Of all the podcasts I have listened to on this website, (and I have listened to quite a few), the podcast “Brother Thay: A Radio Pilgrimage with Thich Naht Hanh”, was my favorite. Even though I am not of the Buddhist faith, I found a lot of the ideas of Brother Thay to be very relevant and insightful. I really enjoyed learning about this incredible man and his teachings about suffering, understanding, and compassion.

This particular show made me realize how important mindfulness is. How it is disciplines for living fully in the present and having compassion towards your self as well as having compassion to other individuals. Bringing up the practice of mindfulness and how it is centered helped me get on the right track when it came to handling grief and pain. With mindfulness I will be able to handle the pain and find relief. I would like to thank Krista for this refreshing and wonderful podcast with Brother Thay as her guest.

So many people forget about breathing when times get hard. We would rather rant and rave about the problems in the world, our lives, the workplace, or wherever. Meditation is a great way to start thinking about our breathing and calm down rather than get ourselves into more trouble with the words that come out without us thinking about them.

Thay does a great job reaching out to people of all different backgrounds to help them deal with situations differently the next time they come up without knowing when, where, or how it might happen. Many times we do not think we will ever understand what is going on around us nor have the time to do so. But according to Thay we can as long as we are mindful well fully mindful.

Many of us have hard times, busy schedule, and conflict with others but staying mindful and connected will allow us to understand and stay firm in the life we do live. We just need to remember to breath at all times, of course we breath but not just breath but breath with meaning and thought. Breathing centers our hearts and thoughts.

No matter who you are or what your life is like Thay can help you stay peaceful, mindful, centered through his retreats that cause you to think and meditation. Don’t stop breathing when times are rough because breathing is the key to staying grounded.

About two weeks ago I came across True Love by Thich Nhat Hahn in the library, read the book and went to the book store and bought it.

I can remember having beliefs similar to Buddhism as a youngster (12-18 years old, I am now 29) before I had even read about Buddhism. I have also had spiritual transformations by trying to understand my family and other circumstances that caused my own personal suffering. As a result, I have been able to work at having better relationships with my parents. Thich Nhat Hahn's book True Love has given me comfort,knowing that other people actually think the way I do. His teachings also seem to be so practical in comparison to some of the other teachings I have come across.

I was equally pleased to hear your interview with Larry Ward. I am an African American woman. I have been struggling like many African Americans with how to be my authentic self when I feel that I am not understood in the larger society (work, school, etc). His discussion about his father's lack of tools to express emotions resonates with me because I recognize the same inability in my father. I was glad to see that Thich Nhat Hahn can teach the wonderful practices of Buddhism in a way that speaks to different types of experiences, including mine.

This program has made me consider furhter study of Buddhism with Thich Nhat Hahn's teachings to continue my spiritual development.

I thoroughly enjoyed your show this week where you played parts of your interview with Thich Nhat Hanh and others which actually took place in 2003. Actually, I remember having heard the original back then and I was very pleased to hear it again. In college, a professor introduced me to Hanh's work and elaborated for me, one of his favorite students, on some of his theories. Because I am blind, I feel very attached to the concepts present in mindfulness and the idea of compassionate understanding. This professor taught me walking meditation and I enjoyed it. In the interview, you mentioned how in Hanh's manual for walking meditation he urged you to walk with a small child so you can get a fresh perspective. My professor believed that walking with a person who is blind had the same effect. Thank you for broadcasting this program.

I loved this interview. I was very touched by most of what was said, however, I still think I need a little convincing with regard to the universal law of self-sacrificing. As was said repeatedly in the program it is counterintuitive to self-sacrifice. Most people think of it as quite saintly precisely because most people would not do it. Finally if you combine this with the story of Jesus, the question I ask you is who did Jesus die for?, he died for Us (me).

You see anyone who dies for me; that is beautiful. The one percent of the population willing to risk their life for some stranger, for me let say, is doing something quite nice they are keeping me alive. Taking this one step further to capitalize on this notion and to put it into a belief system that says it is really, really great if some person, any person really, is prepared to die for Us (for me) and to go beyond this and say that those such suicidal people will go to heaven and heaven is great, and actually to even take this one step further and to put this belief system into a class system like the military where a private might throw himself on a grenade to save his commander, to save the wealthier Us, now we have a belief system we all can love and respect.

What I guess I am saying is by creating an afterlife and getting people excited about the counterintuitive logic of self sacrifice to save Us (me), I don’t see this as going against any concept of social Darwinism or any idea that this belief is not extremely self-centered. This idea in my mind having someone die for me, is very self centered, and the very idea that anyone who does this is exalted just speaks volumes of how rare and foreign and of course respected and beautiful this is in any human society.

I just wanted to express my deepest thanks for your show. I also wanted to comment on how your meticulous care communicated outward as you kindly encouraged us listeners to 'lean in' as listening carefully would assist us to understand any slight language barrier.

Your show is truly the highlight of my week, I thank you for all your hard work, and will continue to offer my thoughts and prayers to you and your entire staff as you bring a desperate world hope, light, and love.

I am a criminal prosecutor and a long-time vipassana meditator. I have long struggled with the conumdrum of my job and my spiritual practice. I prosecute violent crime and am, in fact, a member of the death penalty bar in Illinois. When I heard about the law enforcement specific retreat at Green Lake, WI, I jumped at the chance to sit with this great teacher. My boss even gave me the time to go!

