A letter from Thích Nhất Hạnh
By Thich Nhat Hanh on
Upper Hamlet, Plum Village1
Second week of summer retreat, July 2000
My dearly beloved students,
We are in the second week of the Summer 2000 retreat. Each of us has responsibilities, each of us has to stay up late and get up early,
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A letter from Thích Nhất Hạnh
By Thich Nhat Hanh on
Upper Hamlet, Plum Village1
Second week of summer retreat, July 2000
My dearly beloved students,
We are in the second week of the Summer 2000 retreat. Each of us has responsibilities, each of us has to stay up late and get up early, but Thầy still has time to think of his students and write you letters, and Thầy knows that you will also have time to read them. Whether you are in Upper Hamlet, Lower Hamlet, New Hamlet, Green Mountain, Maple Forest, or Deer Park, our responsibility and practices are exactly the same: take each step in solidity and breathe each breath mindfully, cultivating faith and happiness for each other and for those who come to us. We are able to maintain the mind of love: we all look in the direction of service, and none of us looks just for comfort or praise. Thầy is aware that we are living together; Thầy feels the presence of each of his students and Thầy is very happy. Just a few days ago, Sister Anh Nghiêm came to sit next to Brother Pháp Niệm and said: “Thầy praised you for being able to approach everyone in the Sangha and connect with everyone. I would like you to show me the way so that I can do this too.” Hearing Brother Pháp Niệm share his practice, Thầy was very happy. If all of us have the same wish as Sister Anh Nghiêm, then how can the happiness of our Sangha not increase day by day?
In the past, Thầy’s class at Báo Quốc Temple was quite large. We were very close, and it seemed like we would have each other forever.2 But now that Thầy looks back, there is almost no one left. Even the youngest brothers are no longer here, like Brother Châu Toàn and Brother Châu Đức. Now only Venerable Thiện Hạnh and Venerable Thiện Bình are left. I remember Hoàng Cầm’s verses about Đông Hồ paintings: “Mother pig and her yin yang piglets are separated, the mouse wedding was once bustling with excitement, now where do they go?” Have you seen the Đông Hồ paintings of yin yang pigs and mouse weddings? At Upper Hamlet, Thầy has a complete set of Đông Hồ paintings. If anyone wants to see it, come here and Thầy will show it to you. Looking back, we see that we are still together, we are all following the same practices, and we can call on each other anytime we want. We can do walking meditation together, we can sit and eat mindfully together, we can have the Rains Retreat together.3 This is really a rare gift. How can Thầy not feel happy?
Although some of us may sometimes act unskillfully, causing difficulties and sadness, we do not do it intentionally. Thầy is also sometimes unskillful, and he knows that you are always ready to forgive him. Thầy is grateful to you, deeply grateful. You give Thầy a lot of happiness, and his happiness grows more and more when you love each other and forgive each other’s mistakes. All of us know that the more we get along and love each other, the more we can serve, becoming a refuge for many people. Thầy sees that all of us have taken many steps on the path of practice and transformation. Everyone has transformed—some faster, some slower, that’s all. Thầy hopes that everyone will become a Dharma teacher, and that every novice will receive the Great Precepts at some point.4 Thầy doesn’t want anyone to be left behind, but Thầy needs the Sangha to help him provide support to the ordinees, and Thầy also needs you to give Thầy a hand.
Times are changing very quickly and maybe in the near future we will be entrusted with new responsibilities, especially in our homeland. Thầy is old, but he wishes to be present with you in those projects, the projects that he thinks the Buddha and our ancestral teachers have entrusted to us. You are smart and talented enough, you just need to love each other and hold each other’s hands—then there’s nothing you can’t do.
During the past few weeks, despite the many tasks, Thầy still found the time and energy to shine light on and guide those of his students who need shining light and guidance. Now everything is fine, and everyone has practiced Beginning Anew.5 Everyone has left the past behind and embraced the present. Thầy is very glad.
Tomorrow, meaning after the summer session, many members of the Sangha will have to set out to lead retreats—there will be quite a few birds taking flight. However, in the present we are living and working together. Thầy wrote this letter mainly to remind his students of this fact. Thầy holds all of you in his arms, with all his love and trust.
Your teacher,
Nhất Hạnh
1 Plum Village in France is composed of three separate monasteries, called “hamlets.” The hamlets are self-contained communities where the monastics and lay practitioners live mindfully together as a spiritual family. New Hamlet and Lower Hamlet are the two communities of Plum Village nuns (or “sisters”). Upper Hamlet is where the Plum Village monks or “brothers” live and practice.
2 Báo Quốc Institute of Buddhist Studies in Huế is where Thầy studied from 1947 to 1949.
3 The ninety-day Rains Retreat is an annual retreat whose origins date back to the time of the Buddha. It is a time for monks and nuns to deepen their studies, practice, and focus on building the monastic sangha. In Plum Village, lay practitioners can join the retreat alongside the monastics.
4 During the Great Precepts Transmission Ceremony, the precepts to become a bhikṣu (fully -ordained monk) and bhikṣuṇī (fully -ordained nun) are transmitted to eligible novice monastics.
5 Beginning Anew is a key Plum Village practice for maintaining and healing relationships. For more on this practice, see Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication (Parallax Press, 2014).
This is an excerpt from In Love and Trust: Letters from a Zen Master by Thích Nhất Hạnh, published by Parallax Press.
