Freedom From Past and Future: MindfulnessPractice for the Present Moment

Jul 31, 2014

10 min read

Most of us habitually escape into either past regrets and suffering or future anxieties and uncertainty, treating both as mental prisons that prevent genuine presence. Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that life exists only in the here and now, and that mindful walking and breathing are practical tools to arrive home to the present moment—the only place where true freedom, joy, and the kingdom of God are available. Rather than a philosophical abstraction, mindfulness becomes a method of actually living rather than wasting our one life running toward things that have already passed or have not yet arrived.

Why We Run: The Habit Energy of Escaping the Present

Thich Nhat Hanh opens his teaching by naming a fundamental human condition: "There is the habit energy of running in every one of us." This is not judgment but observation. We learned long ago that the present moment feels unsafe or incomplete, so we developed the reflex to flee it. Some of us run toward the future, chasing happiness, peace, and fulfillment we believe await us there. Others run backward into the past, replaying suffering and regret like a film we cannot stop watching.

The practice of running is so automatic that we rarely notice it. We are uncomfortable in the here and now, so we go elsewhere—anywhere but this breath, this moment, this step. The energy that propels this running is not something we consciously choose each time; it is a deeply ingrained habit formed over years or lifetimes. It feels as natural as breathing.

The Past as Prison: Reliving Suffering Again and Again

Many of us carry the weight of childhood and youthful suffering. "The mark of suffering is very deep in us," Thich Nhat Hanh says, "and there is a dark corner in our consciousness. The memory of suffering is stored there." In daily life, we find ourselves drawn back to that corner, watching the old pain like a recurring film. We know intellectually that it is not helpful to relive the same suffering, yet we do so habitually. "We know that it's not good to go back to the past and suffer the same kind of suffering again and again, but that has become a habit."

The past becomes a kind of prison because we are locked in it, unable to access the wonders available in the present—the sunshine, the blue sky, the trees, the flowers, the simple miracles of being alive. We are not free. We miss what is actually here while we stand in the museum of our own history.

This is not a minor problem. Each time we return to the past in this way, we reinforce the grooves of old pain. The habit deepens. Freedom seems impossible because we do not see the bars of the cell we have built from memory.

The Future as Prison: Fear, Worry, and Uncertainty

Yet many of us also run in the opposite direction—toward the future. We are caught by fear and uncertainty about what has not yet happened. We worry about money, health, relationships, outcomes we cannot control and that may never occur. "We are caught by that energy of fear and uncertainty and worries," Thich Nhat Hanh explains. "The future also becomes a prison."

Because we are so preoccupied with the future, so concerned and worried, we are incapable of living in the present moment. We miss the blue sky, the beautiful hills, the trees, the flowers, the sunshine, the children—all the wonders of life that are unfolding right now. Life is not in the future. Life is here.

Two prisons, then: one behind us, one ahead. And we stand between them, unable to escape either.

Life Is Only Available in the Here and Now

"Life is only available in the here and the now," Thich Nhat Hanh states clearly. "The past is no longer there and the future is not yet there. Only life—life is only available in the present moment, and this is something very clear."

This is not poetic metaphor. It is literal. The past exists now only as memory—a thought arising in the present. The future exists now only as imagination—a thought arising in the present. Both are concepts, not experience. We can only actually live, breathe, taste, see, and touch in this moment. All sensory reality, all actual events, all genuine experience happens now.

Yet we spend our conscious hours elsewhere. We miss appointments with actual life because we are mentally in other times. This is what it means to say we are not free—not because external forces constrain us, but because our own minds keep us imprisoned in times that do not exist anymore or do not exist yet.

Mindfulness as the Key to Freedom

"The practice of mindfulness helps us not to be caught in the past or the future and live deeply in the present moment," Thich Nhat Hanh teaches. Mindfulness is not relaxation or blankness. It is remembrance—literally, "to remember." Forgetfulness is its opposite. "Forgetfulness is the opposite of mindfulness," he says. "Mindfulness is to remember that life is a wonder; we are there and we should live our life deeply."

When we practice mindfulness, we are training ourselves to remember what is actually happening, to come back again and again to the present moment where real life occurs. We need freedom "from the sorrows and regrets concerning the past, and the worries and uncertainty about the future." Mindfulness provides a practical path to that freedom.

Mindful Walking: Every Step Brings You Home

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches mindful walking as a concrete, accessible practice. "If we know how to walk, then every step can bring us home to the here and the now." The method is to synchronize walking with breathing: coordinate your steps with your in-breath and out-breath. You might take two or three steps with the in-breath, then two or three steps with the out-breath. The rhythm varies based on your body and pace; the key is the intention to arrive with each step.

