Dharma Talk: Loving the Unlovable
By Thich Nhat Hanh in March 1996
Dear Sangha, today is the 28th of January, 1996. We are in the Lower Hamlet (of Plum Village). It is the Winter Retreat. With us today are friends from the Lotus Bud Sangha in Australia. In France we are in…
Passage
Published in March 1996
Jim Fauss, True Great Illumination, died of cancer on April 25. "He died just the way he wanted to, very beautifully, the way he did everything," his wife Artie told us. A tribute to our dear brother will appear in the next issue. Please send us stories and reflections…
Gratitude for Our Enemies
Published in March 1996
By Christopher Reed During retreats, we practice "Touching the Earth," bowing deeply and honoring parents, friends, the religious traditions we were born into, teachers, and the land itself. We also honor our enemies and adversaries. Someone wrote to me after attending a retreat…
Other articles in this issue
Sister Dog
By Dewain Belgard I was driving home from work when I first saw Sister Dog. She appeared thin and hungry. Her collar was too tight, and she was dragging a broken leash.…
Secrets and Silence
By Claude An Shin Thomas Susan Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for drowning her two children. She is eligible for parole in what, thirty years? Susan's…
Winter Retreat at Plum Village
By Fred Allendorf I spent two weeks at Plum Village during this year's Winter Retreat. My first days in Plum Village were difficult in ways I had not anticipated. Twenty-nine years ago I…
Writing Breakthrough
By Richard Gilman From the age of six, I knew that I would design computers. My whole life has been about science, math, and statistics. I only wrote to put a few…
Prison Bells
By Sam Dubois I have a single cell—a semi-quiet, smoke-free, private environment with a window onto a grassy area often serving as a dining room for many birds. I am also working in…
Mindful Lunch
By Lorena Monda As a psychotherapist for 18 years, I have encountered many people—including myself—who need to heal their relationship with food. Though I have studied and practiced many ways to help this…
Mindfulness in Milano
By Alberto Annicchiarico A small group of mindfulness practitioners in Milan is trying to create an association, Essere Pace (Being Peace), to awaken society with Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings. The association's activities will…
Sangha Delight
By Jo-ann Rosen
Last September eight of us from Ukiah, California attended the Northern California retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh. While we were friends in varying combinations, it was the first time we'd come together spiritually.…
Opening Our Hearts
By Marcel Geisser On the weekend of March 29-31, we had the first meeting of German-speaking Order of Interbeing members. Fourteen of us met at Haus Tao, a meditation center in Switzerland (See…
Beginning Anew
By Penelope Thompson & Lee Lipp It has been more than six months since our Sangha "got a divorce," and it has been a time of suffering and broken-heartedness for everyone. It…
Poem: Room to Breathe
Breathing in,I honor the beauty of being. Breathing out, I let go of constantly doing. Breathing in, feelings surface. No need to hide. Breathing out releases the pain deep inside.…
Toward Greater Inclusiveness
By Scott Plous Last fall, I attended a wonderful mindfulness retreat at the Omega Institute. For four glorious days, 800 people practiced sitting, walking, and smiling together. Thay gave a series of eloquent…
Prisoners of Conscience in Vietnam
By Stephen Denney In the last issue of The Mindfulness Bell, we reported Ven. Thich Quang Do, Secretary-General of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBC), had been deported to northern Vietnam…
Announcements
Documentary Film about Thay Work continues on Peace Is Every Step, the film profile of Thich Nhat Hanh. Recently, actor Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler's List) agreed to narrate the film, an extraordinary gesture…
Letters to the Mindfulness Bell
I was first drawn to Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching during the Gulf War when a friend gave me Peace Is Every Step. I felt open to the truth of his words because…
Letter from Tom Holmes
Dear Friends of Plum Village, I am writing to you as I return from my most recent visit to Plum Village. Just before Thay left for his trip to Italy, on…
