Post by Marquis on Feb 9, 2004 23:20:16 GMT
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Comment from USATODAY.com Host: We will begin our chat with Thich Nhat Hanh momentarily.
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Pawtucket, RI: Good evening: I am overwhelmed with all the sorrow that encompasses our world. What can I do that will really make a difference in the world?
Thich Nhat Hanh: The first thing we have to do is come back to ourselves. We have to recognize that we have to take care of ourselves first. It's just like on an airplane when you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you put it on your child. We have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of other people.
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St. Clairsville, OH: My father is quite ill right now and consequently I have been spending more time with my mother and brothers and sisters. Everyone is under a lot of stress and are emotional. I try to listen compassionately, but sometimes someone might say something negative about another family member. I do not want to get into an argument, but I do not want to continue to listen to them say unkind things about another person, either. What can you suggest as a skillful means of turning the conversation in a more positive direction? Thank you, dear Thay,for all of your wonderful teachings. Donna
Thich Nhat Hanh: The person should first be able to relax themselves, come back to their breathing and their body, become calm. Then very sincerely ask if the family can sit down together. You can tell the family that you are aware this is a stressful and difficult time, and if we can all do our best to help each other and share the difficulties in a way that is kind. Support each other as brothers and sisters.
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Southgate, Michigan: How long should one meditate each day?
Thich Nhat Hanh: In our tradition, it's not a matter of sitting once or twice a day, but trying to be mindful all day long. So we try to be aware of our breathing and our footsteps all day long.
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Edinburg, TX: What do I teach my children to prepare them for this world and what should I do to help this world be a better place to live?
Thich Nhat Hanh: We should teach our children how to be calm, and how to be able to be in the present moment. How to come back when they have strong emotions, how to be able to handle their strong emotions, how to be able to come back to breathing exercises or walking mindfully so they realize their emotions are not in control of them, so they can handle their emotions. (As far as the second part of your question is concerned) It comes back to knowing how to take care of yourself, be able to nourish yourself in difficult moments, be able to calm yourself, to be able to practice guidelines that help you be protected from the many difficulties in the world, from the many areas that can cause unhappiness in your life. Some sort of guideline system -- we call it mindfulness training. You need to be a model yourself for your children so they have something to learn from, something to look up to, something to be inspired by. The parents have to set themselves as examples, in the event that good or bad things happen, the parents must stop and look deeply and be calm in order to see the root and the consequence of what happened and act in a beautiful way. If the parents can do that, the children can do that. Look deeply before acting fearfully, or angrily . . . it will help the world to be better. The guideline is mindfulness. There are five guideliness: Being aware that killing causes suffering (I am determined not to kill)and I try to protect life. Second guideline: Be aware that there is a lot of social injustice, but I am determined not to take into my possession things that do not belong to me and practice generosity by sharing my time, my deep listening and material resources for those who are in need. Third guideline: Having seen so many broken families, I am determined to have only a sexual relationship with a long-term committed partner, and I also will protect children from sexual abuse. Fourth guideline: Be aware of unmindful speech which can cause suffering, be determined to speak mindfully, look deeply into the consequences of each of my words and practice listening deeply to others in order to understand them and to appropriately use my words. Fifth guideline: This concerns consumption for the mind and our body. We must be aware that unmindful consumption can cause disease and therefore we must not use intoxicants or drink alcohol, and we must eat and drink mindfully. Concerning the mind, we must be determined not to look at intoxicating books, articles, TV programs -- those that contain violence, craving and fear.
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Buffalo, New York: Those of us who believe in world peace watch with dismay as daily acts of vengeance continue to rip at the flimsy fabric of peace which world leaders continue to try to drape over ancient and ongoing hatreds. It seems that every time progress is reported, it is followed by a heinous act, done by those to whom vengeance is the only option. How can we help people to turn away from ancient hatreds and fears, embrace their so-called enemies, and commit themselves to work toghether for the good of all?
Thich Nhat Hanh: People can have a process of peace education where they can learn to transform their ancient hatreds of each other by learning how to look deeply. As a world of nations we have to learn how to see each other as brother and sister nations and not to see each other as separate and something to hate. We have to want to learn about each other and support each other as a world of nations. We have had in Plum Village Isreali and Palistinian retreats. We bring them together and they practice several days of relaxing and mindful walking and breathing, and then they learn to look deeply into their situations and to use kind, gentle, careful speech. Through mindfulness and being nourished by the atmosphere they learn to be able to look deeply into each other and learn the necessity of learning to help each other instead of hating each other. There has been remarkable success with this. People in the beginning they couldn't speak to each other and in the end many, for the first time, felt there was a real hope for peace. The United Nations has the capacity to do this if we are all able to see that we can learn how to care for each other, and that as we care for each other we're really caring for ourselves. Another aspect to pay attention to is the energy of anger and vengeance, so when we get this kind of news from the media, that energy is being transferred and it can come inside of us and we can feel it toward our own administration, and that continues the hatred. We have to be careful, because the way people receive information can allow them to continue their hatred. When we're having conversations with people, with relatives and friends, on a personal level, we should not continue that energy. We can look at how we talk to family and friends about these topics. Then we can look at it on a national and international level.
