Reflections on Touching the Earth Aspirants from the Beech family during the Rains retreat, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, 2018; photo courtesy of monastic Sangha Mist drifted across the Pacific mountain meadow as Sister Chan Khong’s voice guided several hundred retreatants in meditation beneath towering redwoods. It was 1993 and my…
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The Culture of the Buddha
By Sister Ha Nghiem When I first became a nun I felt like a bird trying to live in the ocean. Under the water I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. Everything I had learned of what was important, what was beautiful, was somehow different here. Sometimes I felt lonely and out of…
An Offering for the Dharma
By Andrew Weiss On the evening of April 6, 1993, Pham Gia Binh, a quiet, dedicated practitioner of Pure Land Buddhism, immolated himself in Ellington, Connecticut, in the presence of five friends. Binh made this offering of himself to alert us to the continued violation of human rights in Vietnam, and the continued mistreatment of…
My Father’s Smile
By Susan Hadler Note: Second Body is a practice that is sometimes used to pair Sangha friends who intentionally support one another’s mindfulness practice. In our Sangha, second body pairs usually meet once a week for about four months. An early morning breeze blows through my cotton jacket as I…
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 has also been a time of looking inward, learning to take responsibility for ways we have caused each other pain. For seven…
Restoring Peace and Safety
Excerpts from a Panel Discussion Paths to Community Justice By Cheri Maples Cheri, Thay, and friends at the 2003 retreat for police in Green Lake, Wisconsin Baltimore, Maryland, USA August 24, 2016 Good evening, everybody. Thanks for being here. I’m really happy to be spending the time with you. There…
Counting Dragonflies
Deep Listening and Diagnostic Assessment I first meditated with Thich Nhat Hanh at a retreat at Nottingham University in 2012. One day on the retreat, I was quite tired and decided to miss the mindful walking with Thay and go back to my room and rest. I paused on a…
Unconditional Acceptance
An Interview with Joanne Friday Joanne Friday with members of Rhode Island Community of Mindfulness; photos courtesy of Joanne Friday Joanne Friday is a Dharma teacher in the Order of Interbeing. In 2003, she received authority to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh, her teacher for twenty years. Joanne leads meditation…
Earth Justice and Earth Holding
Reflections from Earth Holder Community Dharma sisters from the Global South
The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings and Sangha Building
Sister Annabel, True Virtue THE EIGHTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING:TRUE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATION Aware that lack of communication always brings separation and suffering, we are committed to training ourselves in the practice of compassionate listening and loving speech. Knowing that true community is rooted in inclusiveness and in the concrete practice of…