I am deeply grateful for my discovery of the words and loving presence of Thich Nhat Hahn in recent years. It was very late in the day of his time with us here before his passing last week and late, as well, in my life. That makes my encounter with him all the more precious. No matter how many times I resisted his message, Thay, as he is known, continued to invite me to listen. Now, he is not only living in Vietnam. He is everywhere.
Copies of my 2019 essay collection, Twilight Time: Aging in Amazement, are available directly from me (signed) or from Amazon or your local bookseller.
My mother and sister were fortunate to see him in person in Chicago back in the late 80s. Such a gentle and wise soul. This is one of my favorite stories about him:
When Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh was invited to the San Francisco Zen Center, the students asked him what they could do to improve their practice. He had entered a monastery at age sixteen, was an ordained monk, and had endured the horrors of the war in Vietnam. I imagine they expected some rigorous prescription for deepening their spiritual life.
Thich Nhat Han's response: 'You guys get up too early for one thing; you should get up a little later. And your practice is too grim. I have just two instructions for you. One is to breathe, and one is to smile.'"
:)
When I saw the Dalai Lama in Sun Valley in 2005, what struck me most was how jolly he was. The Jolly Dalai, we called him. When he laughed, his whole body jiggled up and down.
When someone asked him how to balance the demands of her family life with her career and her spiritual practice, he answered "I do not know. That is not my life. Only you know that answer." I so appreciated his honesty!
I think Thich Nhat Hanh was the same way. Joyful. Playful. Honest. Grateful. Contemplative. He introduced me to the idea of walking meditation, which was quite transformative for me.
This morning when I was meditating, I saw Thay sitting opposite me with that smile on his face. I wanted him to tell me how to deepen my practice....just like the students in San Francisco. He simply said, "I will help you" and I knew it was true.
The messages of all the spiritual teachers and sacred scriptures, practices, prayers, and ecstatic connections all conspired to point me to that mystic realm of the true, and there is guidance (if I can notice it) at each stage of life. The entire process is so personal, yet impersonal. My path is only for me, yet others have all found theirs in their own way too. Wayshowers like Thay have pointed to the moon for us, and so I bow in gratitude.
I love what you've written about the teachings being personal, yet impersonal. I always think of water. All rivers lead to the same sea, but each one has its own species of fish.
My spiritual teacher, besides Jesus Christ, is St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived a life of poverty and love - not for poverty’s sake but because he was touched by love in a very deep and profound way and he sought to spread that love and only love to those in most need. He stripped himself of riches in order to identify with those who were poor, homeless and marginalized by society. He did this in love for the “suffering Christ” in all. He said “rejoice when among people who are looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside. You should not be ashamed, but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ…..was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms.”
Thank you, Patty. I'm very touched by the idea of solidarity with the poor which has been largely overshadowed by the gospel of success and the demonization of poverty in this culture.
My mother and sister were fortunate to see him in person in Chicago back in the late 80s. Such a gentle and wise soul. This is one of my favorite stories about him:
When Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh was invited to the San Francisco Zen Center, the students asked him what they could do to improve their practice. He had entered a monastery at age sixteen, was an ordained monk, and had endured the horrors of the war in Vietnam. I imagine they expected some rigorous prescription for deepening their spiritual life.
Thich Nhat Han's response: 'You guys get up too early for one thing; you should get up a little later. And your practice is too grim. I have just two instructions for you. One is to breathe, and one is to smile.'"
:)
When I saw the Dalai Lama in Sun Valley in 2005, what struck me most was how jolly he was. The Jolly Dalai, we called him. When he laughed, his whole body jiggled up and down.
When someone asked him how to balance the demands of her family life with her career and her spiritual practice, he answered "I do not know. That is not my life. Only you know that answer." I so appreciated his honesty!
I think Thich Nhat Hanh was the same way. Joyful. Playful. Honest. Grateful. Contemplative. He introduced me to the idea of walking meditation, which was quite transformative for me.
This morning when I was meditating, I saw Thay sitting opposite me with that smile on his face. I wanted him to tell me how to deepen my practice....just like the students in San Francisco. He simply said, "I will help you" and I knew it was true.
The messages of all the spiritual teachers and sacred scriptures, practices, prayers, and ecstatic connections all conspired to point me to that mystic realm of the true, and there is guidance (if I can notice it) at each stage of life. The entire process is so personal, yet impersonal. My path is only for me, yet others have all found theirs in their own way too. Wayshowers like Thay have pointed to the moon for us, and so I bow in gratitude.
I love what you've written about the teachings being personal, yet impersonal. I always think of water. All rivers lead to the same sea, but each one has its own species of fish.
I will miss Thay deeply. He has been a huge influence in my life, too.
Thank you so much for finding my Substack. I look forward to reading Mostly Useful.
My spiritual teacher, besides Jesus Christ, is St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived a life of poverty and love - not for poverty’s sake but because he was touched by love in a very deep and profound way and he sought to spread that love and only love to those in most need. He stripped himself of riches in order to identify with those who were poor, homeless and marginalized by society. He did this in love for the “suffering Christ” in all. He said “rejoice when among people who are looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside. You should not be ashamed, but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ…..was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms.”
Thank you, Patty. I'm very touched by the idea of solidarity with the poor which has been largely overshadowed by the gospel of success and the demonization of poverty in this culture.
Thank you.....I agree!