Comment from USATODAY.com Host: We will begin our chat with Thich Nhat Hanh momentarily.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pawtucket, RI: Good evening: I am overwhelmed with all the sorrow that encompasses our world. What can I do that will really make a difference in the world?
Thich Nhat Hanh: The first thing we have to do is come back to ourselves. We have to recognize that we have to take care of ourselves first. It's just like on an airplane when you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you put it on your child. We have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of other people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Clairsville, OH: My father is quite ill right now and consequently I have been spending more time with my mother and brothers and sisters. Everyone is under a lot of stress and are emotional. I try to listen compassionately, but sometimes someone might say something negative about another family member. I do not want to get into an argument, but I do not want to continue to listen to them say unkind things about another person, either. What can you suggest as a skillful means of turning the conversation in a more positive direction? Thank you, dear Thay,for all of your wonderful teachings. Donna
Thich Nhat Hanh: The person should first be able to relax themselves, come back to their breathing and their body, become calm. Then very sincerely ask if the family can sit down together. You can tell the family that you are aware this is a stressful and difficult time, and if we can all do our best to help each other and share the difficulties in a way that is kind. Support each other as brothers and sisters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southgate, Michigan: How long should one meditate each day?
Thich Nhat Hanh: In our tradition, it's not a matter of sitting once or twice a day, but trying to be mindful all day long. So we try to be aware of our breathing and our footsteps all day long.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edinburg, TX: What do I teach my children to prepare them for this world and what should I do to help this world be a better place to live?
Thich Nhat Hanh: We should teach our children how to be calm, and how to be able to be in the present moment. How to come back when they have strong emotions, how to be able to handle their strong emotions, how to be able to come back to breathing exercises or walking mindfully so they realize their emotions are not in control of them, so they can handle their emotions. (As far as the second part of your question is concerned) It comes back to knowing how to take care of yourself, be able to nourish yourself in difficult moments, be able to calm yourself, to be able to practice guidelines that help you be protected from the many difficulties in the world, from the many areas that can cause unhappiness in your life. Some sort of guideline system -- we call it mindfulness training. You need to be a model yourself for your children so they have something to learn from, something to look up to, something to be inspired by. The parents have to set themselves as examples, in the event that good or bad things happen, the parents must stop and look deeply and be calm in order to see the root and the consequence of what happened and act in a beautiful way. If the parents can do that, the children can do that. Look deeply before acting fearfully, or angrily . . . it will help the world to be better. The guideline is mindfulness. There are five guideliness: Being aware that killing causes suffering (I am determined not to kill)and I try to protect life. Second guideline: Be aware that there is a lot of social injustice, but I am determined not to take into my possession things that do not belong to me and practice generosity by sharing my time, my deep listening and material resources for those who are in need. Third guideline: Having seen so many broken families, I am determined to have only a sexual relationship with a long-term committed partner, and I also will protect children from sexual abuse. Fourth guideline: Be aware of unmindful speech which can cause suffering, be determined to speak mindfully, look deeply into the consequences of each of my words and practice listening deeply to others in order to understand them and to appropriately use my words. Fifth guideline: This concerns consumption for the mind and our body. We must be aware that unmindful consumption can cause disease and therefore we must not use intoxicants or drink alcohol, and we must eat and drink mindfully. Concerning the mind, we must be determined not to look at intoxicating books, articles, TV programs -- those that contain violence, craving and fear.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffalo, New York: Those of us who believe in world peace watch with dismay as daily acts of vengeance continue to rip at the flimsy fabric of peace which world leaders continue to try to drape over ancient and ongoing hatreds. It seems that every time progress is reported, it is followed by a heinous act, done by those to whom vengeance is the only option. How can we help people to turn away from ancient hatreds and fears, embrace their so-called enemies, and commit themselves to work toghether for the good of all?
Thich Nhat Hanh: People can have a process of peace education where they can learn to transform their ancient hatreds of each other by learning how to look deeply. As a world of nations we have to learn how to see each other as brother and sister nations and not to see each other as separate and something to hate. We have to want to learn about each other and support each other as a world of nations. We have had in Plum Village Isreali and Palistinian retreats. We bring them together and they practice several days of relaxing and mindful walking and breathing, and then they learn to look deeply into their situations and to use kind, gentle, careful speech. Through mindfulness and being nourished by the atmosphere they learn to be able to look deeply into each other and learn the necessity of learning to help each other instead of hating each other. There has been remarkable success with this. People in the beginning they couldn't speak to each other and in the end many, for the first time, felt there was a real hope for peace. The United Nations has the capacity to do this if we are all able to see that we can learn how to care for each other, and that as we care for each other we're really caring for ourselves. Another aspect to pay attention to is the energy of anger and vengeance, so when we get this kind of news from the media, that energy is being transferred and it can come inside of us and we can feel it toward our own administration, and that continues the hatred. We have to be careful, because the way people receive information can allow them to continue their hatred. When we're having conversations with people, with relatives and friends, on a personal level, we should not continue that energy. We can look at how we talk to family and friends about these topics. Then we can look at it on a national and international level.
It has some wise words indeed...