What is God?

Summary

This talk is a Dharma question-and-answer session held on Thursday, July 25, 2013, in the Assembly of Stars Meditation Hall in the Lower Hamlet of Plum Village during the third week of the summer opening. Thich Nhat Hanh, referred to as Thay, begins by welcoming the Sangha and explaining the format: children, teenagers, young adults, and then adults will each have opportunities to ask questions. He emphasizes that a good question can benefit many people, especially when it comes from the heart and relates to suffering, happiness, practice, and transformation. He also describes the traditional practice of listening to the bell and breathing deeply three times before speaking, so that the whole Sangha can generate collective peace and mindfulness. A central theme of the talk is mindfulness as a practical way to address worry, anger, and suffering. In response to a child’s question about how to stop worrying, he explains that worry disappears when one gives full attention to the present moment through mindful breathing, walking meditation, sports, or eating. He repeatedly stresses that when body and mind are fully engaged in the present, worry has no room to arise. In response to a question about anger, he teaches that anger should not simply be released or thrown away; instead, it should be understood and transformed. Using the metaphor of mud and lotus flowers, he explains that anger, like mud, can become the basis for peace, joy, and forgiveness if it is held in understanding and compassion. He encourages looking deeply into the suffering of the person who caused harm, recognizing that their unskillful behavior comes from their own pain and lack of happiness. This insight allows one to respond with tenderness rather than retaliation. The talk also addresses God, hope, and the sacredness of ordinary life. Thich Nhat Hanh says that God is not an abstract idea but something real that can be touched through mindfulness, concentration, and insight. He describes breathing, walking, eating, showering, and working as opportunities to encounter the wonders of life and the kingdom of God. He points to sunflowers, hills, water, pebbles, leaves, butterflies, and even other people as manifestations of divine reality. In this view, the kingdom of God is not distant; it is present in every breath and step when one practices correctly. He links this to the importance of living in a way that does not harm oneself or others, because suffering and violence often arise from being cut off from these wonders. Another major section of the talk focuses on suffering, loneliness, and the usefulness of pain. In response to a question about suffering and sadness, he teaches that suffering is a normal part of life and that the practice is not to eliminate suffering entirely but to know how to suffer well. He uses the same mud-and-lotus image to explain that suffering can be transformed into happiness and understanding. Loneliness, he says, often arises when one feels unseen or uncared for, but meditation helps one understand the busyness and suffering of parents and others, which softens resentment and creates compassion. He insists that understanding and compassion reduce suffering and allow one to help others suffer less. He also warns against wishing suffering to disappear completely, because without mud there can be no lotus; without suffering there can be no true happiness. The talk then turns to a question about exclusion and friendship. Thich Nhat Hanh advises the questioner to cultivate freshness, peace, beauty, and joy through meditation, so that others will recognize their value. He suggests visualizing oneself as a flower or still water while breathing, which helps restore calm and attractiveness. Rather than blaming others for exclusion, he encourages the practitioner to become someone who can contribute positively to the group and eventually help others reduce their own violence, fear, and anger. A later question concerns serious physical illness, specifically a benign breast tumor. Thich Nhat Hanh explains that mindful breathing can strengthen the lungs and support the whole body, and he shares his own experience of overcoming depression during the division of Vietnam and his mother’s death through breathing and walking meditation. He teaches that every breath can be nourishing and healing, and that one should not allow worry to become a “second arrow” that intensifies suffering beyond the original pain. He references the Buddha’s teaching on the second arrow to show how fear, despair, and exaggerated imagination can worsen illness. He also notes that when necessary, one should consult physicians, Dharma teachers, or psychotherapists. He extends the teaching to terminal illness by introducing meditation on no birth and no death: like a cloud that transforms into rain or river, a person does not cease but continues in another form of manifestation. He contrasts the popular idea of reincarnation with the deeper Buddhist understanding of continuation, impermanence, no-self, and interbeing. The final major theme is true love. Thich Nhat Hanh explains that fear and wrong perceptions prevent people from opening their hearts, but the practice can transform misunderstanding into reconciliation. He outlines the four elements of true love: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusiveness or equanimity. Loving-kindness begins with understanding and accepting oneself and then understanding and accepting the other person. Compassion arises from seeing the suffering in others and wanting to help them suffer less. Joy is a sign of authentic love, and inclusiveness means embracing all beings without discrimination, including humans, animals, plants, and minerals. He concludes that these qualities can be cultivated through practice and bring happiness immediately. The talk ends with an invitation to enjoy a mindful picnic lunch and walking meditation together, reinforcing the integration of practice into daily communal life.