Feel It to Heal It: The Dharma of Music (Episode #79)

Welcome to episode 79 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives.

In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino are joined by musician/producer Jack Peñate and frequent guest Brother Phap Linh, Dharma teacher/musician. Together, they talk about the release of A Cloud Never Dies, the debut album by the Plum Village Band – a musical meditation on love, continuation, and non-fear, inspired by and dedicated to Thich Nhat Hanh.

The album was produced by Jack, with the two monastics joining the conversation as co-creators of the album and representing the Plum Village Band: a collective of Zen Buddhist monks and nuns from Plum Village Monastery, France, plus musician-meditator friends from around the world.

In the first part of the episode, the guests discuss their musical journeys, from childhood to this point; the power of music as a portal to share the Dharma; music and Buddhist tradition; making music as a spiritual form; art as a Zen practice; and more.

In the second part, they share songs from the album and discuss their origins, meaning, creative process, and production stories. And we get to listen to the discussed songs too. 

Listen to the album and find out more about it here.

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Co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/  

And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

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List of resources

Interbeing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing  

Jack Peñate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Pe%C3%B1ate

Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit)
https://www.instagram.com/brotherspirit

Sister Chan Khong
https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong 

‘Recommendation’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/recommendation

Album: A Cloud Never Dies
https://plumvillage.org/album-a-cloud-never-dies 

The Way Out Is In: ‘Regeneration and Musical Inspiration: The North American Tour (Episode #53)’
https://plumvillage.org/podcast/regeneration-and-musical-inspiration-the-north-american-tour-episode-53 

Pirates Blend
https://piratesblend.com/

‘The Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village’
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-four-dharma-seals-of-plum-village

Aretha Franklin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Franklin

Billie Holiday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_%22Scratch%22_Perry

Narcissus and Goldmund
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_and_Goldmund

The Glass Bead Game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Bead_Game

Hermann Hesse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H