Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership
One of Dan's favorite ways to practice Buddhism is through pithy little catchphrases — Buddhist earworms that burrow into your mind and surface at the exact moments you need them. Few teachers in the modern era wrote more memorable ones than the late Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (known to his students as Thay). Today, two of Thay's senior students join Dan to unpack their favorites.
Kaira Jewel Lingo and Brother Phap Dung are both longtime students of Thich Nhat Hanh and have been on this show several times. They came prepared with a top 10 list of Thay's phrases. They got through four of them — which turned out to be plenty.
In this episode:
– The Zen tradition of brush-and-ink calligraphy, and why Thay would periodically take old calligraphies down and replace them with new ones
– "Sati" — the Pali root of "mindfulness" — more accurately translated as remembering
– Phrase 1: "Breathe, you are alive"
– The gifts of a sensory, breathing, alive moment we routinely forget to open
– The 99% oxygen reading they got on Thay in a hospital at the end of his life (a lifetime of breath practice as proof of concept)
– Phrase 2: "The present moment is the only moment available to us"
– How taking care of the present actually heals the past and shapes the future
– Dan's own candid admission of an uptick in anxiety he's working with right now
– Brother Phap Dung's "airport game" for staying present
– Thay's answer to "but how do you plan for the future, then?"
– Phrase 3: "I have arrived, I am home"
– Why Thay said if he had to condense all his teaching into one sentence, this would be it
– The 100% stickers Thay put in students' shoes before walking meditation
– Dan's retreat with the camera crew (and the moment, around day seven, when he actually arrived)
– The refugee context Thay was writing from — exiled from Vietnam during the war
– Why "I have arrived" is particularly powerful for anyone displaced from their culture
– Phrase 4: "This is it"
– Acceptance as the first step (not the only step, and not passivity)
– Brother Phap Dung's painful work of applying "this is it" to what's happening in Gaza and Iran — and the Vietnam parallels
Kaira Jewel is in the early stages of building the Beloved Community for Engaged Spirituality — a Buddhist, Christian, and earth-based retreat center in upstate New York. Brother Phap Dung is opening the Thich Nhat Hanh School of Interbeing this fall.
Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: tenpercenthappier
Follow Dan Harris on Social Media:
Instagram: danharris
TikTok: danbharris
Facebook: DanHarrisABC
Twitter: danbharris
LinkedIn: dan-harris-91ba5716b
0:00:00 Buddhist earworms — Thich Nhat Hanh's pithy calligraphies
0:04:00 Why Thay would change out calligraphies to keep them fresh
0:08:00 Phrase 1: "Breathe, you are alive"
0:10:00 Kaira Jewel on time acceleration and the preciousness of life
0:15:00 Being awake isn't all rainbows
0:17:00 Thay's 99% oxygen reading at the end of his life
0:19:00 Phrase 2: "The present moment is the only moment"
0:23:00 Dan's own uptick in anxiety and the practice of staying with it
0:31:00 Brother Phap Dung's airport game
0:34:00 Phrase 3: "I have arrived, I am home"
0:39:00 Dan's retreat with the camera crew — the moment he actually arrived
0:42:00 The refugee context Thay was writing from
0:47:00 Phrase 4: "This is it"
0:49:00 Acceptance vs. passivity — the first step is not the only step
0:57:00 Phap Dung on applying "this is it" to Gaza, Iran, and the Vietnam parallels
#10PercentHappier #ThichNhatHanh #PlumVillage
This episode is brought to you by Northwest Registered Agent. When you're ready to start a business, Northwest gives you all the tools to build a real business identity from day one — a business address, website, phone number, operating agreement, free guides, and more, at no extra cost. Northwest has been helping small business owners for nearly 30 years, with over 1,500 corporate guides who know your local laws. Get started with a free account at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.....
This episode is brought to you by Warby Parker. Warby Parker makes prescription glasses easy and stylish — shop online with their virtual try-on, or visit a store for an eye exam in a clean, modern space. Covered by many major eye insurance plans, with benefits applied automatically. Buy one pair and get 20% off any additional pairs at https://www.warbyparker.com/happier.
Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership
One of Dan's favorite ways to practice Buddhism is through pithy little catchphrases — Buddhist earworms that burrow into your mind and surface at the exact moments you need them. Few teachers in the modern era wrote more memorable ones than the late Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (known to his students as Thay). Today, two of Thay's senior students join Dan to unpack their favorites.
Kaira Jewel Lingo and Brother Phap Dung are both longtime students of Thich Nhat Hanh and have been on this show several times. They came prepared with a top 10 list of Thay's phrases. They got through four of them — which turned out to be plenty.
In this episode:
– The Zen tradition of brush-and-ink calligraphy, and why Thay would periodically take old calligraphies down and replace them with new ones
– "Sati" — the Pali root of "mindfulness" — more accurately translated as remembering
– Phrase 1: "Breathe, you are alive"
– The gifts of a sensory, breathing, alive moment we routinely forget to open
– The 99% oxygen reading they got on Thay in a hospital at the end of his life (a lifetime of breath practice as proof of concept)
– Phrase 2: "The present moment is the only moment available to us"
– How taking care of the present actually heals the past and shapes the future
– Dan's own candid admission of an uptick in anxiety he's working with right now
– Brother Phap Dung's "airport game" for staying present
– Thay's answer to "but how do you plan for the future, then?"
– Phrase 3: "I have arrived, I am home"
– Why Thay said if he had to condense all his teaching into one sentence, this would be it
– The 100% stickers Thay put in students' shoes before walking meditation
– Dan's retreat with the camera crew (and the moment, around day seven, when he actually arrived)
– The refugee context Thay was writing from — exiled from Vietnam during the war
– Why "I have arrived" is particularly powerful for anyone displaced from their culture
– Phrase 4: "This is it"
– Acceptance as the first step (not the only step, and not passivity)
– Brother Phap Dung's painful work of applying "this is it" to what's happening in Gaza and Iran — and the Vietnam parallels
Kaira Jewel is in the early stages of building the Beloved Community for Engaged Spirituality — a Buddhist, Christian, and earth-based retreat center in upstate New York. Brother Phap Dung is opening the Thich Nhat Hanh School of Interbeing this fall.
Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: tenpercenthappier
Follow Dan Harris on Social Media:
Instagram: danharris
TikTok: danbharris
Facebook: DanHarrisABC
Twitter: danbharris
LinkedIn: dan-harris-91ba5716b
0:00:00 Buddhist earworms — Thich Nhat Hanh's pithy calligraphies
0:04:00 Why Thay would change out calligraphies to keep them fresh
0:08:00 Phrase 1: "Breathe, you are alive"
0:10:00 Kaira Jewel on time acceleration and the preciousness of life
0:15:00 Being awake isn't all rainbows
0:17:00 Thay's 99% oxygen reading at the end of his life
0:19:00 Phrase 2: "The present moment is the only moment"
0:23:00 Dan's own uptick in anxiety and the practice of staying with it
0:31:00 Brother Phap Dung's airport game
0:34:00 Phrase 3: "I have arrived, I am home"
0:39:00 Dan's retreat with the camera crew — the moment he actually arrived
0:42:00 The refugee context Thay was writing from
0:47:00 Phrase 4: "This is it"
0:49:00 Acceptance vs. passivity — the first step is not the only step
0:57:00 Phap Dung on applying "this is it" to Gaza, Iran, and the Vietnam parallels
#10PercentHappier #ThichNhatHanh #PlumVillage
This episode is brought to you by Northwest Registered Agent. When you're ready to start a business, Northwest gives you all the tools to build a real business identity from day one — a business address, website, phone number, operating agreement, free guides, and more, at no extra cost. Northwest has been helping small business owners for nearly 30 years, with over 1,500 corporate guides who know your local laws. Get started with a free account at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.....
This episode is brought to you by Warby Parker. Warby Parker makes prescription glasses easy and stylish — shop online with their virtual try-on, or visit a store for an eye exam in a clean, modern space. Covered by many major eye insurance plans, with benefits applied automatically. Buy one pair and get 20% off any additional pairs at https://www.warbyparker.com/happier.