Many people use a phrase to anchor the practice. Thich Nhat Hanh shares one: "I have arrived. I have arrived." This is not a thought or affirmation. It is a device, a tool to help you do what you want to do. "I have arrived" means you are arriving in the here and now where life is available. It reminds you of the address of life: here. And the address of the kingdom of God is also here.

He elaborates: "If you know how to breathe in mindfully and make a step in mindfulness, you can already enter the kingdom. The kingdom is available. The problem remains whether you are available to the kingdom. The practice of mindfulness is to make yourself available to the kingdom."

When we stop running, when we arrive, something shifts. "Joy and happiness and love is possible when you are in the Kingdom." This is not future promise. This is present reality.

Touching the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now

Thich Nhat Hanh extends the teaching into spiritual territory accessible to both Buddhist and Christian practitioners. A lotus flower, he observes, belongs to the kingdom of God. "If she does not belong to the kingdom, to what must she belong?" When you are fully present, you can touch the lotus flower and through it, touch the kingdom of God itself.

More radically: "Your body also belongs to the kingdom of God. It is a wonder. It is a big gift." Your own body is part of the kingdom, not separate from it. "Whatever you touch, get in touch with—this contains the kingdom." Everything touches the kingdom because the kingdom is here, now, in all things when we are present enough to see it.

He notes that Christian mystics understand this. Many bishops and Protestant leaders he has spoken with grasp that the kingdom of God is not a distant afterlife but an available reality in the present moment. "You don't have to die in order to go to the kingdom. In fact, it may be too late. You have to be very alive in order to step into the kingdom of God."

Why This Matters: Stopping the Destructive Chase

Thich Nhat Hanh connects the practice to real harm in the world. Young people and adults alike run after objects of craving—money, power, sex, sensory pleasures—because they have not tasted the real joy available in the kingdom. "If people have the kingdom with us in our life, we don't need anything else," he teaches. If we could offer a complete teaching and practice that helps people actually taste and experience the joy and happiness of being with the kingdom right here and now, "they will stop running after objects of their craving like sensual pleasures, power, sex and so on" that destroy body and mind.

The teaching is not ascetic rejection of life. It is the opposite: full, present engagement with actual life. The kingdom is on Earth. Mother Earth is "the most beautiful planet in the whole galaxy." We have the chance to be here, to practice mindfulness, to enjoy the kingdom with every step. This is not denial of pleasure but its fulfillment at the deepest level.

The Practice of Stopping and Arriving

Throughout his teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes a simple paradox: we must stop running in order to truly arrive. "If you don't run anymore, that is why there is happiness." When we practice mindful walking with a group, Thich Nhat Hanh explains, we can walk at a normal pace—not too quick, not too slow—and use our breathing and steps together. "Every step should bring us home to the here and the now."

The practice itself becomes an appointment kept with life. "We have an appointment with life, and that appointment takes place in the here and the now in the present moment. If we miss the present moment, we miss an appointment with life, which is very serious." Yet without mindfulness, we continuously miss these appointments because we are always lost in forgetfulness, in past and future.

One hour of sincere practice—mindful walking and breathing—can already transform our relationship to time and presence. It establishes the memory that arrival is possible, that freedom is possible, that joy is possible right now.

Where to Go From Here

Begin where you are. The next time you walk, notice your feet, your breath, the ground beneath you. Choose a simple phrase or simply attend to the rhythm of your steps matching your breathing. You do not need a special place or special conditions. The practice is available in a parking lot, on a city street, in your home. The only requirement is the intention to arrive, to be present, to remember that this moment—this breath, this step, this sensation—is the only place where life actually occurs. There is no other address to which life will be delivered. Freedom is not something distant to achieve. It is the natural result of stopping the running and arriving home to what has always been here: the present moment, where you are, where everything is, where the kingdom is available.

