From 2000 to 2008, Venerable Ashin Jnanissara assisted in the setup of over twenty-two government and non-government clinics throughout Myanmar, providing necessary medical equipment and supplies. He founded BBM College (1965, Lay Myethna), Saddhamma Sitagu Vihar (Sagaing Hills), and began construction of Sitagu International Buddhist Academy (1994, Sagaing Hills); in 1994 he also established the Theravada Dhamma Society of America in Austin, Texas, and monasteries in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Texas. The government of Myanmar conferred on him four titles in recognition of his scholarship and missionary work:

1. Mahādhammakathika Bahujanahitadhara
2. Aggamahāsaddhammajotikadhaja
3. Aggamahāganthavācakapaṇḍita
4. Aggamahāpaṇḍita

Buddha body and Buddha mind cannot exist separately but manifest together in breathing and walking. Mindful breathing (Anapanasati) invites the Buddha to breathe and walk for us, revealing peace, harmony, solidity, freedom, joy, and non-discrimination in each in-breath, out-breath, and step. Overcoming the “double grasping” (grāha, grāhya) of subject and object—the insight that consciousness manifests as both simultaneously—can inspire modern science and remove the obstacle of duality.

To transform suffering in relationships, we recognize and water only the good seeds (joy, compassion, non-discrimination) and refrain from watering the bad seeds (jealousy, anger, craving) in ourselves and others. Through loving speech and deep listening, we remove wrong perceptions, restore communication, and bring about reconciliation. Buddhism must be taught in simple, practical language—applying the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path in daily life—so that all, from movie stars to members of parliament, can practice and benefit.

Invocation and welcome
A Mangala Charanam by the monks’ Sangha in Tibetan and by the girl students in Sanskrit opened the deliberation. Shri Shantam Seth thanked the Tibetan Institute of Higher Studies—established in 1967 by Pandit Nehru and the Dalai Lama to restore India’s Nalanda tradition—for hosting Thich Nhat Hanh’s historic visit. An earlier four-day retreat at Doon School brought 550 teachers from Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi for mind training in education. The Institute offers a four-year pre-university course, three-year undergraduate, two-year graduate and PhD research programs in Buddhism (Nalanda tradition), Tibetan medicine, astronomy, astrology, social sciences and computer science, with global collaborations.

Mind training in education
Heavy curricula burden both teachers and students who carry accumulated fear, anger, and suffering from home. Without understanding and transforming these roots of suffering, learning and teaching become ineffective. Thich Nhat Hanh recommends:

1. Mindful consumption—avoid “toxins” of violence, fear, anger and despair in TV, news, magazines and conversation.
2. Mindful breathing and walking—to generate “mindfulness” (smṛti) and “concentration” (samādhi), recognize and tenderly embrace one’s pain: “Breathing in, I am aware of my anger. Breathing out, I embrace it with tenderness.”
3. Four exercises of mindful breathing:
   • Mindfulness of breathing—awareness that you are breathing in/out
   • Releasing tension—“Breathing in, I release the tension in my body” to reduce pain and strengthen healing
   • Full-body scanning—from hair to toes, sending compassion to each part
   • Total relaxation—15 minutes to relax body and emotions
4. Living happily in the present moment—recognize conditions of happiness now (functioning eyes, heart, etc.) rather than chasing future gains.

Cultivating mindfulness, concentration and insight (prajñā) transforms anger into compassion and prevents the making of “terrorists in the making.” Teachers need training in compassionate listening, loving speech and two-way communication—with patience to build trust—so they can help students handle painful emotions, restore harmony and make education truly effective.

I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and aspire to help all beings recognize their awakened nature, master the practice, and build fourfold communities. Welcome to India and The Path of Awakening retreat, where even bus rides become “bus meditation” through mindful breathing and the bell of mindfulness. Sitting quietly at Gṛdhrakūṭa mountain or beside the Bodhi tree, we open ourselves to the powerful energy of the Buddha and his Sangha through mindfulness, concentration, and relaxation.

We practice as a Sangha—flowing like a river, supported by Noble Silence and collective energy—with:

1. Mindful walking, each step a miracle on Earth, saying I have arrived after two steps or three steps, and I am home in the here and now.
2. Mindful sitting, light and solid like a lotus flower, established in the present moment.
3. Mindful eating, enjoying every morsel so that peace, joy, and the Pure Land are available at breakfast.

Each moment—walking, sitting, standing, lying down, eating—is an opportunity to receive healing, nourishment, and transformation, and to manifest the Buddha of love, Maitreya, here and now.

