A cloud never dies is the title of the documentary that traces the life of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Than, who died in January. He not only survived the Vietnam War, founded "engaged Buddhism" and wrote over 100 books, but was also personally nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. We follow the cloud, for a moment.
A picture of a Buddha
It all started with a picture: a picture of a Buddha statue on the cover of a newspaper. When the young Thich Nhat Than saw this picture, the calmness on the Buddha's face cast a magical spell over him. A spell that stayed with him for the rest of his life. He became a monk at the age of 16. He immersed himself in the depths of Zen meditation and herded buffaloes on the side.
The times in his homeland could not have been more turbulent. He experienced everything in his young years, from colonial rule, war, invasions by foreign powers to the great famine. Despite all the turmoil, he found support in studying old Buddhist texts. He realized that Buddhism had repeatedly contributed to peaceful changes in history and it was precisely this treasure that he wanted to reawaken.
Buddhism, please dust it off!
After Buddhism had become increasingly dusty in a corner of Vietnamese society during this time, Thich Nhat Than set about completely revitalizing it. He wanted to polish up the dusty image and transform Buddhism back into a living tradition of peace.
He realized that monks had to offer people more than songs and prayers in times of great crisis. That is why, as a young man, he chose the name Nhat Than, which means 'action'.
The wonders of breathing
During the Vietnam War, bombs struck outside the meditation halls. He found it difficult to process the extent of the violence and war and meditated intensively against his anger and grief. When he discovered the practice of mindful breathing in an old text, it was the key to overcoming his suffering.
Based on this, he developed a walking meditation that combines mindful breathing with every step. This type of meditation and other methods that help to overcome painful feelings became central to his teaching.
Defying the violence outside
While the war was raging in Vietnam, he and like-minded people founded a peaceful community in the mountains of Vietnam. The name they chose was a reflection of this time: Puang Boi, fragile palm leaves. They wanted to defy the violence and despair outside, revive Buddhism and take it to the next level. A few years later, however, the war also reached their refuge in the mountains and forced them to flee.
Study in America
In 1961, Thich Nhat Than went to the USA during the war to study and teach at Princeton and Columbia University. There he deepened his meditation and learned about the possibility of true peace: freedom from hatred, fear and worry. In the heart of the present moment. For him, these were the first delicate blossoms of awakening.
Activism for peace
After the war, he was called back to Vietnam to lead the peace movement there. He founded a university, a publishing house and a Buddhist newspaper. The peace poems he wrote were taken up in the songs of well-known Vietnamese singers.
He was also a co-founder of a movement that actively promoted reconstruction in devastated rural areas, founded communities, practiced agriculture and cared for orphans.
Interbeing - the premier class of compassion
In the 1960s, he founded a new Buddhist order as a spiritual resistance movement: the 'Order of interbeing'. Interbeing describes the connection with everyone and everything else that exists. For Thich Nhat Than, feeling this connection and practising letting go at the same time was always a strong focus of his mindfulness training. Letting go of all ideologies was practiced, including Buddhist ideologies.
In 1982, he founded the now world-famous Buddhist meditation center "Plum Village" in southern France. Retreats and seminars are still offered here today to learn his mindfulness practices.
A cloud never dies
Thich Nhat Than passed away on 22.1.22. Thousands of monks and companions took part in the funeral in Hue, Vietnam, and the bright yellow and red procession.
The documentary "A cloud never dies" (freely available online) traces his impressive life in a touching way. Rating: well worth seeing.
What is mindfulness? (Explanation by Thich Nhat Than)
Mindfulness means being aware of what is happening. Everyone is capable of being mindful. Mindfulness always means being mindful of something. When you are angry and you know that you are angry, it is mindfulness of the anger. Being mindful in the moment makes the moment safer and less dangerous.
You can be mindful of anger, sadness, joy, drinking, walking, breathing and cooking. Mindfulness can be practiced in every moment of everyday life. This cultivates the energy of mindfulness.
And this energy can draw out the energy of concentration again. If you are mindful, for example when looking at a flower, then you can concentrate fully on it. For as long as you want. And if you are very mindful, when you touch things you discover their inner being. Without mindfulness, there is no concentration and no insight into the inner world.
If you would like to read more about and by Thich Nhat Than, here is an overview of books that have also been published in German.
