The fifth in a series of six episodes recorded during the In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimage, this instalment was made in Kushinagar, India, in February 2026. In it, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach Jo Confino are joined by Zen Buddhist nun Sister Tam Muoi and Dharma teacher Shantum Seth to reflect on the Buddha’s final days and the legacy and continuation of his teachings. They also discuss Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing and how Plum Village responded to his transition; the responsibility of current and future generations to continue his work and teachings; and the importance of the multi-fold community in preserving and spreading the Buddha's teachings in a way that is relevant and accessible to the modern world.
Furthermore, Shantum Seth provides historical context about the Buddha's final journey and the events after his passing, including the first Buddhist council and the spread of Buddhism; Brother Phap Huu draws parallels between the Buddha's and Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and legacies; and Sister Tam Muoi discusses the importance of the monastic order in continuing the Buddha's teachings - as well as Thich Nhat Hanh's vision for the Plum Village tradition to evolve and adapt while staying true to its core principles.
About the pilgrimage:
In 1988, Shantum Seth was invited by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) to organize a pilgrimage to the sacred sites associated with the Buddha’s life across India. Subsequently, Thay encouraged Shantum to continue guiding such journeys each year, offering pilgrimage itself as a mindfulness practice - one that the Buddha had suggested.
Shantum has been leading these transformative journeys ever since, offering people from around the world the opportunity to follow In the Footsteps of the Buddha with awareness and insight. After 15 years at the United Nations, Shantum left to volunteer with the Ahimsa Trust, which represents Thay’s work in India and promotes the practice of “peace in oneself and peace in the world”.
Through Buddhapath, his expression of Right Livelihood, Shantum continues to guide pilgrimages and share the wisdom and culture of the places he visits in India and across Buddhist Asia, cultivating community through these deeply meaningful journeys.
To learn more about upcoming pilgrimages, visit www.buddhapath.com, or follow Shantum on Facebook and Instagram at @eleven_directions.
Shantum Seth, an ordained Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) in the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, teaches in India and across the world. A co-founder of Ahimsa Trust, he has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings for the past 35 years, and, since 1988, has led pilgrimages and other multi-faith, educational, cultural, spiritual, and transformative journeys across diverse regions of India and Asia.
He is actively involved in educational, social, and ecological programmes, including work on cultivating mindfulness in society, including with educators, the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, and the corporate sector. Across various Indian sanghas, Dharmacharya Shantum is the primary teacher of different practices of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition.
Sister Tam Muoi (Sister Samadhi) is from the UK and was ordained in 2012, becoming a Dharma teacher in 2022. Having encountered the practice whilst living in France, she became engaged in the French lay sangha and was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2004. She is actively supporting the recently created Being Peace Practice Centre in the UK and is deeply committed to the work of healing ancestral harm, participating in trainings and retreats exploring White Awareness. Read more here.
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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.
🎙️ Recordist: Ann Nguyen; Sound editor: Joe Holtaway; Publisher: Anca Rusu; Producer: Clay Carnill; Executive Producer: Catalin Zorzini
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Resources
The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (4/6) | Fourfold Sangha: The Living Community (Episode #105)’
The Way Out Is In: 'In the Footsteps of the Buddha (3/6) | The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings (Episode #104)’
The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (2/6) | Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree (Episode #103)’
The Way Out Is In: ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha (1/6) | The Buddha: Down to Earth (Episode #102)’
Interbeing
Plum Village Tradition
Kushinagar
Blue Cliff Monastery
No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
The Order of Interbeing
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
Vinaya
Ashoka
Stephen Batchelor
Bodhicitta
Sister Dao Nghiem
Letters from Thich Nhat Hanh
Dharma Talks: ‘Redefining the Four Noble Truths’
Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’
Vasubandhu
Sunyata
King Prasenajit
Kapilavastu
Mahākāśyapa