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Questions and Answers

Thich Nhat Hanh · October 15, 2013 · Deer Park Monastery, United States

This is the question & answer session offered by Thay for the Finding Our True Home Retreat at Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, CA. October 15, 2013. 103-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California during the 2013 Nourishing Great Togetherness teaching tour. The sangha is on the 6-day retreat with the theme Finding Our True Home. Today we offer a session of questions and answers.

How can I practice to have a connection with my father who has passed away? Also, can you talk about becoming a monastic?
How can I stop being obsessed with playing video games?
How do I practice compassion for those who are harmful to my family and friends?
What is the purpose of doing good and creating happiness if they inter-are with suffering?
How do I become more stable and confident in the decisions that I make and not to seek assurances from others?
How do I work with having too much energy and a fear of burning myself out?
I am fearful of the toxic air we are breathing, especially as it related to chem trails, and I am also angry. What can I do as an activist with these feelings?
If I cause something and it doesn’t effect until the next life, who reaps the effects if there is no-self?
I suffer from PTSD and I often wake up from nightmares. Are there practices I can do to work with my nightmares?
I am a new grandmother whose heart has filled with love and a responsibility about the future for my grandchildren. I feel alone and fearful about the future.
Seizing the moment for peace. Can you advise us on transforming our feelings of frustration to act for peace?
How can I behave in a way so as to not be a victim?

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Part of the following collections

The Way Out Is In

From the Living Gems Curation Team

Responding to War with Peace

Curated by Julie Achieng

Previous Talk October 14, 2013

Being Beautiful, Being Freedom

Next Talk October 16, 2013

The River of the Mind

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The title, description and transcript may contain inaccuracies.

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How can I stay mindful when PTSD nightmares still arise?

Sangha Member

Question

Dear Thay, dear Sangha, my name is Julie and I'm from here in San Diego. Two years ago I received the Five Mindfulness Trainings, and since then I've been studying for the Fourteen informally. One thing that's been holding me back is because I have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

00:59:18

Over the past few years, this practice has brought me a lot of peace and helped me live in the present moment. The one thing holding me back from taking the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings is I feel like I need to get completely past it. And one of the things I'm still struggling with is nightmares.

00:59:39

Even here at beautiful Deer Park, I have nightmares and fear in the evening. So my question is, is there a practice or something I can do to help with staying mindful even when waking up from nightmares so that I can continue to experience peace?

Thich Nhat Hanh

Answer

Every time you wake up from a nightmare, you feel so happy. And that happiness cannot be without nightmare. And if we know how to cherish every moment of our daily life, not only we enjoy our daily life when we are awake, but we will indirectly reduce the amount of nightmare during the night.

01:00:51

Because I myself have nightmares from time to time. Because our consciousness carries within itself the collective consciousness of society. My generation has gone through two wars, one with the French and one with the Americans. And there is a lot of death, destruction, and despair.

01:01:31

With the practice, you can reduce slowly and heal, but you cannot heal completely. And the suffering can play a positive role also. Because when you look, like yesterday, yesterday I was sitting on the mountain and saw young Americans sitting meditation up there. I felt so wonderful.

01:02:01

It's completely different with the time when young Americans went there and killed and got killed. So we are able to do this today. Young Americans and young Vietnamese are sitting together producing compassion and joy. It's very beautiful. It's exactly the opposite of what we had during the sixties.

01:02:28

And that is very healing. The healing process continues. So the nightmare can still be helpful for us to treasure, to appreciate what we are able to have today. Each moment can be a moment of happiness.

01:02:50

[One sound of the bell.]

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