“How to Be a True Friend” — Br Pháp Hữu — Plum Village France

Brother Pháp Hữu’s name means “Dharma friend”. In this live talk, the first of our 3-month Autumn Rains Retreat, Brother Pháp Hữu speaks to us about how to be a true friend, and how to live in harmony with those around us in our family and community. He shares that as monks and nuns in the monastic community, we learn how to live as a drop of water flowing with the river of the community. He reminds us that every drop of water is important: the elders at the front show the way, but the young drops also offer their fresh energy from behind to help the river move forward. Brother Pháp Hữu shares several intimate and funny stories about his time as an attendant of Thầy (Thich Nhat Hanh) and as a young vice-abbott and abbott of Upper Hamlet. We learn about Thầy’s work to renew Buddhism, to make it simpler and more relevant to our times– and why Thầy says the work is not done. And from Brother Pháp Hữu’s story about being a vice-abbott at the age of only 20, we learn the importance of mindful breathing to develop our solidity, whether we are leading an important meeting or simply being there for ourselves or offering our presence for our loved ones.