By Barbara Casey
I Have Arrived, I Am Home: Celebrating Twenty Years of Plum Village Life
By Thich Nhat Hanh and the Global Plum Village Family, Parallax Press, 2003, 256 pages
The editors tell us in the Introduction, “This book is a delicious buffet of stories, teachings, poems, and images that offers a taste of the harmonious life possible through practicing mindfully as a Sangha.” Slowly turning the pages of this keepsake,
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By Barbara Casey
I Have Arrived, I Am Home: Celebrating Twenty Years of Plum Village Life
By Thich Nhat Hanh and the Global Plum Village Family, Parallax Press, 2003, 256 pages
The editors tell us in the Introduction, “This book is a delicious buffet of stories, teachings, poems, and images that offers a taste of the harmonious life possible through practicing mindfully as a Sangha.” Slowly turning the pages of this keepsake, tea table book, I feel the editors were too modest. Filled with color photos and artwork, this is a rich feast for the eyes and the heart.
Enjoying this book helps to deepen my understanding of the interbeing nature of the historical and the ultimate dimensions. Rooted in space and time, the words and pictures are my vision of the Pure Land, the Kingdom of Heaven. Shining through this marriage of the historical and ultimate dimensions comes the action dimension, exemplified by heartfelt stories of love and gratitude from practitioners all over the world. This book is an antidote to loneliness: it offers myriad threads of connection through time and space to lay and monastic brothers and sisters everywhere. For the first time, I see and hear the voices of those who came before me – those who were present in the early days of Plum Village life, those who built the buildings and the pathways at Plum Village that I enjoy now. I hear the visions of my teachers, Thay and Sr. Chan Khong. I listen to Sr. Annabel’s story of hardship and grace as she came to find her teacher and her true home.
And my teacher, Thay, blesses me with the understanding that “I have arrived, I am home,” is the Dharma seal of Plum Village, the heart of the practice. For those of us who have always felt a bit alien and homeless in this world, it is the most precious gift. Being close to this book, having it smile at me from my living room table, helps me understand and appreciate the treasure of practice, the treasure of friendship, I am being offered with each conscious breath.
Barbara Casey, True Spiritual Communication.
Award Given to Parallax Press Catalog
The 2002-03 Parallax Press mail order catalog has won first prize in a nation-wide competition of printing and graphic art firms promoting excellence in print communication. This award recognizes companies and individuals who create the best in print media. Our current catalog won amongst 632 other entries.
If you would to receive a copy of our “award winning” catalog please visit our website at www.parallax.org or call 1 800 863 5290.
