By Fred Bender On two beautiful afternoons during the April Santa Barbara Retreat for Young People and Families, some fifteen adults held an informal discussion on the topic, "Spiritual Practices Within Families." Quite magically, this group jelled immediately. People spoke from their hearts and many deeply moving experiences were shared.…
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On the Way Home
By Sister Annabel, True Virtue In response to a request from her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Annabel is writing about her life. Thay suggested that her story be serialized in the Mindfulness Bell and then put together in a book. In this first installment, when the story begins she…
How to Fight exceprts
Excerpts from How to Fight Where the Fight Begins When someone says something unkind to you, you may want to retaliate right away. That is where the fight begins. This habitual way of reacting creates a well-worn pathway in your brain. When you travel a neural pathway over and over…
Peace of Mind
We can’t heal with our minds alone. Thinking can be something productive and creative, but without integrating body and mind, much of our thinking is useless and unproductive. In Peace of Mind, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that integrating body and mind is the only way to be…
Healing My Suffering
By Caleb Cushing Until I stop breathing, learning to recognize my suffering will remain my challenge. My parents trained me to suppress. Father never mentioned his parents. Mother never mentioned that her middle-aged mother committed suicide. I was “not allowed” to “make noise.” To be “well brought-up,” I was to…
Dharma Talk: Breathing for Our Children
Before he passed away, the Buddha instructed his disciples to take refuge in the island of mindfulness within themselves by practicing mindfulness in sitting, walking, breathing, and every activity of daily life. Mindfulness means to be aware of what is going on in the present moment. If we take one…
Gathas for the Practice of Mindful Living
Interview with Brother Chan Phap Luu Brother Chan Phap Luu, one of the editors of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Stepping into Freedom (Second Edition), shares about the changes reflected in the book. The Mindfulness Bell: How has the training for novices changed since the first edition of Stepping into Freedom…
Full Moon Ceremony with Plum Village
By Joann Malone and Patrick Smith calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh; photo by David Nelson Ten years ago this summer, my husband and I learned a mindfulness practice at Plum Village that has since nourished our home and our marriage. The leader of our Avatamsaka family group, Shantum Seth, suggested…
Rejoicing with the Sangha in Hanoi
By Sister Hanh Nghiem The seven-day retreat on Engaged Buddhism in Hanoi was truly wonderful. I was touched by the rooted feeling of being a community. Before the orientation, the Order of Interbeing, monks, and nuns were on stage ready to invoke the name of Avalokiteshvarya. Looking out at the…
Ping and Bong
Over New Year's, my wife and I spent five days away, alone with each other. We had just come through a time of intense strain, and we had been arguing a lot. In our retreat, we blended silence and meditation with time to talk things through. That time gave birth…