We shall each receive a mustard seed to plant, and when it sprouts we ask, “Dear little plant, do you remember the time you were a seed?” and listen—reminding it if it forgets. Just as the mustard plant continues the seed, you are the continuation of your parents: half your father, half your mother fully present in every cell and gene. By meditation you can greet and reconcile with the “father in me” and the “mother in me,” smiling compassionately to each five-year-old child within, healing ancestral suffering together. Our practice nourishes not only ourselves but our parents, ancestors, nation and future generations.

Looking deeply into any phenomenon—a cloud, a flame, a flower, your in-breath—you see no birth, no death, no coming, no going, no being, no non-being, no sameness, no otherness, no inside, no outside. In the five skandhas

1. form
2. feelings
3. perceptions
4. mental formations
5. consciousness
   there is only empty of notions. At the deathbed of Anathapindika, Shariputra and Ananda guided him through recollection of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and mindful breathing of the four elements—water, heat, earth, air—until he died peacefully, free from fear and suffering.

Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha opens the “path of light and beauty,” and breathing practices reveal how “father, mother, and all our ancestors are still alive in every cell of our body.” When we breathe in and smile, we invite them to breathe in; when we breathe out and smile, we invite them to breathe out—so that we’re never alone but carry all generations into the future.

Wrong perceptions—whether rooted in the body or in our views—are at the foundation of suffering, anger, and despair. To meditate is to “sit on the bank of the river of perception” and observe each drop of feeling, identifying its roots. In relationships, keeping communication alive allows us to help each other correct wrong perceptions through

1. Deep Listening – listening with mindfulness and compassion so the other person can “empty their heart and suffer less,”
2. Loving Speech (or right speech) – gently sharing our suffering and asking for help, without pride, to restore understanding.

Flower Watering, or Selective Watering, and the practice of Beginning Anew strengthen love and harmony:
• Selective Watering – intentionally water only the good seeds (joy, peace, forgiveness) in ourselves and others, refraining from watering negative seeds (anger, fear, irritation).
• Beginning Anew (weekly) – first water each other’s flowers, then share any suffering and ask for help, so misunderstandings can be cleared before they grow.
These practices can be applied in the family, workplace, and even in parliament—using mindful breathing, a bell of mindfulness, deep listening, and loving speech to remove wrong perceptions and restore peace.

With the practice of mindful breathing you can generate joy through three concrete methods the Buddha offers:

1. release – letting go of ideas and obstacles that block happiness
2. mindfulness – being fully aware of “the blue sky, the beautiful hills, the face of your lovely child” in the present moment
3. concentration – sinking deeply into whatever you are doing so your joy is full and undistracted

Yesterday’s four exercises on mindful breathing:

1. “Breathing in, I know this is my in-breath. Breathing out, I know this is my out-breath.”
2. “Breathing in, I follow my in-breath all the way through … breathing out, I follow my out-breath all the way through.”
3. “Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body.”
4. deep total relaxation – releasing body tension by breathing in and out

The Buddha’s fifth through eighth exercises on the realm of feelings:

5. bring in a feeling of joy – the hope of water in the desert
6. bring in a feeling of happiness – drinking the water, deep peace beyond excitement
7. recognize painful feelings – see anger, fear or despair as they arise with mindfulness
8. embrace and release painful feelings – tenderly hold and let go of their density by mindful breathing or walking

The Ministry of Education encourages two directives: to help students develop their critical thinking and their holistic development. With critical thinking, students (and teachers) will ask, “Why is the curriculum so heavy?”, since it fails to address their real suffering—violence, fear, anger, despair—and their deepest needs: 1) to love and be loved, and 2) to understand. Using the Buddha’s Simsapa‐leaves story, only what truly “helps your transformation, your healing, your happiness” should be offered first; other knowledge comes later. By touching each student’s seed of curiosity and love, studying and teaching become a joy.

To meet these needs, practice the Four Mindfulness Trainings on a collective level:

1. Organize national “deep listening” sessions (inviting educators, legislators, wise people) so victims of injustice can “empty their heart” while the whole country witnesses.
2. Transform the classroom into a Sangha—a family where teacher and students share their sufferings and joys through listening and loving speech.
3. Hold retreats (even three days) that turn 700-plus strangers into a family by eating, breathing, walking, and sharing in small groups.
4. Include children—inviting them to focus on a flower, a drop of dew, a rainbow, or their parents’ hands—and teach them mindfulness from age three or four.

Thay offers four mantras of love to strengthen relationships:

1. “Darling, I am really here for you.”
2. “Darling, I know you are there, alive, and I am very happy.”
3. “Darling, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.”
4. “Darling, I suffer, and I want you to know it. Please help.”

For the fourth mantra, write it on a credit-card-sized peace note of three sentences:
• “Darling, I suffer, and I want you to know it.”
• “I am doing my best.”
• “Please help me.”

When anger or misunderstanding last over twenty-four hours, deliver this note (or say it) to avoid punishment, invite deep listening, transform wrong perceptions, and heal the relationship.

