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Helping children connect with a father who died before they could remember him
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Questions and Answers
Questions and Answers
Thich Nhat Hanh
· August 28, 2008
· Nottingham, United Kingdom
· Audio Only
Not yet reviewed
The title, description and transcript may contain inaccuracies.
Thich Nhat Hanh opens a session of questions and answers, inviting young people to ask the first five questions after listening to the bell and mindful breathing, then welcomes questions from the rest of the sangha.
- Have you reached enlightenment, and if so, how?
- Why are we here on earth, and why do people believe in God?
- What’s it like in Plum Village?
- What do you do to defend yourself?
- Why do monks wear brown robes when they could choose other colors?
- A friend at school isn’t nice to me—how should I respond?
- When are you happiest?
- Do lay practitioners following the Five Mindfulness Trainings show more focus and strength in their Buddhism than monastics, given worldly distractions?
- How can we act wisely to disarm structural violence, such as nuclear weapons and energy policies?
- In the Fourth Mindfulness Training, can “utter words that can cause the family to break” include an exception “unless it is in their best interest” for toxic or abusive couples?
- How can I act wisely on global warming when governments and institutions aren’t preventing enormous suffering quickly enough?
- How can I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha on a daily basis?
- As a sculptor in the West, should I make Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or let the natural world or global issues speak through my art?
- As a medical student, how can I best help those who are suffering or approaching death and manage my own distress?
- A friend who found God tells me I’m going to hell—should I speak up or remain silent?
- As a yoga teacher, what’s the best way to prepare the body for practice to prevent stress?
- How do you transform hurt from embracing it to letting it go when the person who hurt you refuses any communication?
- In the Third Mindfulness Training, what do the terms “love” and “long-term commitment” mean, and why use “long-term commitment” instead of “marriage”?
- As a single parent whose children have no memory of their deceased father, how can I help them connect with and keep alive his memory?
- Is there a danger for a musician or artist in expressing deep emotion that may water negative seeds in listeners’ store consciousness?
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Thay,
I
am
a
single
parent,
and
my
husband
died
ten
years
ago
when
my
youngest
two
children
were
three
months
old
and
two
years
old.
And
they
have
no
memory
of
their
father
at
all.
And
I'd
love
to
know
the
best
way
of
helping
them
connect
with
their
father
and
keeping
his
memory
alive.
And
I
have
trouble
with
that
too.
There
are
children
whose
father
are
still
alive,
but
they
cannot
connect
with
him,
with
them.
So
it's
not,
is
not
sure
that
with
the
father
is
still
alive
that
we
can,
we
can
do
better.
But
with
meditation,
it
is
possible
because
the
father
is
always
there,
fully
present
in
every
cell
of
the
child.
And
you
can
help
your
children
to
recognize
their
father,
physically
and,
and,
and
mentally
also.
Because
children
are
the
continuation
of
parents.
And
if
we
are
mindful,
we
can,
we
can
touch
our
father,
our
mother
at
every
moment.
This
hand
is
my
hand,
of
course,
but
it
is
also
the
hand
of
my
mother.
I
remember
that
when
I
was
a
small
child,
from
time
to
time
I
got
a
fever,
I
suffered.
And
when
my
mother
came
and
she
put
her
hand
on
my
forehead,
I
felt
wonderful.
I
suffered
less
right
away.
Now
my
mother
is
no
longer
there,
but
I
know
that
her
hand
is
still
available.
This
is
my
hand,
but
that
is
also
her
hand.
So
visualizing
this
is
her
hand,
I
touch
my
forehead,
and
her
hand
is
available
right
away.
So
your,
your
children's
father
are
available.
And
if
you
are
skillful
enough,
in
your
teaching,
and
then
you
can
help
them
touch
their
father
daily,
several
times.
And
there
are
so
many
things
that
remind
you
of
your
husband.
And
you
can
tell
them
that
when
I
see
you
smiling,
I
see
your
father.
And
in
that
way,
they
can
touch,
they
can
get
in
touch
with
their
father,
I
think
more
deeply
than
some
or
many
of
the
children
who,
whose
father
are
still
alive
but
who
have
difficulty
connecting
with
them.
Good
luck.
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