Spiritual Attunement through Meditation
Jul 3, 2026 · 21 min · 6 segments
Spiritual Attunement Through Meditation. Episode #131: The Pure Land. Today I’ll be sharing the words of Zen Buddhist monk, author, and teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, from the 2012 book titled The Pocket…
Today I'll be sharing the words of Zen Buddhist monk, author, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh from the 2012 book titled The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh.
In this particular chapter, he speaks about the concept of the pure land and the kingdom of God.
He reminds us that we all know that the wonders of life are always there.
The blue sky, the white cloud, the beautiful river, the rain, the flowers, the birds, the trees, the children.
Yesterday, during walking meditation, I saw two little violet flowers in the grass.
They were so beautiful, tiny, very well manifested.
And I picked one, and I picked the other, and I offered them to two venerable monks who had come to visit from Vietnam.
And I am sure that the venerables understood the message.
Because if we are mindful, we can touch the wonders of life deeply.
The question remains, are we available and here for the Pure Land? To make ourselves available to the Pure Land is not difficult at all.
Become mindful while you look, while you touch, while you touch the earth with your feet, It is possible for us to stay in the pure land, the kingdom of God, 24 hours a day, with the condition that we keep mindfulness alive in us.
There is a tendency to believe that this land is full of misery and we want to go somewhere where there is no suffering.
My definition of the pure land, or the kingdom of God, is not a place where there is no suffering, because suffering and happiness inter-are.
Happiness can only be recognized against the background of suffering.
So we actually need suffering in order to recognize happiness.
looking deeply, we know that happiness is not possible when we don't have understanding and compassion in us.
A happy person is a person who has a lot of understanding and compassion.
Without compassion and understanding, you cannot relate to anyone and you are totally isolated.
Please observe and look around you and you will see that very well.
The person who is full of understanding and compassion, that person does not suffer.
He or she is happy.
To be really happy, we should cultivate understanding and compassion.
Today I'll be sharing the words of Zen Buddhist monk, author, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh from the 2012 book titled The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh.
In this particular chapter, he speaks about the concept of the pure land and the kingdom of God.
He reminds us that we all know that the wonders of life are always there.
The blue sky, the white cloud, the beautiful river, the rain, the flowers, the birds, the trees, the children.
Yesterday, during walking meditation, I saw two little violet flowers in the grass.
They were so beautiful, tiny, very well manifested.
And I picked one, and I picked the other, and I offered them to two venerable monks who had come to visit from Vietnam.
And I am sure that the venerables understood the message.
Because if we are mindful, we can touch the wonders of life deeply.
The question remains, are we available and here for the Pure Land? To make ourselves available to the Pure Land is not difficult at all.
Become mindful while you look, while you touch, while you touch the earth with your feet, It is possible for us to stay in the pure land, the kingdom of God, 24 hours a day, with the condition that we keep mindfulness alive in us.
There is a tendency to believe that this land is full of misery and we want to go somewhere where there is no suffering.
My definition of the pure land, or the kingdom of God, is not a place where there is no suffering, because suffering and happiness inter-are.
Happiness can only be recognized against the background of suffering.
So we actually need suffering in order to recognize happiness.
looking deeply, we know that happiness is not possible when we don't have understanding and compassion in us.
A happy person is a person who has a lot of understanding and compassion.
Without compassion and understanding, you cannot relate to anyone and you are totally isolated.
Please observe and look around you and you will see that very well.
The person who is full of understanding and compassion, that person does not suffer.
He or she is happy.
To be really happy, we should cultivate understanding and compassion.
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