Finding Zen and Thich Nhat Hanh RIP
Zen Practice
Go outside for a walk
somewhere in a garden
with trees or plants
focus on soaking up the oxygen
given out by the greenery nearest you
allow yourself to relax
and touch love in the air
in the steps that you make
in the communal energy of living things
Feel the warmth in the sunshine
the brush of air on your skin
give yourself permission to taste it
bit by bit
whisper your gratitude. and bow deeply.
“This body is not me; I am not caught in this body,
I am life without boundaries, I have never been born
and I have never died.
Over there, the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies
all manifests from the basis of consciousness.
Since beginningless time I have always been free.
Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out.
Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek.
So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye.
Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before.
We shall always be meeting again at the true source.
Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.”
-Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Death, No Fear
with reference to Thich Nhat Hanh
and Sister Dang Nghiem in ‘Flowers in the Dark
“The Zen master Ling Chi said that the miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth. You breathe in. You become aware of the fact that you are alive. You are still alive and you are walking on this beautiful planet. The greatest of all miracles is to be alive”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.
