Welcome to episode 58 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino talk about healing the body. Brother Phap Huu is back in Plum Village, five weeks after undergoing surgery on one of his knees, ready to discuss dealing with ill health after 21 years as a practitioner of mindfulness. How can we accept what is going on in our bodies but also heal and be present?   The conversation touches upon many relevant topics, such as deep endurance of pain and suffering; being mindful of your body and coming home to it; recognizing ‘the fear’; Thich Nhat Hanh’s journey of being in hospital and dealing with health issues (as recalled by his attendants); accepting the present moment; learning to be teachers; impermanence; and more. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Gatha Poemshttps://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises ‘How to Dwell Happily in the Present Moment’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjfGvC-55GQ Stepping Into Freedomhttps://plumvillage.org/books/stepping-into-freedom ‘The Five Earth Touchings’https://plumvillage.org/key-practice-texts/the-five-earth-touchings Sister True Dedicationhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem Brother Phap Linhhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh Neural pathwayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_pathway ‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village Quotes “In Buddhism, dying is not just the moment when we breathe our last breath. Because dying – the ‘no birth, no death’ – is the insight that there’s always birth and there’s always death in every moment. And that’s why we are ever changing and recognizing that we have to learn to let go of everything we hold dear – even our health. Our true belongings are our actions of body, speech, and mind.” “It’s the cultivation of the practice that allows you – in this difficult time [ill health], when there’s so much energy in the opposite direction – to pull back and rest in that place.” “The only moment we have in life is the present moment. The past will become a memory, will become lessons, will become a legacy. And the future is not yet here. So all we have is the present moment.” “The present moment always teaches us to accept, let go, and embrace and dance with what we have.”

Welcome to episode 57 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino are joined by Clover Hogan, climate activist and founder of the Force of Nature NGO. Together, they discuss activism in times of emerging polycrisis, dealing with growing anxiety, empowering young activists, and turning despair into fuel for change in the climate movement (and beyond) – at both collective and individual levels. Clover Hogan is a 24-year-old climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety, and the founding Executive Director of Force of Nature – a youth non-profit mobilizing mindsets for climate action. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, consulted in the boardrooms of Fortune 50 companies, and helped students in more than 50 countries take action. Clover has taken the stage alongside global change-makers such as Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva, and interviewed the 14th Dalai Lama, while her TED Talk has been viewed almost two million times. In addition, Clover shares about her first retreats in Plum Village (and why it is her favorite place on Earth) and how Thay’s teachings have impacted her activism; the pressure, as a teen activist, “to be optimistic and determined”; stepping out of her “bubble of climate privilege”; avenues to creating a regenerative organizational culture; the collective consciousness of the youth movement; lessons learnt from running Force of Nature; fear, disillusionment, and despair in the climate movement; working with intentionality; old practices for new activism; why a spiritual practice is essential; and much more. Brother Phap Huu and Jo contribute leadership guidance from different perspectives; relevant stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s own activism; teachings from Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism; advice about accessing the wisdom already inside us all; and mindful ways and practical tools for engaging with ‘the other side’ and showing up in a world in crisis – as an activist, but also in other roles.The episode ends with a guided meditation from the Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online course produced by the Plum Village community. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Clover Hoganhttps://www.cloverhogan.com/ The Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet online coursehttps://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet Lazy dayshttps://plumvillage.org/library/clips/the-art-of-being Polycrisishttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polycrisis Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and the Four Noble Truths’https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/true-love-and-the-four-noble-truths Retreats Calendarhttps://plumvillage.org/retreats/retreats-calendar#filter=.region-eu Christiana Figuereshttp://christianafigueres.com/#/ The Organic Happy Farmshttps://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm ‘51 Mental Formations’https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation