Where is home for us? The Buddha said very clearly that home is in us; there is an island within us that we can always go back to where we feel at home, warm, comfortable, safe, and fulfilled. We know that once we are home, we no longer feel lonely. Returning home to ourselves is a practice, not a theory.
The image of the island within is very important. In the talks the Buddha gave during his lifetime, there was always the theme of “returning to oneself to take refuge in the island within.” This is our true home, the island within, where there is light, peace, and security. The island is a safe place that cannot be swept away by the waves of the ocean.
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From Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh. Copyright © 2012, 2026 Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc., with permission from Parallax Press.
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