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 father committed suicide when she was a child. Susan's mother remarried and her husband, Susan's stepfather, sexually abused her when she was…
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The Fire’s Fortunes
By Ronna Kabatznick In October 1991, the most destructive residential fire in U.S. history ripped across the Oakland hills. Twenty-four people were killed and 2,991 dwellings burnt to the ground within 12 hours. Eight of the 24 people, including my neighbor, died on the narrow and beautiful road where I once lived. My home was…
Dwelling in the Ultimate in North Mississippi
By Steve Black “In the Ultimate I dwell,” Thay says. And turning to the child holding his right hand, he says, “Do you know what the Ultimate is?” Silence. The child looks at Thay. His head is level with Thay’s thigh. He says nothing. Thay gently repeats the question: “Do…
Learning to Love Myself
I can see clearly that I was happy before
Dharma Talk: Be a Real Human Being
I love the smells here. They’re old, been around a long time. I can feel the ancient presence of the native peoples, in the rocks and in the mountains, in the trees and in the river. It makes me very happy to be here in this space. Compassion is very…
Book Reviews
The Energy of PrayerHow to Deepen Your Spiritual Practice By Thich Nhat HanhParallax Press, 2006155 pages Reviewed by Judith Toy When Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “You are a cloud,” this sounds very poetic. What he means is that our bodies contain cloud elements, a fact that science cannot dispute.…
Letters from the Editors
True Spiritual Communication Dear Friends, This is the fourth issue of the Mindfulness Bell that has been produced by the current editorial team. We are learning and developing our skills as we go, and we hope that each new issue is more inspiring and informative for our readers. Towards this…
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…
What does it mean to become a Great Being?
Brother Phap Hai, Author of The Eight Realizations of Great Beings In celebration of this release, Brother Phap Hai sat down and answered some questions about the core messages in The Eight Realizations of Great Beings, which insight gives him the most pause, and what he hopes readers come away…
Touched by Heart Nectar
Stories from a Joyful Retreat By Lorrie Harrison A friend recently sent a description of what he imagined it was like at Plum Village: “I get a flash of it being like individual bees flowing toward an attractant. The sweet words of Thay and the lovely people and surroundings pull…