COP26https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop26 Limited liability companies (LLCs)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company The Stonewall uprisinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots The civil rights movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement Hollyhockhttps://hollyhock.ca/ Dharma Talks: ‘Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels’ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/taking-refuge-in-the-three-jewels-sr-chan-duc-spring-retreat-2018-05-20 ‘The Pebble Meditation’https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation Quotes “Plum Village is what I want the world to look like. [Experiencing] that was really profound, because I hadn’t found that in a place or in a community. It felt like a distant utopian vision and, frankly, trying to reintegrate back into the world was quite difficult. The place itself is a lesson in what the world can look like and how we can show up for one another.” “One of my favorite things about Plum Village is the deep ecology that supports the practice, and the feeling of interbeing and being interconnected with the abundance of life all around you. I never thought about the fact that, yes, the water in my cup of tea was once a cloud. It’s a very humbling thought.” “Our practice in Plum Village is learning to reconnect to this simple action: we’re all creating a body, speech, and mind, and seeing its deep impact in the past, present, and future. And this is Engaged Buddhism.” “All the wisdom is inside people. It’s not like Plum Village is here to give you wisdom. Plum Village is here to open up and share the wisdom it knows so that it can resonate like a tuning fork to one’s own wisdom; it’s only when we’re quiet that we can listen to the quiet voice of our wisdom.” “In that pit of grief, I realized that I couldn’t perform these mental gymnastics of ‘Everything’s fine’, ‘We’re going to fix this’, ‘We’re going to save the world’, that kind of savior complex. We can’t change everything. And I realized that the only way that I could actually travel through those feelings and not be swallowed by them whole was to talk about them. So I started talking about this terror about the future. And other young people, in particular, started coming forward and saying, ‘Yeah, we’re feeling the same thing. We’re terrified, and we also feel powerless and we feel a lot of despair in response to this widespread denial.’ [Whereas,] people in positions of power, who have every resource and privilege at their disposal to take action in a big way, continue to greenwash and spend money on being seen to do the right thing rather than actually doing it. That has fueled a lot of despair and disillusionment in my generation.” “A lot of young people feel really hopeless and, at the same time, a lot of people in positions of power are clinging on to this old system, this old way of being, which has created the climate crisis, which continues to perpetuate the climate crisis. This story of separation, this global economic system of extracting from nature, commodifying nature, exploiting people. They’re refusing, even as the climate crisis unfolds around us, to really wake up to it, and, critically, to hold space for the really heavy emotions that come with the realization of what we’ve done and the communities and people that we’ve chosen to sacrifice through our inaction.” “Spiritual practice is not a nice-to-have, it’s essential. We can’t do this work without that foundation.” “The Buddha said, ‘My teachings are not to be followed blindly. You have to come and taste it for yourself. You have to come and experience it for yourself.’” “Love is a verb, right? So we have to learn to generate that love: a seed that we all have, the beginner’s mind, the mind of love.” “As a monk and as leaders and as parents, as friends, sometimes our teacher says all we have to do is touch the seed of wisdom in others. Allow them to touch the love that already exists in them: the ability to be kind, the skillfulness that they can cultivate inside. And sometimes it’s not by words, it’s by action, by how we show up, by how we are present for others. Because that’s also education, that’s also transmission.” “We think that by not saying anything, we’re not transmitting, but just by listening, you’re also transmitting space for the other person to see and hear themselves. And so, the power of presence is very real, and is not something that we have to wait 20 or 30 years to have; the wisdom of just one breath can be the thread to bring the mind home to the body, so that you can truly be there for yourself and for the ones around you. And by being present, you can offer so much space.” “In the wake of [spending time in] Plum Village and trying to maintain the practices as much as possible, I am working with a lot more intentionality. I’m not saying yes to things from a place of scarcity or obligation; I’m saying yes to things where I genuinely feel I can contribute in a meaningful way.” “We sometimes work with nine- and 10-year-olds who can very eloquently tell you why capitalism is a broken system. They can explain neoliberalism to you. They can explain why an LLC [limited liability company] shareholder model is not fit for purpose within business. These young people are so switched on, and, because they haven’t been around long enough to be indoctrinated into a lot of these systems, have the capacity to stand outside of them and to ask the question, ‘Why?’ Why do we have a globalized food system that is so disconnected, that exploits people? Why is it, when I go to the supermarket, everything is wrapped in plastic? Why is it that there are people experiencing homelessness in my street when there are entire apartment blocks going empty for investors? Why is it that we’ve failed to solve the climate crisis?” “Asking ‘Why?’, and then following that up with ‘What if?’ – like, ‘What if we did things differently?’ Young people have that disruptive energy. And that’s why they have been the beating heart of every social justice and environmental movement, whether it’s the civil rights movement or the suffragettes or the Stonewall uprising. And so, helping young people to tend to that passion and realize what a super power it is, that’s how I can best show up.” “Buddhism talks a lot about transforming suffering, and people think we only think about suffering. But that is a wrong perception. The balance and the nutriment that helps us is that we cultivate joy and happiness in our community. And this is real. And only by joy and happiness can we have enough well-being to take care of the loads of suffering.” “To say ‘no’ can be a mantra. But ‘no’ with intention, not of ignoring and avoiding; ‘no’ when we know our limits, when we know, ‘If I do more, I’m just going to be angry and frustrated.’” “When suffering is there, the other energy that we need to bring is light, love, and joy.” “Instead of trying to run away from those emotions, or allowing them to ferment into despair, how do we turn them into the fuel that motivates us? How do we think about those emotions as the compass that tells us where we should be focusing our energy?” “Being human isn’t some pursuit of just experiencing happiness, just experiencing joy. Your capacity to experience joy is a reflection of your capacity to experience suffering. And rather than trying to run away from those emotions, it’s about removing judgment from them.” “How you are inside is what you create outside.” “You can’t swim in the same river as the same person, because we’re always changing.”

Welcome to episode 56 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino talk about the annual family retreats at Plum Village (the one time when families visit with their children): how they came about, and how the dharma can touch the lives of children and teenagers. The presenters share their unique experiences of these retreats, and stories of transformation involving parents and children, including ones featuring Thich Nhat Hanh and his deep teachings and special understanding of the youngest practitioners. Going deeper, the conversation delves into ways to remain compassionate and continue to listen deeply when dealing with a child; collective energy and co-creating an environment for children; the insight of nondiscrimination; the art of slowing down and being present for your children; authority and separation; the fourteen mindfulness trainings; and more. Plus, why do people bring their families to a Zen monastery in the south of France? Are mindful practitioners better parents?Brother Phap Huu further shares how the retreats are run, some popular mindfulness practices, and how monastics work with different age groups. Jo talks about generational pain and the importance of deepening our relationship with our children, at any age.The episode ends with ‘Practicing with the Five-Year-old in Me and in My Parents’, a recording of a meditation guided by Thich Nhat Hanh. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Old Path White Cloudshttps://www.parallax.org/product/old-path-white-clouds-walking-in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha/ The Organic Happy Farmhttps://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm ‘The Pebble Meditation’https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation Looking Deeply: ‘Healing the Inner Child’https://plumvillage.org/articles/healing-the-inner-child ‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings’https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings The Bodhisattva vowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vow Mahāyānahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana‘Practicing with the Five-Year-Old Child in Me and in My Parents’https://web.plumvillage.app/item/vToqvVSlq6hvFCjp3QUy ‘Practicing with the Child in Me (Guided Meditation)’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG8OmTzmNW8 The Way Out Is In: ‘Healing Our Inner Child: Pathways to Embrace Our Suffering (Episode #10)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/healing-our-inner-child-pathways-to-embrace-our-suffering Quotes “Now that I reflect on my childhood, what were the gems in my upbringing? One that stands out very clearly is when my parents were in Plum Village, because somehow Plum Village energy and the creation of the space was developed together; everybody co-created the retreat and you got to be yourself. We weren’t competing to see who was more mindful, or who was going to become the Buddha first. Then everybody slowly un-layered all of the masks they were wearing, as well as starting to embrace and accept themselves. And that presence has a