Latest news with #ThichNhatHanh
Arab News
07-08-2025
- Health
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘How to Walk' by Thich Nhat Hanh
Published in 2015 and rated 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon, 'How to Walk' is one part of a series of mindfulness books like 'How to Eat,' 'How to Connect' and 'How to Love,' all written by the Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who was one of the world's most revered and influential spiritual teachers. The book is a guide to mindful walking. Through simple yet poetic language, the author invites readers to slow down and truly feel each step, as he believes walking becomes more than just movement when it serves as a way to connect with the present moment, with nature and with the inner self. Throughout the book, Hanh also talks about his short reflections and breathing techniques that could help make daily activities into a form of meditation, delivering a core message to his audience that peace, joy and clarity are easy to achieve, even through the smallest acts such as walking. For example, walking slowly while at the same time focusing on breathing allows someone to focus and be in the present moment. In addition, he believes that there is no rush needed, as the point of the practice of walking is not reaching a destination but instead learning how to walk. Each step, according to Hanh, is an arrival at concentration, joy and enlightenment. While the majority of reviewers found the book to be helpful and enjoyable, a few others disliked the repetitive concept of 'walking' throughout the pages. Instead of the author introducing new insights, they believe that he kept repeating the idea of walking and focusing on emptying the mind and breathing. Regardless, 'How to Walk' is a great read for people searching for a reminder to live more consciously, one step at a time.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Don't be imprisoned by your suffering
By Thich Nhat Hanh Buddha was not a god. He was a human being just as you and me, and he suffered just as we do. If we go to the Buddha with our hearts open, he will look at us, his eyes full of compassion, and say, 'Because there is suffering in your heart, it is possible for you to enter my heart.' For forty-five years, the Buddha said over and over again, 'I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering.' When we recognise and acknowledge our own suffering, the Buddha – which means the Buddha in us – will look at it, discover what has brought it about, and prescribe a course of action that can transform it into peace, joy and liberation. Suffering is the means the Buddha used to liberate himself, and it is also how we can become free. The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land. The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy. When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it. But don't overlook the healthy trees. Even with pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life – beautiful sunsets, smiles of a child, flowers and trees. To suffer is not enough. Please don't be imprisoned by your suffering. If you have experienced hunger, you know that having food is a miracle. If you have suffered from cold, you know the preciousness of warmth. When you have suffered, you know how to appreciate elements of paradise that are present. Don't ignore your suffering, but don't forget to enjoy wonders of life, for your sake and for benefit of many human beings. I grew up in the time of war. There was destruction all around – children, adults, values, and a whole country. As a young person, I suffered a lot. Once the door of awareness has been opened, you cannot close it. Wounds of war in me are still not healed. There are nights I lie awake and embrace my people, my country, and the whole planet with my mindful breathing. Without suffering, you cannot grow. Without suffering, you cannot get the peace and joy you deserve. Please don't run away from your suffering. Embrace and cherish it. Go to the Buddha, sit with him and show him your pain. He will look at you with loving-kindness, compassion and mindfulness, and show you ways to embrace your suffering and look deeply into it. With understanding and compassion, you will be able to heal wounds in your heart and wounds in the world. The Buddha called suffering a Noble Truth, because our suffering has capacity of showing us the path to liberation . Embrace your suffering, and let it reveal to you the way to peace. Thich Nhat Hanh's community is celebrating Buddha Purnima on Monday evening, May 12,2025, in Delhi Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Chicago Tribune
18-03-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Asking Eric: Husband's anxiety is stressing me out
Dear Eric: My husband is in his mid-80s and I'm in my late 70s. My husband has always suffered from anxiety, whereas I am calmer. Over the years, my husband has used various anti-anxiety drugs under a doctor's supervision and found one that works. He has tried some mindfulness techniques, but at times of high anxiety, he doesn't use them. He does use the medication, but it doesn't allow him to stop cycling around and around about his worries. When he is in this loop, he will refer to the issue frequently but not take any steps to fix the issue. This really stresses me out. He will 'blow up' if I offer a suggestion. His technique has always been to verbalize the problem over and over until I can't stand it anymore and take care of it without bothering him. After a recent operation, I had to be his caregiver for a period of time. He really thanked me for it. But he has 'lost a step ' physically. I'm constantly worried when we go out together that he might injure himself, and he resents my nervousness. I want to enjoy our time together and not be made nervous by his anxiety attacks and physical decline. I'm no longer as calm as I used to be! Any advice? – Anxiety Overload Dear Overload: One of the wonderful things about cultivating mindfulness is that it's available to anyone at any time. It's a way of thinking about one's physical, mental and emotional state without judgment. Many people who experience anxiety find that it helps them to break out of a stress cycle, or at least to pause it long enough to gather their thoughts. I'm glad that it works for your husband, and I think that it might work for you, too. It sounds like you've done a lot of work over the decades of your relationship to navigate your husband's journey with anxiety. Some of the methods you've adopted, however, may not have given you what you need. For instance, if you're focused on trying to help him find a solution to something he's stuck on, you may be placing your own emotional regulation second. After his issue is solved, you're left to navigate any tension, stress or anxiety that you're feeling on your own. That's becoming more of an issue now. You can be a good caregiver and companion while also tending to your own emotional needs. In fact, doing so makes you a better caregiver and companion. The Calm app or the book 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' by Thich Nhat Hanh are great places to begin. When you find yourself getting nervous, acknowledge that feeling without judgment – you may even want to tell your husband, 'I'm feeling stress; I'm going to take a second. Thank you for your patience.' You've spent years giving him the time he needs to reset; give yourself that time, too. Dear Eric: I read the question and your answer to 'Undecided Plans', who was having cold feet about retiring. I've been teaching an all-day workshop on retiring a few times a year for quite a few years now (even though I retired a few years ago at 71). I have several things to add to your suggestions. 