By Linda Spangler I had wanted to go to Vietnam for a long time. I grew up with the Vietnam War on TV and watched the fighting and the nightly list of American dead. Escaping the draft was a frequent topic of conversation in my high school. I could not understand how anyone could…
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Letters to the Mindfulness Bell
On my drive home from the Open Way Sangha retreat at Loon Lake, Montana, I stopped in Deer Lodge to stretch and rest from the no-speed-limit limit in Montana. I pulled up nearby the prison and found myself thinking about the people inside, what sort of misdirection, difficult childhood, etc. brought them to such a…
Dharma Talk: No Birth, No Death, Only Transformation
Questions and Answers with Thich Nhat Hanh photo by Robert Felker Upper Hamlet, Plum Village July 24, 2012 Thay: Today is the 24th of July, 2012, and we are in the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village during our third week of the Summer Opening. We are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary…
Remember Remember Remember
When I close my eyes, I see hundreds of little eyes looking at me: round, dark, innocent eyes, eyes opened wide. They wrench my heart and force me to seek deeper understanding of my path. Therese came to visit our Understanding and Love Program in the highlands of South Vietnam.…
The Tasty Fruit of Inclusiveness
By Jack Lawlor Every day, the Buddha and his Sangha made a morning alms round to beg for food . Each doorstep was approached, and each householder was greeted with a request for food. The householder may have been a king, queen, wealthy merchant, warrior, farmer, laborer, or outcast. As part of each visit, the Buddha…
In the Shape of Your Palm
By Duncan Liddle The Fifth Remembrance: My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand. In my bathroom, there is a rubber plant. It's a very beautiful plant, and it means a lot to me because I grew it…
Ancestral Roots
By AJ Johnston Children of the Whitney on altar, Antioch Baptist Church, Whitney Plantation. Photo by Edissa Nicolás-Huntsman “With understanding and compassion, you will be able to heal the wounds in your heart, and the wounds in the world. Embrace your suffering, and let it reveal to you the way…
Teaching the Student Within
By Sara Unsworth “If you want to think like a hummingbird, be the hummingbird.” - Sister Dang Nghiem Arriving at Deer Park Monastery for the Meditation and Education Retreat last November, I kept having one recurring thought: I want to learn how to connect to students. As a new, young…
Engaged Buddhism: Learning Nonviolence in Cambodia
By Shelley Anderson How do you help people facing grave injustices to develop compassion in action? This was the challenge facing me and the Buddhist nonviolence trainer Ouyporn Khuankaew, when we were asked to lead advanced nonviolence training for Cambodian activists. The advanced training was to follow up on a…
Healing from Abuse
Footsteps of Freedom, Love and Peace by Brian Kimmel On the day of his sentencing, my former stepfather said to me in front of the judge, my family and his, “I never did anything to hurt you, and I’m sorry you felt I did. I loved you like a son.”…