Dear Thay, dear Sangha,

Last summer, after the 21-Day Retreat: Vulture Peak Gathering in Plum Village, Sister Annabel Laity suggested that the Mindfulness Bell offer teachings and stories from the retreat for those who weren’t able to attend. In this issue, several practitioners share wonderful moments of awakening they experienced at the retreat. 

We also offer two Dharma talks from the gathering. Cheri Maples tells eye-opening stories on what it’s like to be a police officer, how mindfulness deeply transformed her work, and five ways to increase compassion and reduce discrimination within the criminal justice system. Sister Annabel gives a compelling teaching on the Three Dharma Seals—impermanence, no self, and nirvana—with real-life examples to help us understand the tricky concept of no self.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s 2013 talk, “Walking in Nirvana,” complements Sister Annabel’s insights and transmits ageless wisdom on the Three Dharma Seals. “Nirvana is the extinction of all the categories that you try to put everything in,” Thay says. “You see the flowing, changing continuum, and you accept life as it is. In the phenomenal world you can see that there is coming and going, but if you look deeper, you see that the nature of everything is no coming and no going. It manifests, it changes, and it continues. Nothing dies.” He explains that when we taste nirvana, we have the calmness and solidity to help others.

Helping others is a great concern for Bhikkhu Bodhi, a monk with a deep social conscience who is interviewed by Marisela Gomez in this issue. Their discussion explores the role of mindfulness in being an activist and challenging racial injustice. Bhikkhu Bodhi says part of our task, as Buddhists, is to look into the deep roots of suffering, to understand how they dehumanize people, and “to be voices of justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves.” 

This kind of deep looking at suffering, and actions to transform it, are shown beautifully in stories here—from the Compassionate Hands Sangha’s work to help the poor, to the global community’s loving response to an ecological disaster in Vietnam, to the Kansas police officers who hosted a dinner for a thousand Black Lives Matter protestors. We also read inspiring a-ha moments recounted by Brother Phap Dung and two teenagers who looked deeply within themselves at transformational retreats. Alongside these insights, we find the joy of Sangha in a story about the new Happy Farm, where women and girls are learning to grow organic vegetables while applying the principles and practices of mindfulness. 

May this Mindfulness Bell help us touch our innate compassion and expand our awareness so that we can deepen our equanimity, calm presence of mind. May it help us to breathe and walk in peace. May it bring us together to support the welfare of all beings.

With love and gratitude,

Natascha Bruckner, True Ocean of Jewels