The first act of the meditator is to go back to his or her body as the object of mindfulness. Breath is the vehicle with which we go back to our body. The breath belongs to the body. It is a link between body and mind. As soon as you go back to your in-breath…
Search results for “is nothing something”
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Renewing Communication
By Lennis Lyon Smiling nuns; photo courtesy of our monastic friends The last sentence in the Eighth Mindfulness Training encourages us to “be active in finding ways to reconcile and resolve all conflicts however small.” The words “however small” have challenged me for years. If I have discomfort in my…
Feet in the Water, Tornadoes Above, and Landslides
Plum Village, November 24, 2007 Dear Friends, These are a few of the headlines from Vietnam announcing great natural disasters sweeping across the country. In the north, we have sent aid to a few hundred of the thousands of inhabitants who have seen their homes vanish under the water. In…
Freedom Is the Purpose of Our Practice
By Thich Nhat Hanh August 22, 2001 Deer Park Monastery photo by Paul Davis The purpose of practice is not to become a Dharma teacher; a Dharma teacher is nothing at all. It is not to become a Sangha leader; to be a Sangha leader does not mean anything at…
Solidity and Generosity
A Retreat for the U.S. Congress By Susan Hadler Dharma talk at Warner Theater; photo by Abbie Chesler Word came from Sister Peace that Thay and the Plum Village Sangha would visit Washington, DC toward the end of their North American tour in October 2011. Thay would offer a talk…
Be Here Now
By Nicole Dunn Be Here Now Sangha; photo by Nicole Dunn When I started our local Sangha, Be Here Now, in the fall of 2002, I really had no idea of what the heck I was doing. I was twenty-three years old and new to the practice, with only a…
Letter from the Editor
Dear Thay, dear Sangha, While this issue was coming together, I spent an evening reading our teacher’s poetry on his experiences in war. Afterward, I dreamt that people in my community were drafted into military service and a war was going to break out within a few days. I was…
War, Conflict and Healing
A Buddhist Perspective By Ha Vinh Tho According to the first of the five precepts (panca sila) given by the Buddha to his lay disciples (upasaka): “Lay students of the Buddha refrain from killing, put an end to killing, rid themselves of all weapons, learn humility before others, learn humility…
Transformation and Healing at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
By Jack Lawlor Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh, 1966; photo in National Civil Rights Museum Members of the Care-Taking Council of the Dharma Teachers Sangha for the US and Canada recently devoted a day of their annual retreat and gathering to a visit to the National Civil…
Here Is the Pure Land. The Pure Land Is Here.
One day, Queen Vaidehi asked the Buddha, "Is the place with no suffering very far away?" The Buddha replied, "No, it is not far away." And then the Buddha taught the queen how to touch the land of Great Happiness in her own heart and in her own mind. We talk about "the Pure Land." In…