The most memorable moment, for me, came when a young police officer sat before us and described his preparations for work. He described leaving his young children and wife, kissing them goodbye, going to the police department and literally armouring himself to go to work. He put on his bullet proof vest, his department uniform, his badge, his gun belt, etc. It became so clear that he began by armouring his heart — separating his emotional self from his working self. He had to protect himself from the assault on his heart that he endured every day. This constant separation takes a huge toll on everyone who works with fear and anger and its resulting violence.

Thay's solution was so simple yet so difficult. First acknowledge this separation, this division. Be mindful! Thay told us that transformation begins with us. Everyday that we do not respond to the reality of our jobs with anger we do something to reduce violence in our community. Then he prescribed a code of personal behavior for each of us: communication, compassion, awareness, and support are our best "armour" against the irrational violence we deal with every day. Cheri described her own experience with this very well.

Thank you for reminding me of this lesson. And thanks to Cheri Maples and Larry Ward for reminding me of those most excellent Green Lake lessons. You have helped me remember that my job is to serve my community. I can only do this when I work at eliminating my own misperceptions and misunderstandings — the root of all violence — through skillful attention.

There I was, busily completing a project for a client — immersed in the language of healthcare — solving computer glitches. Then I caught some words on the radio about "mindfulness" and, soon after, found myself listening intently to Krista and her guest Brother Thay. What a marvelous program and provocative thoughts. Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to listen to this remarkable man.

Having just returned from a visit with my family and friends who are working hard on the "front lines" in New Orleans, I received news of some murders that happened as I left. Most of the violence was explained by drug/retaliation violence. There was one that has stung all of the activists in New Orleans in particular.

A beautiful soul named Helen was killed as someone stormed their house at 5 in the morning and shot her. Her husband, Paul, and son were spared. Paul is a doctor, and she is a filmmaker. They have a son who is 7 years old. They left New Orleans after the storm, and had considered the options carefully before moving back — concerns about their son and the environmental health for him. They made the decision to return about 8 months ago. Paul was working in the hardest of places with those with no money. Here is my Buddhist friends telling of them:

I'm on my way to a meeting to plan a march on City Hall Thursday regarding the crime in the city. Helen was a good friend and I have been spinning out since I heard. Everyone loved her very much and it's true she was an angel. Never an unkind word, and always thought the best of people. Always doing amazing things for everyone, both her and her husband. Keep this city in your prayers. I am so mad about what's happening here. Two days ago someone tried to steal a car outside of my house. Annie's friend's SUV. Lots are thinking about moving away. The mayor is no good. Don't ask me about coming here now. Paul asked me about living in the Bywater, "Is it OK Michel? It doesn't feel as comfortable as Mid City" (where they use to have a house before it flooded 10 feet of water.) I told him it was sketchy but they had lots of friends around and it was definitely better than living in an unpopulated area like where their house was. Now Helen's dead. Paul is gone to SC. Two of the best activist folks that I've known.

Take care, I used the gold paint today and have been making art to keep my mind through all of this.

Michel

I have written before questioning why many of the Speaking of Faith programs are repeated and the response was that Krista was writing a book. I now write to say that I am forever thankful that the shows are aired again. As a faithful listener, station sponsor, and now a podcast listener, I find your program a gift beyond measure.

I am a "struggling" atheist. Not a day goes by that I don't challenge myself from the isolationist name that I have branded myself. It is the uncomfortable result of years as a child forced to accept what, to me, was not real. The "total theory" approach did not work for me as I experienced more and more of life.

So as not to bore you with my autobiographical passages — the bottom line is that I am still searching. I find the fundamental gift of your programs to be soulful nourishment for it presents life lessons learned by minds greater than mine who also struggle in dealing with the world's complexity and offers new ways and alternatives of coping with our frailties to enrich our journey. In some cases the gift is a whole new vision!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your words, questions and talent to present such wonderful programs to those of us hungry for insight. Needless to say this Saturday's radio pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh was a particularly wonderful experience.

Thank you for the interview why Master Thay! I have been a reader and follower of his teaching for many years, but have never heard his voice. His interview has led me to your program, new on GPB. I've now read many of your archived programs. Your Web site has given me a new contact with the greater sangha of the world. I attend a Thai Wat in Atlanta with my Thai wife. Although I do not speak Thai, I absorb the spiritually present in the services.

I heard of Thich Nhat Hanh through some of Thomas Merton's writings. Being a Viet Nam veteran, I also remember the passion of some Buddhist monks during the war in the 1960s. Several years ago I read Brother Thay's Creating True Peace and found it speaking to the heart and soul. I gave a review of the book at a peace group I had joined and was asked by this woman if she could borrow the book. We were married a year and half later. We listen to SOF every Sunday morning and appreciate the breadth and depth of Krista's guests and topics.

Thank you very much for your program and insightful journal. I am a student of Vipassa Na meditation teacher, Shinzen Young. Shinzen is one of the most innovative meditation teachers on the planet today, and I highly recommend that you seek him out for a possible program.

In 1967, along with Father Berrigan, I poured blood on draft files to protest the Vietnam War. I want to thank you for this program in that I see non-violent direct action as my only contact with my religious past and the only way the church is relevant (I am agnostic, a scientist, and a leftist). I wish you had pressed Thich on tactics — for I believe in radical militant (Calvinistic, sort of?) action. Immolations were inspiring to us protestors of the war — both those of Quakers and Buddhists. I have a big problem with the appearance of passivity in Zen and Buddhism — although Thich's sort is very active. Transforming anger is great but more needs to be said about how non-violently to contain a Saddam, a Bush, a Hitler. Does some property have no right to exist and should it then be attacked? Like recruiting stations? Most church people and meditationers sit around on their duffs. But then, Thich is more a teacher than an activist.