From the Nourishing Happiness in our Hearts retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. This session of questions and answers on August 16, 2014 is given in English with consecutive translation into German. Both the audio and the video are available below.
Children
- Why are the monks and nuns not allowed to have a family?
- Were you unhappy when you weren’t allowed to be in Vietnam anymore?
- Why are the monks and nuns also called brothers and sisters?
- Why is it all the monks and nuns shave their head?
Teens
- Why should we eat vegan and not vegetarian?
- Why did you decide to become a Buddhist or a monk?
Adults
- What are the essential practices of a Buddhist monk or nun in today’s world?
- There are so many schools of Buddhism. Is there something, a teaching, that is the same for all schools of Buddhism?
- In Buddhism, there are the four stages of contemplation and some people need to visualize. Can Thay comment on this?
- What is a good way, a wholesome way, to handle the news of the world?
- How do we work with relationships in our family that are not so healthy?
- When can we know that feeling our feelings is good and when we are watering the wrong seeds?
- How do I balance watering good seeds in me and in my partner?
- Can lying and the practice of mindfulness go together?
- What is truth?