Some retreat testimonials:
Our sangha blossomed during retreats with Chan Huy. We basked in his arms of love and experienced healing and profound joy in the retreat.
Throughout the next 2 days Chan Huy led us through … (mindfulness activities) … His gentle but insightful instruction invited us to deepen our practice and to heal our wounds. In the short time he was with us, he was able to gain a deep understanding of our members and touched each of us in the way we needed to be touched.
I felt very touched by Chan Huy’s talks and his presence. Brother Chan Huy was very moving and profound with his words.
A very enlightening experience. It helped me with my struggle to get my frequent stress under control.
The spiritual joy certainly exceeded any expectations. I deeply treasure the clarity, the simplicity and the love manifest in his teaching.
During the closing circle, the joy on people’s face illuminated the transformation that had taken place in people’s hearts. It was very special. Thank you.
On Chan Huy:
My top adjectives: wise, kind, warm, open, genuine. He has the ability to cut through confusion with deep simplicity.
Your easy, calm, wise teachings happen not just when you talk, but when you walk, and when you eat and when you smile. I am so grateful to you.
Great teachers like great athletes appear to “do” nothing. They are simply good. Chan Huy is a great teacher, simply good.
He is himself a teaching of the dharma. Excellent!
Your talks were very inspiring. Talking the untalkable is difficult.
The talk we had alone with Chan Huy and the peace, calmness, love that I received.
He also knew how to infuse hope and emotional resilience into people's hearts that were dealing with very difficult situations. I'm very grateful for having met him
Testimonials from Omaha 2010 & first retreat.
Can you describe what you liked about the retreat and how it was helpful to you?
Beautiful setting, tasty food, wonderful people, Chan Huy was better than ever.
Food was delicious but a couple of meals there was no food left for late comers.
Learning more about mindfulness and listening to Brother ChanHuy
The way everybody responded to silence was very helpful
Walking Medidation and the talks
It bought me closer to the buddhist tradition and helped in my practice. I liked it.
The whole weekend was well thought out.The teachings were incredible. The gentleness and relaxed atmosphere were such a gift. It certainly helped my practice.
The Dharma teachings were very beneficial and presented in understandable and applicable manner. The retreat was well organized and the handouts in advance were clear on what to expect.
I love the teachings of Brother Chan Huy and the dharma talks. The dharma discussion was very helpful. The schedule offered a great structure for the weekend. The retreat center with the peaceful walks was great!
I liked the grounds and the peaceful atmosphere. I enjoyed the Dharma talks and the meditation sessions. I liked the yoga exercises and wished there was more of it and maybe some "less gentle yoga".
The schedule of sitting meditation, walking meditation, yoga, and dharma talks was very useful. I appreciated the music as well. It was all very helpful to me. Thank you for all your efforts. I benefited greatly.
The food was EXCELLENT. The format of sitting, walking meditation and Dharma talk was uplifting and thought provoking. I learned a great deal from everyone that was involved.
I liked the openness and interaction among those attending. I liked the underpining of the Thich Nhat Hahn practice. I liked the dharma talks by Chan Huy -- they seemed real world application for me. I appreciated the leadership and guidance of Mike, David, and Bethany for the activities that were in addition to the dharma talks. I enjoyed the grounds with the trees, deer, etc.
Brother Chan Huy was wonderful. And all the participates too. I really enjoyed and learned from the readers/talkers on Saturday evening discussing their experiences with each of the 5 mindfulness. And I liked the group discussions as well. It was all really wonderful moments.
The focused activities (like silent meals, walking meditation and sitted meditation) on mindfulness kept me focused and relaxed in the present. The yoga and deep relaxion provided moments of mindfulness in the body that was very needed. The dharma talks and discussion gave me new insight to my life.
The mix of yoga practitioners and teachers, the hi-level of spirituality of some Christian ministers and sisters, the free roaming deers, the "deep" level of "suffering" qin some practitioners and their good practice to work with it.
It was just helpful to be around others who were practicing again. Re-entry into the "real" world after Plum Village has been a little rough. It was nice not to feel like an oddball again!
I liked the interaction between participants - for example Saturday night's sharing of the five trainings and Sunday's closing circle. I liked the quiet mindful meals and how they helped us to appreciate what we had. I was reassured by the freedom to come and go as we saw fit. I deeply appreciated the blankets and cushions that were provided. I loved the bell. I enjoyed the yoga. The food was quite delicious. I liked the natural setting of the retreat center.
My favorite part was walking meditation and the deep relaxation. Noble silence, especially when eating, was a gift. The yoga and movement were very helpful to me, too. The environment was wonderful, but the retreat center's lack of common space (except for the meditation hall and eating area) might have been a problem if the weather had not been so good. A couple of silent rooms for meditation would also be nice.
I really liked the Dharma talks, learned so much, plus the yoga and deep relaxation, the outdoor walking med, the group sharing. I has touched me very deeply and given me a path to follow to keep "in the present moment" with joy.
