Marking Thich Nhat Hanh’s Memorial Day: Documentaries, Podcasts, and His Teachings on the Plum Village App

Dear friends,

It’s been one year since the passing of Thich Nhat Hanh. To mark this moment, we’d like to share relevant material about the Zen Master with you, both new and old. This is available to watch, read, or listen to on the Plum Village App and on platforms of the wider Plum Village family. 

Documentaries 

I Have Arrived, I Am Home is a new documentary about Thich Nhat Hanh’s return to Vietnam in 2018. It has been especially produced to mark the first anniversary of Thay’s passing, and premiered on 21st January. Thanks to the International Plum Village Community, it will be freely available to view on YouTube. Directed by filmmaker Max Pugh, it includes footage and commentary on Thich Nhat Hanh’s return to his home country, where he remained until his passing on 22 January 2022. 

From the same director, A Cloud Never Dies is a biographical documentary on Thich Nhat Hanh. It weaves together new footage  and archive photography to tell the story of a humble young Vietnamese monk and poet, whose wisdom and compassion were forged in the suffering of war. Released in April 2022, it’s also free to watch on YouTube. Narrated in English by actor Peter Coyote, subtitles are available in 28 alternative languages, so don’t forget to turn on your preferred option.

Podcasts 

Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino dedicated an episode of the Way Out Is In podcast to Thay’s passing. In ‘A Cloud Never Dies: The Passing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’, the two presenters reflect on the Zen Master’s passing and offer a profound insight into its impact on the Plum Village community, and consider his funeral, the memorial week, and the overwhelming global response. An intimate account of the period between the announcement of Thich Nhat Hanh’s passing and the recording of this episode, it details “a retreat of silence, and a retreat of remembering Thay and continuing Thay.

On the 22nd of January 2023, The Way Out Is In also released a bonus episode: ‘Honoring the Wisdom and Guidance of Thich Nhat Hanh’. Recorded on the eve of the anniversary of his passing, to mark this memorial day, in it, the two presenters recollect the events of the past year – “a year of deep interbeing”.

You can listen to these episodes on the Plum Village App, YouTube, and other streaming services. 

Zen Circle by Thich Nhat Hanh, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Memorial Practice Resources

There is a special folder on the Plum Village App, titled Memorial Practice Resources, where you can access relevant short teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh on the topics of birth, death, and coping with loss; talks by other Dharma teachers; and chants, songs, and even written material to help users better understand Buddhist teachings on passing and continuation. This material was carefully curated with guidance from Plum Village monastics. 

Teachings, talks, and guided meditations 

To go deeper into Thay’s legacy, we encourage you to browse the Plum Village App for his teachings (in both audio and video form), many of which are edited into short teachings. Go to the Ask a Zen Master folder for snippets of wisdom collected mainly from public Question and Answer sessions. For even shorter snippets (one minute or less), browse the #Shorts folder.

The Thich Nhat Hanh Talks folder contains live recordings from retreats and public events around the world. If you listen to multiple talks, you will hear teachings repeated – but don’t worry! Even if we understand something intellectually, it can be useful to listen again and again, treating it like a guided meditation, gently reminding ourselves to bring mindfulness into every possible moment.

For meditations guided by Thay, go to the Thich Nhat Hanh folder under Guided Meditations. Including both long and short versions of classics like ‘Calm: Ease and Flower Fresh’ to the French-language ‘Meditation cosmique’, this is a great place to start exploring meditations with guidance from the Zen Master himself.

These are just some of the main locations where material by and with Thay is concentrated. Please be aware that Thay’s teachings and wisdom can be found in the majority of the curated folders on the app.

We look forward to hearing about your favorite talk or mediation by Thay.

Enjoy!


☁️ As has been the case with Buddhist teachings for millennia, there is no charge for the Plum Village App and its digital content. However, if your means allow, please consider offering a donation to support our small team’s continued work on the app.

Comments

  1. Om, Good morning, bonjour.
    I have downloaded your app 2 months ago. And I just wanted to say THANK YOU. So happy, so lucky to be able to practice every day with this fabulous tool! Meditations, timer, scriptures, even for kids…EVERYTHING is a bliss for our lives. I am very very grateful that you gave this app, and I will donate with a big feeling of gratefulness 🙏🙏🙏Thay is still spreading his light and love keep on share please, we dreadfully need it.💝💖❤

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