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Dharma Talk: Five Wonderful Precepts
By Thich Nhat Hanh in May 1990
When we think about peace, we usually think about the absence of war
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From the Editors
Published in May 1990
This bell has many sounds, from the deeply resonant, thunderous bell of Thich Nhat Hanh's Dharma talk on the Five Precepts, to the alarming bells of Art James and Lloyd Barnes' pieces on waking up in the midst of war…
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It Don’t Mean Nothin’
Published in May 1990
By Arthur James November 1969, on a darkening eve, we met upon a jungle trail. I felt the terror of death. Our encounter startled each one of us. Two North Vietnamese soldiers braced to shoot me. Shaking, I wedged myself…
Other articles in this issue
Choosing Peace
By Sid Kemp The precepts are a powerful solution to the world's suffering. They are good medicine. For me, it is incredibly painful to realize that the solution to the…
Precepts and Psychiatry
By Barry Roth Thay calls the Five Precepts good medicine to prevent suffering and enjoy health. Consider this psychotherapy vignette. A recovering alcoholic woman talks to me about the great…
The Five Precepts Are the Whole of the Dharma
By Christopher Reed When we think about freedom we often think about freedom from certain things. We are more familiar with restriction than we are with permission. There are of…
About the Lieu Quan School of Buddhist Meditation
Note: The original article was prepared using a typeface designed for Vietnamese diacritical marks. Ed. Note: If you received the Five Precepts from Thich Nhat Hanh, your Dharma name, if…
Reciting the 5 Wonderful Precepts
Hopefully by now each of you who received the Five Precepts with Thich Nhat Hanh during his 1989 visit has received your Certificate. If not, please let me know.Following is…
Hospice Work: Responding Authentically
In working as a hospice volunteer for the past four years, I have found mindfulness to be the key to visiting with dying people and their families. I follow my…
Poem by Dorothy Marschak
I am a candle,flickering and fading in the wind of talk,glowing in the silence. Dorothy MarschakWashington, D.C.
Prison Practice
A month ago I wrote to you (Parallax Press) and requested a catalogue. Imagine my surprise and delight when a guard brought to my cell slightly damaged copies of The…
Poem: The Last Remaining Cup
After the Earthquake Sleepless in the forest,the night after the earth trembled,I stare up at the starsand think, "How merciful their indifference,now when all our little houses have collapsed." All…
Slowing Down
I want to share with you a bit about the unfolding of the path for me since participating in the Mount Madonna retreat last April and also listening to Thay's…
Poem: Tiny Smile
Two sides of everything--it's hard to keep in mind.The habit is to oppose.But more & moreI sit blissfully in the middle,bemused at the warsgoing on around me,sniffing flowerslike an idiot!--tiny…
Poem: My Family In Vietnam
The peach offers her sweetness to me.How can I share this precious treasure with you? In my mind, we all sit down to dinner arms reaching across the ocean--I invite…
Poem: Life Revolves
My life revolves around laundry soap,meals that burn, dogs that bark, floors begging to be swept Where are the things that matter?I imagine lovers touching gently in the night;talk with…
Poem: A Passage to the Present
I met you in the mountain forest,You--sunlight skipping through the offering pine boughs, You--the fragrant needles, cones--above, around, below. You--slender stream, water diamond bright, smiling over the brook bed pebbles.…
The Discourse on Love
He or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of using loving speech. He or she will know how to live simply and happily,…
Letters to the Editors
Dear Friends, I cannot tell you what a wonderful surprise it was to receive the first Mindfulness Bell. Encountering Thay and all of you was a totally serendipitous event in…
