In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss the practice of being and doing - in terms of both Buddhist and mainstream-society perceptions. Together, they look at practical ways to create conditions in which our way of being present can be truly valued and made essential in all our daily actions. How can we train ourselves to maintain presence, in spite of our circumstances?

The conversation tackles various relevant topics, such as being as the ground of our actions; being as a state which is crucial for the art of peace; training our concentration; the super-strength of allowing and sharing our vulnerabilities; creating a schedule for practicing being; how 'to be' in Zen and what people can get wrong about it; being as a way to access interbeing; doing as an avoidance of being (what is it about being that scares us?); the risks of not bringing being into doing; and more.

The episode ends with a short meditation on being, guided by Brother Phap Huu.

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🔔 The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living is a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

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🎙️ The podcast is co-produced by the Plum Village App and Global Optimism with support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.

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Resources

Online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

Interbeing

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’

The Way Out Is In: ‘The Art of Laziness: Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There! (Episode #41)’

The Way Out Is In: ‘Taming Our Survival Instinct (Episode #65)’

John Bradshaw