The profound interplay between grief and love served as the catalyst for an insightful exploration of mindfulness practices, particularly in the context of escalating racial injustice and the unprecedented global pandemic. This exploration, detailed in the article "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings: A New Paradigm for Racial Justice and the Global Pandemic," delves into the author’s personal journey through profound loss and societal upheaval, offering a framework for navigating these challenges with compassion and clarity. The genesis of this work traces back to 2019, a period marked by the author’s diligent support of their brother, Sam, through his terminal illness. His passing in February 2020 was compounded by the dissolution of a fifteen-year marriage, creating a landscape of personal grief. This period of intense emotional vulnerability coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ushering in months of isolation and physical distancing. The stark realities of the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx communities, immigrants, and low-income populations began to emerge with alarming clarity. The subsequent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, coupled with widespread protests advocating for police reform and the amplified momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, created a societal environment of profound distress and urgent calls for change. In response to this cascading series of crises, the author found solace and guidance in the Plum Village mindfulness practice and teachings, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Months prior to this convergence of personal and global crises, a significant encounter at Blue Cliff Monastery, a mindfulness center within the Plum Village tradition, had foreshadowed this turn towards deeper spiritual inquiry. As the author prepared to deliver a dharma talk, a nun presented them with a copy of the Sutra on Transforming Violence and Fear. This text became a vital tool for processing personal emotions and understanding the complex events unfolding both domestically and internationally. Daily reflection on the sutra’s teachings was soon joined by a focused contemplation of the Third Mindfulness Training, specifically addressing the concept of True Love. This training resonated particularly deeply in the wake of the author’s divorce, when feelings of love seemed distant and inaccessible. The iterative process of reading and reflecting on the sutra and this specific training, amidst the backdrop of their brother’s death, the global health emergency, and widespread social unrest, provided a structured approach to navigating immense personal and collective suffering.
The period immediately following the author’s brother’s death saw a rapid acceleration of racial justice protests across the United States, igniting a global dialogue on race. A pivotal moment in this unfolding narrative was a two-hour virtual healing gathering for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), led by Ruth King, a respected teacher in the Theravada tradition and author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out. Sponsored by Liberate (now The Village), a mindfulness app catering to BIPOC individuals, the gathering drew hundreds who shared their grief, rage, and anger. Listening to the speakers, the author experienced a surge of confusion and anger, which was then met with a profound and transformative question posed by Ruth King: "How do you fight injustice without hating?"
This question served as a powerful "bell of mindfulness," prompting continued deep reflection on the sutra, the Third Mindfulness Training, and the nature of power. The author began to examine power dynamics and the skillful application of one’s own influence in service to others. This introspection was further illuminated by their dharma name, Chan Tang Luc, meaning "True Sangha Power" or "True Power of the Sangha." Bestowed upon ordination in 2003, this name was accompanied by a poignant observation from Sister Chan Khong: "Power is not what you think it is." This statement, resonating through the years, has led to an understanding of power aligned with Thich Nhat Hanh’s articulation of the Five Spiritual Powers in his book The Art of Power: faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.
These personal and spiritual explorations coalesced into the "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings." The author’s motivation stemmed from a desire to comprehend and articulate their own feelings of numbness, loss, and grief, alongside the profound outrage sparked by the societal upheaval. Collaborating with Marisela Gomez, a dear friend and lay dharma teacher, the decision was made to co-author an article. Their previous essay, written in 2015 following the tragic Charleston church shooting, had similarly sought to process collective trauma and offer a path of self-healing and support.
The process of healing from profound loss and grief, the author posits, often necessitates confronting difficult truths, regrets, and old wounds. These experiences, when acknowledged and integrated, can become sources of strength and wisdom. The author’s life has been characterized by a series of losses that have propelled a journey toward inner healing and peace, ultimately leading to a path of forgiveness, peacemaking, and compassionate action. This period of intense personal loss, juxtaposed with the societal crises, created a state of profound vulnerability, fear, and anxiety, for which the author found essential support in their network of friends and family.
The Foundational Role of Mindfulness Trainings
Central to this healing process has been the recitation and contemplation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, also known as the Five Wonderful Precepts, and the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Plum Village tradition. These trainings, originally offered by the Buddha to monastic and lay followers, provide clear ethical guidance for a mindful and joyful life. Thich Nhat Hanh has extensively elaborated on these precepts in his numerous books and global teachings as a means to cultivate personal peace and societal harmony.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings serve as a powerful compass for addressing fundamental life questions:
- How should I live?
