This is an excerpt from the third talk of the "Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness" series, given by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on February 19, 1998, New Hamlet, Plum Village France, in the Winter Retreat 1997-1998.

🔔 Video transcript

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"When we have a big emotion, such as despair, fear, anger and hatred—these emotions blaze up like fires that burn and gut our body and our mind. We feel like we're dying. We can't bear it. It's like when a storm blows up, trees and plants feel like they're toppling down. So, when there's a big emotion or a big feeling coming at us, shaking us up, we suffer a great deal because it's a painful feeling.

"Just look at the trunk of any tree, standing and braving the storm all by itself. If we lay our eyes on the leafy canopies of the tree, we see all the leaves and branches are twisting and bending in whatever direction the wind is blowing. And standing all by itself in the storm, that tree looks so fragile, as if it's ready to break and fall anytime.

"The same with us. We are a tree standing by ourselves braving the storm of big emotions. At those moments, we suffer so much. So many young people not knowing how to handle their big feelings and emotions have committed suicide—by lying on the railroad tracks to be run over, or jumping headlong down a river, or aiming the gun at and shooting through their hearts—because they don't have any way other than ending their own lives.

"We have to practice comprehending and mastering the ways of handling our big emotions and feelings. We recognize a feeling from the heart of that feeling, and we recognize that feeling from without.

"It means, in what way have our psychological elements been conditioned, in what way have our physical/ physiological elements come together, and in what way have different causes of our situation been brought together, that such a strong tornado of emotions has brewed and burst? That's what 'observation of the feelings from within' and 'observation of the feelings from without' mean.

"It's to see interdependent co-arising, i.e. all the near and far causes and conditions that have brought about that feeling. It's especially important that we say, 'It's only a feeling.' "

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✩ Full talk's original title: "Bốn Lĩnh Vực Quán Niệm 03 [CPNĐSNC 24] | TS Thích Nhất Hạnh(19-02-1998, Xóm Mới, Làng Mai)"

✩ Full talk originally posted by Làng Mai (Plum Village's Vietnamese YouTube Channel) on Jun 23, 2023

✩ Full talk given: on February 19, 1998, New Hamlet, Plum Village France, in the Winter Retreat 1997-1998

✩ Excerpt's original title: "Đối trị cơn bão tố của cuộc đời - Trích Pháp thoại Sư Ông Làng Mai 19/02/1998"

✩ Excerpt's originally posted by TCT Phượng Trần (Sakura-Lotus Sangha) on Jan 31, 2024

✩ Excerpt's length: 16 minutes 41 seconds

✩ Watch the full talk with English subtitles and transcript

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REFERENCES (Resources used to translate this Dharma talk): Please kindly visit the video transcript link to see the full list.

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✩ Republished on the Plum Village App with kind permission of Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks channel 🙏