Thích Nhất Hạnh on Nonduality and the Consciousness of ‘Things’
Is the consciousness of a flower or a cat equal to that of a human being? Do non-living things have consciousness? In 2014, at the University of Virginia, astrophysicist, Dr. Trinh Xuan Thuan asked the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, (Thay to his students), to explain. Thay’s response is both uplifting and humbling.
Transcript of Thích Nhất Hạnh reply
“When we look into our cells as a human being we see that the human being is made only of non-human elements. We have the mineral element in us, we have the element of vegetable in us and we have the element ‘animal’ in us. Not only do we have human ancestors but we also have animal ancestors and vegetable ancestors and also mineral ancestors; and our ancestors do not belong only to the past – they belong to the present. They are fully present in us. Without them we cannot see the way we see, we cannot think the way we think, we cannot live the way we live. And the electron is also in us. So when I produce a thought every ancestors in me including the mineral, vegetable and animal ancestors, collaborate with me in order to produce that thought.
It’s like when you see – you look at the tree. That is not the job of only your eyes, as you know very well. Without the brain, without the blood, without the cells in your body, without all that, the ‘seeing’ would be an impossible thing for eyes.
When the eyes ‘see’ the whole body is participating in the act of seeing. When we produce a thought, when we reason, when we create music, when we do mathematics, not only a number of neurons are doing so, but the whole body – the whole lineage of ancestors in us are participating in producing that thought.
So looking like that you see that you are made of ‘non-you’ elements and that the non-you elements continue to be in you and if you take the non-you elements out, there is no more ‘you’ left.
We have the complex of superiority as human beings and we think we have that kind of intelligence, that kind of consciousness that other living beings do not have. But I’m not very proud of that kind of mind that we are using in daily life: the mind of discrimination caught by many notions, the foundation of all kind of suffering. We discriminate against this and that, and that creates complexes of superiority, inferiority, and equality.
(gestures to an orchid) This plant has intelligence, this plant has knowledge, this plant has a will to live. This plant knows how to fabricate flowers and fruit and how to continue to live in the best way it can. And it seems to me that this plant is creating less suffering than we human beings. I am not very proud of my mind of discrimination. Therefore I am free from the complex of ‘superiority of a human being’. I know that I can do better.
That is why when you produce a thought, Mother Earth is producing that thought together with you. Don’t say that you are alone producing that thought. Mother Earth is in you at the foundation and she is producing that thought with you at the same time. This thought is not your property. This thought that is produced is a creation of the whole Earth – and not only the Earth, the Sun also, because without the Sun the Earth can not be herself; she is not able to create you and to bring you into existence.
So that is the mind of Non-discrimination. As far as you use the mind of discrimination to judge and to organize, you continue to create suffering. That is why it’s so important to learn how to remove notions that are at the foundation of separation and discrimination.”
VIDEO via I AM HERE, by Bart Georgi Chashymie
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.
About the Speakers
Thich Nhat Hanh has been a pioneer in bringing Buddhism to the West, founding six monasteries and dozens of practice centers in America and Europe, as well as over 1,000 local mindfulness practice communities, known as ‘sanghas’. He has built a thriving community of over 600 monks and nuns worldwide, who, together with his tens of thousands of lay students, apply his teachings on mindfulness, peace-making and community-building in schools, workplaces, businesses and prisons throughout the world. (via Plum Village website)
Trinh Xuan Thuan is one of the leading astrophysicists worldwide and is internationally recognized for his research on extragalactic astronomy and galaxy formation in particular. He is the author of more than 230 articles on the formation and evolution of galaxies, particularly dwarf galaxies, and on the synthesis of light elements in the Big Bang. He was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2014 in recognition for his pioneering work in the field of astrophysics, his broader efforts to popularize scientific issues and his personal commitment to French-American friendship.
I’m curious about this article. It says that this is a statement from Thay in 2015 at the University of Virginia – after his devastating stroke which profoundly compromised his capacity to speak and which kept Thay from traveling. Given his condition and these circumstances – I wonder if this statement actually came from Thay at that time – or some earlier time. Please check into this and clarify/verify the source and attribution. Thanks, Joel Levey (a student of Thays)
You are correct. As you can see, the video was recorded before his stroke, which occurred November of 2014. The dialogue was filmed earlier in 2014. Thank your for catching this. We will fix it.
The wonderful image and the thought expressed reminded me of the Buddha’s “Flower Sermon”