The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (Shambhala Pocket Classics)

by Thich Nhat Hanh

It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.

Nirvana, the ultimate reality, or God, is of the nature of no-birth and no-death. It is total freedom. We need to touch this reality to leave behind the fear connected with the idea of birth and death.

“This is, because that is.” This refers to the manifestation of phenomena on the basis of the law of interdependent origination.

So what is death? It is simply the cessation of manifestation, followed by other forms of manifestation.

Existence and nonexistence are just concepts. There is only manifestation and non-manifestation, which depend on our perception.

You are looking for relief for your pain; but the greatest relief that you can ever obtain comes from touching the nature of no-birth and no-death.

Because if we are mindful, if we can touch the wonders of life deeply, then the Pure Land, the Kingdom of God, is available to us.

Looking deeply we know that happiness is not possible when we don’t have understanding and compassion in us.

So my definition of the Pure Land of the Buddha, the Kingdom of God, is the place where there are plenty of opportunities for you to learn to be understanding and to be compassionate. When you have a lot of understanding and compassion, you are no longer afraid of suffering.

We need to look deeply into all those we love and recognize their true nature. We love our teacher, our father and mother, our children, our brothers and sisters, and when someone we love passes away, we feel great sorrow and believe we have lost that person. But ultimately nothing is lost. The true nature of those we love is unborn and undying.

We see into our own nature by bringing light to each act of our existence, living in a way that mindfulness is present all of the time.

“Go and wash your bowl.” This is the same as saying, “Go and live a realized life.”

Grasping and rejecting are only possible when you have not seen into the heart of reality.

And when we are free, we can ride on the waves of birth and death without fear, helping those who are drowning in the ocean of suffering.

When we learn to stop and be truly alive in the present moment, we are in touch with what’s going on within and around us.

Returning to the present moment, using our clear mind that exists right here and now, we can be in touch with liberation and enlightenment, as well as with the Buddha and all his disciples as living realities right in this moment.

But running away doesn’t end our suffering; it only prolongs it.

You should protect yourself and not allow the second arrow to come, because the second arrow comes from you.

Your anger is not your enemy; it’s you. It’s not good to do violence to yourself. Don’t say that mindfulness is good and anger is evil, and good has to fight evil.

Why do we continue to watch, even if the programs are not interesting at all? We watch because we want something to cover up our pain, sorrow, fear, and anger. We don’t want those feelings to come up, so we suppress them by consuming.

By practicing an embargo on our negative feelings, we create a situation of bad circulation in our psyche, suppressing our unwanted thought patterns and not allowing them to circulate. When we create a situation of bad circulation in our consciousness, it causes symptoms of depression and mental illness.

think living deeply in the present moment is what we have to learn and practice to face this feeling of insecurity.

“Breathing in, I know that life is precious in this moment. Breathing out, I cherish this moment of life.”

“Breathing in, I know that he is still alive in my arms. Breathing out, I feel so happy.”

Deep understanding is the substance of which true love is made.

According to the teaching of the Buddha, in true love there is no place for pride. If you are suffering, every time you are suffering you must go to the person in question and ask for his or her help.

By practicing mindful breathing and mindful walking, we strengthen the energy of mindfulness within us. We may need to practice and train ourselves for several weeks, or even several months, before we can overcome our pain and use loving speech. When our mindfulness is strong, it is much easier to look deeply into a situation and to give rise to understanding and compassion.

Listening with an open heart, we are able to keep compassion alive. Then we give the other person a real chance to express his or her feelings.

Master Linji exhorted us to be the masters of our own situation, but that doesn’t mean we need to fight and suppress others, but rather we need to be the masters of ourselves.

Mindfulness will help. Then we realize, “I’m thinking like this, I’m responsible for these thoughts. I’ve spoken like that, I’m responsible for my words. I’m doing this, and I’m responsible for this action.”

