The Heart of The Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hhan is a Vietnamese Zen master, poet, peace activist, author and founder of the Plum Village Tradition. He coined the term “Engaged Buddhism” in his book ‘Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire‘. He promotes non-violent solutions to conflict through deep listening and loving speech. During his 1966 stay in the US he had a dialogue with Martin Luther King and urged him to publicly denounce the Vietnamese War. In 1967 King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination, King said, “I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity”

The Book takes us on a journey through some of the essential teachings of The Buddha. This includes The Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Paths and other teachings, such as The Three Bodies of Buddha, The Tree Jewels and The Four Immeasurable Minds. It closes with some discourses, These are ‘Turning the Wheel of the Dharma’ (Dhama Cakka Pavattana Sutta), ‘The Great Forty’ (Mahacattarisaka Sutta) and ‘Right View’ (Sammaditthi Sutta).

Anyone who has listened to any of Thay’s (the name his students use) Dharma talks will recognise the open, gentle and compassionate style. If you haven’t listened, here’s a short clip of Thay explaining the concept of Emptiness (Śūnyatā)

It is not necessary to be a Buddhist to understand the concepts outlined in the book. They are presented as ways that anyone can use to transform their own life. He brings his own experiences into the book. He is someone who has experienced the effects of war and all the painful losses connected to it through his peace work in the Vietnamese war. He has looked into that void and come out with compassion in his heart. He urges us not to run away from our suffering. ‘Without suffering, you cannot grow. Without suffering, you cannot get the peace and joy you deserve.’

When he explains the First Noble Truth he is keen to debunk the idea that because the Buddha said that life is suffering that all life is suffering. Some students of Buddhism have tried to show that everything on earth is suffering.

Thay is keen to emphasize the art of stopping. There are two components of meditation. These are Shamatha and vipashyana. Vipashyana (looking deeply) is the part that brings insight. Often the vipashyana part is more stressed but without shamatha (stopping) there is no insight. He uses an amusing Zen story about a man on a horse to make the point. The horse gallops along quickly as though the rider has somewhere important to go. A man watching him on the road shouts, “Where are you going?” and the man on the horse replies, “I don’t know! Ask the horse!” This is us. We don’t know where we are going and we don’t know how to stop.

Of course the aim of the Four Noble Truths is to realise well-being. The path to well-being is mindfulness. Thay uses the simple analogy of a toothache, “When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is happiness. But later, when we do not have a toothache, we don’t treasure our non-toothache. Practising mindfulness helps us to learn to appreciate the well-being that is already there.”

There are touching stories from Thay’s own life in the book. He tells of his time in Vietnam. He ordained a monk called Thich Nhat Tri. It was at the time when he was setting up the School of Youth for Social Service. The communists accused them of being pro-American and the Americans saw them as being disguised communists. Nhat Tri was walking on the streets of Saigon, when an American soldier spat on his head. When Nhat Tri came home he cried and cried. Being a young man he was tempted to fight back. Thay held him in his arms to help him transform his hurt. Thay said, “My child you were not born to hold a gun. You were born to be a monk, and your power is the power of understanding and love. The American soldier considered you an enemy. That was a wrong perception of his. We need ‘soldiers’ who can go to the front armed only with understanding and love.” Thay realised that the soldier did what he did because of wrong perceptions due to the propaganda that he had been fed. Sadly Nhat Tri was kidnapped and was never seen again. This passage really gets to the heart of what moved Thay to be the person he is. I will finish with a further quote that sums up Thay. “I survived for Brother Nhat Tri and for so many others who died in order to bring the message of forgiveness, love, and understanding. I share this so they will not have died in vain.”

For More information on the work of Tich Nhat Hanh click on the link below