1) Many people are ready financially for retirement significantly before they are emotionally ready. 2) After 50 years of saving for retirement it is challenging for most to start spending down what they have saved. 3) Most of us know what we are retiring from but aren't always sure what we are retiring to. 4) Research indicates that transitioning into retirement is more successful for those who've planned for it. – Retire Well Dear Retire Well: Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I love that you teach a class; these are life skills that can be learned and honed. Dear Eric: With regard to 'Undecided Plans' – retirement doesn't have to be 'all or nothing' in terms of a paycheck. When my husband retired for similar reasons of time and health, he continued to work part time at a climbing gym, making his own schedule and doing something that he enjoyed. He brought in a small paycheck for eight years until the pandemic closed the gym. Now he is fully retired. 'Undecided Plans' could look around for something that fits his interests and transition from fully employed to fully retired at his own pace. – Part-Time Retirement Dear Retirement: A number of readers wrote in about how important a part-time job was in helping them transition. It provides a financial cushion and helps give days a structure, without overloading one's schedule. Volunteering also came up as a great way of continuing to engage with people and ideas while learning what excites you in this new phase of life. (Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@ or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at
New York Times
09-02-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Trading Hope for Reality Helps Me Parent Through the Climate Crisis
When I gave birth to my first child, in 2019, it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. He came out white and limp, his head dangling off to the side. People swarmed into the hospital room, trying to suction his lungs so he could breathe. Hours later, my husband and I stood in the NICU, looking down at this newborn baby, hooked up to wires and tubes. We had spent months talking about how to protect him from various harmful influences, and here we were, an hour out of the gate, dealing with a situation we hadn't even considered. Had his brain been deprived of oxygen for too long? Would there be lifelong damage? That night in the hospital, I learned the first lesson of parenting: You are not in control of what is going to happen, nor can you predict it. This applies to your child's personality, many of his choices and to some extent his health. It also applies to the growing threat of climate change. The climate crisis is bad and getting worse. Here in Oregon, we've endured several severe heat waves and wildfires in recent years. As the impacts compound, it's clear a lot of people around the world — many of them children — are going to suffer and die. Globally, one in three children is exposed to deadly heat waves, and even more to unclean water. A study estimated wildfire smoke to be 10 times as harmful to children's developing lungs as typical pollution. Researchers also concluded that nearly every child in the world is at risk from at least one climate-intensified hazard: extreme heat, severe storms and floods, wildfires, food insecurity and insect-borne diseases. If you are someone like me who has children and lies awake terrified for their future, you should not let hopelessness about climate change paralyze you. In fact, I would argue that right now the bravest thing to do — even braver than hoping — is to stop hoping. 'When I think deeply about the nature of hope, I see something tragic,' the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh, who died in 2022, wrote in his book 'Peace Is Every Step.' 'Since we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment.' What does parenting without hope look like? For me, it is living with the knowledge that my two children will likely face challenges I cannot even imagine. It is grieving that I cannot give them the life I would wish for them. It is choosing to act, by joining local climate activist groups and curbing my air travel. I do it not because I think I can magically save my children from the climate crisis, but because I am fully aware that I cannot. But most of all, it is accepting that I cannot know, nor control, everything that will happen to my children. I often think of the writer Emily Rapp Black, whose son Ronan died just before his third birthday from Tay-Sachs disease. 'This is what parenting a child with no future has taught me: Nothing is forever,' she wrote in a 2013 essay. 'There is only now, the moment, the love you bear, the knowledge that loving is about letting go, and that the power of a person's grief is a reflection of the depth of their love.' Recognizing impermanence is the whole game. Loving and losing and loving and losing some more. This is the only way I know how to parent. It's the only way I know how to live. Last month, as fires destroyed huge parts of Los Angeles, I was in Oregon, at the park with my father and my two young children, pushing them on the swings. Later, as we walked home from the park, my father told me that when he and my mother first met, he had been afraid to have children. It was the 1980s, and he was certain the world was headed toward nuclear war. 'I couldn't imagine exposing my children to that,' he told me. 'What changed?' I asked him. 'I realized it was arrogance,' he said. 'To think I could see into the future and decide that life should not extend past me.' We kept walking. The afternoon sun lit up everything in golden hues. My children in the distance: two little bobbing hats. Their entire futures, unknown to me. Out of my control. I thought of everything my father would have spared me from: loneliness and loss and failure and a body full of microplastics. A world that is both underwater and on fire. Also, friendship and pizza and laughing until I have to catch my breath. Holding my children for the first time. This moment, here at the park, walking with my father. So much that could go wrong. I'm truly terrified of what's coming. But I wouldn't miss it for the world. 'I'm glad you changed your mind,' I said. 'Yeah, me too,' he said.
