I wanted to do a series of posts about the things I learned at my retreat last week (or so) ago, so here's part 1 of Thich Nhat Hanh's brilliant insights. These are all distilled from dharma talks that TNH gave during the first days of the retreat.
*The present conditions are sufficient for happiness. We spend so much of our life waiting for a moment to come when we will be happy. "Ugh, I can't wait until I finish school/get married/get divorced/see my family/escape my family/get a job/etc." However, when we think that way, we are entirely ignoring the present moment and living in a time not present, either past or future. "I wish that our date/party/dinner/lesson/retreat/concert had been longer." We have little concept of how wonderful each moment is, and can be within ourselves. Suffering will always exist in our life, but we have a choice whether to indulge it or simply acknowledge it and move on.
*To cultivate happiness, you must leave behind your initial concept of happiness: it may be preventing you from accepting the present moment. If you release your expectations, then the present moment may be quite enjoyable, after all. Mindfulness can help you realize that happiness is here and now. Concentration can also be a source of fulfillment and joy, as well as mindfulness and insight.
*To love is to offer. What do you offer to others and to yourself? To love also means to "be there," to offer your presence. If you are not "there," how can you love or be loved? When mind and body are united, you can truly offer and receive love. When you are present, and you acknowledge another's presence, you are giving love and recognizing their love. Lastly, you can offer understanding. Every person wants and needs to be understood, and many of us thirst for that understanding from others. It's misunderstanding that leads to strife, fighting, and pain.
*One example of terrible misunderstanding is war. Terrorism is when everyone thinks "He's trying to kill me and I should kill him before he kills me!" However, these thoughts are from wrong assumptions, which can only be solved from listening and compassion, not guns and bombs. It's important to acknowledge the suffering of both sides in a war- those who kill must suffer in order to kill, and those who are hurt are often victims of an unpleasant government. Every sequence of events politically can be traced back to various harm from different countries, and everyone is to blame in causing the ills. Bush is not the only one to blame for invading the middle east, and we let him do it. If we tried our best to resist it, then we have done our best. However, everything and everyone is connected, and no one can be truly happy when others suffer so much in the world and one ignores it. (I don't think I explained that one too well!)
*So much of our day to day emotions are neutral or unpleasant, but compared to other moments in our life, should actually be quite pleasant. For example, when you are ill, you suffer so much, and you think, "oh, if only I could be well!" But when you are well, you rarely think, "Hmm, I am grateful for my lack of headache, grumpiness, congestion, etc." Putting our less thrilling moments in this context can make us realize the beauty of all moments.
One of the things I loved so much about the retreat was just getting to see Thay (TNH). 
He is so calm and deliberate in all of his actions, and it is as though he could never get angry with everyone. He is so aware of everything and everyone, and this comes through just in the way he walks and talks with everyone. Having read a few of his books, it was amazing to see how his ideas really work in a practical sense with monks and nuns and an intentional community of people. It made me realize that I need a sangha of practitioners, of like-minded people who want to make the world a better place through mindfulness, love, and understanding. I feel like I learned so much from my retreat, and I can't wait to join a sangha, go on more retreats, and read more of his works. Everything he says is so practical, yet so powerful. To acknowledge that war, strife, argument, and anger is all a consequence of suffering (both yours and the other side), is momentous. Just in these few highlights, one can see how to live life differently, how to appreciate every moment in a different view, and how to re-evaluate love. To those of you who have read TNH's stuff, I look forward to your insights, and I look forward to growing as a person in the world.
He is so calm and deliberate in all of his actions, and it is as though he could never get angry with everyone. He is so aware of everything and everyone, and this comes through just in the way he walks and talks with everyone. Having read a few of his books, it was amazing to see how his ideas really work in a practical sense with monks and nuns and an intentional community of people. It made me realize that I need a sangha of practitioners, of like-minded people who want to make the world a better place through mindfulness, love, and understanding. I feel like I learned so much from my retreat, and I can't wait to join a sangha, go on more retreats, and read more of his works. Everything he says is so practical, yet so powerful. To acknowledge that war, strife, argument, and anger is all a consequence of suffering (both yours and the other side), is momentous. Just in these few highlights, one can see how to live life differently, how to appreciate every moment in a different view, and how to re-evaluate love. To those of you who have read TNH's stuff, I look forward to your insights, and I look forward to growing as a person in the world.Currently: watching the new season of Flight of the Conchords! Listening to ipod on shuffle. Currently reading TNH's book "buddhist ethics for a new century" or something like that.
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