Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health

03/12/2026

Compassion in Action: The Science of Caring

This year's symposium brings together esteemed scientists, public health experts, and the visiting monastics from the Plum Village tradition to explore how evidence-based mindfulness and compassion practices can help improve individual and population health, with particular attention to how cultivating compassion—in ourselves, our communities, and our planet—can serve as a powerful force for healing and transformation.

Please RSVP to join us on April 8th from 9-11am ET for our livestream of select presentations by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Chris Germer, PhD - Mindful Self-Compassion, Elissa Epel, Eric Loucks, and Phap Luu: https://hsph.me/compassion-livestream

12/22/2025

The practice of mindful eating is an invitation to savor our food, enjoy our meals, and come home to the present moment. Whether you are sharing a festive table with family, joining a community potluck, or enjoying a quiet cup of tea, each bite or sip can be an opportunity to cultivate peace, gratitude, and compassion—for ourselves, each other, and our planet.

In this video, our beloved Brother Phap Luu shares a very special guided meditation to accompany the beginning of meals or drinks:

🥄 With the first mouthful, I offer joy to someone
🥄 With the second mouthful, I relieve someone’s suffering
🥄 With the third mouthful, I maintain a heart of joy
🥄 With the fourth mouthful, I practice inclusiveness.

Learn more about mindful eating and dive deeper into this gatha, or poem, at https://www.mindfulpublichealth.org/news-events/gift-of-presence-holiday-season/

Warm wishes for a peaceful and mindful holiday season.

04/03/2025

Last week, our third annual symposium gathered researchers and practitioners in public health, mindfulness, and communication to explore strategies for improving nutrition and planetary health. Our discussions focused on the power of social connectivity, community, and communication for making change:

🍊 Dr. Walter Willett emphasized interconnectedness in public health, highlighting the urgent need to feed the world healthily and sustainably.

🍊 Dr. Damon Centola shared insights into social networks, explaining the “fishing net” model where clusters of people at the periphery are where norms change.

🍊 Dr. Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath discussed the essential role of communities in public health and highlighted the often-overlooked importance of social connections for well-being.

🍊 Dr. Shauna Bowes emphasized the role of intellectual humility in building trust in health communication.

Participants then jumped into four breakout sessions, covering topics such as working through political and industry resistance to dietary enhancements, and addressing misinformation and social media influences in dietary health.

Our time together was interspersed with practices of mindful breathing, eating, and walking, led by our monastic friends from the International Community.

Read more about the event here: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/exploring-strategies-for-improving-nutrition-and-planetary-health/

01/16/2025

Nour Hammad, MSc, RDN, and PhD student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently presented on mindful eating in a Harvard Medical School bioethics course. The course curriculum centers on food to explore questions of social justice, complex interactions between science and policy, and humanity's relationships to the environment and other species.

12/21/2024

11/25/2024

"Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for." - Thich Nhat Hanh

How to practice mindful gratitude:
- Take a deep breath
- Notice 3 things you're grateful for right now
- Feel the warmth of appreciation in your body

What are you grateful for? Feel free to share in the comments below.


“Peace in oneself, peace in the world”
Illustration by Thich Nhat Hanh, © Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism

09/19/2024

This afternoon, we had the pleasure of welcoming visitors from Blue Cliff Monastery-Tu Viện Bích Nham and other friends for a mindful lunch and guided meditation.

Present moment, wonderful moment.

09/03/2024

We're delighted to announce the Fall 2024 - Spring 2025 Harvard mindfulness sessions schedule: https://www.mindfulpublichealth.org/news-events/summer-2024-mindfulness-sessions-2/

We invite all Harvard I.D. holders to join us for drop-in mindfulness sessions starting September 5th, 2024.

When: Twice a month on Thursdays, 1 PM - 2 PM
Where: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, *usually in Kresge Room 110

These drop-in mindfulness sessions include sitting and walking meditations, learning about mindfulness, and practicing mindfulness to enhance our energy of ease and rest.

For those outside the Harvard community, we invite everyone to join or engage with a local community of mindfulness practitioners, known as a sangha, to benefit from the collective energy of mindfulness, peace, and joy. To find a local group, visit Plum Village’s international sangha directory (https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/sangha-directory/)

We will be sharing mindfulness practices and tips that you can try at home or with your community.

The Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health welcomes Harvard students, staff, and faculty to come together for an afternoon mindfulness practice throughout the 2024-2025 academic year. We will meet twice monthly on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. beginning September 5th, 2024.

05/15/2024

Mindful Actions for Climate Change Symposium Recap

Session II: Transformative Climate Action in Academia included insightful talks to visionary solutions, delving deep into academia’s role in addressing climate change. Here’s a glimpse:

Dr. Jim Stock’s expertise shed light on crucial climate data. Learn more about Dr. Stock’s work here: https://hsph.me/jimstock

Dr. David Williams uncovers links between environmental exposures and health disparities, focusing on early childhood development. Learn more about Dr. Williams’ research here: https://hsph.me/davidwilliams

Dr. Afreen Siddiqi from MIT explores goal-oriented structures for adapting socio-technical systems, key for sustainable progress. Leran more about Dr. Siddiqi’s research here: https://hsph.me/siddiqi

Smitha Haneef discusses designing food and hospitality programs to foster healthy diets from sustainable food systems (and one student’s tesitmonial on how great Harvard’s pancakes are). Learn more about Haneef here: https://hsph.me/haneef

05/13/2024

We had the privilege of listening to the insightful perspectives of Dr. Walter Willett, Dr. Rebecca Henderson, and Dr. Kari Nadeau at the recent Mindful Actions for Climate Change symposium. Their presentations were eye-opening, offering a wealth of sobering evidence and actionable guidance for a sustainable future.

To delve deeper into their groundbreaking research visit:

Dr. Walter Willett: https://hsph.me/walterwillett

Dr. Rebecca Henderson: https://hsph.me/rebeccahenderson

Dr. Kari Nadeau: https://hsph.me/karinadeau

Stay tuned as we unravel more highlights from the symposium throughout the week.

Our team is working hard to edit the recordings, so you can access them soon!

05/02/2024

Resharing from Khalida Himes, who recently brought her students along for a mindful walking experience!
- - -
"Dr. Lilian Cheung changed my life at Harvard last summer when she introduced mindful walking to the creators participating in the MH summit. Check out the amazing research at Harvard’s Thich Nhat Center for Mindfulness in Public Health and explore the many benefits of mindfulness!"

102 likes, 12 comments. “Dr. Lilian Cheung changed my life at Harvard last summer when she introduced mindful walking to the creators participating in the MH summit. Check out the amazing research at Harvard’s Thich Nhat Center for Mindfulness in Public Health@Harvard Chan School and explore the...