Transcript

[0:20] de s today is uh the 26th of

[0:24] July 2014 and we are in the Assembly of

[0:28] stars meditation Hall

[0:31] low Hamlet plumish and this is

[0:35] our fourth week of the summer

[0:41] opening there is

[0:44] uh the Habit energy of running in every

[0:49] one of

[0:51] us we have

[0:54] learned that habit

[0:59] uh a lot long time since a long time

[1:03] ago we are not comfortable in the here

[1:06] and the now we feel we are not

[1:10] comfortable in the here and the

[1:13] now and uh we tend to

[1:16] run to the

[1:20] Future looking for happiness looking

[1:25] for peace looking for fulfillment

[1:33] many of us are

[1:35] caught in our

[1:39] regret and sorrow concerning the

[1:43] past we may have suffered a lot when

[1:46] they were a

[1:48] child when he was

[1:51] young and uh the mark of suffering is

[1:55] very deep in

[1:57] us and there is a dark Corner in our

[2:04] Consciousness and

[2:07] uh the memory of

[2:10] suffering is stuck in

[2:13] there and in our daily life it tend to

[2:16] go back to that spot and watch the film

[2:21] again and again and experience the

[2:24] suffering of the past again and again

[2:31] we know that it's not good to go back to

[2:34] the past and suffer the same kind of

[2:36] suffering again and again but that has

[2:40] been has become a

[2:42] habit so the past become a kind of

[2:46] prison we are locked in

[2:49] it and we are not capable of getting out

[2:53] and be in the present moment where there

[2:55] is sunshine the blue sky and the wers of

[2:59] life

[3:02] we are not

[3:06] free so there must be a way in order to

[3:10] get out of that

[3:13] prison and the practice of mindfulness

[3:15] can help

[3:17] us and many of us also

[3:21] uh tend to run into the

[3:24] future and we have a lot of uh fear and

[3:29] uncertainty about

[3:34] future and we are caught by that energy

[3:37] of of fear and uncertainty and

[3:41] worries and the future become also it

[3:44] becomes also a

[3:50] present we are so concerned about the

[3:53] future we worry about the

[3:56] future and that is why we are not

[3:59] capable I to to live in the present

[4:03] moment where all the wonders of Life are

[4:09] available in fact uh life is uh

[4:13] available only in the here and the

[4:17] now the past is no longer there and the

[4:22] future is not yet

[4:24] there

[4:27] only

[4:28] life life is only available in the

[4:32] present

[4:33] moment and this is something very

[4:36] clear the Blue

[4:38] Sky the beautiful Hills the trees the

[4:42] flowers the

[4:43] sunshine the children all wonders of

[4:47] Life are there in the present

[4:51] moment even the kingdom of God is

[4:54] available in the here and the

[4:56] now the pure land of the

[4:58] Buddha and yet we are not free from the

[5:01] past and from the future in order to

[5:06] be with uh life in the here and now so

[5:10] the practice of

[5:11] mindfulness help us to stop being caught

[5:15] by the past by the

[5:18] future to be free in order to live

[5:22] deeply every

[5:24] moment given us to live in the present

[5:27] moment

[5:31] we need freedom in order to to live our

[5:35] life and Freedom From the Past from the

[5:39] future from the worries and uncertainty

[5:42] about the future from the sorrow and the

[5:45] ret concern in the

[5:47] past and mindfulness with the practice

[5:50] of breathing

[5:52] walking can have uh can help us to get

[5:57] free and to be there we we have an

[6:01] appointment with

[6:06] life and that

[6:08] appointment takes place in the here and

[6:10] the now in the present moment and if if

[6:14] we miss the present moment it Miss

[6:17] appointment with life which is very

[6:20] serious but as we continue to live

[6:24] without our mindfulness you always miss

[6:26] the present moment

[6:34] the practice of uh mindful

[6:37] walking can be very

[6:41] helpful because if we know how to walk

[6:44] and then every step can bring us home to

[6:47] the here and the

[6:51] now and we can combine our steps with

[6:55] our in breath or out

[6:57] breath if you know how to combine find

[7:00] the breathing and the walking

[7:03] together and breathe in mindfulness and

[7:06] walk in mindfulness and then every step

[7:09] can bring you home to the here and the

[7:12] now so that you can live our life

[7:15] otherwise you will waste our

[7:20] life we have been living uh in

[7:24] forgetfulness many many years

[7:26] forgetfulness is the opposite of

[7:29] mindfulness

[7:32] mindfulness is to

[7:35] remember that life is a Wonder we are

[7:39] there and we should live our life

[7:49] deeply when when you practice uh walking

[7:53] with uh a group of

[7:57] people uh we can uh

[8:00] we can we can walk normally not too

[8:04] quick not too

[8:07] slow and uh breathing

[8:11] in we might make two steps or three

[8:16] [Applause]

[8:18] steps and every step should bring us

[8:21] home to the here and the

[8:25] now and you may use a word in order to

[8:28] remind you uh of doing

[8:32] so I have a

[8:34] right I have a right

[9:02] I have arriv is not uh a thought you are

[9:05] not thinking I have R is a means a kind

[9:11] of device to help you to do what you

[9:15] want to

[9:16] do I have arrived mean I have arrived in

[9:19] the here and the

[9:22] now

[9:23] where life is

[9:26] available the address of life is here

[9:32] and and you will find out that the

[9:34] kingdom the address of the kingdom of

[9:36] God is also here

[9:40] [Applause]

