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The Way Out Is In

In the Footsteps of the Buddha (3/6) | The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings (Episode #104)

The Way Out Is In

Plum Village

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

0.00 Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 111 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you want to support our podcast please visit this link. Thank you! Welcome to a new episode 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. The third in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Rajgir, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are again joined by Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to discuss the foundational initial teachings of the Buddha: the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Non-Self, and the Fire Sermon. Together, they also share personal experiences of encountering the Buddha’s teachings, practicing Thich Nhat Hanh’s wisdom in daily life, highlighting the transformative power of mindfulness, community, the realization of non-self, and more. About the pilgrimage: In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha’s life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice—one that the Buddha had suggested.  Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay’s work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”. Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions.  Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia.  He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition. 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/ Recordist: Ann Nguyenhttps://ann.earthSound editor: Joe Holtawayhttps://joeholtaway.comPublisher: Anca RusuProducer: Clay Carnillhttps://claycarnill.comExecutive Producer: Catalin Zorzini List of resources  The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (2/6) | Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Episode #103)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-2-6-enlightenment-under-the-bodhi-tree-episode-103  The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (1/6) | The Buddha: Down to Earth (Episode #102)’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/in-the-footsteps-of-the-buddha-1-6-the-buddha-down-to-earth-episode-102Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing   Plum Village Traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Village_Tradition 

Transcript

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0:00.0

Dear friends, welcome to this third episode in our special series, live from India, in the footsteps of the Buddha.

0:09.0

I'm Jo Confino, a leadership coach and spiritual mentor.

0:26.6

And I'm Brother Phaphu, a Zen Buddhist monk student of Zen master Ticknikhan in the Plum Village tradition.

0:34.6

And today, dear listeners, we are going to be talking about the three foundational initial

0:41.7

teachings of the Buddha, which on their own could lead us to a lifetime of practice.

0:50.2

The way out is in.

1:06.3

Yeah. The way out to steam. Hello, dear listeners. I am Jo Kofino. And I am Brother Fabhu.

1:08.2

And I'm Shantam Sitt.

1:11.3

So good morning.

1:13.3

So before we officially start, I have to say I'm a big disadvantage,

1:17.4

because Brother Faphu has been getting up at probably 5am every morning for the last 25 years.

1:24.5

And I haven't.

1:25.8

And so I'm feeling sort of like death warmed up. Although the

1:31.3

teaching today is partly about no birth, no death, so I can't be death warmed up. I can just be

1:35.9

tired. And I was also thinking that Shantam and Phapu look very, very fresh, and I feel rather sort of downtrodden.

1:46.9

So if this, I'm glad this is just audio, because it was video, I would need a whole army of

1:52.9

makeup people to, I have huge bags under my eyes, so audio is wonderful.

1:58.8

So, brother, how are you today?

2:05.5

Amazing. Oh, no, how are you today? Amazing. That feels so rough to say that.

2:13.5

So before we get into the teachings of the Buddha, I just want to give everyone a sort of just a quick flavor of what we've been doing, because India is not a place where you just talk about

2:18.2

facts and figures. It's a country that is so alive and full of colour and texture and sound,

2:26.2

a cacophony of sounds. So we're just going to talk very briefly about what we've done the last

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