Taming Our Survival Instinct (Episode #65)

Welcome to episode 65 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

This episode is the second to be recorded live in front of an audience, in the Still Water Meditation Hall of Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

This time, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by frequent guest Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem). Together, they discuss ‘manas’: in Buddhism, “an aspect of the mind that wants to believe we’re separate, wants to crave after all the pleasures of life, wants to avoid suffering, and does not like the idea of moderation.” 

The two monastics begin by defining manas and their larger context, as well as sharing relevant examples from their lives and the community, to support a better understanding of these concepts. The live discussion touches upon topics such as right diligence, watering the right seeds in us, Buddhist psychology, understanding how the mind works, the laws of moderation, reality checks, the importance of community in taming manas, the seven characteristics of manas, and much more.

The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu.

Enjoy!

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/ 

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resources 

Sister True Dedication
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Understanding How Our Mind Works (Episode #28)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/understanding-how-our-mind-works-episode-28 

Sister Lang Nghiem
https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem 

Yogachara
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogachara 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Shining Light (Episode #63)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/shining-light-episode-63 

Dharma Talks: ‘Manas Consciousness, Teachings on Buddhist Psychology Retreat, 1997’
https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/manas-consciousness-thich-nhat-hanh-teachings-on-buddhist-psychology-retreat-1997 

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing 

Mahayana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana 

‘51 Mental Formations’
https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’