very deep impact on a child.” “It does take a community to help a child grow.” “When the Buddha became enlightened, the first thing he did was to create a community. And I would even say that the Buddha’s journey goes all the way back to the support of children.” “Every action that Thay produced through body, speech, and mind was a transmission.” “The baby may not understand the words, but they absorb the collective energy.” “Be mindful of your thoughts. Be mindful of your speech. Be mindful of your presence, because it gives off an invisible transmission, just like radio signals that one can receive.” “What is the meaning of life? It is to be present enough that we can love, that we can see our interconnectedness with all those around us. Your parents, your brother, your sister: even though, sometimes, they make you angry, deep down inside, you do love them. And maybe our whole life journey is not to learn about that, but to live the message of love.” “Moments of care, moments for being with others, are also time for oneself. And when you shift that narrative, your energy changes; suddenly, your love becomes boundless. You are channeling and practicing non-self and you’re also practicing selflessness. And that is one of the deepest wisdoms of Buddhism.” “I’m holding this pebble, and if it represents a good deed and I throw it in the pond, where I know it will create ripples, then it seems that my good deeds will have a similar impact. So it is important to cultivate good deeds.” “Children are a wonderful bell of mindfulness, because they press all of our buttons. Because they often break the rules in a way that adults don’t with each other. They sometimes speak truths that are uncomfortable and that we don’t want to hear.” “Unless something is healed, it gets passed on, because the next child will witness that pain and soak it up. They either think it’s normal behavior, or they try to swallow it to take it away from their parents, because they want their parents to be happy. That’s their key wish: for their parents to be happy, not for themselves to be happy. When people recognize that their own healing also heals the past, that’s a great motivator; they’re actually healing the wound that was felt in their parents, their grandparents, or their great-grandparents. And then they’re changing the future, especially for their own children.” “The heart of mindfulness is being in the present moment.” “We heal the past in the present moment.”

Welcome to episode 55 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino discuss spiritual journeys, why they take a lifetime, and why there are no quick fixes on the spiritual path. But how does this fit into busy lives and the instant answers and results we have become accustomed to? They also touch upon the difficulties of maintaining the practice, the reason there are no certifications for mindfulness, and why a retreat is not enough. And what type of happiness do you most want to generate in this life? Brother Phap Huu shares insights from both Buddhist teachings and recent Plum Village retreats where he interacted with families and teenagers – beginners on the spiritual path – and suggests essential practical steps for integrating the practice of mindfulness into busy schedules.The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Thank you for listening.Enjoy! Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources The Way Out Is In: ‘Engaged Buddhism: Applying the Teachings in Our Present Moment (Episode #9)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/engaged-buddhism-applying-the-teachings-in-our-present-moment The Way Out Is In: ‘Regeneration and Musical Inspiration: The North American Tour (Episode #53)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/regeneration-and-musical-inspiration-the-north-american-tour-episode-53 ‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village ‘The Pebble Meditation’https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/the-pebble-meditation Hollyhockhttps://hollyhock.ca/ The Bodhisattva vowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva_vow Quotes “If Buddhism is not engaged, it is not Buddhism.” “Mindfulness is always mindfulness, first of all, of suffering. That’s why we practice. Because, to understand life, there always has to be an object for us to reflect on.”“Thay always says that walking meditation is not about arriving at a destination, but to arrive in the ultimate, which is the freedom of the now.” “Suffering, as a noble truth, teaches us the values of life and allows us to know what peace is. If you only live in peace, you don’t have gratitude for the wonderful conditions that you have. But if we meet suffering, it reminds us of the life that we’ve experienced and the life that we want to create together.” “When you look at the great arc of history, the idea of a quick fix falls apart very quickly. It seems ridiculous. A quick fix to what? To the millions of years of lives that have come before, which are in us?” “The Buddha said happiness and suffering are two truths that always go together. As long as there’s that thick mud, there can be some flowers there.” “What is the world made out of? Each and every one of us. What is the collective consciousness made out of? Each and every one of us. What is the collective habit made out of? Each and every one of us.”

