The Buddha is a Human Being with Deep Understanding
http://www.spiritualnow.com/articles/54/1/The-Buddha-is-a-Human-Being-with-Deep-Understanding/Page1.html
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh began the activism that would eventually lead to his exile with the founding of the School of Youth Social Services in Saigon, a relief organization that rebuilt villages bombed as a result of the Vietnam War. It also helped to set up schools and medical centers and resettle families. During this time, he traveled to the United States frequently to study and teach at Columbia University as well as promote peace. He spoke to many people about peace and urged Martin Luther King to publicly oppose the war. (King nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.) Exiled from Vietnam in 1973, he established the Order of Interbeing, a monastic and lay group teaching mindfulness practice, and has subsequently founded monastic and practice centers around the world. He makes his home in Plum Village Monastery in the south of France, where he has established also the Unified Buddhist Church.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s main teaching is a practice of mindfulness adapted to Western sensibilities. From his home in France, he travels internationally to speak and give retreats, and he is the author of more than 100 books. He also continues to be active in the peace movement, sponsoring retreats for Israelis and Palestinians, and giving speeches urging non-violent solutions. In 2005 he conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles that was attended by many people. That same year, Nhat Hanh was allowed to return to Vietnam, with a subsequent trip in 2007.
Thich Nhat Hanh is beloved not only for his speaking and teaching, but his many books, which include, Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Being Peace, Living Buddha, Living Christ, Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals, 1962-1966, No Death, No Fear, and Anger, to name a few.
“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.” This quote from Nhat Hanh’s book Peace is Every Step affirms the guiding principles of mindfulness, his teachings, and life at Plum Village. There, and at his other centers, followers of Nhat Hanh engage in the activities of day to day life much the same as in the outer world, but they everything is done in the spirit of mindfulness. In practicing this together as a community, mindfulness becomes more joyous and relaxed.
An epic feature film about the life of the Buddha, based on Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Old Path, White Clouds, is in production, and on September 11, 2006, Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama spoke with the Hollywood community about the need to present the film so that the audience’s consciousness will be uplifted and turn to mindfulness.
By Thich Nhat Hanh
Published on 02/14/2007
If you believe that Buddha is a god, and can bestow on us the things we want, then that is not the Buddha. The Buddha is one who understands the world well. Because he understands the world deeply, that is why he can offer the kind of teaching that can help heal the world.
If you believe that Buddha is a god, and can bestow on us the things we want, then that is not the Buddha. The Buddha is one who understands the world well. Because he understands the world deeply, that is why he can offer the kind of teaching that can help heal the world. Buddha is one who understands the world well
When you think of the Buddha, you think of the young man who was born in Kapilvastu, who practiced many years in the forest and who went around India to live the teaching. But that is only a portion of the Buddha, because the moment when the Buddha began to build the Sangha, he begin to transfer himself to the Sangha and many disciples, monastic and lay, continue the Buddha. And you have to see the Buddha in the Sangha. You have to be able to see the Buddha in the Dharma. If you have not seen the Dharma and the Sangha, you have not seen the Buddha. The Dharma is available in the here and the now. The Sangha is also available in the here and the now. You do not have to go to India in order to see the Buddha.
If you believe that Buddha is a god, and can bestow on us the things we want, then that is not the Buddha. The Buddha is a human being who has a deep capacity of understanding and of loving and of having maha karuna, great compassion, maha maitri, great love, maha prajna, great understanding. He can perform miracles. Understanding people is a miracle, and it is described that the Buddha is one who understands the world well. Lukadidu, it means understanding the world. Because he understands the world deeply, that is why he can offer the kind of teaching that can help heal the world. The miracle of understanding and the miracle of teaching are very important miracles that the Buddha can perform.
When you give a teaching that can transform people who heal you, that is a miracle. The Buddha discovered that’s the greatest miracle of all miracles. And the disciples of the Buddha who are capable of doing that, they are, in time, the Buddha. They could already continue the Buddha in the time of the Buddha. And in our time, there are those of us who can do the same by the practice, by the teaching. They can heal people. They can help people liberate themselves from their suffering, so the miracle continues.
If you believe that Buddha is a god, and can bestow on us the things we want, then that is not the Buddha. The Buddha is a human being who has a deep capacity of understanding and of loving and of having maha karuna, great compassion, maha maitri, great love, maha prajna, great understanding. He can perform miracles. Understanding people is a miracle, and it is described that the Buddha is one who understands the world well. Lukadidu, it means understanding the world. Because he understands the world deeply, that is why he can offer the kind of teaching that can help heal the world. The miracle of understanding and the miracle of teaching are very important miracles that the Buddha can perform.
When you give a teaching that can transform people who heal you, that is a miracle. The Buddha discovered that’s the greatest miracle of all miracles. And the disciples of the Buddha who are capable of doing that, they are, in time, the Buddha. They could already continue the Buddha in the time of the Buddha. And in our time, there are those of us who can do the same by the practice, by the teaching. They can heal people. They can help people liberate themselves from their suffering, so the miracle continues.