Jade Candles Transmission Ceremony

You are warmly invited to the Jade Candles Precepts Transmission Ceremony, to be held in Plum Village from November 30 to December 3 this year. A jade candle signifies peace in all seasons, thorough illumination, and constant harmony in the universe. Candidates who wish to receive the precepts should register by letter by October 30. Those who wish to receive the Ten Novice Precepts, the Siksamana Precepts, or the Bhikshu and the Bhikshuni Precepts need to have a letter of recommendation from their religious teacher. Candidates for the Fourteen Precepts of the Order of Interbeing need a letter of recommendation from their local Sangha. Those who wish to receive the Bhikshu or Bhikshuni Precepts and who do not belong to the residential community of Plum Village need to be present at Plum Village at least two weeks before the beginning of the Precepts Transmission on November 30 to attend a special course of practice and instruction.

The Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies at Plum Village has invited the Upadhayaya Thich Quang The (Vietnam), Upadhyaya Thich Nhu Hue (Australia), Upadhyaya Thich Man Giac (USA), Upadhyayika Thich Nu Dieu Tri (Hue, Vietnam), Upadhyayika Thich Nu Dam Anh (Vietnam), and Upadhyayika Thich Nu Dam Luu (USA) to be part of the Precepts Transmitting Councils. Many other elder monks and nuns from Vietnam and elsewhere have been invited to be on the council. Dhyana Master Thich Nhat Hanh will transmit the precepts. For further information, write to Sister Eleni or Sister Annabel at Plum Village.

Passages

Ordained: At Plum Village on June 30, Minh Tarn, Susan Swann, and Fern Dorresteyn were ordained as nuns; Kiyo and Michael Ciborski as monks.

On May 27, Greg Keryk, True Good Birth, was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in Santa Cruz, California, with Arnie Kotler and Therese Fitzgerald officiating on Thay's behalf.

Married: On March 4, Shantum Seth, True Right Path, and Gitanjali Varma were married alongside the Ganges River at Kaudiyala, India.

On March 9, Svein Myreng, True Door, and Eevi Beck, Pure Manifestation of the Source, were married at Hoybraten Church in Oslo in a beautiful ceremony conducted by Eevi's father , a Protestant minister. A second ceremony will be held at Plum Village on July 26, celebrated by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Mindfulness Bell Will Accept Advertising

Beginning with the December issue, The Mindfulness Bell will accept a limited amount of mindfulness-related advertisements. Please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Maria Duerr, c/o The Mindfulness Bell, for ad rate sheet. Ads for the next issue are due October 15.

Update: Documentary Film about Thay

The editors of Legacy Production's film about Thich Nhat Hanh, "Peace Is Every Step," have reviewed all the footage—over 100 hours of tape and film, including some archival material—and they have completed a first assembly or "rough cut." They will soon move into the "off-line" studio to produce the "fine cut," which will take six to eight weeks to complete. The final, or "online" editing phase of two weeks will occur after the fine cut is assembled, with music, narration by Ben Kingsley, titles, and effects mixed and added. If all goes well, and with continuation of funding help, the film should be completed by the end of the year.

The Buddhist AIDS Project

The Buddhist Aids Project (BAP) provides free information on Buddhist resources and alternative AIDS services to persons living with HIV, including family, friends, caregivers, and people who are HIV negative. The group networks Buddhist resources with each other and existing AIDS services. Donations and requests for lists of articles, videos, and audiotapes may be sent to BAP, 555 John Muir Dr. #803, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 522-7473. BAP is compiling an anthology entitled On Meditation and AIDS: Buddhist Practice and Living with HIV, to be published by Parallax Press in 1997. Contributors include Thay, Robert Thurman, Joan Halifax, and others. Essays for this book are welcome and are being accepted until September.

Meditation & PTSD: Request for Information

The Veterans' Affairs Medical Center in Albany, NY, is incorporating mindfulness-based meditation with the therapy of Vietnam veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans who have used meditation to transform their relationship to traumatic events are encouraged to send information about changes in the frequency and intensity of meditation, and other therapy received. Write to: Stephen Flynn, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Stratton Medical Center, 113 Holland Ave., Albany, NY 12208.

Conference for Vietnam Ministers

The National Conference of Vietnam Ministers will meet October 15-20, 1996 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. For more information, contact Rev. Philip Salois, (508) 222-7313.