If we know how to listen to people, we can bring a lot of relief to their suffering. When people feel understood, we have already defused the bomb, says THICH NHAT HANH
I would like to tell you how I practice when I get angry. During the war in Vietnam there was a lot of injustice and many thousands of my friends and disciples were killed. I got very angry. One time I learnt that Ben Thuy, a city in Vietnam with 300,000 people, was bombarded by American artillery just because some guerrillas came to the city and tried to shoot down an American aircraft. They did not succeed, but the city was destroyed.
Look Closer
The American official responsible later declared that he had to destroy Ben Thuy in order to save it. I was very angry. But at that time I was already a solid practitioner. I did not say anything or act because I knew that acting or saying things while you are angry is not wise. It may create a lot of destruction.
I went back to myself, recognising my anger, embracing it and looked deep into the nature of my suffering. I saw that the source of our suffering was not the American soldiers. The American young men sent to Vietnam to kill and be killed underwent a lot of suffering. Their suffering continues even today. I could see that our suffering came from a kind of policy that is not wise, a misunderstanding or insecurity.
Many of us in Vietnam had to self-immolate in order to call for a cessation of the destruction. We did not want to inflict pain on other people, we wanted to take the pain on ourselves in order to get the message across. But the sound of mortars and bombs was too loud. Not many could hear us.
So I decided to go to America and call for a cessation of the violence. That was in 1966 and I was prevented from going back home and I began my exile since then.
Because I was able to see that the real enemy of man is not men, but it is ignorance, discrimination, fear, craving and violence, I did not feel any hate towards Americans. So I came to plead for a kind of deep looking so thatthe American government could revise its policy.
I remember meeting the then Secretary of Defence, Robert McNamara, and I told him the truth about the suffering. He kept me with him a long time and listened deeply to me. I was very grateful for his quality of listening.
And three months later when the war was intensified I heard that he resigned from his post. Because hatred and anger was not in my heart, I was also listened to by many young people in my country advocating to them the path of reconciliation and together we helped with the peace negotiations.
Rediscover Calmness
I hope others are able to practice in this way — not to act, not to say things when you are not calm.
There are ways that we can go back to ourselves and practice so that we rediscover our calmness, our tranquillity, our lucidity. There are ways to look deeply to understand the real causes of suffering. And that understanding will help us to do what needs to be done and not to do what could be harmful to us and other people. We can listen to each other.
Many are in a situation of despair. Many suffer because of injustice and discrimination. The amount of violence and despair in them is huge and if we know how to listen to them, we can already bring a lot of relief to their suffering. When people feel understood, we have already defused the bomb. ■
Ahimsa Trust represents Thich Nhat Hanh in India. It offers talks, retreats, and Mindfulness meditation sessions. www.ahimsatrust.org; ahimsa.trust@gmail.com
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