Love
Thich Nhat Hanh at RFH
29/03/12 19:00 Filed in: Talk
“True Peace and Happiness”
I have heard Thich Nhat Hanh speak before at Friends House in London, and was very moved, so when my wife bought tickets some months ago for this talk in the Royal Festival Hall in London I was delighted.
When the evening came I was “busy” at work of course, and it felt quite a strain to break off and go to hear the Master speak. In fact we were a bit late, so we missed the group meditation that opens these talks.
Nevertheless we were allowed in after the meditation was complete and before the Master began to speak. He is, of course, a remarkable man and has a wonderful wise and loving presence. I find him incredibly inspirational (I have read a couple of his books) and each time I open myself to his teaching I am hugely rewarded for a minimal effort on my part.
It would be impossible (and impertinent?) for me to try to summarise his words here. He is wonderfully simple and enormously deep and so he is a great guide. We just need to pay attention, to our breath, to ourselves, to his words and we need to practice the techniques that he offers to us.
Even as he spoke I felt that I could let tensions in my body go, a smile came to my face, I felt I was in the right place doing the right thing. I learnt how important it has been for him to bring his teachings out of the monastery into the world, our busy world, and to help us deal with the pain and suffering and sorrow that we all experience in our lives.
Compassion is a hugely important human quality, and The Master highlights it, personifies it, and draws our attention to it time and time again.
A couple of details.
He spoke about the power of collective energy in any group I guess, but particularly in a group of right minded people. The Sangha.
And he spoke about recognising emotions, and through recognition disempowering them. We are, he said, so much more than emotion.
This great spiritual master honoured us with his talk and I am hugely grateful.
I am breathing in and I am breathing out.
I have heard Thich Nhat Hanh speak before at Friends House in London, and was very moved, so when my wife bought tickets some months ago for this talk in the Royal Festival Hall in London I was delighted.
When the evening came I was “busy” at work of course, and it felt quite a strain to break off and go to hear the Master speak. In fact we were a bit late, so we missed the group meditation that opens these talks.
Nevertheless we were allowed in after the meditation was complete and before the Master began to speak. He is, of course, a remarkable man and has a wonderful wise and loving presence. I find him incredibly inspirational (I have read a couple of his books) and each time I open myself to his teaching I am hugely rewarded for a minimal effort on my part.
It would be impossible (and impertinent?) for me to try to summarise his words here. He is wonderfully simple and enormously deep and so he is a great guide. We just need to pay attention, to our breath, to ourselves, to his words and we need to practice the techniques that he offers to us.
Even as he spoke I felt that I could let tensions in my body go, a smile came to my face, I felt I was in the right place doing the right thing. I learnt how important it has been for him to bring his teachings out of the monastery into the world, our busy world, and to help us deal with the pain and suffering and sorrow that we all experience in our lives.
Compassion is a hugely important human quality, and The Master highlights it, personifies it, and draws our attention to it time and time again.
A couple of details.
He spoke about the power of collective energy in any group I guess, but particularly in a group of right minded people. The Sangha.
And he spoke about recognising emotions, and through recognition disempowering them. We are, he said, so much more than emotion.
This great spiritual master honoured us with his talk and I am hugely grateful.
I am breathing in and I am breathing out.
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The Elixir of Love
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