Peace in Oneself, Peace in the World

Thầy speaks not only with the authority of Buddhism but also from long experience of war and peace activism. But he chooses to open lightly with an invitation to consider the retreat as a pleasant picnic, challenging us to cultivate the courage to live in the present moment even—or especially—in time of war. He makes the point, which he develops throughout the talk, that the intention is not to talk ideas about peace but rather that “our intention is to be peace in the here and the now.”

One primary strand of the talk is about how to practice being peace. Thầy therefore focuses on how we can develop that capacity in our own body, our feelings our emotions, our perceptions, our mental formations, and our consciousness (the Five Skandhas). This is “the basic practice of peace”: “You cannot become an instrument of peace if you have no peace within yourself.” Violent emotions and limited perceptions of others within individuals make wars.

A second primary strand of this talk is to outline a Buddhist understanding of contact with the divine or the ultimate, which, as Thầy shows, is the outcome of the practice of being peace within oneself. Thầy teaches throughout the talk how being present in each current moment is the only place where life, freedom, and ultimate meaning exist, not in the past and not in the future, and it is only by being peace in the present moment that we, collectively, can generate the conditions for peace to emerge: “God is available only in the present moment.” God is neither an “objective entity” nor a “vague notion”; God is “the ground of your being,” the ever-present “reality of the ultimate.” Therefore, as Thầy teaches the practice that makes peace, the way to contact God, Allah, or the ultimate, is to be present in the here and the now. Then, we are free from the past, free from the future, free from discrimination against others, and free to access the fullness of life, because then “you are always with God.” The path to this freedom is mindfulness.

Thầy demonstrates practical techniques for mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful tea drinking, mindful eating, etc., showing with his ease and gentle humor how to perform the practices of the retreat. This is “the art of living in the present moment,” the “art of stopping,” stopping running, rushing, acting unskillfully. These practices build peace in the world in a long-sighted and sustainable way: from the inside out, one person, one community, one nation at a time. And that is why and how “we have to enjoy our picnic right here and right now,” in our only true home, mindfully and fearlessly smiling.

This is the first talk in a series of five given during the Israeli-Palestinian retreat in the year 2003. Thầy offered this talk in the Lower hamlet, Plum Village, France.

People’s Peace Conferences: A Real Roadmap for Peace in the World

Thay offered this teaching on the second day of a retreat for Israeli and Palestinian attendees. His purpose is to lay the foundation for a “peace process” based not upon governmental or political debates–which have failed–but rather upon mutual human needs and shared aspirations. Thay very mindfully builds that foundation for the first hour and twelve minutes of the talk before making his proposal. He starts with an instruction about how to receive this Dharma talk, which is to allow it to fall like rain upon the internal seeds of peace within us.

The talk then focuses upon how to cultivate the seeds of understanding, love, and compassion within ourselves, emphasizing that we only can make peace in the world if peace is within us. It develops in stages then from internal capacity to capacity to give to our loved ones and then outward through Sangha building. These are preparatory for developing the capacity to give deep listening and loving kindness to wider circles of people, ultimately to “enemies.” We must develop the foundation of non-violent responses to our own worry, fear, and anger in order to be able to communicate constructively with perceived adversaries. Thay urges us both to learn to “be ourselves”—our true selves—through individual Dharma practice and, also, to make good use of Sangha when available and “borrow the energy of Sangha” to sustain us when alone. Thay then provides a sketch of Buddhist psychology to emphasize that our happiness depends upon what seeds in our “store consciousness” we water—and allow our children to ingest—and that we are responsible for healthy consumption that does not perpetuate hate and violence.

In order to effect a peace process that has a better chance of succeeding, “We should know the art of selective watering so that we have enough calm, enough peace, enough hope, enough joy in us, so that we can help the other person to cultivate the same and to go home to ourselves and take care of our own garden.” This is the foundation that Thay lays for his proposal for a “real roadmap for peace.” In the remainder of the talk, he reemphasizes some steps in that process, such as: start first with your own inner garden, practice peace with your family loved ones, pacify your own anger, practice deep listening, recognize the other’s suffering, admit your role in it, and, remember, “You are not discussing peace; you are practicing peace.”

This is the second talk in a series of five given during the Israeli-Palestinian retreat in the year 2003. Thầy offered this talk in the Lower hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thầy underlies the importance of spending some time in solitude each day to nourish ourselves and to become an island unto ourselves where we can take refuge and not be carried away by strong emotions. Thầy also delves deeply into the practice of walking meditation alone as a practice to help us be in touch with the here and the now, with life itself and all the wonders of life and to be truly free, practicing aimlessness. Thầy also stresses the importance of stopping and resting to help us heal and transform and how stopping is not just stopping our bodies but also our thinking.

When talking about the practice of washing dishes as a novice, Thầy reminds us how every ordinary act can be a spiritual act, a sacred moment when we are truly mindful. Furthermore, Thầy talks about the practice of writing a love letter to reconcile with ourselves and our loved ones and also to reconcile with groups of people we might have hurt and how this love letter must be based on our compassion and understanding of the situation and of the suffering of the other group in order to be truly effective.

This is the third talk in a series of five given during the Israeli-Palestinian retreat in the year 2003. Thầy offered this talk in the Upper hamlet, Plum Village, France.

Thầy offers his perspective on resolving conflict based on Buddhist teachings as well as his own experience of war in Vietnam. Thầy underlines the importance of not taking sides in a conflict, of building brotherhood and practicing compassionate listening.

Thầy talks about the School of Youth for Social Service and the important support its members offered to the villages. Thầy stresses the importance of never letting despair take over, and reminds us that we can go always take refuge in the island within ourselves, our true home that nobody can take away from us, in order to care for and nourish ourselves. We need a spiritual dimension, says Thầy, to be strong enough, to be compassionate enough to face difficult situations. Furthermore, Thầy explains in detail what a peace treaty is in Plum Village and offers that as a path to resolve conflicts with other groups of people and reach reconciliation.

This is the fourth talk in a series of five given during the Israeli-Palestinian retreat in the year 2003. Thầy offered this talk in the Upper hamlet, Plum Village, France.

We are re-publishing this Dharma Talk from October 24, 2003, recorded on the fifth day of a retreat in Plum Village for Palestinians and Israelis, where Thich Nhat Hanh offered his perspective on resolving conflict based on Buddhist teachings as well as his own experience of war in Vietnam.

Israeli Palestinian Retreat: Question and Answer
Plum Village France

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Edit’ if it’s incorrect.

We are re-publishing this Dharma Talk from October 25, 2003, recorded on the sixth day of a retreat in Plum Village for Palestinians and Israelis, where Thich Nhat Hanh offered his perspective on resolving conflict based on Buddhist teachings as well as his own experience of war in Vietnam.

Israeli Palestinian Retreat: Question and Answer
Plum Village, France

Note: this description was automatically sourced from existing YouTube descriptions and other sources. Please ‘Suggest Edit’ if it’s incorrect.