[9:42] and that is what I have uh

[9:48] found I have shared this insight and

[9:51] part this with many uh Catholics and

[9:56] Protestants many of them bishop or

[9:59] Bishop

[10:01] shops and they are very capable of uh

[10:05] understanding

[10:05] [Applause]

[10:07] that I told them that for me the kingdom

[10:11] of God is available in the here and the

[10:15] now and you don't have to die in order

[10:18] to go to the

[10:20] kingdom in fact it may be too

[10:25] late you have to be very alive in order

[10:29] to step in into the kingdom of

[10:31] God and if you know how to breathe in

[10:36] mindfully and make a step in mindfulness

[10:39] you can already enter the

[10:42] kingdom the kingdom is

[10:45] available the problem remains whether

[10:48] you are available to the

[10:50] kingdom and the practice of mindfulness

[10:53] is to make yourself available to the

[10:58] kingdom and if you can go to the kingdom

[11:00] you don't have to run anymore you have

[11:02] arriv

[11:04] right joy and happiness and love is

[11:10] possible when you are in the

[11:13] Kingdom this uh

[11:15] flower this lest flower she belongs to

[11:19] the kingdom of God to me it's very

[11:22] clear if she does not belong to the

[11:25] kingdom to what she must

[11:28] be belong to

[11:32] and if you are truly there fully

[11:35] present you can get in touch with

[11:39] her and the kingdom of God is in

[11:43] her if you can get in touch with the

[11:46] lotus flower you get in touch with the

[11:49] kingdom of God and this is part of

[11:53] Kingdom this contains the

[11:56] kingdom your body also so belongs to the

[12:02] kingdom of God it is a wonder it is a

[12:06] big

[12:12] gift and many Christian Mystics agree

[12:15] with that with

[12:17] this you carry the kingdom of God in

[12:21] you and whatever you

[12:25] touch get in touch

[12:27] this Ono contain the

[12:34] kingdom and

[12:38] uh the delusions I spoke

[12:42] to they are very

[12:44] capable to acknowledge that the kingdom

[12:47] of God is available in the here

[12:51] now I told them that uh if uh if you if

[12:57] they can offer the kind of

[13:00] teaching and

[13:03] practice

[13:05] in

[13:08] uh to help the young

[13:12] people to get in touch with the

[13:15] kingdom of God in the here and the now

[13:19] and then they will stop running after

[13:21] objects of their

[13:23] craving like a cenal Pleasures

[13:27] F uh

[13:37] power Sixx and so on and destroy the

[13:41] body and the

[13:44] mind and many many of them are do not

[13:48] want to do with their life and they are

[13:51] running after

[13:54] objects of uh

[13:57] gving like uh

[14:00] money like uh Power like

[14:04] sex and they St

[14:07] themselves so it is possible to offer

[14:10] the kind of teaching and practice that

[14:12] can help

[14:13] uh the people people to

[14:17] enjoy the kingdom of God to Pro to

[14:21] regate joy and peace

[14:25] right in the here and the mouth and that

[14:28] is the only way to prevent people

[14:32] from from

[14:34] uh destroying their body and their mind

[14:37] running after objects of their

[14:43] craving but the teching and practice

[14:46] should be very

[14:53] complete and uh practitioners should be

[14:57] able to

[14:58] taste to experience the

[15:02] joy and uh the happiness of being with

[15:05] the

[15:06] kingdom in the gospel there is

[15:13] a there is

[15:15] [Applause]

