Dear Thay, dear Sangha,
Last summer, after the 21-Day Retreat: Vulture Peak Gathering in Plum
Village, Sister Annabel Laity suggested that the Mindfulness Bell offer teachings
and stories from the retreat for those who weren’t able to attend. In this issue, several practitioners share wonderful moments of awakening they experienced at the retreat.

We also offer two Dharma talks from the gathering. Cheri Maples tells
eye-opening stories on what it’s like to be a police officer, how mindfulness
deeply transformed her work, and five ways to increase compassion and reduce
discrimination within the criminal justice system. Sister Annabel gives
a compelling teaching on the Three Dharma Seals—impermanence, no self,
and nirvana—with real-life examples to help us understand the tricky concept
of no self.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s 2013 talk, “Walking in Nirvana,” complements Sister
Annabel’s insights and transmits ageless wisdom on the Three Dharma Seals.
“Nirvana is the extinction of all the categories that you try to put everything
in,” Thay says. “You see the flowing, changing continuum, and you accept life
as it is. In the phenomenal world you can see that there is coming and going,
but if you look deeper, you see that the nature of everything is no coming and
no going. It manifests, it changes, and it continues. Nothing dies.” He explains
that when we taste nirvana, we have the calmness and solidity to help others.
Helping others is a great concern for Bhikkhu Bodhi, a monk with a deep
social conscience. In a discussion with Marisela Gomez, he explores the role of
mindfulness in being an activist and challenging racial injustice. Bhikkhu Bodhi
says part of our task, as Buddhists, is to look into the deep roots of suffering
and “to be voices of justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”
This kind of deep looking at suffering, and actions to transform it, are
shown beautifully in stories here—from the Compassionate Hands Sangha’s
work to help the poor, to the global community’s loving response to an ecological disaster in Vietnam, to Kansas police officers’ hosting of a dinner for a thousand Black Lives Matter protesters. We also read inspiring aha moments
recounted by Brother Phap Dung and two teenagers who looked deeply within
themselves at transformational retreats.

May this Mindfulness Bell help us to breathe and walk in peace. May it
bring us together to support the welfare of all beings.

With love and gratitude,

Natascha Bruckner
True Ocean of Jewels