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The Way Out Is In

Deep Reflection: The Calligraphy of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Episode #23)

The Way Out Is In

Plum Village

Education, Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

0.00 Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2022

⏱️ 75 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome to episode 23 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. In this episode, the presenters, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and lay Buddhist practitioner and journalist Jo Confino, talk about the art of Thich Nhat Hanh, represented by his deeply meaningful calligraphies.  They consider their favourite calligraphies by Thich Nhat Hanh, and some of his most popular work, as well as the process behind it, and its significance, context, words, and wisdom (“the fruit of the meditations”).  Brother Phap Huu, Thich Nhat Hanh’s former attendant, shares how Thay created some of his famous calligraphies, the lessons learned, and the brother’s own journey through the art of calligraphy.  He also delves into calligraphy as something offering “directions for life”, and as a representation of the mind and the present moment; art as meditation; and vulnerability.And, did you know that there is literally tea in Thay’s calligraphy?  Jo recollects a calligraphy demonstration by Thich Nhat Hanh in New York. He further muses on “the golden nuggets” of the mindfulness practice; flow; the embedded energy in each drawing; appreciation of all life; and looking deeply into suffering.Also, do you know the zen story of the farmer who had one son? The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu, to express gratitude for the humans in our lives. [This episode was recorded in December 2021 at Sitting Still Hut in Plum Village, France.]  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  Blue Cliff Monasteryhttps://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/Calligraphyhttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/calligraphy/  The Way Out is in: The Zen Calligraphy of Thich Nhat Hanhhttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/27274234-the-way-out-is-in ‘Sounds True Presents: Calligraphy with Thich Nhat Hanh’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrCsCCB3-II ‘Calligraphy Exhibition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’https://magnoliagrovemonastery.org/general/calligraphy-exhibition-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh/ Dharma Talks: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation or the Three Dharma Seals’https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-three-doors-of-liberation-or-the-three-dharma-seals-sr-chan-duc-italian-retreat-2018-05-04/  ‘Exhibition Opening: U.S. Premiere of Global Spiritual Leader Thich Nhat Hanh’s Calligraphy Exhibition’ https://plumvillage.org/articles/exhibition-opening-u-s-premiere-of-global-spiritual-leader-thich-nhat-hanhs-calligraphy-exhibition/ ‘Thich Nhat Hanh’s Books and Calligraphies on Show in Vietnam’ https://plumvillage.org/articles/thich-nhat-hanhs-books-and-calligraphies-on-show-in-vietnam/Thich Nhat Hanh Calligraphy Note Cardshttps://www.parallax.org/product/thich-nhat-hanh-calligraphy-note-cards/  Browser add-ons: In every new tab you’ll see one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphies, which serve as mindful reminders to pause, breathe, and smile.For Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/thich-nhat-hanh-calligrap/ljicmmknmiapobjgphhogonlfeegmlcl?hl=en-GBFor Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/thich-nhat-hanh-calligraphy/ Quotes “These calligraphies were a way of expressing the practice, in the Zen tradition, which has a lot of art inside. A lot of Zen masters, such as our teacher, were artists, poets, and even musicians. And so Zen offers a space for creativity. A lot of Zen masters would write poems to express their understanding of the world.” “The tears I shed yesterday have become rain.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome everyone to the latest episode of the podcast series The Way Out is In. I am Joe Konfino working at the intersection of personal transformation and systems change

0:27.0

and I am Brother Fap who a Zen Buddhist monk in the tradition of Zen master Tignachan in the Plum Village community.

0:34.0

And brother, today we're going to be talking about the art of Tignat Han,

0:39.6

which was represented in his deeply meaningful calligraphies. K

1:01.9

Hello. Hello, I'm... Hello everyone, I am.

1:07.6

Hello everyone, I am Joe Comfino and I am Brother Fab Who. So Brother Fabu, give us a sense for those who may not have seen his calligraphies? Just describe them. What are they and what do they represent?

1:16.7

Mm. If you ever come to a practice center of Plum Village, you will see in the dining hall or around some of the common areas

1:28.9

framework of phrases such as I have arrived, I am home, don't hurry, enjoy the present moment.

1:38.5

So these phrases are the insight, the fruit of the meditations that our teacher was able to

1:48.0

to understand through the practice and he has written them through this

1:53.4

art which we call calligraphy and normally it is written on rice paper

1:59.6

but in the early days they were written on color paper with this kind of cloud art in the background.

2:08.1

Joe, I don't know you've seen them.

2:09.5

Well, I have one actually, brother, that Thai and the monastics gave me and my wife

2:15.6

has when we got married here. Oh wow so and it is actually the one I have arrived I am

2:20.2

home and it's it's got that colored background with a cloud.

2:23.7

Yeah, I didn't realize.

2:25.4

So, so these calligraphies were a way of expressing the practice and in the Zen tradition which has a lot of art inside so a lot of

2:39.9

Zen masters such as our teacher were artists, were poets, were even musicians, and so

2:49.9

Zen offers a space for creativity to come through.

2:55.0

So a lot of Zen masters would write poems to express their understanding of the world.

3:02.9

Sometimes they would do a meditation on a flower,

...

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