- What energy do I wish to bring into a room?
- How do I conduct myself under specific circumstances?
- What inner guidance informs my actions?
- What are my core values?
- What is the world asking of me?
Individual responses to these questions are shaped by a complex interplay of life experiences, deeply held values, and current states of well-being. Regardless of conscious awareness, individuals often operate by a set of guiding principles or values. Many are guided by universally recognized precepts such as truthfulness, honesty, and the avoidance of theft and deceit. From an early age, these principles are instilled to foster responsible citizenship in various spheres of life – within society, the workplace, family, and in relation to oneself.
While some individuals formalize these commitments through vows, such as religious or institutional codes of conduct, these vows can sometimes become detached from their original intent, becoming perfunctory and eventually forgotten. This "set and forget" approach can leave individuals bereft of inner guidance precisely when it is most needed. The challenge, therefore, lies in integrating these guiding principles into daily life and accessing them during moments of critical need.
Interconnectedness and the Sangha
Through years of attending retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community, a profound understanding of the precepts has emerged: they are not linear but are deeply interconnected and interdependent. For instance, the first precept, on reverence for life, is intrinsically linked to the fifth precept, on mindful consumption. The practice of one precept inevitably influences the practice of others. This interconnectedness extends beyond individual precepts to encompass all beings and the entirety of the cosmos. Because our actions invariably impact others, often in ways we may not consciously perceive, practicing the precepts is not a solitary endeavor but a practice undertaken for the benefit of all sentient beings. The choices regarding consumption, both in terms of what and how, have ripple effects that extend to oneself, others, and the planet.
Drawing from Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on emptiness, the concept of the individual self is re-framed. Our bodies are not solely our own but are manifestations of our parents, society, and future generations, as well as the natural elements like trees, clouds, and oceans. This understanding reveals that our bodies and our spiritual practices are expressions of the cosmic whole. To practice the precepts is to support not only oneself but also ancestors, parents, future generations, and society at large, thereby recognizing the profound interdependence between the individual and the cosmos. In a society often characterized by divisiveness, overstimulation, and excessive speed, the precepts offer an invitation to cultivate conscious awareness and a deep sense of interconnectedness.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings serve as an invitation to connect with what is wholesome and beneficial within and around us, acting as "bells of mindfulness." Ultimately, they provide opportunities to cultivate a life of love, peace, and understanding. While challenges in practice are inevitable, recommitment and reconnection with spiritual friends are vital for navigating the path toward a healthy and wholesome existence.
Preamble to the Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings
The "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings" offer a contemporary lens through which to understand these foundational principles for mindful and ethical living. They call for individual and collective awakening, compassion, and peace, emphasizing our inherent interconnectedness. The preamble highlights how events in one part of the world invariably affect others, drawing a direct parallel between the suffering experienced by Black individuals and its impact on all bodies. The text underscores a collective call to action in the face of global pandemics, the climate crisis, and pervasive social and economic oppression. These challenges disproportionately affect marginalized communities, including BIPOC, disabled individuals, those experiencing poverty, war, and genocide, LGBTQIA+ individuals, those facing health inequities, and those with historically marginalized identities. The preamble asserts that no one exists in isolation; our lives and livelihoods are intrinsically linked to those of low-wage workers, healthcare professionals, the unhoused, single mothers, undocumented individuals, and the unemployed or underemployed. When any individual lives precariously on the edge of systemic oppression, all are affected, reinforcing the urgent call to action: "We are called forward."
The practitioner is encouraged to dwell in the present moment, acknowledging the dualistic nature of existence—equanimity and instability, discrimination and non-discrimination, ill-being and well-being. The practice emphasizes right view and compassionate action, leading toward right insight. By recognizing the interconnectedness of all life, practitioners are urged to engage wholeheartedly in practice. The act of lighting incense, listening to sutras, sitting with grounded presence, and joining palms symbolizes a turning inward, where concentration reveals the path and fruit of skillful action. The preamble concludes with an exhortation to speak these truths aloud with the collective voice of the sangha, a "true river of understanding."
