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
The Deep Listening of Avalokiteśvara
Deep listening is the most precious gift we can offer to the person we love: without the capacity to listen with compassion, we remain deaf to their suffering, we lose our calm, and communication breaks down, opening the door to pain, to anger, even to ultimate despair. To develop this quality, we train ourselves to:
- practice mindful breathing to calm ourselves and bring body and mind together,
- engage in deep looking, total presence in the here and now,
- address the other with loving speech, without reproach, offering a safe space for them to express their pain.
This path of compassionate listening echoes Avalokiteśvara (Quan The Am), the bodhisattva of compassion: only compassion, nourished every day, protects us from anger and allows us to hear the “cries of suffering in the world.” At the same time, the Four Noble Truths offer the framework:
- to recognize suffering,
- to identify its causes (unwholesome nutriments, prejudices, ignorance),
- to take refuge in the possibility of transformation,
- to follow the Noble Path (right view, loving speech, mindfulness of body and mind, mindful walking and eating) in order to cultivate well-being and restore communication.