We only need to live these eight words, and it’s enough to make us Master Linji’s student, worthy to be his continuation: “Wherever we are, we are our true person.” Write these words and hang them somewhere to remind yourself.

We act on the basis of wrong perceptions all the time. We should not be sure of any perception we have. When you look at the beautiful sunset, you may be quite sure that you are seeing the sun as it is in that moment, but a scientist will tell you that the image of the sun that you see is the image of the sun from eight minutes ago.

Even if you are sure, check again.”

We have made ourselves suffer, we made a hell for ourselves and our beloved ones because of our perceptions. Are you sure of your perception?

Fear is an element that prevents us from letting go. We’re fearful that if we let go we’ll have nothing else to cling to. Letting go is a practice; it’s an art. One day, when you’re strong enough and determined enough, you’ll let go of the afflictions that make you suffer.

“You should not have an inferiority complex. I see in you some very good seeds that can be developed and make you into a great being. If you look more deeply within and get in touch with those wholesome seeds in you, you will be able to overcome your feelings of unworthiness and manifest your true nature.”

The Chinese teacher Master Guishan writes, We should not look down on ourselves. We should not see ourselves as worthless and always withdraw into the background.

Therapists, healers, caregivers, teachers, religious leaders, and those who are close to someone who suffers in this way all have the duty to help them see their true nature more clearly so that they can free themselves from the delusion that they are worthless.

So parents and teachers, siblings, and friends all have to be very careful and practice mindfulness in order to avoid sowing negative seeds in the minds of our children, family members, friends, and students.

If we can take one step freely and happily, touching the earth mindfully, we can take one hundred.

Thousands of feet are making a step together. And of course your mind can do that. Your mind can see thousands and millions of your ancestors’ feet are making a step together with you. That practice, using visualization, will shatter the idea, the feeling, that you are a separate self. You walk, and yet they walk.

You can walk for those who have attacked you, who have destroyed your home, your country, and your people. These people weren’t happy. They didn’t have enough love for themselves and for other people. They have made your life miserable and the life of your family and your people miserable. And there will be a time when you’ll be able to walk for them too. Walking like that, you become a Buddha; you become a bodhisattva filled with love, understanding, and compassion.

It is not about “doing” something; it’s about “being” something—being peace, being hope, being solid. Every action will come out of that, because peace, stability, and freedom always seek a way to express themselves in action. That is the spiritual dimension of our reality.

If we believe, for instance, that Buddhism is the only way to happiness, we may be practicing a kind of violence by discriminating against and excluding those who follow other spiritual paths.

In Vietnam we started a movement that we called “Engaged Buddhism.” We wanted Buddhism to be present in every walk of life—not just in the temple, but also in society, in our schools, our families, and our workplaces, even in politics and the military. Compassion and understanding should be present everywhere.

If there is no peace in our hearts, there can be no harmony among the peace workers. And if there is no harmony, there is no hope. If we’re divided, if we’re in despair, we can’t serve; we can’t do anything. Peace must begin with ourselves: with the practice of sitting quietly, walking mindfully, taking care of our body, releasing the tension in our body and in our feelings.

The moment when you sit down and begin to breathe in, calming your mind and your body, peace has become a reality. That kind of breathing is like praying. When there is the element of peace in you, you can connect with other people, and you can help others to be peaceful like you. Together you become a body of peace, the Sangha body of peace. The practice can bring peace to us right away; and when you’re more peaceful, more pleasant, you can be more effective in contacting other people and inviting them to join in the work of peacemaking.

Schoolteachers have to practice peace, and teach their students how to practice peace.

The president of a country or the head of a political party must practice peace, must pray for peace in his body and mind before he can be effective in asking other prime ministers and heads of state to join him in making peace.

If you think that compassion is passive, weak, or cowardly, then you don’t know what real understanding or compassion is. If you think that compassionate people do not resist and challenge injustice, you are wrong. They are warriors, heroes, and heroines who have gained many victories.