overcome the difficulties. That is the spirit of a spiritual warrior. ~ Sr. Quy Nghiem
Renewing Buddhist Practice for Our Times
As I write in this moment, I think of Thay’s legacy of renewing Buddhist practices and all the effort he put into introducing to the world the meaning and practice of inviting and listening to the sound of the bell. I cannot imagine how many Dharma talks our teacher must have given on this topic. The simple act of stopping everything that we are doing when we hear the bell being invited, including our thinking and conversations, and returning all of our attention to our conscious breathing was invented or adapted by our teacher. Before that, in the temples, the bell did not have this explicit function or significance. Thay formulated this practice as a medicine for our times, an antidote to our modern culture of running and grasping and our inability to be fully present to what is happening in the present moment, caught in our constant over-thinking. ~ Br. Phap Dung
Transformation and Healing
My baby Thomas was unexpectedly born with a rare respiratory disease. I lived in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) with him, holding and comforting him day and night. I was compelled to place Thay’s book, Peace Is Every Step, in the large crib alongside the medical equipment. The simple presence of this powerful book offered me a sense of peace. These many weeks living in the hospital with baby Thomas was like a retreat. My focus was on witnessing each labored breath my baby took. The sacredness of each breath and each moment came alive for me in this painful yet beautiful way. Thank you, Thay, for teaching me to breathe, to appreciate, and to love. ~ Lisa
Every day I see suffering and joy coexisting together, and the teachings are such a guide for how to navigate both. Thay’s teachings have helped me regain my spirituality and expand my compassion and empathy for people I disagree with. Every day I see Interbeing around me, and it is so healing. Thank you to Thay and the entire Plum Village community. One day I hope to travel to one of the centers and experience the community in person. ~ Mary Moran
If I wrote from now until the time of my own death, I could not fully communicate the influence that Thich Nhat Hanh and the communities of Plum Village, France, Germany, and California, as well as all the Dharma talks, books, calligraphies, gathas, and sanghas, have had on my life and those I interact with. I cannot keep this treasure to myself. Thay has been introduced to our students in Uganda, Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda, and some are keen on the practice of mindfulness, concentration, and insight. ~ Gabriela
Four years ago I had a heart attack, but because of Thay’s teachings on impermanence and interbeing, I was not scared, even despite the prognosis from doctors. I meditated on my heart and studied The Other Shore and The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, gaining a deep insight into interdependent co-arising and impermanence. I began to meditate more and started walking meditation, which I had never done before. It was insightful and healing, and four years on, I have no scar tissue on my heart. ~ Mark Dawes, UK
I listened to Thay’s teachings during one of the hardest times in my life, struggling with childhood trauma and finding the direction to self-awareness. Thay’s teaching healed my soul and led me to mindful living with compassion and loving-kindness. I am grateful for Thay’s presence and all the teachings he has shared with the world. ~ Vy Vu, Vietnam
I recently went to a Wake Up retreat at the Maison de l’Inspir. As I sat on the bus back home, looking at the spring trees and listening to music, I felt profound joy. I have found inner peace for my struggles and dilemmas, and I look forward to seeing how I can adapt the Five Mindfulness Trainings to continue to serve the world. Thank you, Thay, for inspiring me with your work and all who share the practice of mindfulness. I even received a lineage name, Bright Path of the Source, for which I am so grateful. ~ Josefina Koloski, The Netherlands
Something I valued so much in Thay and I want to continue is the path of the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta, which is always finding the best in people and letting them know they have these good qualities. Thay always believed in this. He once mentioned a sutra from the Buddha that says if someone has only one eye, you protect that one eye. That means the practitioner is weak but still has an aspiration. Protect that aspiration – don’t be so harsh. Thay always had so much compassion. His understanding was immense.
Sister Eleni
Seeing Thay Beyond Form
I remembered the times I accompanied Thay on tours to China or Korea. We visited ancient monasteries with old attic libraries full of woodblocks from which the sutras were printed. On two separate occasions, Thay had pointed out to me the gatha from the Vajracchedika Sutra:
Someone who looks for me in form
or seeks me in sound
is caught in an abstraction and will not find me
For many years I have been caught in that abstraction, that misapprehension. This morning I saw a much greater Thay. Sometimes as an elder sister I need to be a teacher for my younger siblings. I need to practice signlessness in looking at them, too, and realise that Thay is in each of them. ~ Sr. Chan Duc
What can I say about my teacher?
Poem by Dr. Larry Ward (True Great Sound)
What can I say about my beloved teacher?
I can say that the soft whisper of his voice in the dark night of confusion, of fear and sorrow, calls us home to our true selves.
I can say that his teachings bring the dharma rain, bathing us in healing energy in the blessed peace of our lives.
I can say that his gentle footsteps upon the earth ride on the winds of peace, the thunder of compassion, and reflect the powerful moonlight of understanding.
I can say that he tirelessly engages with his whole being in the noblest of causes, to heal and transform the breaking waves of our shadows.
I can say I love my teacher because he has nourished the teacher in me to wake up, wake up, wake up.
I can say that his practice, his prose, and his poetry speak with the beauty and clarity of the buddha within each of us.
I can say that on this very day we are most fortunate to be here together, to be in touch with the miracle of deep breath, and the holy moment of awareness in which we are touched by that which is not coming and not going.
So here we are together in the heart of Thich Nhat Hanh.
Continuing Thay’s Legacy Together
I first met Thay 20 years ago, after years of reading about his teachings and eventually attending a retreat. Our charitable foundation was working to support vulnerable children in numerous schools along the Thailand-Burma border and in Vietnam. Thay, already contemplating his continuation, wished to protect and continue the training and support of his monastic sangha. In our conversations, the clarity of his intention and the resolve of his decisions gave the impression that he saw ahead a hundred possible futures extending from each moment, choosing one deliberate step along a mindful path.
Even ordinary actions with Thay were grounded in mindfulness and appreciation. I remember walking with Thay and Sister Chan Khong along a grove of trees, each of us finding an apple, and the world becoming suspended in the simple experience of enjoying them, without words, in each other’s presence. Present moment, only moment. Each time we met again, Thay took my hands in his, and we faced each other for a moment, breathing, smiling. He would often begin those visits by offering a short teaching.
Though we only saw each other face-to-face perhaps once a year, Thay’s voice gradually became part of my own inner voice, and over time, the inner voice of my children, wife, family and friends. His teaching has done the same for a multitude of others – calling us to our better selves; gently bringing us back to the present moment; inspiring us to treat others, and ourselves, with compassion and understanding; encouraging the next deliberate step along a mindful path. ~ John P. Hussman
On Thay’s Continuation Day, let us come together in practice. We invite you to engage in these three listening practices — today or any day — as a collective offering of mindfulness, gratitude, and continuation.
