It was a great pleasure to spend a few hours with Thich Nhat Hanh.  He is a global spiritual leader, loved and revered around the world. He is the man Martin Luther King, Jr, called ‘an apostle of peace and non- violence’ when nominating him for the noble peace prize, and he has been described as the ‘second only to the Dalila Lama’ among Buddhist leaders influential in the west.

He teaches the practice of mindfulness.  He talks about the deep connection between ‘suffering and happiness’. He says ‘happiness is possible; peace is possible; joy is possible’. He says we have to learn how to suffer and learn to make each other suffer less’.  He has been teaching ways of transforming ‘suffering into joy’ through his teaching of mindfulness and the Dharma.

He says: “We have a lamp inside us, the lamp of mindfulness, which we can light anytime. The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps and our peaceful smile. We have to light up that lamp of mindfulness so the light will shine out and the darkness will dissipate and cease. Our practice is to light up that lamp.”

For further information about him, please visit www.plumvillage.org

Happy Possibilities!

Tahereh Barati, M.A, RMFT