By Jack Lawlor Even the Buddha's Sangha experienced difficulties. His cousin, Devadatta, once attempted to divide the Sangha and lead it himself. And the Buddha himself could not mediate the dispute over etiquette between the Precept master and the Sutra master at Kosambi-at least, not initially. The Upakkilesa Sutta describes how the bhikkhus at Kosambi were…
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Discovering the Roots of Buddhism in Vietnam
A Journey of Healing, Hope, and Coming Home White Cloud Sangha, March 2013; photo by Duong Tan Phung We walked slowly, silently, mindfully in the moist morning heat, following the dirt path through the ancient gate to the sisters’ hall. Bowing to the Buddha, we found our relaxed and upright…
Letting Our Descendants Speak
Nonviolent Civil Disobedience as a Compassionate Response to Climate Change Seattle protest meditation. Photo by Alex Garland Our caravan of twenty-plus vehicles stretched out along the highway like a small river flowing down the Cascadian foothills towards the ocean and the seaport town of Anacortes, Washington. This river of earth-embracing…
Cranberry Juice
Mindfulness for College Students By Ben Howard For their first assignment in "The Art of Meditation," my course in mindfulness practice, I asked the students to read the opening chapter of Thich Nhat Hanh's, The Miracle of Mindfulness. I also urged them, whenever drinking, to use both hands, giving the act of drinking their full…
Awakening and Responding to Climate Change
By John R. Snyder and George Hoguet In January 2014, the Order of Interbeing discussion list hosted a particularly rich dialogue about climate change and our practice. It became clear that many of us who are locally involved in climate change initiatives have felt isolated and sometimes overwhelmed by the…
Bowing
An Exercise for Young People By Terry Masters Note: What you might say is in boldface. The answers to questions in parenthesis are the answers our children gave us. Materials Needed: Colored felt-tipped pens Bowing is a deep form of communicating. A bow may mean hello, thank you, goodbye, or…
Practicing Metta or Metta in Practice?
When I started practicing meditation, I felt drawn...
Spiritual Footing for Environmentalists
By Grove Burnett Ed. note: This letter to Thich Nhat Hanh was read during the sutra recitation period following morning meditation at the March 25-30 Retreat for Environmentalists in Malibu. I have been practicing environmental law for eighteen years, representing public interest environmental organizations in five states in the Western…
Dharma Talk: Cultivating Our Bodhisattva Qualities
Bodhisattvas are awakened beings. We also have our nature of awakening, no less than they, but we have to train ourselves. One way is to practice invoking the names of four great bodhisattvas—Avalokiteshvara (Regarder of the Cries of the World), Manjushri (Great Understanding), Samantabhadra (Universal Goodness), and Kshitigarbha (Earth Store).…
Explaining the Reasons for the Grand Offering Ceremonies
By Thich Nhat Hanh Preparations for these ceremonies were being made at least three months before Thay left for Vietnam. The full text of this letter is available on the Plum Village website in Vietnamese; it gives specific instructions as well on how to set up the altar. I imagine…