Episode Details

Welcome to episode 60 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach and journalist Jo Confino share 32 words from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that can make your relationships deal with suffering and create happiness. The Four Mantras, Thay’s beloved teachings, are intended to help create healthy relationships by allowing conversations and enabling people to be truly present for each other. 

The discussion touches upon generating presence; setting up intentional practices; being a refuge for people; building two-way communication; calligraphy as a way ‘to change the energy’; and so much more.

Brother Phap Huu shares the origins of mantras and helps introduce each mantra with practical tips, real stories from his life and from the monastic community, as well as unheard (yet!) insights from Thay’s practice and creation of the mantras. And can you guess which is Thay’s favorite mantra? 

Jo brings his lay perspective on the mantras and their application in life. A couple of new mantras are discussed, too, but you’d better dive in for some pure essence of Buddhist wisdom. 

The episode ends with a mindful recap of the mantras discussed. 

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/ 

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Rains Retreat
https://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/rains-retreat-2023 

Historical Vedic religion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Vedic_religion 

Vedas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas 

Mahayana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana

New Heart Sutra translation by Thich Nhat Hanh https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/letters/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation 

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing 

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong 

Dharma Talk: ‘The Six Mantras’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-six-mantras-2 

‘Plum Village Mantras and How to Be the Sum of Your Acts’ 
https://tnhaudio.org/2012/07/30/plum-village-mantras-and-how-to-be-the-sum-of-your-acts/

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village 

Dharma Talks: ‘True Love and t