Befriending Our Habits (Episode #44)

Welcome to episode 44 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. In the first podcast recording of 2023, the presenters – Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino – discuss habits, both the positive ones that help us lead better lives, but also those that can cause us harm and make our lives difficult. Both presenters share negative and positive habits, and the difficulties of transformation.  Can you guess the negative habit both presenters have in common? And how can we transform our negative habits and bring more positive habits into our lives? Is it possible to truly transform at the base? How important is friendship in facing our habits? Also, what is ‘shining the light’ and how can this Plum Village practice help us?  Brother Phap Huu shares on the topic of the most recent practice of shining the light during the annual Rains Retreat; rushing energy; generosity; dealing with inferiority complexes and accepting ourselves; folding clothes; mirroring each other’s transformation of habits; the interbeing of the community; and collective awakening through individuals’ positive habits. And what did Thich Nhat Hanh mean by “happiness is a habit”? Jo delves into sharing the light for lay practitioners; seeing the best in people and watering people’s positive flowers; cultivating awareness; speed, chasing deadlines, and rushing as a way of life; inherited habits; fear of humiliation; and the interbeing of complexes. And what happens when you look deeply at just one bad habit?   The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. 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 ‘Shining the Light’https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/shining-the-light/How to Take Care of the Habit Energy of Worrying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jANxd6YGdAA  ‘Home Practices for the Rains Retreat’https://plumvillage.org/articles/home-practices-for-the-rains-retreat/  The Four Noble Truthshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA   ‘The Five Mindfulness Trainings’https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/  The Seven Factors of Awakeninghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Factors_of_Awakening  Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communicationhttps://plumvillage.org/books/beginning-anew/  The Way Out Is In: ‘Deep Reflection: The Calligraphy of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’https://plumvillage.org/podcast/deep-reflection-the-calligraphy-of-zen-master-thich-nhat-hanh-episode-23/  The Way Out Is In: ‘Free from Views in a Polarized Wold’ https://plumvillage.org/podcast/free-from-views-in-a-polarized-world-episode-36/ Quotes “Happiness is a habit.” “Thay always says suffering and happiness go together, so don’t be so blinded by suffering without recognizing happiness. And don’t be so confident about happiness that we forget that if we don’t take care of our happiness, suffering will come.”  “It’s a beautiful meditation to look into our habits, because you can go into the history of it and know yourself more.”  “Happiness is a habit in this particular practice; knowing the goodness in the here and now.” “When we enter the monastery for a retreat, there’s one habit that we invite everyone to practice, and it’s probably very new to someone who has never had any introduction to Buddhism or spirituality: stopping when you hear the sound of the bell. This is a habit that we have introduced to hundreds of thou