January 2025 Newsletter
The Four Noble Truths and Life’s Bumpy Road

“Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind
of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow.
There can be no lotus flower without the mud."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Hello, everyone! 

I hope that you are all well, perhaps getting some extra sleep while we’re still in the darkest months of the year, enjoying the warmth of your hearts and homes and, if possible, bundling up occasionally to gaze at the moon and stars in the night’s sky. The photo above of this month’s wolf full moon was taken a couple of weeks ago near our home in Massachusetts. Although chilly, it was lovely to get outside and take in the beauty of the moon and be with the wonder and awe of this incredible natural world. 

Before reading any further, I want to invite you to take a moment to pause. To take a breath to arrive fully here—in this moment—releasing thoughts about where you’ve just been or where you’re going after this read. We so often speed through these seemingly small moments, skimming through lines (and life), only offering where, what or who we are with minimal attentional processing. One of my intentions in this new year is to slow (way) down to increase space for true attention and awareness. Slowing down is a powerful way to take in more, process more, be with more, and engage in more of now. 

The theme of this month is the Four Noble Truths, which is seen as the core of Buddhism. These “truths of the noble one” comprise the essence of the Buddha’s teaching, and the simplicity of these four statements belies their depth. While this teaser into the essence of Buddhism leaves much unexplained, the fourth noble truths points us to the Eightfold Path, which we’ll move into over the next few months.

As you read this and move through your day today, gift yourself some time to slow down and breathe while you ponder these universal truths.

The Buddha Anticipated What Was Coming…

I’m currently enrolled in an intensive Spirit Rock Meditation Center class on Buddhist psychology taught by Matthew Brensilver. In our initial kick-off weekend, Matthew spoke about how 2600 years ago the Buddha anticipated the contemporary therapies that are in use today. Many of the Buddha’s teachings, in addition to meditation, are threaded into cognitive, behavioral, desensitization, attentional, interpersonal, and psychodynamic approaches. It’s no wonder that psychotherapists like myself are drawn to his wisdom and look to the Buddha to help our clients (and ourselves) work with challenges, such as the difficult energies and common blockages (aka The Five Hindrances) that keep us stuck and/or spinning and unable to see clearly. If you missed the series on The Five Hindrances, or want to revisit, you start with the the first newsletter in there series, The Five Hindrances: How to Skillfully Work with Difficult Energies.

It’s well known that many people come to meditation and mindfulness to reduce stress and assist physical and mental health. Yet, most don’t focus on the wider Buddhist psychology that stretches far beyond these practices. This may be, in large part, because those wonderful teachers who brought mindfulness and meditation to the West decades ago believed that the scope of Buddhism, which is quite large, would be a turn off and too much for the collective Western mind. They may have been correct in the zeitgeist of that era, and mindfulness and meditation are excellent entry points into Buddhist thought.

Over many decades, however, interest has deepened and broadened to include the wider philosophy and psychology of Buddhism. This expansion has certainly been true for me. Buddhist psychology informs my perspectives and intentions in both my clinical work and how I try to live my life. And that’s why, over the course of the next year, I’ll be bringing more of the Buddha’s wisdom into our meditation classes and into this newsletter. We’ll dive deeper into his teachings, now considered ancient, and how they are still so relevant (and helpful) to us in our modern lives.

The Four Noble Truths

In the bi-weekly, online meditation class that I offer, we kicked off 2025 with a short dharma talk on the Four Noble Truths, which is the most basic tenet of Buddhism. These truths are what the Buddha spoke of in his first sermon after achieving enlightenment, and is central to all of his teachings that would follow. 

The Four Noble Truths are: 

1. There is suffering. This is a truth. And this truth is hard to deny. 

2. The root cause of suffering is thirst—our grasping, clinging, and difficulty letting go. 

3. There is a path to end suffering. There is a truth that dukkha (the Pali word for suffering) can come to an end. 

4. There is a practice—the Eightfold Path— that can be done to fulfill the possibility of bringing suffering to an end.  

The Four Noble Truths are seen as a kind of prescription. From this perspective, the Buddha was, perhaps, our first psychotherapist. He offered the diagnosis of human unhappiness, and, through his many teachings and lists, gives us the treatment/therapy plan.

Life’s Bumpy Roads

As mentioned above, dukkha is the Pail word for suffering. Suffering (like pretty much all things) presents on a spectrum and can include anything from mild discomfort and annoyance to the severe pain and distress that often comes through trauma. 

Dissected a little more, the word dukkha refers to the round axle hole in an ox cart wheel, which was the main mode of transportation when the Buddha lived. When the space inside an axle is uneven, it makes for a bumpy ride. 

