Episode Details

Welcome to episode 32 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. 

This bonus episode showcases an interview between Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and journalist Jo Confino from before Christmas 2011, during the winter retreat in Plum Village. It begins with a short introduction by Jo and Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu. 

This is a conversation about our relationship with Mother Earth, the need to move beyond the idea of ‘environment’, and falling back in love with our life-giving planet. 

Thich Nhat Hanh talks about the ‘Buddha nature’; the Earth as a Bodhisattva; meditation as active awakening, and practical ways to bring about a collective awakening; the need for a cosmic religion not based on Dharma or belief; producing our own right view; dogmatism as a cause for separation and war; the most necessary teachings for our times; mindful and compassionate business; transforming suffering; collective awakening; and connecting to the Earth through mindfulness. Thay also further develops on his interest in science, and the benefits of a retreat for mindfulness practitioners and scientists. 

The interview also includes important advice to help activists maintain their motivation and peace amid chaos, and how to suffer less in order to help 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

Love Letter to the Earth
https://www.parallax.org/product/love-letter-to-the-earth/ 

Antoine Lavoisier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier 

Paul Tillich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich

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

Shakyamuni Buddha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha 

Journalist Jo Confino Interviews Thich Nhat Hanh: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TZlJW2FEs 

‘Beyond Environment: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth’
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/zen-thich-naht-hanh-buddhidm-business-values 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Ground of Right View’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-ground-of-right-view-2/ 

Quotes

“If you look into the Milky Way, we see that there are millions of stars and each star can be a Buddha, like the sun above us is the real Buddha, a Buddha that can provide light and warmth, a Buddha that can offer life. So it is possible for us to conceive Buddha [as] not [being] in the form of a person.”

“If