[15:17] a a

[15:20] story of a farmer who found who found a

[15:24] treasure in a piece of

[15:28] land and he went home and sell

[15:30] everything else H to buy that piece of

[15:33] land if he has that treasure he doesn't

[15:37] he doesn't need anything else so if we

[15:40] have the kingdom with us in our life we

[15:43] don't need anything

[15:48] else and in the light of the practice of

[15:50] mindfulness the kingdom the treasure is

[15:53] available the here and the

[15:57] now Mother Earth is a beautiful

[16:01] planet she is the most beautiful

[16:05] planet in the whole uh

[16:12] Galaxy our scientist have not found a

[16:14] second

[16:17] one and Mother Earth is very talented

[16:20] she's

[16:21] beautiful and you have chance to

[16:27] be in this planet

[16:30] and the kingdom of God for those of us

[16:33] who practice mindfulness is uh on

[16:38] Earth is

[16:40] hon the kingom is a available in the

[16:44] here and the

[16:47] now and the practice of mindfulness is

[16:50] to make ourself available to the

[16:52] kingdom and to practice walking

[16:55] meditation mindful

[16:58] walking is to enjoy the kingdom with

[17:01] every

[17:04] step every step has the energy of

[17:07] mindfulness concentration on

[17:10] inside inside is the kingdom is here you

[17:15] don't need to look for for it elsewhere

[17:19] and in the

[17:22] future and that inside is not so

[17:25] difficult to get just look at this lotus

[17:28] flower

[17:31] and you can see

[17:33] that that flower Belong To The

[17:36] Kingdom the sunshine belong to the

[17:39] kingdom and you belong to the

[17:42] kingdom you don't have to go elsewhere

[17:46] or in the future to look for that is

[17:49] only an

[17:51] insight and but the inside you can stop

[17:54] running and every step bring you home to

[17:57] the here and now that is why you can

[18:00] can you can declare that you have a

[18:05] right I have a

[18:08] right if you are Mindful and

[18:11] concentrated you can arrive

[18:15] 100% at address here and now so I have

[18:20] arriv is a practice and not a

[18:25] statement and you make

[18:27] the state with your

[18:30] feet breathing in you say I have

[18:36] R I have

[18:39] right and if you have enough mindfulness

[18:42] you can arrive to

[18:46] leave and if you can

[18:49] arrive you can stop the running you can

[18:53] stop the

[18:54] course you have been running all the

[18:56] time

[18:59] all your life all our life and the habit

[19:02] of running might have been transmitted

[19:04] to us by our parents and

[19:08] ancestors so now with this

[19:13] Insight we can stop

[19:16] running and breathing in I make one step

[19:20] and arrive in the here and

[19:25] now and the address is clear

[19:29] I have

[19:35] arriv and that those of us right in the

[19:39] first session of my for walking can

[19:43] already

[19:45] arrived and some of us find it

[19:48] difficult because the habit of running

[19:51] is so

[19:53] strong I remember one day a journalist

[19:57] from l came

[20:00] here and he was uh invited to join the

[20:04] walking meditation before he had the

[20:07] interview and he suffer very much during

[20:09] to

[20:11] walk he reported later that it's very

[20:20] exhausting because he was Ill to running

[20:24] and he had to force himself to go slowly

[20:26] with us he suffer a lot

[20:31] epison that's the word he he use

[20:39] epison and yet meanwhile me many of us

[20:44] most of us

[20:46] enjoy the kingdom of God with every

[20:49] step

[20:52] stopping experiencing joy and happiness

[20:56] with every

[20:57] step be because every step can be

[21:00] nourishing and healing and for him is uh

[21:05] suffering so we have to train ourselves

[21:08] in

[21:09] Walking we walk in such a way that every

[21:12] step can help us to stop the course stop

[21:16] the run to arrive in here and now and to

[21:19] get in touch with the wonders of life

[21:21] that are available in the

[21:23] here the sunshine is a Wonder the blue

[21:27] sky is a Wonder

[21:29] the beautiful trees are wonders

[21:32] everything is wonder a p is a

[21:37] Wonder a butterfly a

[21:43] tri even the the mud that help the lus

[21:47] to grow is a

[21:53] wonder and why uh you walk with us

[21:59] you can very well profit from the

[22:01] collective energy of mindfulness

[22:03] generated by the whole group because

[22:06] many of us know how to

[22:08] walk and to arrive with every

[22:13] St so you allow yourself to be embraced

[22:16] by that kind of collective energy and

[22:20] will be easier for you to

[22:23] arrive with living I have arrived I have

[22:27] arrived

[22:33] so you might begin with uh two

[22:36] steps why breathing

[22:39] in I have

[22:41] arriv I have arriv be sure that you

[22:45] truly

[22:50] AR and then when you breathe

[22:52] out you say I am

[22:56] home already home

[22:59] home home because my true home is in the

[23:03] here and the

[23:09] now my to home is not the past or in the

[23:21] future my home is the kingdom of God the

[23:25] pure land of the Buddha my home is

[23:27] Mother Earth

[23:30] the he and

[23:33] the so when you breathe out you might

[23:37] make three

[23:39] steps because our out breath is usually

[23:43] a little bit longer than our in

