Spiritual Practice

During the months of March and April, we read the third chapter, “Spiritual Practice” of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses to Life’s Burning Questions. Below are a few of the questions with abbreviated versions of the answers.

Q: One of the most frequently used terms in Buddhist teachings is “listening deeply.” What does it mean to listen deeply?

A: Looking deeply means using mindfulness to become deeply aware of an object of concentration. This involves not just the eyes, but the ears as well for deep listening. We can also look deeply without using the eyes or ears, as when concentrating on our breathing. “When mindfulness is there in our mind consciousness, it does the work of looking deeply.” You can’t use your intellect to touch the root of impermanence, but must touch it in a deep way. This is the basis of vipashyana, insight meditation.

Q: How can we look deeply into our fear of death?

A: Looking deeply into our fear, we see the desire for permanence. Anger, fear, and despair come from wrong perceptions about being and non being. Looking deeply, we can see that these do not apply to reality. Nothing can die. Life is a process of constant change. A cloud can’t die; it can change into rain, snow, or ice, but it cannot become nothing. “Once you accept that with joy, there is no fear. That is the practice of looking deeply.”

Q: My parents are fundamentalist Christians. They don’t understand Buddhism and they say my wife and children and I are going to hell because we don’t accept their God. How can I communicate with them?

A: Viewing God as capable of violence and punishment rather than forgiveness and tolerance is a wrong view of God, a distortion. Those who believe there are enemies of God that have to be destroyed don’t realize that their way of seeing things amounts to intolerance and a desire to punish. “For God, there is no enemy.” Some fundamentalists can change their views if we deal with them with mutual understanding, loving speech, and patience. We should not condemn or attack, but help them realize their God is a little bit too small. To be a Buddhist is to try to protect the life, integrity, and safety of adults, children, and all living things; to practice generosity; to refrain from sexual misconduct; to practice deep listening and loving speech; to refuse to consume all the toxins readily available in society – the Five Mindfulness Trainings.