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
Twenty-Four Hours of Non-Fear: Mindfulness Practice and the Insight of Interbeing
I begin each morning by lighting incense, making the strong vow to live my twenty-four hours deeply—day 277 before the year 2000—refusing to let anger, jealousy, or hatred spoil my gift of time. Supported by mindfulness and community, I call each day by its number and practise:
- Three sounds of the bell morning and evening
- Nine in- and out-breaths (three per bell)
- A simple “breathing room” with a table, a single flower, cushions and a bell where, whenever upset, we bow to the flower (our own peace, beauty and goodness) and restore calm without thought—just smiling and breathing.
True happiness rests on non-fear, solidity and peace, not on excitement. By practising walking meditation with the gatha
“I have arrived, I am home—
In the here, in the now,
I am solid, I am free—
In the ultimate, I dwell,”
we touch the kingdom of God or pure land in every step. This combines samatha (stopping agitation) and vipassanā (looking deeply), revealing two dimensions of reality:
• The historical (birth, death, coming, going)
• The ultimate (no birth, no death—our ground of being, nirvana).
Inviting the wisdom of non-discrimination, I look at my right and left hands as equals—no superiority or inferiority—and learn from them that compassion arises when we recognize our shared origin. All phenomena “inter-are”: nothing exists separately. Emptiness (śūnyatā) means being empty of a separate self, not of existence itself. The Buddha’s teaching of pratītya-samutpāda (conditioned manifestation) shows that when conditions are sufficient, things arise; when they cease, they vanish—but never were independent. We let go of four basic notions—self, human being, living being and lifespan—to live freely, transform suffering and bring compassion and peace wherever we walk.
