AMAZON

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Thich Nhat Hanh, Engaged Buddhism, & Burma



With all that is happening in the world today, it is easy to overlook spots that drew our attention just a few weeks or even days ago. After the protest led by Buddhist monks in Burma (Myanmar) in the fall of 2007, the issues there seemed to slip away from new coverage until the devastating cyclones recently drew the world’s attention back to that Southeast Asian land.







The issues related to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her party, and the valiant protests of the Buddhist monks still exist, even as the media centers on the cost of oil, disaster in China, the U. S. Presidential race, etc. This was brought back to me this morning as I followed a link from the Digital Dharma blog to the site Tricycle magazine’s wonderful Change Your Mind Day 2008. There I found numerous videos including a couple featuring the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk with whom I hope you are familiar.

I was so impressed with these words of Thich Nhat Hanh that I want to share them with you:



Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh


21 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the Thich Nhat Hanh video. His words are important now and always.

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  2. Very powerful & informative video. Thanks for posting it... and for bringing this issue back to our attention.

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  3. Thankyou for sharing the video Nick and for bringing the situation in Burma back to the fore.

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  4. ps. Off the topic, but...
    Don't know if you have your blog set up to receive folks' comments left here in your email, so I wanted to let you know that I left you 1 on the next 2 posts, just so ya see 'em. ;)

    pps. Where did you find the astrological scroll that you have on your sidebar under "About Me"? It says "click here to see what your stars say", but it won't click anywhere. LOL
    ... you can email me the answer, if you prefer.

    Thanks! =)

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  5. CAROL: You are welcome. There is another video of him at the “Change Your Mind Day 2008” link.

    LIL BIT: You are welcome. I find it too easy to let issues like Burma slip to the dead space in my mind unless I intentionally think about them. That “slipping” was beginning to happen with Burma and I suspect it wasn’t only in my mind, but perhaps in the world’s mind as well.

    AKELAMALU: You are welcome. As I wrote above, I wrote this post as much for my own benefit as for others. In today’s hectic world, I believe we too easily get caught in the trap of centering on whatever issues the media is playing up to the detriment of so many others.

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  6. LIL BIT: Yep, I get the comments via emails and will head down to the other posts soon.

    I really can’t remember where I found that Aquarius scroll. I am sure that it was in one of those online quizzes, but it’s been too long for me to remember. I have several old items on my sidebar for which the hyperlinks no longer function. I suppose the sites to which they were linked either no longer exist or whatever.

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  7. It is so easy to forget. Thank you.

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  8. Nick, I simply adore you. Thank you for sharing his words with us.

    *hugs*

    "Peace is every step"

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  9. ABBY: You are most welcome. Peace.

    ANNDI: You are most welcome. Peace.

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  10. Nick thank you for shareing this video.it is powerful.

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  11. MJGOLCH: You are most welcome. Peace.

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  12. nick--thanks for the gentle reminder that there really is a real world out there, with real people!

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  13. Even though the prospects for physical peace in our world are pretty dim, we can have peace of mind and heart anytime we choose to accept it from Jesus. ec

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  14. Thanks for bringing us (me) back to things that matter :)

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  15. Never heard of him before.

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  16. Very good and inspiring.

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  17. Nick - I tried twice to watch this video and my computer kept freezing. I think often of the bravery of these monks and what it costs them, even now, to stand for freedom and peace in their country. Thank you for sharing this. I will try to watch another one of his speeches elsewhere. Positively inspiring.

    Thank you for blogging for peace as well and commenting on so many others' peace posts.

    Very kind of you.
    Mimi

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  18. I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.

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  19. Hello Nick - I "met" you when our blogs went down! I have been popping back to your blog and reading snippets from time to time and was interested to see your Burma post.

    I think you may be interested to read about this wonderful young man, Ewen Hardie, who is currently walking from Edinburgh in Scotland to Westminster, London "Barefeet for Burma" http://barefeetforburma.blogspot.com/


    He is travelling, I think, with just a ration of rice and bare essentials. He is depending on the "kindness of strangers" to support him on his journey ...

    He is making brilliant progress

    see also

    http://www.yorkminster.org/news/story240/barefoot-for-burma-walker-visits-york-minster.html

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  20. Thank you for publishing this, good sir.

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