[23:47] breath so you say I have a

[23:50] ey I have a ey I'm

[23:54] home

[23:56] home home and you feel at home with

[24:02] everything is very healing and

[24:07] nourishing if you can toly arrive and

[24:10] feel you at home in the here and now

[24:14] your home is not in Switzerland or

[24:22] Holland uh

[24:25] Indonesia uh America your is here and

[24:31] now where life is

[24:35] available so these words are not

[24:37] thinking these are guiding uh device so

[24:42] that you may be concentrated in it you

[24:45] can realize

[24:47] it and this is a

[24:50] challenge because we are used to run to

[24:53] running to the running and that is why

[24:57] this is a kind of resistance

[25:00] this is

[25:01] uh a

[25:04] revolution if every step is a revolution

[25:07] I don't want to run anymore I want to

[25:10] stop I want to live my

[25:12] life I don't want to miss the wonders of

[25:16] life I don't want to miss the kingdom of

[25:18] God that is available I have a

[25:24] right I have arriv

[25:29] I'm

[25:31] home

[25:33] home

[25:36] home and you know

[25:38] what when you can to the arri there is a

[25:41] peace in

[25:44] you because you don't struggle anymore

[25:47] you don't run anymore that is why there

[25:49] is

[25:51] peace and your food food

[25:54] drinks has peace in

[25:57] it has

[25:59] Mark here and now

[26:05] in it's so

[26:07] simple but it's very

[26:11] deep I have a r i

[26:15] home and you might enjoy arriving and

[26:19] feeling the home for three four five 10

[26:23] minutes as long as you like

[26:30] and one hour of practice can already

[26:32] make a differ a

[26:34] difference we have to learn how to

[26:37] breathe and to walk

[26:43] again and then after that you might

[26:45] change into

[26:47] might you might use other words in the

[26:50] here and the now

[26:57] [Applause]

[27:10] [Applause]

[27:13] here here here there's no mistake this

[27:17] is the Real the true

[27:22] address and that is the address of light

[27:25] that address of the Kingdom so Al they

[27:28] are the different words but they mean

[27:30] exactly the

[27:32] same the point of arrival the place of

[27:41] arrival and you are well established in

[27:43] the here and the

[27:44] now and you are in a position to get in

[27:48] touch with the wonders of life that are

[27:53] available and get in touch with them you

[27:55] get the nourishment and healing that you

[27:57] need

[27:59] and that those of us who can heal

[28:02] ourselves just by the practice of

[28:04] mindful

[28:05] walking we can stop and create

[28:09] enjoy if your

[28:14] depression still

[28:19] continues if your depression refuses to

[28:21] go

[28:23] away because you continue to

[28:27] allow your yourself to be carried away

[28:30] like

[28:31] that you are a

[28:35] victim if you know how to stop running

[28:39] to be yourself to get to go home and

[28:43] heal

[28:45] yourself and then the depression will

[28:48] have to go away

[29:01] I am

[29:09] solid I am

[29:17] free because each uh each

[29:21] step made like this like make like

[29:26] that can help cultivate

[29:29] more

[29:31] solidity we know that a person without

[29:34] uh

[29:35] stability and solid cannot be a happy

[29:39] person so by walking like like that I

[29:44] can't wait more stability and

[29:48] solidity and this is not uh I this is

[29:53] not uh Auto

[29:55] suggestion or wishful thinking

[29:59] because I with every step I can stop

[30:03] running and I

[30:06] arrive I'm well established in the here

[30:08] and the now and the past and the future

[30:11] cannot pull me away anymore that is why

[30:13] I am

[30:14] solid I'm s is a fact and not a Wishful

[30:18] uh

[30:20] thinking because if with every step you

[30:23] can stop and can arrive and then you are

[30:27] solid you are solidly established in the

[30:30] here and the now you are a free

[30:33] person you are working as a free

[30:38] person you are working like a

[30:41] Buddha to be a Buddha is

[30:44] possible the Buddha is a

[30:47] one

[30:49] uh inhabited by the energy of

[30:51] mindfulness and inside who has a lot of

[30:54] freedom who can enjoy every step

[31:00] as uh a student of the

[31:03] Buddha as a disciple of the Buddha as a

[31:06] friend of the Buddha as a child of

[31:08] Buddha you can enjoy Freedom like him I

[31:13] am solid I am

[31:16] free because I am not being pulled away

[31:20] by

[31:22] anything including my

[31:25] projects my worries

[31:28] my

[31:30] planning because I'm I use all my energy

[31:33] and time and

[31:35] joy walking and getting in touch with

[31:39] the he and the now with wonders of

[31:50] life in the ultimate

[32:16] I we have a physical

[32:20] body which is a

[32:25] Wonder but this physical body one day

[32:28] will

[32:30] disintegrate and that is the truth we

[32:33] have to

[32:35] accept but we also have a cosmic

[32:42] body from which we

[32:48] come and the cosmic body is the

[32:54] ultimate on the surface there is birth

[32:57] and death being and non being but if you

[33:00] go

[33:01] deep there is no more birth and death

[33:06] being and

[33:10] non-being and that is a deeper level of

[33:15] our of of our

[33:23] existence suppose

[33:25] you you contemplate uh a

[33:28] [Applause]

