On January 22, 2022, one of the greatest teachers of our time, Thich Nhat Hanh, left his body. If you tune into “Always a Student” on a regular basis, you’ve been pointed to a video of him lecturing or an excerpt from his writing on multiple occasions. His work has heavily influenced multitudes and has been especially relevant in the yoga and mindfulness communities.

Thay (Vietnamese for “teacher”; pronounced like “tie”) lived his life as one incredible teaching on the power of mindfulness and compassion. He lived as a monastic for 80 years, longer than most of us have been on this planet. His poetry, art, writing, and teachings are a guiding light for anyone on the spiritual path. You do not have to be a Buddhist to appreciate the way he wove mindfulness into everything he did and the way he took his teachings into the world.

A Cloud Never Dies

When I heard about Thay’s passing, my first thought was of his teaching, “A Cloud Never Dies.” I’ve shared it with you before because it is relevant to many of us in these difficult times. Here’s what he said about the nature of a cloud:

When the cloud is no longer in the sky, it doesn’t mean the cloud has died. The cloud is continued in other forms like rain or snow or ice. So you can recognize your cloud in her new forms. If you are very fond of a beautiful cloud and if your cloud is no longer there, you should not be sad. Your beloved cloud might have become the rain, calling on you, ‘darling, darling, don’t you see me in my new form?’ And then you will not be stuck with grief and despair. Your beloved one continues always. Meditation helps you recognize her continued presence in new forms. A cloud can never die. A cloud can become snow, or hail …or rain. But it is impossible for a cloud to pass from being into non-being. And that is true with your beloved one. She has not died. She is continued in many new forms. And you can look deeply and recognize herself in you and around you.

Even as I thought of this undying cloud, I still felt sadness. For my entire life (and this is true for any of us under 80), Thay has been practicing his compassion and sending it into the world. There would be no new transmissions from the brilliant teacher with the soft voice and the peaceful smile.

After spending the week processing this through different practices, I still find it difficult to write this. I am learning a lesson about being attached to the form of a loved one. Thay still has a lot to teach us even though he is no longer using his physical body to do it.

Refuge in the community

During the last week, it has been a great comfort to me to participate in the live and recorded events surrounding Thich Nhat Hanh’s memorial. Sangha (community), a word you will often hear in the context of yoga, is one of the most important concepts in Buddhism. It, then, is no stretch to imagine that sangha would be an important part of Thich Nhat Hanh’s memorial.

One of the first things I’ve noticed about the proceedings is that everyone was prepared. Certainly, all the monastics and laypeople are going through their own processes of grief, but they also know their roles. They know which actions to carry out. This state of organization and ceremony is a testament to the teacher. He passed on his knowledge, and people learned it well.

Seated meditation, prostrations, and chanting are part of the program every day. I’ve done my best to keep up even though I don’t know all the words to all the songs and even though I am not a monastic. It may seem strange to imagine me in my office with my small memorial altar touching the ground by myself. I don’t feel alone, though.

The lessons of practicing at Union Yoga during the pandemic carry even here. You can be with a community even if you’re not in the same place. There is great comfort in this. You can add your energy to the pile no matter where you are.

During these ceremonies, I find myself questioning what will happen next. How long does a prostration last, for example? The answer is in the community. Someone else knows, and it’s just up to me to pay attention. I need only to listen for the sound of the bell or the gentle rustling of robes to know when to stand up.

It will be the community that continues to carry forward the message of Thich Nhat Hanh’s order, too. The legacy is in good hands. Thay’s way of explaining mindfulness takes it out of the oft-exclusionary realm of the esoteric and puts it into all of our hands and hearts. If you have taken on a practice of gratitude or served with compassion, you may be part of this legacy too.

Becoming rain

While I was studying the materials necessary to create a memorial ceremony in my home, I looked at many of Thay’s calligraphy pieces. He would often draw a circle while breathing mindfully, and then he’d render a simple message inside the circle. One message has resonated with me and will continue to influence my practice. It reads, “The tears I shed yesterday have become rain.”

In the days since his passing, I have shed many tears. I’m not telling you out of a need for pity, but rather to give a demonstration. Every tear was imbued with reverence for this teacher. As those tears evaporate, they can become a cloud, and we already know that a cloud never dies. My love for my teacher has become a cloud, and when it rains, the water sinks into the ground to fill the well outside my house. It nourishes the soil and sustains the flowers yet to be. My love for my teacher will become life-giving. Thay will become the tea in my cup and the resplendent unfolding of spring. This love will nourish my body and the bodies of all the lives that surround the flowers. This love will become generations of flowers and generations of lives surrounding these flowers. This cycle existed long before I took time to notice, and it will continue long after I become a cloud myself.

Thank you, Thay, for the teachings. I see you in your new forms.

An opportunity for you to share

A few weeks ago, I told you about one of my favorite memories from Union Yoga, which involved a class honoring the passing of Ram Dass by sharing their favorite quote from him. If you have a favorite teaching, book, picture, or anecdote from Thich Nhat Hanh and you'd like to share it and what it means to you, I’d love to hear it. Perhaps we can create a post in which we highlight the Union Yoga community’s most loved teachings as a way to honor our own sangha’s practice and learning. This is our space.