Episode Details

Welcome to a new episode 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 installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss what it means to walk a spiritual path. 

The conversation provides a deep and personal insight into the life of a long-term Buddhist practitioner, as Brother Phap Huu reflects on his 25 years as a monk, including the joys and challenges of living in a spiritual community; the role of a teacher on the path; the importance of finding one’s own inner teacher; the practice of celibacy; the transformations that can happen through spiritual practice; the lessons learned from 17 years as Thich Nhat Hanh’s attendant; and much more. 

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 

Course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
https://plumvillage.org/courses/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet 

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

Plum Village Tradition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition 

Fragrant Palm Leaves
https://plumvillage.org/books/1998-neo-ve-cua-y-fragrant-palm-leaves 

Dharma Talk: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths’ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/redefining-the-four-noble-truths 

Taming the Tiger Within
https://www.parallax.org/product/taming-the-tiger-within/ 

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem 

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

Brother Phap Ung
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-chan-phap-ung 

Quotes

“A good teacher is to show that each and every one of us has a teacher inside of us.” 

“It’s enough of a journey to transform ourselves before we choose to transform other people.”

“You’re already the person you want to be.”

“A lot of us are defined by our past, and we let that become our whole narrative. But I think that Thay stepped into transforming his past and seeing himself in the present moment and not being caught in a prison of ‘what was’.”

“Thay was very optimistic – not an ignorant optimism, but optimistic with the insight that there is awakening everywhere. We just have