By Joan Halifax The Selva Lacandona of Chiapas, Mexico, is the second largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. In the 1940s, it covered more than 13,000 square kilometers. Today 3,312 square kilometers are preserved. Called the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, its presence has a profound effect on many aspects of our lives, including the weather…
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Dharma Talk: The Four Noble Truths
The first Dharma talk of the Buddha after his enlightenment was about the Four Noble Truths. They express the cream of his teachings and method of practice. The Buddha continued teaching the Four Noble Truths right up until his “great passing away” (mahaparinirvana). It is important for us to study…
Inclusiveness and Acceptance
By Svein Myreng I had mixed feelings when Thay introduced a new translation of the third paramita as "inclusiveness." This paramita had previously been translated as "patience" or "forebearance." I could relate to patience. I could meet a difficult experience in my life, such as illness or painful feelings, and then I could stay with the…
Writing out the War
By Therese Fitzgerald The UC Berkeley campus hosted an event for war veterans entirely different from the days of dualistic rallies. Thirty men and women, mostly Vietnam veterans, gathered in a spacious, woodsy room of the Faculty Club on a Saturday in June to spend a day with Maxine Hong Kingston nourishing their writing process.…
Nirvana is our daily business
Photo courtesy of PVCEB In celebration of this release, editor and translator Sister Annabel Laity sat down and answered some questions about the message of Enjoying the Ultimate, misconceptions about Nirvana, and why Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh chose this chapter to teach to his students. Sister Annabel Laity (Chan…
Conscious Sexuality as a Spiritual Path
Jane Ellen Combelic and Colin Ralph; photo courtesy of J.E. Combelic I’m standing in the old phone box at Lower Hamlet, the one that used to be by the bookstore under the tall oak trees. I am talking to my mother in Colorado, who has mild dementia. “Mom, I’ve met…
The Importance of the Dharma Discussion Guidelines
At our weekly Sangha gatherings, we present the Dharma Sharing (Dharma Discussion) Guidelines before each session. Doing so reminds us of our aspiration to listen deeply and to speak mindfully. The Guidelines also provide tools that enable us to build a safe and harmonious environment. Here we can learn to…
Seven Interbeings
By Tetsunori Koizumi Interbeing as a Binary Relation “Interbeing” is a new word invented by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), which he employs to explain the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. A sheet of paper, for example, is an interbeing as it is connected with a cloud through a…
One Couple, Many Roots
A Traveling Jewish Theatre "You left with nothing, right? You got on a ship and you went. And maybe all you had was what you were wearing. Maybe you gave birth on a ship, and maybe you lost a daughter, or a son on the way. Maybe you buried them at sea. Maybe you…
Musings on the Retreat at Deer Park From a Complete Novice
By Jim Dudley I have been a Police Officer for over twenty-seven years with the San Francisco Police Department. It is a fulfilling, challenging, rewarding, but sometimes difficult job. I have seen more than my share of violence and human tragedies. I worked two decades of patrol work with time…