Reading & the Good Life
Our next Reading & the Good Life (free weekly meetup) is scheduled for tomorrow (16 Dec at Noon EST). Reading & the Good Life is “a space for connection, contemplation, and conversations on the art of living.”
For the month of December, we are exploring selected passages from No Mud, No Lotus by the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. If you’re interested in connecting for a casual conversation with a few fellow seekers and curious minds (Register here).
Selected passages for this week:
“The unwelcome things that sometimes happen in life—being rejected, losing a valuable object, failing a test, getting injured in an accident—are analogous to the first arrow. They cause some pain. The second arrow, fired by our own selves, is our reaction, our storyline, and our anxiety. All these things magnify the suffering. Many times, the ultimate disaster we’re ruminating upon hasn’t even happened.” — Thich Nhat Hanh (Ch. 4, No Mud, No Lotus)
Most of the second arrows with which we shoot ourselves come from our beliefs. One basic problem that causes us to suffer is the idea that we are a separate self. This gives rise to the complexes of inferiority, superiority, and equality. As long as we have the idea of a self, we try to protect this self by running away from all kinds of threats and discomforts. — Thich Nhat Hanh (Ch. 4, No Mud, No Lotus)
“The first method of creating joy and happiness is to cast off, to leave behind. There is a kind of joy that comes from letting go. Many of us are bound to so many things. We believe these things are necessary for our survival, our security, and our happiness. But many of these things—or more precisely, our beliefs about their utter necessity—are really obstacles for our joy and happiness.” — Thich Nhat Hanh (Ch. 5, No Mud, No Lotus)
Who is Thich Nhat Hanh?
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) is a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist renowned for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. A gentle, humble monk, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Exiled from his native Vietnam for almost four decades, he has been a pioneer in bringing Buddhism and mindfulness to the West and establishing an engaged Buddhist community for the 21st Century.
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
I find this material, so fascinating! But I have a problem with the idea of “ our belief that we are a separate self.” I have never understood that concept. I’m hoping you could elucidate it. Thank you so much for all the work you do to bring this material to us.