Singa Sangha

 Joyful Garden Sangha in Singapore is formed by a group of seekers,each of whom after their personal journey and retreat with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village monastic, decided to come together to share and practice their learnings and understanding on daily mindfulness. 

The lessons taught by Thich Nhat Hanh, or Thay, as his students affectionately call him, are simple in appearance and yet profound in the most life changing and affecting way. Thay has famously said that a miracle is experienced not through walking on water but through walking on earth.It is indeed through Thay's teachings that one may experience the pleasures of daily miracles, here and now.

Thay teaches his students to walk meditatively, to eat mindfully, to breathe consciously and most of all, to smile smile and smile.  We all inter are, and there is nothing that the divine creation is not. It is by looking deeply within ourselves and through our daily living that we can begin to gain a glimpse of what and why everything is as it is. Here is a sample of Thay's teaching :

Washing the dishes
is like bathing a baby Buddha.
The profane is the sacred.
Everyday mind is Buddha's mind.

If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert and a cup of tea, I will be equally incapable of doing these things joyfully. With the cup in my hands, I will be thinking about what to do next, and the fragrance and the flavor of the tea, together with the pleasure of drinking it, will be lost. I will always be dragged into the future, never able to live in the present moment. The time of dishwashing is as important as the time of meditation. That is why the everyday mind is called the Buddha's mind.

Meanwhile, there are profound changes experienced today. There is terror and violence at every level of our living because there is terror and violence within. There is global recession because our sense of value and worth have been fundamentally underpinned by greed and insecurities. In a word, there is nothing without that is not linked to something within. This is because that is, is another famous teaching from Thay.

 And that is why walking, breathing, eating and all other simple acts of daily living take on such fundamental importance in Thay's teachings.One's personal and spiritual growth is not divorced from social accountability and responsiblity to all beings, both sentient and non-sentient. Neither is one's social conduct separated from a space of self reflection and deep awareness.

If what you have been seeking for, is a connection between the spiritual and social, or an insight to the miracles of daily living, or if simply to eat, smile and breathe more lightly, do join us for a practice or a retreat or contact us for more updates on Thay's teachings.

 THE CLOUD

As a free person I can always come and go,
Not caught in ideas of is and is not.
Not caught in ideas of being and non-being
Let your steps be leisurely.
Waxing or waning the moon is always the moon
The wind is still flying. Can you feel it my dear?
Bringing the rain from afar to nourish the nearby cloud
Drops of sunshine fall from no high to earth below
And the lap of earth touches the clear vault of the sky.

- Thich Nhat Hanh-

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

THICH NHAT HANH

An introduction from wikipedia

Letter by Martin Luther King Jr to the Nobel Institute

Video telecast of forum between president of Asia Society and Thich Nhat Hanh

Times Magazine article : 60 years of Asian Heroes

What I would say to Osama Bin Ladin, an interview with Thich Nhat Hanh

Transcript of radio interview with USAToday

Excerpts from books by Thich Nhat Hanh

Questions & Answers by Thich Nhat Hanh