Thich Nhat Hanh on peace
Jeroen
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlands Veteran
I thought this was such a great lecture, I had to share. @Shim recommended these orginally, but this really opened my eyes to the difference between just being a peaceful person and what it means to carry peace in your heart. Most people even though they don't participate in violence or get angry often, still carry the seeds of war within them - it only takes a little bit of pressure to bring it to the fore, in an acrimonious dispute with a neighbour or a turf war at work.
The lecture is part of a series from an Israel Palestine Retreat at Plum Village, and I think it's a real shame it's only been viewed 1004 times on YouTube, people in Palestine could take such a lot from it. The core of the teaching seems to be that in order to truly become peaceful, you need to return to your centre and deal with your own anger, fear, despair and suspicion. Only then can you help others come through the same process, and also achieve peace.
Wonderful, wonderful lecture. I think TNH with his background from the Vietnamese conflict was born to speak on this topic.
Comments
Dealing with your own Anger, Fear, Despair, and Suspicion is easier said than done though. They all seem to have their own solutions.
Anger can be dealt with through humility, I have found bringing more humility into my heart has allowed me to step away from fury, and the knowledge that people trying to harm you are acting out their own suffering also changed things. Anyone have any further tips on anger?
Fear is about fearlessness, it's opposite, a kind of bold compassionate striving to do the best that you can. Despair I seem to have banished long ago, it is foreign to me.
But suspicion sometimes rears its ugly head. That's when I find it difficult to trust things, it is something that is aroused when I see things that trigger it. How do you cope with suspicion? More equanimity perhaps? It's a pickle.
@Kerome said, "That's when I find it difficult to trust things, it is something that is aroused when I see things that trigger it. How do you cope with suspicion? More equanimity perhaps?"
Well...I don't know what types of things that you see raise you level of suspicion, but I do have that problem as well, but I don't think it's really a bad thing, per se. Sometimes when I get suspicious leanings, it isn't long before I feel sheepish about it because I see through it and how silly it is. Other things that I get suspicious of are usually well placed - at the same time, there's little if anything I can actually do about it, so in that sense, the level of equanimity is important and comes into play.
Well, in my experience, suspicion is (of course) not always correct, but it's always there for good reason. As long as we can look at our suspicions reasonably and keep an open mind, I don't see suspicion as a bad thing... unless it's Malicious, of course.