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Social Sciences and Humanities - The Future of Buddhism
On January 12, 2005, with the approval of the Government and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, together with nearly 200 members of the Plum Village Sangha, returned to Vietnam after nearly 40 years of separation, giving Dharma talks and organizing retreats in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Thua Thien Hue, and Binh Dinh. The Master—Dharma name Trừng Quang, over 80 years old, with 60 years of practice—has trained many generations of monastics and lay practitioners, published over 100 works (Mother, the Manifestation of Love; Establishing the Pure Land, etc.), and is about to release more books such as Letting a Reed Boat Drift, Each Peaceful Step, The Miracle of Mindfulness, The Heart of the Buddha.
The keywords “deep listening” and “mindfulness” began the session: reciting the name of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in Sanskrit for ten minutes to open the heart and cultivate the inner strength of deep listening, helping to transform suffering for oneself and others. The Zen Master introduced the sound of the mindfulness bell, mindful breathing, and mindful steps as the foundation of “dwelling happily in the present moment”—the Pure Land right in this very moment—and emphasized that Buddhism in the West is not strictly a religion, but a path of cultivating insight, not requiring one to abandon their Jewish or Christian roots, helping young intellectuals to rediscover their tradition.
Mindfulness retreats in Europe and America attract hundreds to over a thousand practitioners each time, spending 6–7 days living fully with the breath, steps, eating, sitting, even using the restroom… in order to generate the energy of mindfulness, to recognize and transform the compost (suffering, fear, anger) into flowers (love, inclusiveness, peace). The Zen Master also shared the practices of deep listening and loving speech with politicians, the Indian Parliament, and American congresspeople; emphasizing that humanity and ethics are more important than belief, calling for the practice of mindfulness to prevent abortion, population explosion, hatred, and to bring about peace.
