My beloved teacher
jasonleow • 22 Jan 2022 •
My beloved teacher had passed.
His name is Thich Naht Hanh, but we affectionately call him Thay (meaning teacher in Vietnamese). He’s a Zen master and monk who started the mindfulness centre and monastery called Plum Village, located in Bordeaux, France.
He was there when I spent three life-changing months at the monastery, meditating and practising mindful living with the monks. Every day I watched him and his monks walk, work, sit and talk with such alacrity and presence. Have you ever been transfixed by how someone walks? Yes, he did that to me. He’s completely there when he walks. I don’t think I’d ever walked like that, or seen anyone else outside of Plum Village walk like that. It was mind-opening, to say the least.
I was never formally inducted as his student, but in heart, he’s my teacher. His teachings and practice of mindfulness gave me an anchor to life, deep roots to weather all the storms that life had thrown at me. He gave me a non-religious, value-belief system that guides me to this day.
And now, he’s gone.
But he taught that we continue on in many forms, that as cliche as it sounds, this isn’t goodbye, if you meditate deep into it.
He wrote:
“The tears I shed yesterday had become rain.” – Thich Naht Hanh
Now, our turn.
Comments
@Winkletter thanks Rob. It was a heartfelt tribute. Yes, he brought peace everywhere he went. It’s might not be as powerful on screen…if you saw him irl, it’s another level altogether.
@jasonleow That’s a beautiful tribute. I only know of him through videos and books. It’s not often when someone passes that you realize the world is slightly less peaceful than it was a moment ago. Usually we disturb the world with our presence, but he always seemed like someone who brought peace to those around him.