Welcome to episode 54 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. This week, we bring you a very special joint episode of The Way Out Is In and fellow podcast Outrage + Optimism, which explores the stories behind climate change headlines. From the peace and tranquility of the International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino speak with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. Christiana Figueres, a student of Thich Nhat Hanh, was one of the architects of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, and is a valued member of the Plum Village Sangha. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016, she is also the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of Outrage + Optimism, and co-author of the bestselling The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. Tom Rivett-Carnac is a political strategist, author, and podcaster who has spent more than 20 years working to address the climate and ecological crises. He is also a Founding Partner of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast Outrage + Optimism, and co-author of The Future We Choose. Listeners of both podcasts are invited to join an intimate and deep conversation which covers the spiritual elements missing from the climate movement; moving beyond linear timelines into exponential transformation; how to develop the power within ourselves to drive change; non-attachment to views; listening without judgment; what happens when we all stop; and much more. Plus, what is spiritual power and how can it support us? So bring your tea to the table and let the radical collaboration begin. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/ And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resourcesChristiana Figuereshttp://christianafigueres.com/#/ Tom Rivett-Carnachttps://www.globaloptimism.com/tom-rivett-carnac The Art of Powerhttps://www.parallax.org/product/art-of-power/ Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Villagehttps://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village The B Teamhttps://bteam.org/ The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)https://unfccc.int/Zen and the Art of Saving the Planethttps://www.harpercollins.com/products/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet-thich-nhat-hanh Music for Difficult Times: Awakening the Heart of Compassion by Brother Phap Linhhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YarhXTDs8Z4 The Way Out Is In: ‘Being the Change We Want to See in the World: A Conversation with Christiana Figueres (Episode #21)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/being-the-change-we-want-to-see-in-the-world-a-conversation-with-christiana-figueres-episode-21 The Way Out Is In: ‘Benefitting from a Spiritual Practice: In Conversation with Tom Rivett-Carnac (Episode #37)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/benefitting-from-a-spiritual-practice-in-conversation-with-tom-rivett-carnac-episode-37 The Way Out Is In: ‘Bringing the Ultimate Dimension Down to Earth (Episode #40)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/bringing-the-ultimate-dimension-down-to-earth-episode-40 Aeschylushttps://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aeschylus Quotes “Recognizing our own presence is already a power.” “The linearity of time is something that those of us who work on climate change live with on a daily basis. We have an alarm clock that is with us all the time because we have very clear timelines. We know that by 2100, we absolutely must have guaranteed that we do not go over 1.5 degrees [Celsius]. We know that in order to get there, we have to be at net zero by 2050. We know that in order to get to net zero by 2050, we have to be at one half of global emissions by 2030. And we know that to be at half emissions by 2030, we have to reduce yearly by 7%. So we take time and we pull it into our current experience and we derive mathematically, we derive then the implications of time upon our work. And so it is not surprising that those of us who work on climate change have a huge anxiety about time.” “Time and space, we have to be attentive and mindful of them, but we can also be free from them, because this present moment that we’re living deeply is the seed that we need to plant for the future.” “Some of our transformation and actions of today, we may not see them until two, three, or five generations later – but nothing is lost. And that is the insight. And I believe it’s the truth of karma. The word karma, for us, is not what you hear in music: ‘What comes around, goes around,’ ‘Do better’… Yes, do better, but karma is much more profound than that. The actions of today, we don’t see them. Some of it, we will experience right away; we experience the transformation right away. But there are deeper transformations that need time for ripening.” “Love has no frontier, it goes on forever.” “There’s no way to find common ground without respecting and understanding the differences, because then you don’t see what’s common.” “You can be a different person in how you show up.” “When you are able to live in the present moment, the right action emerges out of that space, out of that ultimate dimension that you are able to inhabit. If you can stay there and can trust that the best way to prepare for the future is to be in the present moment when it comes – rather than spend all of your time in your head trying to plan it out and think it through, which I think a lot of people get stuck in. Then, when that moment comes, what’s needed is there.” “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God” – Aeschylus.