[33:29] wave appearing on the

[33:32] ocean a

[33:35] wave a wave does not last very

[33:39] long and the wave has her her

[33:42] body her wave

[33:45] body that may last uh 5 seconds or 10

[33:49] seconds or 10 20

[33:55] seconds but the wave has her ocean

[33:59] body CU she come from the ocean and she

[34:03] will go back to the

[34:07] ocean and at the same

[34:10] time as the wave body she has the ocean

[34:14] body she does not have to go and look

[34:17] for her ocean body because she ISAT her

[34:20] ocean body at at this very

[34:24] moment so if the

[34:27] wave recognize and and touch her ocean

[34:31] body she lose all kind of

[34:35] fear and

[34:39] uncertainty her body is not only the way

[34:42] her body is the whole

[34:46] or in Christianity our speak of resting

[34:50] in

[34:51] God God is your

[34:54] body Cosmic body that is the ultimate

[34:59] in the ultimate idea is the Buddhist way

[35:02] of saying resting in

[35:04] God the ultimate God is the ultimate no

[35:08] birth no

[35:12] death so if you walk

[35:15] uh mindfully if your concentration and

[35:20] insight are

[35:22] powerful and with every step you can

[35:26] touch your Cosmic body you can touch God

[35:30] you can touch n n

[35:33] is the Buddhist word for

[35:38] God not as a person that's the of but as

[35:42] the of

[35:45] materiality so these words are simple

[35:50] but but can be very deep the practice of

[35:54] walking looks simple but it can go very

[35:57] deep deep you can touch god with every

[36:00] step you can touch your Cosmic body with

[36:04] every step and you lose all your fear

[36:07] and

[36:09] uncertainty look at the wave in the

[36:14] sky I look at the the cloud in the

[36:18] sky they also have their ocean body they

[36:22] have come from the

[36:25] ocean and they carry the ocean in them a

[36:30] water a cloud is also water it's like a

[36:37] grave so it's very helpful if the cloud

[36:40] realize she has

[36:43] uh her ocean body and she enjoy more

[36:47] floating while

[36:49] floating one day she will go

[36:52] back and she doesn't have to go back

[36:54] because she is now in in her ocean

[37:00] [Applause]

[37:02] body so mindful working help

[37:07] us to become more solid more free help

[37:11] us to cultivate the joy and happiness

[37:16] help us to heal and to be nourished and

[37:19] finally help us to touch the ultimate

[37:30] and

[37:32] uh the Rhythm to three can be change

[37:37] according to the needs of our

[37:39] lungs sometime our lungs say that well

[37:42] if you give me one more one more step

[37:47] vibrating we

[37:49] are I'm happier so you give your lungs

[37:54] three steps instead of two steps

[37:58] I have a right all right all

[38:02] right and your lungs will be completely

[38:05] satisfied with three steps but some

[38:07] sometimes your lungs say only two and

[38:10] you give them exactly two and when you

[38:14] are climbing the slope the lung will say

[38:18] only

[38:19] one only one St One Step while brething

[38:23] in and you give them exactly the number

[38:26] of your lungs want you have to listen to

[38:29] your body and give them exactly what

[38:33] your body

[38:36] wants if uh the in

[38:42] breath uh go with three steps and the

[38:47] our breath will go sometime with four or

[38:51] five and E it's five

[38:59] and if uh the in breath is one step and

[39:02] the out breath can be two or three two

[39:06] of

[39:11] two this when you climb on the

[39:18] slope sometime uh you need four

[39:25] six and in sitting meditation sometime

[39:28] it goes

[39:30] longer you don't

[39:33] walk but if you have a

[39:38] clock you can

[39:40] measure your

[39:44] in breathing in it may take 3 seconds

[39:48] breathing out 5 Seconds breathing in it

[39:50] might take 4

[39:52] seconds and sometime you enjoy so much

[39:55] that your in bre become deeper and your

[39:59] out breath become longer and sometime it

[40:03] come to 10

[40:12] 15 but we don't force our ourselves to

[40:15] breathe that long only we feel that is

[40:18] so

[40:20] pleasant it go slowly like that and you

[40:24] can enjoy your sitting and breathing

[40:28] sitting and

[40:31] breathing can be nourishing and

[40:33] healing it's not hard

[40:37] uh heart

[40:40] labor sitting relaxing and breathing can

[40:43] be very

[40:45] healing and you can if you know how

[40:48] to how to handle your breath and your

[40:52] body and then sitting is a

[40:55] pleasure sitting and doing nothing

[41:00] that is a

[41:01] luxury in our

[41:06] civilization and by sitting and walking

[41:08] like that we can heal

[41:10] ourselves we can nourish

[41:19] ourselves so dear friends I would to

[41:22] command that uh during the week we are

[41:25] together here every time we need

[41:28] to go

[41:30] [Applause]