With heart established in mindfulness, go home to yourself to take care of body, feelings, perceptions, and consciousness throughout the day—in walking, sitting, eating, brushing teeth. Mindfulness is the energy that brings order, harmony, and well-being by:

1. Recognizing and enjoying each in-breath and out-breath, releasing past and future, cultivating mindfulness, concentration, insight, and happiness in every moment.
2. Not forcing the breath but gently allowing it to be itself, which in a few moments makes breathing deeper, slower, more peaceful, and brings body and mind together.
3. Practicing the Buddha’s fourth exercise in the Anapanasati Sutta: becoming aware of the body and then releasing all tension—face, shoulders, arms—so that smile and relaxation heal and accelerate the body’s capacity to heal itself by ten times.
4. Scanning the body “like a farmer” with the ray of mindfulness—eyes, heart, liver, etc.—breathing in and smiling to each part, embracing it with compassion, and deciding to nourish it wisely (e.g., stop drinking alcohol, eating too much fat).

Mindful consumption of the four nutriments prevents feeding fear, anger, and ill-being. The Buddha’s teaching on the four nutriments:

1. Edible food—eat to preserve compassion, joy, and peace; avoid “eating the flesh of our own sons and daughters” by wasting cereals on meat and alcohol when children starve.
2. Sensorial impressions—protect yourself from toxic sights, sounds, conversations; when depression or fear persists, recognize and cut off the sources of toxic media or talk.
3. Volition—examine your deepest desires; wholesome desires to help others and protect the planet bring happiness, whereas desires for revenge, fame, sex, power, or wealth lead to suffering.
4. Consciousness—cultivate right thinking (compassion, forgiveness), right speech (loving words), and right action (protective deeds); every compassionate thought, word, or act heals you and the world and can even neutralize past unwholesome karma.

We are breathing in, sitting in the Deer Park where two thousand six hundred years ago the Buddha set in motion the wheel of the Dharma. To be means to inter-be: a sheet of paper contains cloud, rain, tree, sunshine, earth, time, space and the worker who made it. Without returning each element to its source, there is no paper; without interbeing, we cannot be by ourselves alone.

The Four Noble Truths inter-are and cannot be separated:

1. suffering
2. the cause of suffering
3. the cessation of suffering
4. the path leading to the cessation of suffering

The First Truth is duḥkha, ill-being; the Second is craving, hate, anger, discrimination; the Third confirms that ending suffering brings happiness; the Fourth is the Noble Eightfold Path, beginning with Right Thinking, Right Speech and Right Action. Each moment we can practice:

• Right Thinking in the direction of understanding, forgiveness, compassion, non-discrimination
• Right Speech that forgives and heals
• Right Action that supports, protects and saves

Every thought of compassion, every word of forgiveness, every deed of non-violence heals ourselves and the world. Walking meditation on this sacred ground brings us home to the here and now, touching Buddha, Dharma and Sangha with each step.

A mind that is well-trained through meditation can bring immense happiness, while an untrained mind causes great suffering. Meditation—especially the basic practice of mindful breathing and mindful walking—is training the mind to return “home” to the body, anchoring us in the here and the now where life’s wonders are available. Habit energies (strong patterns of thought and reaction) arise from store consciousness as seeds of anger, fear, or joy; when touched, they manifest in mind consciousness. Mindfulness, when it surfaces alongside anger or any unwholesome seed, recognizes it (“Breathing in, I know anger has manifested in me”), embraces it tenderly, and prevents it from overwhelming us, even transforming anger into compassion.

True defense against violence lies in seeing the attacker also as a victim of anger, fear, and wrong perceptions—defending oneself with the energy of compassion not only protects us but can save them as well. Understanding that wrong perceptions are at the root of aggression and terrorism, Thầy stresses the urgent need for deep listening and loving speech—offering compassionate attention to sufferers and would-be perpetrators alike—to remove those perceptions. He emphasizes mindful consumption (choosing what we watch, read, and hear) so we stop “watering” seeds of violence and fear in ourselves, and selective watering of wholesome seeds—compassion, non-discrimination, joy, love—to cultivate lasting happiness and collective healing.

Key practices:

1. Mindful breathing & walking: return to breath/body to be fully present.
2. Bell of mindfulness: at each ring, stop and take at least nine mindful breaths to relax and heal.
3. Recognizing & embracing habit energies: note when anger, fear, or craving arise and tenderly acknowledge them.
4. Selective watering & mindful consumption: avoid inputs that feed unwholesome seeds; nourish seeds of compassion, understanding, joy.

Since to climb to the sixth step you must abandon the fifth, non-attachment is essential—even for scientists—to leave one “truth” in order to discover another.