As we all know, life is certainly a bumpy ride, and we see and experience suffering everywhere. It’s part of birth, sickness, old age and death. It’s in not getting what we want. It’s in striving for, clinging to, or avoiding anything. It occurs when we’re with anything that we don’t like. And, it also occurs when with anything that we do like, because we know that it will end.

The simple fact is that in being alive, we are all on the bumpy road of suffering. Yet, as we’ll see next month as we begin to explore the Eightfold Path, there are principles and practices for living that can make the journey a little less bumpy. When we turn toward wellbeing and wise principles of thought, action and choice, suffering begins to soften.

Cat Tales...
What Meditation And Max Teach Us About A Noble Truth 

On Monday evening, our online group settled into meditation, expecting a quiet respite to digest a short dharma talk on the Four Noble Truths. Perhaps members were reflecting on the first one—that there is suffering that comes in forms of discomfort, distress, trauma, and irritation. Or, maybe they were thinking about the second and how to release from the root cause of suffering—clinging.

Either way, from a distance, we all suddenly heard a loud, mournful sounding meow coming from Max. He and his siblings love to be part of meditation time, usually taking their place in chairs near me or on my lap. Max knows the bell sound well, and the stillness that comes next. But, on this Monday night, he had other plans, which included playing with his big fluffy round ball, and he wanted me to throw it for him. So he meowed. A big sound that reverberated throughout the room and into Zoom. With no response from me, he kept persisting for what felt like the entire meditation (although it was really only about 5 minutes).

Finally, he stopped, let go of the distress, and resumed the meditation position that he seems to love these days. Meanwhile, as trained meditators, aware that suffering is part of life, everyone made peace with Max’s pleadings. Some labeled it as sound, acknowledged the suffering, and deepened back into meditation. Others felt a curiosity—wondering what had caused this cat to make this sound—and then returned to their breath. And, some heard his meow as a sort of meditation bell that brought them back into the meditative moment. Not one person, however, expressed annoyance or frustration at Max’s clinging.  

I love the irony here—a cat’s clinging during a meditation following a talk on just that. I also love the exemplified lesson, too—how each member in our group demonstrated what a meditation practice can do for us all. That when there is discomfort, we can find ways to respond that do not add further discomfort. That we can remain mindful of our intentional focus and maintain attention to stay anchored in the present moment.

I want to send out a thank you to all of you who were in attendance that night, as well as to Max who led the way on this with his distress, followed by a quick acceptance of the way things are. May we all model Max, especially in these days of activation and uncertainty.

As we move into February, the invitation this month is to take note of when suffering, in any measure, is arising. This may be a minor discomfort or frustration, as exemplified by Max’s meow when he wasn’t getting his ball thrown to him at the exact moment he wanted it. Or, perhaps you’re going through a particularly rough period that’s bringing you into a deep suffering. Whether the suffering feels large or small, notice the ways in which you might be clinging to someone, grasping for something, or are having a hard time letting go.

Whether or not we understand the cause of our distress, it may somewhat dissipate if we stand aside, note it, and comfort ourselves by reminding ourselves that this is the way it is, and that what arises will also pass away because everything changes.

I want to express my deepest appreciation and love to each of you.

Thank you for your presence—I’m so happy that you are here! 

May you be filled with warmth and kindness. 
May you be happy, healthy and safe. 
May your heart know peace.

 In kindness,
Karen

P.S.: As mentioned above, next up, we’ll be delving into the Buddha’s “treatment plan” for suffering—the Noble Eightfold Path. 

The Buddha loved lists—here's the Eightfold Path:

Wise Intention
Wise View
Wise Action
Wise Speech
Wise Livelihood
Wise Effort
Wise Concentration
Wise Mindfulness

These practices and principles, which we’ll elaborate on in the coming months, are what the Buddha points us to in the fourth of the Four Noble Truths to help lead us to the end of suffering.

In Loving Memory of Thich Nhat Hanh

January 22nd marked the three-year anniversary of the passing of the beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. Affectionately referred to by many as Thay (which is Vietnamese for teacher), this revered zen master was also a peace activist, poet, prolific author and a teacher. He established the Plum Village Tradition, and is well known and lovingly remembered for his kind heart, beautiful wisdom and significant work in bringing Buddhism into Western societies. Traveling much internationally throughout his life to give retreats and talks, Thay also advocated for nonviolent solutions to conflict and sought to raise awareness of the interconnectedness of us all in efforts to sustain and promote peace. 

To celebrate Thay’s legacy and 95 years, this month’s resources all come from our beloved teacher who spoke and wrote often on the Four Noble Truths, the human conditioning of suffering, and how we can all live with a little more happiness in our lives.

