Hero of Hearts

David Hughes; photo by Craig Cowden

In October 2022, we lost a great friend, mentor, and highly esteemed Dharma teacher, David Hughes. This poem was written in memoriam of the great heart that he gave to Sanghas from Maine to Colorado.

Lore of Eyes of Compassion Sangha
includes a humble man arriving
one evening revealing a half smile
emanating from a deep-well heart.

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David Hughes; photo by Craig Cowden

In October 2022, we lost a great friend, mentor, and highly esteemed Dharma teacher, David Hughes. This poem was written in memoriam of the great heart that he gave to Sanghas from Maine to Colorado.

Lore of Eyes of Compassion Sangha
includes a humble man arriving
one evening revealing a half smile
emanating from a deep-well heart.

Twenty members, as was tradition,
were silently meditating
to the heartbeat of a choir’s practice
rising up from church rooms below.

Many recall welcoming David,
an obviously deep practitioner,
who carefully listened to Dharma
before sharing from his heart.

Coloradans soon learned David
did not manifest from thin air,
but was grafted from a sister
Sangha deep in the heart of Maine.

David left his beloved high seas
following his heart and daughters
to a home in the Rocky mountains
becoming our Dharma Bodhisattva.

From visitor to enlightened layman
to receiving the lamp of ordination
as Thích Nhất Hạnh’s continuation,
David taught with all his heart.

Medical annals may record
a cardiac arrest—a failed heart.
But no, NO! It did not fail him!
He lived with a heroic heart.

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What is Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh January 15, 2020

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