Thay’s core teaching is mindfulness of the present moment in every thought, emotion, and action.
• Four exercises of mindful breathing:

1. Breathing in, know you are breathing in; breathing out, know you are breathing out.
2. Follow your in-breath and out-breath all the way through to deepen concentration.
3. Breathing in, be aware of your whole body; breathing out, allow it to release tension.
4. Scan the body with mindfulness (eyes to heart to limbs), embracing any pain to accelerate healing.
   • Walking meditation: link each step with in-breath (“I have arrived”) and out-breath (“I am home”) to cultivate solidity, freedom, and encounter life’s wonders.

Mindful consumption of the four nutriments is crucial for healing:

1. Edible food—eat so compassion remains alive.
2. Sensorial impressions—choose sights, sounds, conversations without toxins (anger, fear, despair).
3. Volition—direct your deepest desire toward helping and protecting rather than punishing or craving.
4. Consciousness—select environments and communities that think, speak, and act with compassion and understanding.

A day of mindfulness is an occasion to learn the art of mindful living, practiced by more than one thousand communities worldwide who spend one day together following a schedule very much like today’s:

1. Chanting
2. Dharma talk
3. Silent picnic lunch
4. Deep Relaxation and Touching the Earth
5. Orange Meditation
6. Mindful Movements
7. Question-and-answer session

A Dharma talk is not for gathering ideas but for allowing the “rain of the Dharma” to water the seed of joy, peace, love, and compassion already in us—no thinking, comparison, or judgment, just openness. Chanting touches the seed of mindfulness and compassion (Avalokiteshvara) through collective energy. Each bell sound calls us back to our in-breath and out-breath, our true home in the here and now, to release tension and allow the Sangha’s energy to embrace our pain or to channel compassion to loved ones.

Mindful living means being fully present in every action—walking, breathing, eating, toothbrushing, driving, telephone use—so each moment becomes a meditation hall. For example, in telephone meditation one recites a four-line gatha during breathing in and out:
Words can travel hundreds of kilometers.
They can promote more mutual understanding and joy.
I vow that every word of mine will bring peace and joy.
I vow that every word of mine will be beautiful like embroideries and flowers.
Selective watering of positive seeds—joy, forgiveness, understanding—within ourselves and others brings healing, transformation, and true happiness.

Breathing in – breathing out brings us back to the here and now, to our true home, free from regrets of the past and fears of the future. Every step of walking meditation nourishes and heals, “I have arrived, I am home,” and opens us to the wonders of life and the kingdom of God already present in the blue sky, the earth, the song of birds—and within ourselves. Resting and “Lazy Day” practice show that doing nothing mindfully is essential for releasing tension, stress, and pain in body and emotions, and for cultivating self-love as the foundation for loving others.

In leadership and corporate life, true effectiveness and culture arise only when we know how to come home to ourselves and then share that presence with others. Love is presence—being there fully—and our business “banyan tree” flourishes only when roots, trunk, branches, and leaves each receive care. Mindful breathing, walking, eating, and listening can be used anytime, anywhere to bring balance, build values-based leadership, and prevent conflicts.

The four mantras for transforming hurt and strengthening relationships:

1. Darling, I’m here for you.
2. Darling, I know you’re there and I’m so happy.
3. Darling, I know you suffer – I’m here for you.
4. Darling, I suffer – please help.

We have assembled on the eve of the first anniversary of the International Day of Non-Violence, itself commemorating 2,550 years since the Mahaparinirvan of Mahatma Buddha and 100 years of Satyagraha. Buddha’s “boundless love” for all life inspired Gandhi’s Swaraj—“of the people, by the people”—rooted in right path, right speech, right thought, right conduct. Both saw desire as the root of sorrow (“What is the fear of need but need itself?”) and taught self-sacrifice—“your lust, all your material ambition, all worldly ambition”—as ennobling. In a world still darkened by greed and hatred, the four noble truths, the eightfold path, Satyagraha, and Sarvodaya remain beacons for a new humanity.

Thich Nhat Hanh then guided us into true freedom as the practice of spirituality, showing that Mahatma Gandhi’s nature of no birth, no death lives on. He identified three sources of real power:

1. Wisdom and insight through non-attachment to views
2. Freedom from craving, anger, and misunderstanding
3. Compassionate love that protects and heals

By mindful breathing and walking we touch the “kingdom of God” here and now—appreciating our heart, eyes, blue sky, white clouds, green hills and each step as a miracle. Simple living (no private cars, bank accounts, salaries) frees time to care for ourselves, our beloved ones, and the planet. He offered three mantras to practice true presence, recognition of the beloved one’s existence, and compassionate solidarity with their suffering. Finally, through mindful breathing one can scan the body and feelings—releasing tension, embracing anger with the energy of mindfulness—to foster healing, reduce violence, and sustain peace.