How the Great Zen Master and Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh Found Himself and Lost His Self in a Library Epiphany

Once we accept the fundamental transitory nature of our minds and bodies, then we can develop the confidence to dismantle our most entrenched patterns.

But if we see all the ways in which we exist beyond our body, constantly changing forms, we realize nothing is lost. And we no longer feel so angry or afraid.

We begin to rely on another aspect of mind that exists beneath our reactivity. We call this “no-self.” It’s the unconditioned awareness that reveals itself with the dissolution of the chattering mind that talks to itself throughout the day. Another way of saying this is that we switch mental gears from normal awareness to meditative awareness.

Jack Kornfield tells the story of a particular evening when Hob was giving a Buddhist dharma talk. One evening, however, he found himself standing before a meditation group having forgotten who he was and why he was there. So he simply began to mindfully acknowledge out loud his experiences: “blank mind … curiosity, nervousness, calming, blank mind