Also, in case you’re unaware, there was a recent fire at Plum Village in the early morning of January 23rd, just a day after the anniversary of Thay’s passing. While all of the sisters were thankfully able to get out in time, the fire took the oldest building of the Lower Hamlet. It was in this building, the Purple Cloud, that Thay’s room was located and in which he spent much of his time while at Plum Village, welcoming guests for tea, teaching students, listening to chats and relaxing in his hammock. If you have the means and feel called to, you can make a donation here to support the construction for the Plum Village monastics and funds to restore and rebuild Purple Cloud and Thay’s room. 

I’ll leave you here with a quote from the beloved Thay on mindfulness. May we continue to practice …in the midst of it all…

There are conditions for happiness within us and around us, but without mindfulness, we often overlook our opportunity to be in touch with them. We all have the tendency to be forgetful. We are alive, but we forget that we are alive. We walk, and we don’t know that we’re walking. We breathe, and we’re not aware that we’re breathing. This forgetfulness is an old habit. With this mindfulness meditation, we learn a new habit. We learn a way of truly relaxing and becoming present. When we practice mindful breathing in our daily life, it gives us an opportunity to go back to the present moment, to the calm and peace that are already in us.

The Practice

Calm Ease Smile Breathe: A Breathing Meditation

This Calm Ease Smile Breathe breathing meditation guided by Thich Nhat Hanh invites us to simplify and slow down. Using just one word at a time—one for the inbreath and another for the outbreath—Thay guides us into a practice that we can turn to, whether on or off the cushion. In/Out; Deep/Slow; Calm/Ease; Smile/Release; Present Moment/Wonderful Moment. 

Thay employs the use of bells throughout the meditation to help us to return to the present moment, and invites us to think of them as “the voice of the Buddha calling on us to come back to ourselves. Upon hearing the bells, we touch our Buddha Nature—our spiritual nature—where we can feel the joy and peace inside of us.”  

The invitation is to enjoy this meditation, to enjoy your breath, and to enjoy the present moment. This present moment is the only moment we have—and the only moment in which we can feel the wonder and the miracle of being alive. Enjoy!

Resources

Read...
Thich Nhat Hanh on How to Heal Your Inner Child. In this beautiful article, Thay explains that in each of us resides a young, suffering child who is trying to get our attention, asking for love and care. Yet, in our attempt to avoid suffering, rather than turn toward that part of us, we distract and numb. However, this running away doesn't end our suffering; it prolongs it. Thay continues throughout the article to explain how mindfulness can help us turn toward and nurture the suffering parts that we all carry. He invites us to go within, to take are of that child, to take care of ourselves, and offers lovely prescriptions throughout to do just that. A beautiful read.

Watch...
The Four Noble Truths| Thich Nhat Hanh. In this Plum Village excerpt from: Art of Suffering Retreat| Second Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2013, Thay beautifully and humorously takes us through the Four Noble Truths and the Interbeingness of these truths. He explains that much like the left needs the right to be the left, and light needs dark to be light, the teachings of Interbeing show us why what first appear as"opposites" exist. That pairs informing each others is what gives meaning to all. And, such it is with with suffering: "Suffering cannot be by herself. Suffering has to interbe with happiness." Highly suggest this watch!

Listen...
Touching Life—Coming Home to Yourself. In this dharma talk at Plum Village given by Thich Nhat Hanh in November of 2005, Thay takes us into Buddha-nature. He explains that just as the Buddha became enlightened, so can we. That "the Buddha-nature is within you and through mindfulness, concentration, and insight it is you that is performing a miracle." Thay encourages us to perform all that we do—brushing our teeth, drinking our tea—as though it is a spiritual act. To be present in each moment—not caught in the future or the past—is when and how we come home to the Buddha-nature that exists within us all.

In case you’re unaware and interested, I offer an online, donation-based meditation class/guided practice every other Monday night 8-9pm EST in a relaxed and warm setting on Zoom. The only requirement is an interest in increasing mindful awareness and skills through practice and growing your inner wisdom. If you’re interested in beginning, reconnecting with or deepening your meditation practice in community, we’d love for you to join us! Get more details and register here.

Also, if you know of anyone interested in deepening their mindfulness and meditation practices, please forward this email along and invite them to join as well! All are welcome and can sign up for the newsletter on my website.

Dr. Karen Walant has been a practicing psychotherapist for almost three decades and holds a MSW and PhD in Clinical Social Work from New York University. Karen supervises other clinicians in private practice and has given lectures around the country on issues related to attachment, mindfulness, meditation, addiction and recovery, deepening the therapeutic relationship, parenting with kindness, and fostering compassionate relationships. She is the author of Creating the Capacity for Attachment: Treating Addictions and the Alienated Self. A long-time meditator and teacher, Karen is a 2021 graduate of the 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program (taught by meditation experts Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield), is certified as a Mindfulness Meditation Mentor, and is certified as a Level I Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Teacher through Brown University, and completed her Certificate in Mindfulness and Psychotherapy from the Institute for Mindfulness and Psychotherapy in 2022.