[41:32] somewhere uh even if uh it is a very

[41:35] short distance of three five steps you

[41:38] always

[41:40] apply the method of mindful work you go

[41:44] to the bathroom you go to the kitchen

[41:46] you go to the dining hall you go to the

[41:49] meditation Hall always apply the

[41:52] techniques of M whole breathing and

[41:54] enjoy everything

[41:59] they will be doing that with

[42:03] you and he will try not to lose any step

[42:07] in

[42:09] forgetfulness they will try to to touch

[42:12] the kingdom of God with

[42:14] everything and that those of us

[42:16] monastics and lay people who can do that

[42:21] to support

[42:23] us and this is an opportunity

[42:26] opportunity because there is

[42:28] the collective energy of mindfulness and

[42:32] peace and if we know how to make good

[42:35] ills of our time here and then when we

[42:38] go home it will become a habit and we'll

[42:40] be able to walk like that from the

[42:44] parking lot to the place where we have

[42:47] our office we can walk like that and

[42:49] enjoy the kingdom of God with everything

[42:54] St many many happas

[42:58] that they will do that after the

[43:00] retreat from the bus stop from uh the

[43:04] railway station from the parking lot

[43:08] they will they will walk where they work

[43:11] with

[43:12] that arriving at every moment touching

[43:15] the wonders of life with every step and

[43:18] get the healing the transformation the

[43:21] nourishment uh with everything

[43:29] and uh when you walk like that you set

[43:33] an example for all of us when I see you

[43:37] walking with freedom with peace with joy

[43:42] we are

[43:43] motivated by the desire to do like you

[43:47] and together we

[43:50] create an atmosphere of

[43:52] peace and uh happiness and Brotherhood

[43:57] you will make the kingdom of God

[43:59] available to

[44:02] everyone please

[44:05] remember please make good use of your

[44:08] time here

[44:10] learn the art walking walk like a free

[44:14] person walk like a Buddha don't walk

[44:17] like a Sleep Walker

AuthorThich Nhat Hanh

Vietnamese Zen master, poet, and peace activist. Founded Plum Village in France and was central to the engaged Buddhism movement. His teachings on mindfulness, interbeing, and walk…

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Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I stop being caught in regrets and worries?

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that mindful walking and breathing are practical tools to anchor you in the present moment. By synchronizing your steps with your in-breath and out-breath, you train your mind to arrive here and now, where actual life happens. The practice is not about forcing the past or future away, but about directing your attention to what is real and available right now.

What does 'I have arrived' mean in mindfulness practice?

In mindful walking, the phrase 'I have arrived' is not a thought but a device to help you remember that you are arriving in the here and now, where life is actually available. It anchors you to the present moment and reminds you of your true address: this place, this time, this breath. The kingdom of God is also available at this address.

Is the kingdom of God something you reach after death?

No. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, the kingdom of God is available in the present moment, here on Earth, if you are present and alive enough to touch it. You do not have to die to enter it; in fact, you must be very alive and awake. Every lotus flower, every tree, your own body—all contain and express the kingdom when you are present enough to see it.

Why do we habitually run to the past and future instead of staying present?

Thich Nhat Hanh explains that we learned long ago that the present moment felt unsafe or incomplete, so we developed the habit of escaping into past memories or future imaginings. This habit is so deeply ingrained that it feels natural, but it keeps us imprisoned in times that do not actually exist anymore or yet exist, causing us to miss the actual wonders of life unfolding now.

Can mindful walking really change how I feel about my life?

Yes. When you stop running and arrive in the present moment through mindful practice, joy, happiness, and freedom become possible—not as future rewards but as immediate experience. Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that even one hour of sincere mindful walking and breathing can already establish the memory and taste of arrival, shifting your entire relationship to time and presence.

How long do I need to practice mindful walking to feel a difference?

Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that even one hour of practice can already bring transformation. The key is sincerity and consistency. You do not need a special place or special conditions; you can practice in a parking lot, on a city street, or at home. The practice is available wherever you are willing to stop running and arrive.

What is the connection between stopping the habit of running and happiness?

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches a simple paradox: 'If you don't run anymore, that is why there is happiness.' When you stop chasing future objects of craving or reliving past suffering, you become available to the actual joy and wonders present right now—the blue sky, trees, flowers, sunshine, other people. This is not delayed happiness; it is immediate.