The silence, the environment ... the dharma talks, the people... the sharing time... I find myself so much more centered again after the weekend. It was wonderful.
The dharma talks were very helpful and the atmosphere was very conducive to the mindfulness practice. I enjoyed the diversity of the people there and the many gifts that everyone had to offer. Stories, songs, music, smiles. It helped that the weather was splendid too.
The food was delicious. Everyone was so generous sharing their stories and lives; I'm so very grateful to have learned so much from them. The yoga was a delight, as was the relaxation exercise. Terrific guitar and autoharp music! What a great idea to share this. The singing songs with hand gestures seemed uncomfortable and childish to me, but I admit to finding them useful for practicing mindfulness. Waking up to the bell was awesome! Let's make a ringtone app for this and send it to all the phone companies so we can make a million dollars and offer the retreat free to everyone! Thanks for recycling and composting. Great tea selection. Thanks for bringing blankets and bolsters; it was a relief not to have to buy these.
Miami retreat comments:
- From: Jessica Gurvit
Chan Huy is a gentle, wise and loving Dharma teacher. He skillfully weaves the wisdom of the Dharma with his own life experiences in such a way that helps his students not just understand the Dharma but live the Dharma for their benefit and for the benefit of all beings. In his presence you can feel his compassion, commitment and depth of understanding. The opportunity to study with him is a great gift of which I am deeply grateful.
- From: Dr. Simone Silvestri
"He translated some hard to understand Buddhist concepts into directly applicable wisdom in a simple way. This is not easy. He also knew how to infuse hope and emotional resilience into people's hearts that were dealing with very difficult situations. I'm very grateful for having met him."
Simone Silvestri MD, PhD
Personal and Professional Coach
Miami Beach, FL
- From: Laya Seghi
Chan Huy's gentle words touched our sangha like a dharma rain. He skillfully laid open new understandings of a text as he shared deeply from his own personal experience. Humble and sincere, he reached our hearts, soaking us in our own experience of being fully alive in his presence.
I look forward to learning more from his wisdom.
Laya Seghi, LCSW
Some comments in French (click here)
Quelques témoignages de la dernière retraite à Montréal:
o Sa simplicité, sa douceur, son « naturel », l’absence de toute prétention et
son humour.
o un sourire extraordinaire
o Juste son attitude me touche profondément
o Il m’a donné les clés pour ouvrir mes portes intérieures… J’ai vécu une
expérience du moment présent très intense qui m’a ému aux larmes (de Joie) :
un moment d’éternité.
o Sa sincérité, son ouverture, son approche à la vie, son humour
o Pouvoir me confier à Chan Huy en privé a été pour moi une expérience
inestimable
o Son franc parlé et son humour. Il nous montre que la pratique est simple et
accessible par de petits exemples concrets qui aident notre compréhension
o C’est si intense que ce n’est qu’une fois revenu chez moi que le tout ou en
partie me revient
o Inspirant
o L’écoute profonde; la confiance qu’il me donne
o Acceptation : je l’ai entendu des milliers de fois sans le comprendre. Le
dharma talk de samedi m’a permis de le voir vraiment dans sa réalité et non
en tant que simple mot
o Je ressens certaines choses qu’il dit quand il se met à parler du fond de son
coeur. C’est difficile à définir mais à ces moments-là, je me sens très
touchée
o J’ai besoin d’entendre des phrases-chocs comme celles-là (que Chan Huy dit)
Chan Huy comes from a family with 4 generations of Thich Nhat Hanh’s students from his grand-mother to his 2 daughters. An engineer, he is practical. Vietnamese, he grasps the subtleties of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings that might escape Westerners. Raised in France, he understands the West and fluidly articulates and interprets across cultures. Chan Huy will give those who have not been able to retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in person a taste of that experience via his Vietnamese roots generations deep in Buddhist practices and his deep understanding.
May be it is because Chan Huy has been around Thay since he was 5 years old, may be it is because his grand mother is a disciple of Thay, may be … for whatever reason, being with Chan Huy is like being with Thay. Only better in some ways as I get to hold his hand.
I came to learn more about the Hindu tradition; it was beautiful. The talks were wonderful. I loved the way the participants “participated”. Being with this ecumenical group was wonderful. Your talks were very inspiring. Talking the untalkable is difficult. Living Buddha, Christ, Meesiah coming ones helped
me frame my puzzling of years about how it “might” be in the Kingdom. A wonderful experience of sharing life with the Buddhist community.
A wonderful, safe and open environment. The wonderful sharing and the wisdom of Brother Chan Huy. I felt very touched by Chan Huy’s talks and his presence. Brother Chan Huy was very moving and profound with his words.
I enjoyed the interaction of all the retreatants, the wonderful dharma talks and practice. He (is himself a teaching of the dharma. Excellent!
Thank YOU; it was a precious grace. What I shared is where I was reached. The many calls to be in “solidarity”. Greater compassion toward the “differences” even among those who share my same faith.
I appreciate his sharing, thoughts and insights. I am so grateful. Thank you for coming.
