We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Questions and Answers
We are still in a retreat (“Enlightenment Is Now or Never”) at Blue Cliff Monastery’s Great Togetherness Meditation Hall on October 6, 2009. This morning’s session of questions and answers is assisted by Brother Pháp Dung and Sister Đẳng Nghiêm, who will share the story of the YMCA retreat and the Prajñā Temple monks and nuns.
Three questions for children:
- Can I give you a hug?
- Where and when did you cut your hair?
- What do I do when I get mad at my brother and my sister?
Questions from teenagers, young adults, and others:
- Is it necessary to tell the story of a person who generated both much love and much hatred in order to help heal the wounds of love, and if so, how?
- Sometime in this next year, when lay and monastic practitioners gather for morning meditation, will you invite us all to practice mindful integration by sitting together?
- How can I have compassion for people in places of power who are consciously causing suffering out of greed, and do we have a responsibility to the people who suffer?
- Can mantra chanting be practiced together with the mindfulness of breathing you speak about?
- As an artist, musician, and composer whose craft requires many hours of solitary work, how can I serve people through music and resolve the conflict between solitary practice and community service?
- Are adopted children also our continuation in the same way as blood children, and can we love them as deeply?
- When I meditate and think of places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa where people are hurting each other, how should I approach that?
- Are there lessons or insights that can only be grasped through great suffering, and is suffering sometimes necessary to learn?
- How should I deal with the buzzing and ringing noise in my ears from hearing loss that interferes with my concentration in practice?
- Why am I unable to extend compassion to myself, being the one person I treat most unkindly despite feeling deep compassion for others?
- How can I overcome doubt and lack of confidence or faith that prevent me from committing to practice and attending the Sangha regularly?
