Valerie Brown: The Heart of Sangha: Thich Nhat Hanh’s Teachings on Building Beloved Community

“We teach what we need to learn the most.” In this humble, participatory, and open-hearted talk, Valerie Brown explores four of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on building beloved community: volition, the art of suffering, the practice of conscious breathing, and flower watering. She tells personal stories of times when these teachings woke her up to her life and cites quotes from writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Sufi spiritual teacher Shams Tabrizi who elaborate on these teachings. She opens her talk with the Plum Village song “I Have Arrived, I Am Home” and asks residents in the Upaya community to share the word “welcome” in their mother tongues. She concludes her talk with a gatha she wrote on choosing love under all conditions.