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The Soul is not Born, does not Die - to our Beloved Teacher Thay Nhat Hanh


"Breathing in ... I know I'm breathing in ...

Breathing out ... I know you never left ..."





"When I die"

Going to the most beautiful place


When I die

I'll try to get back to you

As soon as possible .

I promise it won't be long.


This may not be true

that I am already with you

dying every moment?

Back to you

in every single moment.


Look,

feel my presence .

If you feel like crying,

cry.

And you just know

that I cried with you.

The tears we shed

they both will heal.

Your tears are mine.


Strolling the ground this morning

It goes along with the history.

Both spring and winter are present in the moment.

Young leaf and dead leaf are absolutely one.


My feet touch the immortal,

And my feet are yours.

Walk with me now.

Let's enter the dimension of unity

and we watch the cherry blossom in winter.


Why talk about death?

I don't need to die

to come back to you.




A truly enlightened being, with a gentle and loving heart, you have walked through the most darkness and light; your teaching, your way of living and your very being has showed the world how a human being could be. It's not too much to say that your teachings have changed so many lives, and made this world a more joyful, loving, clearer, harmonious and spacious place.


It was sad. My heart was weeping. However, your teachings, your words is like a loving parent, wiped the tears away and healed my heart.


You always looking up at the sky and watching the cloud. Oh that cloud, as you often mentioned in your teachings, "The cloud does not come from nothing; there has been only a change in form. It is not birth of something out of nothing."


Dear Thay, will you join me and review these beautiful words that you have shared? My eyes are your eyes, my voice is your voice, my smile is your smile. Through my body, let's read the words together:


The true nature of all things is not to be born, not to die, not to arrive and not to depart. My true nature is the nature of no coming and no going. When there are sufficient conditions, I manifest, and when the conditions are no longer sufficient, I hide. I do not go anywhere. Where would I go? I simply hide.
If your dear one has just died, you may have a difficult time overcoming your loss. You may be crying all the time. But look deeply. There is a divine medicine to help you overcome your pain, to see that your dear one is not born and does not die, does not come and does not go.
It is only because of our misunderstanding that we think the person we love no longer exists after they “pass away.” This is because we are attached to one of the forms, one of the many manifestations of that person. When that form is gone, we suffer and feel sad.
The person we love is still there. He is around us, within us and smiling at us. In our delusion we cannot recognize him, and we say: “He no longer is.” We ask over and over, “Where are you? Why did you leave me all alone?” Our pain is great because of our misunderstanding. But the cloud is not lost. Our beloved is not lost. The cloud is manifesting in a different form. Our beloved is manifesting in a different form. If we can understand this, then we will suffer much less.
-- Thich Nhat Han, No Death, No Fear.




 

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2 comments

2 Comments


Unknown member
Jan 26, 2022

Such wonderful words here. They help me on my journey 🙏

Later this year (October) a new book will be published, a collection of Thay's poems. His written words will help to keep him close.

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Unknown member
Jan 26, 2022
Replying to

Oh how wonderful. I shall put one in front of my desk so that it will remind me of his loving presence, every day, every moment. 🙏

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