The Heart of Meditation - Part Two | TWOII podcast | Episode #62

In this episode, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino continue their discussion with Sister True Dedication (Sister Hien Nghiem) about the 16 exercises of mindful breathing which are at the heart of the teachings offered by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community. This episode, the second of a two-part special, explains and breaks down the practice of breathing exercises nine to 16. It includes the exercises' traditional texts, revised versions, and variations and adaptations, with extensive explanations given by the two monastics about how to apply each to our daily lives. The first eight exercises are also briefly recapped, along with a description of the Three Doors of Liberation. Also, where do the 16 exercises come from? How do we gladden the mind? What is true strength? What about authenticity? Why is it important to name the mental formations? What does liberation feel like? And how do we integrate the 16 exercises into a busy life? These and many other questions are answered in this installment of the podcast. Enjoy. ------- Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:25 Brief recap of first 8 exercises 00:06:29 Where do the 16 exercises come from? 00:07:46 Ninth and tenth exercises 00:12:39 The importance of naming the mental formations during exercise 9 00:18:15 Generating and maintaining positive mental formations 00:36:44 Gladdening the mind 00:44:58 What is true strength? 00:47:11 Eleventh and twelfth exercises 00:52:24 Description of the Three Doors of Liberation 00:59:55 What does liberation feel like? 1:09:34 Thirteenth and fourteenth exercises 1:11:01 Fifteenth and sixteenth exercises 1:31:33 Fifteenth and sixteenth exercises in Thay’s rendering 1:40:12 Thich Nhat Hanh and authenticity 1:45:58 Integrating the sixteen exercises into a busy life 1:56:26 Outro ----- 🎧 Listen to previous episodes on YouTube ➛ http://pvapp.to/twoii-episodes ------ 🔔 The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living is 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. 🔔 ------ The podcast is 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/ ------ 🎧 Listen to the podcast on the (completely free) Plum Village App ➛ https://link.plumvillage.app/a4LG and other streaming services. ------ Resources: Plum Village Community ➛ https://plumvillage.org/ Thich Nhat Hanh ➛ https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/ 🎙️ Sister True Dedication ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/ 🎙️ Brother Phap Huu ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/br-phap-huu/ 🎙️ Jo Confino ➛ https://www.instagram.com/joconfino/ Songs: ‘The 16 Exercises of Mindful Breathing’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/the-16-exercises-of-mindful-breathing Thay's Poetry: ‘Please Call Me by My True Names (Song & Poem)’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem Interbeing ➛ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Sister Jina ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-dieu-nghiem ‘51 Mental Formations’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation Dharma Talks: ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-noble-eightfold-path The Way Out Is In: ‘The Three Doors of Liberation (Episode #18)’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/the-three-doors-of-liberation-episode-18 The Art of Living ➛ https://plumvillage.org/books/the-art-of-living Chinese Buddhist canon ➛ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhist_canon Dharma Talks: ‘The Five Remembrances’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-five-remembrances-sr-thuan-nghiem-spring-retreat-2018-05-17 ‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village Master Tang Hoi ➛ https://plumvillage.org/books/master-tang-hoi Nagarjuna ➛ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjuna Yogachara ➛ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogachara Help us caption and translate this video: https://web.plumvillage.app/subs?yt=AlDPbKhtqiw #TheWayOutIsIn #ThichNhatHanh #PlumVillageApp #twoii