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.

Thay speaks of the origin and experiences of some of the monastics present on the retreat. He then shows how creating a sanctuary at home for refuge and peace nourishes family life, emphasizing mindfulness practices such as breathing, meditation, and mindful walking. We can focus on belly breathing to calm overwhelming emotions, recognizing the body’s interconnectedness with the mind. Thay explains how our body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts and consciousness are interconnected, and how the Buddha advises us on practice to embrace and heal each part. We can learn to touch life deeply in the present moment, using our practice to free ourselves from illusions, finding immediate relief and deepening our faith in Dharma’s transformative power.

This is the fourth talk in a series of five given during the To Be, To Be Free, To Be Happy retreat, in the year 1997. Thay offered this talk at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, United States.

Thầy discusses the importance of mindfulness in recognizing and harmonizing the multitude of beings and aspects within ourselves, including the fifty-one mental formations like love, hatred, compassion, and fear. Mindfulness leads to concentration and insight, fostering inner peace and harmony. Buddhist meditation emphasizes embracing all aspects of ourselves, accepting both the positive and negative as members of our internal community, and nurturing our inner territory to maintain peace. Thầy presents the five skandhas as an inner kingdom, warning that when we flee this kingdom through unmindful consumption, we allow our territory to be occupied by fear, violence, and despair. Therefore, mindful consumption is crucial to nourish our minds and bodies, and to clean up our territory.

Thầy elaborates on the practice of the pāramitās, focusing deeply on the pāramitā of understanding (prajñā) and the pāramitā of inclusiveness (kṣānti). Understanding and compassion, guided by mindfulness, can dissolve anger and violence, fostering harmony in relationships and society. Using the analogy of two hungry horses bound together by a tight rope, he illustrates how political and personal retaliation starves both sides of the universal stability and safety they crave. Through practices like breathing, walking meditation, and mindful consumption, we cultivate awareness and empathy—elements that are crucial for world leaders and society to achieve unity and peace. Thầy concludes by advocating for a spiritual dimension in statesmanship, recalling his experience sharing these practices with political leaders at the State of the World Forum.

“So Buddhist meditation is for what? First, it helps us to come home to our territory that has been occupied by hatred, and fear, and despair, and violence, and learning how to calm down all these mental formations and learn how to harmonize. And then with that, we will be able to look at the other person, the other group of persons, with more lucidity, more understanding. And you help me to do that, and I help you to do that. And that is the advantage of having a Sangha.”

This is the sixth of thirty talks given during the Summer Opening retreats in the year 2002. Thầy offered this talk at the Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.