“Peace is every step” this is the title of the first book I read from Thich Nhat Hanh and it is indeed a book that changed my life at the time. I was then living a high stress busy life, raising 3 young children while working at my own business and running a household. The author reminded me to slow down, take a breath and enjoy the miracle of life.
This was in 1992. Since then I have read other books from Thich Nhat Hanh but none had the same impact as this first one.
He left this world a week ago, at 95 after a long life filled with gentleness and advocating for peace, freedom and human rights.
He is responsible for bringing the Buddhist way of thinking to the West and is said to be the father of modern mindfulness. According to Thay as his friends called him, “Buddhism means to be awake, mindful of what is happening in one’s body, feelings, mind and in the world. If you are awakened you cannot do otherwise than act compassionately to help relieve suffering you see around you. So Buddhism must be engaged in the world. If it is not engaged, it is not Buddhism” (The Associated Press. 2022–01–25. Thich Nhat Hanh, influential Zen Buddhist monk, dies at 95). To see full article, click Here
Born Nguyễn Đình Lang in Hue, Vietnam in 1926, he went abroad in 1966. Vietnam then forbade him to return home because he was campaigning against the war so he became exiled, settling in the south of France where he later founded Plum Village, now Europe’s largest Buddhist monastery. He was allowed back in his country in 2005 but only returned permanently in 2018 to live his final days at the Tu Hieu Pagoda, the monastery where he was ordained at 16 years old.
In his book, he explains how breathing is the link between our body and our mind, and how they have to be sync in awareness of our surroundings and our life.
In other words, when we are physically engaged in action, we should be present and think about what we are doing, not let our mind wander to other preoccupations. The way to do this is by being aware and concentrating on our breath.
I have just picked up the book again after many years and reading it still has the same peaceful and calming effect on me. We all think way too much. By taking a break from thinking, we find solutions. We often assume over thinking will relieve the anxiety that inhabits us and provide answers but it does quite the opposite.
The practice of mindful breathing brings home the realization that we are alive now, in the present moment, and that we cannot change the past or stay focused on something that happened earlier in our journey. It is not better to spend our time worrying about the future. It will be what it will be. Once you know you have done your best, you have to be confident that everything is as it should be, right now, and the future will take care of itself.
Right now is the only moment. Mindful breathing helps us get in touch with our life with the here and now, with the present moment.
Do you hear that tape running in your head constantly? These words, those thoughts, these feelings and opinions that are so difficult to stop… Whether day or night, we think and think and cannot press a button to bring this to a halt. Going back to mindful breathing and slowing down the thinking, observing our thoughts, all help to bring the pressure down and to get back to living our experience of today.
Thich Nhat Hanh teaches a way of breathing consciously and be in the present moment. We can say “In” when we inhale and “Out” when we exhale. The fact that we are using words to ground us helps us to be aware of our breathing and slow our thinking, since saying these words is not thinking.
When you start practicing this conscious breathing on a regular basis, you are able to relax in any situation and you are able to see what is going on around you without getting upset about it. After a “conscious breathing session” , even a short 5 minutes, we feel refreshed, in touch with ourselves again and see the world for what it is with a fresh look, a fresh awareness.
We can face the world without fear and with openness, ready for new experiences. The past is gone, the future is not here yet. Now is the only moment.
The more we practice this breathing and awareness, the calmer we become, the more we are able to enjoy life and experience our great adventure, the pleasure of being alive.
Each moment is precious. Thich Nhat Hanh was all about Love and Compassion.
Let’s try to live each moment in awareness like he has been teaching us.
Suzanne
