On Prayer & Meditation: Thich Nhat Hanh

Those who understand the invitations accepted and the paths prayerfully explored in my spiritual walk, will not be surprised that the experience and wisdom shared by a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and writer--especially one like Thich Nhat Hanh--might resonate with me, a Christian. Those explorations have left me convinced that I have heard God speak from the reverenced writings and poetry of other faith traitions, in addition to the Scriptures of my Christian faith. But in addition to the Psalms, the Prophets, John's Gospel and Paul's epistles, and the writings and poetry of the Christian contemplatives (yes, the mystics) such as St. John of the Cross and the more contemporary Thomas Merton, I find most resonant the Sufi poetry of Hafiz and Rumi, among others, as well as some Buddhist writings and Haiku poetry. And now, Thich Nhat Hanh.


Thich Nhat Hanh may be best known to Western audiences for his disarming, endearing book, Living Buddha, Living Christ. But today I'd like to share with you some of his brief remarks on prayer and meditation offered in his Introduction to his good friend Thomas Merton's book, Contemplative Prayer, a succinct, insightful treatment I've found both instructive and comforting. Thich Nhat Hanh:

Our approach to prayer in Buddhism is a little different from that of Chrisitanity. We practice silent meditation, and we try to practice mindfulness in everything we do, to awaken to what is going on inside us and all around us in each moment... In real prayer, you ask only for the things you really need, things that are necessary for your well-being, such as peace, solidity, and freedom--freedom from anger, fear, and craving. Happiness and well-being are not possible without peace, solidity, and freedom... This kind of prayer is the light of God that shines upon you, telling you which way to go... 

In real prayer, you also touch the wholesome seeds in your consciousness of compassion, love, understanding, forgiveness, and joy. In prayer, recognize these seeds in you and help them grow... Our Christian brothers and sisters know that God is love. This prayer is a practice to help us touch love and bring it into our daily life:

THE NINE PRAYERS

1.

May I be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit.

May you be peaceful, happy, and light in body and spirit.

2.

May I be free from injury. May I live in safety.

May you be free from injury. May you live in safety.

3.

May I be free from disturbance, fear, anxiety, and worry.

May you be free from disturbance, fear, anxiety, and worry.

4.

May I learn to look at myself with the eyes of understanding and love.

May you learn to look at yourself with the eyes of understanding and love.

5.

May I be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in myself.

May you be able to recognize and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in yourself.

6.

May I learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in myself.

May you learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in yourself.

7.

May I know how to nourish the seeds of joy in myself every day.

May you know how to nourish the seeds of joy in yourself every day.

8.

May I be able to live fresh, solid, and free.

May you be able to live fresh, solid, and free.

9.

May I be free from attachments and aversion, but not be indifferent.

May you be free from attachments and aversions, but not be indifferent.

This kind of prayer is also contemplation, meditation, and practice. It generates spirituality in every moment of our daily life. In his wonderful book, Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton shares with us his own deep and nondualistic understanding of prayer and meditation...
But many Christians and many Buddhists do not practice, or they only practice when they are in difficult situations, and after that they forget. They support churches and temples, organize ceremonies, convert people, do charity work or social work, or take up an apostolic ministry, but they do not practice mindfulness or prayer while they act...

To me, mindfulness is very much like the Holy Spirit. When the energy of the Holy Spirit is in us, we feel truly alive, capable of understanding the sufferings of others, and motivated by the desire to help. Mindfulness and the Holy Spirit are both agents of healing. When you touch deep understanding and love, you are healed.

If we pray "in the Spirit," we are certainly not running away from life...prayer does not blind us to the world, but it transforms our vision of the world, and makes us see it, all men, and all the history of mankind in the light of God.

Postscript:


In the '60s, my earliest introduction and understandings of Zen Buddhism were found in the more ponderous, academic books and writings of Daisetsu T. ("D.T.") Suzuki. But those books and writings were often dark windows for me, providing only a measure of understanding and evoking a measure of resonance and respect, but not enough to keep me from leaving it all there and moving on. Yes, I still mused over the Zen koans and Haiku poetry of Basho, but it failed to move any closer to the center of my spiritual journey and identity.

But as I found the depth and range of Thomas Merton's writings calling to me more urgently, I happened upon his book, Zen and the Birds of Appetite. It is a respectful, unthreatened and unthreatening treatment of Zen Buddhism from the perspective of an American Christian monk. Remarkably, he finds much to suggest shared directions and common experience in the practice of prayer, meditation and contemplation--albeit with markedly different nomenclatures, philosophical frameworks, and understandings of purpose.

That small volume concludes with a wonderful exchange of ideas, understandings and explanations between Thomas Merton and D. T. Suzuki, who also became one of Merton's good friends. And you too might find it spiritually enriching to accept the invitation to share and learn what they shared and learned from each other.