During his first year of exile in the USA Thich Nhat Hanh experienced a deep urge to hear the familiar sounds of the Vietnamese language. He says that he then started to listen deeply to all that might be contained in the words, behind their apparent meaning. This kind of listening spread to all phenomena, a child’s voice, a leaf on the ground. Deep listening became a core component of the practice of engaged buddhism.
Brother Phap Luu reads an excerpt from the book Fragrant Palm Leaves – an early diary of Thich Nhat Hanh. (Full dharma talk)
