What is God? | Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh

[Birds chirping]

God is everything.

Certainly, God is not an idea or a notion.

God is very real and we can get in touch with God.

If you are mindful, concentrated and insightful,

and if you have these three energies, surely you can get in touch with God.

When you stop thinking, when you breathe in, mindfully and enjoy breathing in,

you can already get in touch with God.

And you find out that breathing in is wonderful.

As I breathe in, I know that I am alive.

And to be alive is a wonderful thing.

And as I breathe in, I become very alive.

I see my body and my mind are wonderful.

And I can get in touch with the sunshine, with the hills, with the sunflowers,

with the water running from the water tap.

And there are so many wonders of life in me and around me.

And when I do walking meditation, I recognize that the path

is filled with wonders, the grass, the tiny flowers, the insect, the sunshine.

Everything is a wonder.

A pebble, a leaf, a flower, a butterfly, everything is a wonder.

And I can see God in everything.

You can see God in a pebble, in a piece of dust, in a butterfly, in a sunflower.

You can see God in the other fellow.

And if you see God like that, you are a happy person.

You do not want to do any harm to yourself.

And you do not want to do any harm to the other people.

Even if they are violent, even if they suffer.

They suffer because they have not been able to be in touch with God.

But if they practice mindfulness, concentration and insight,

if they are mindful, concentrated and insightful,

they have a chance to realize that they are in the kingdom of God.

We are really in the kingdom of God.

What is God?

Teachings by Thích Nhất Hạnh

Directed and edited by Miguel Sánchez

Co-produced by Plum Village app and earth.fm (2023)

Talk originally recorded in May 2014.

For more teachings by Thích Nhất Hạnh, check out PlumVillage.org and download the Plum Village App.