Contemplation on the First Mindfulness Training: Acknowledging Beauty as Reverence for Life
This contemplation addresses the suffering caused by oppression and generational harm rooted in racial, cultural, social, and ethnic hierarchies. It acknowledges the inherent beauty and violence within life and vows to resist complicity in systems that perpetuate injustice, hatred, and delusion, advocating instead for reverence for all life. The recognition that each individual contributes to collective awakening and the co-creation of a world that celebrates diversity is central. By pausing, breathing, listening deeply, and maintaining an open mind and heart, practitioners are encouraged to inquire about what else might be present, honoring and respecting all life guided by right view and right effort.
Contemplation on the Second Mindfulness Training: Belonging and Connecting as True Happiness
This training focuses on the suffering caused by ignorance and aversion toward one’s own and others’ histories, particularly concerning race, ethnicity, culture, and social constructs. It commits to learning and connecting with these histories, recognizing that racial and ethnic identities were socially constructed for dominance. The aspiration is to transform othering with compassion, acknowledging that this history has led to fragmentation and suffering. Practitioners are encouraged to notice emotions of belonging and othering, questioning their origins. All arising feelings, perceptions, and mental formations are to be embraced with love in action. The commitment to practicing right resolve, speech, action, and livelihood aims to alleviate racial and social suffering, leading to the understanding that true happiness is inseparable from true connection and belonging.
Contemplation on the Third Mindfulness Training: Cherishment as True Love
Aware of the suffering engendered by discrimination and oppression, this contemplation vows to transform these seeds within oneself, the sangha, and society. It acknowledges the ways individuals may have benefited or not benefited from unjust systems and structures. The legacy of violence, including police brutality, against various marginalized groups is recognized. A commitment is made to tenderly examine personal suffering, understanding that one is not separate from others and that suffering contains the seeds of joy. The limitation of narrow interpretations of intimate relationships that foster isolation is noted. This contemplation embraces bold love for compassion, justice, and peace, alongside tender love for understanding. Cherishing the present breath, body, mind, and moment is presented as an act of healing for oneself and others, with the liberation of all beings guided by the wisdom and solidity of the sangha as the path of true love.
Contemplation on the Fourth Mindfulness Training: Vulnerability as Deep Listening and Loving Speech
This training identifies vulnerability as the essence of our true human nature. It vows to cultivate courageous and generous listening that bridges differences and supports those who are different. When understanding falters, practitioners are encouraged to return to their breath and body, offering gentle patience. Loving communication is grounded in honesty, compassion, and openness, aligning with the aspiration to alleviate suffering. The practice of true beneficial regret and sincere apology is emphasized when harm has been caused through unskillful listening or speech, acknowledging the impact and accepting accountability. Through vulnerability, forgiveness, and deep listening, speech is guided by love and understanding, supporting right speech, action, and insight.
Contemplation on the Fifth Mindfulness Training: Welcoming as True Nourishing and Healing
Aware of the suffering caused by an incomplete historical understanding of racial and ethnic segregation and injustice, this contemplation commits to healing oneself and the world. It recognizes how thoughts, perceptions, feelings, words, and actions can be influenced by this history. Practitioners vow to understand their own influences by embracing and acknowledging this history of racial, social, and ethnic inferiority, superiority, and equality. Cultivating joy is seen as essential for this aspiration. Mindfulness of the four kinds of nutriments—edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness—is practiced to understand their influence by this history. With right energy and resolve, conscious consumption is guided by right action that welcomes differences without discrimination. This right insight offers true welcoming on the path to nourish and heal oneself, ancestors, descendants, the sangha, and society.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings are presented as essential tools for remaining centered amidst life’s challenges and joys, reminding individuals that life is a precious gift. These trainings offer a path to liberation and transformation, supporting racial and ethnic reconciliation, social change, and the healing of deep-seated suffering. They serve as a bridge from the shore of suffering to the realm of true awakening and love. The "Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings" are offered as a commentary to these foundational teachings, providing an alternative perspective on Thich Nhat Hanh’s guidance for ethical living. The overarching message resonates with a powerful, recurring call: "We are called forward." This collection, excerpted from Love Is Liberation: Five Contemplations for Daily Ethical Living (2026), courtesy of Parallax Press, emphasizes that these practices are not merely theoretical but are deeply relevant to navigating the complexities of contemporary life and fostering a more just and compassionate world.
