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Deep Listening, No-Birth Insight, and Skillful Action in Daily Life

Thich Nhat Hanh · June 7, 2010 · EIAB, Germany · Audio Only
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Compassionate listening helps others suffer less, but it requires more than just silence; resistance or defensiveness acts like a wall. Mindfulness practice provides the opportunity to look deeply, seeing the suffering in others to allow compassion to arise. This compassion protects the listener from anger, embodying the role of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. When witnessing someone hurting others, use skillful means to help directly or indirectly, showing better ways to handle situations while believing in their nature of awakening. Regarding difficult work environments, one might look for another job or write a letter using the language of loving kindness, stating facts of suffering without blame. If “watering flowers” is rejected in a relationship, it may be because “garbage” was also watered; practice selective watering and apologize for past unskillfulness. The Third Mindfulness Training distinguishes sexual desire from true love.

Meditation on death allows one to cherish every moment and enjoy being alive. The deepest meditation is on no birth and no death. Like a cloud that transforms into rain or snow but never passes from being into non-being, our true nature is no birth and no death. Nirvana is this state, and birth and death are merely notions. A day with twenty-four hours is enough when living fully. The Diamond Sutra teaches that lifespan is just an idea; time to enjoy is always available if one is free from worries. The present moment is made of the past and the future. When well-established in the present, the past becomes an object of inquiry and the future is prepared for, without being pulled away by sorrow or fear.

To address a wandering mind, cultivate the capacity to enjoy doing nothing. Make sitting and walking meditation interesting by touching the wonders of life or practicing the fifth mantra: inviting one’s mother to breathe with one’s lungs. Civil disobedience is a possibility for peace and justice if other steps fail, but requires careful preparation to ensure the intention is not to cause harm.

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