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Dharma Talk: Cultivating Our Bodhisattva Qualities
By Thich Nhat Hanh in September 1998
Bodhisattvas are awakened beings. We also have our nature of awakening, no less than they, but we have to train ourselves. One way is to practice invoking the names of four great bodhisattvas—Avalokiteshvara (Regarder of the Cries of the World),…
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Buddhist Monks Released
Published in September 1998
By Sister Chan Khong On September 2, 1998, Vietnam Independence Day, the authorities released 5,219 prisoners, including the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, the poet monk Thich Tue Sy, and the scholar monk Thich Tri Sieu. Many Mindfulness Bell readers and other friends of…
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From the Editor
Published in September 1998
In the last Mindfulness Bell, Thay encouraged us to find ways to offer mindfulness as a nonsectarian practice in many settings. In this issue, practitioners share their experiences of bringing .mindfulness into schools, prisons, and hospitals; to impoverished people; and to the Earth herself. We…
Other articles in this issue
Meditation at Juvenile Hall
By Soren Gordhamer It took eight months to begin meditation classes at the local Juvenile Hall-seven months of talking about it and one month of letters, phone calls, and meetings with the director.…
An Interview with Kobutsu
By Carole Melkonian Reverend Kobutsu, Kevin Malone, is ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition, and has been teaching meditation in prisons since 1992. The following excerpts are from a conversation with Kobutsu during…
Inmates and Outmates
By Bob Repoley For the past few years, practitioners from several North Carolina Sanghas have practiced mindfulness and meditation with inmates in the state prisons. North Carolina is a conservative state and Buddhists…
Prison Mindfulness
By Mair Honan A few years ago, the word "prison" arose repeatedly in my meditation. I thought it referred to an internal prison and laughed when the words "Thomaston prison" arose one day.…
Healing Trees
By Vaughn Lovejoy My work with TreeUtah, a nonprofit tree planting organization, allows me to work with inner city schools, neighborhood projects, and ecological restoration projects. I came to this job out of…
Being Present with Dying
By Kate Small I've been privileged to work closely with death and dying for the past six years. This work has challenged me, taught me, and changed my life. It brought me…
Gratitude
By Dewain Belgard In closing his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul wrote: "En panti eucharisteite. (In everything, give thanks.)" He was advising them no matter how negative a situation, to be…
My Father’s Teachings
By Fred Eppsteiner It wasn't easy for my father to age. To see his hair turn grey, his hairline recede, and then gradually disappear till only a few strands remained. To lose…
Going to a Soup Kitchen
By Alisa Rudnick First we picked the lettuce from our farm, which I have done many times before, but I never knew where it was going. Then I asked, "When are we…
Punk Palace in the Moonlight
By Ian Prattis My eighteen-year-old son, Alexander, was studying at the Glasgow School of Art. From our transatlantic calls, I knew he was in trouble with drugs. I arranged to visit him. At the…
Settling in at St. Michael’s
By Kim Warren Over 300 people gathered at St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont last May for Thay's 21-day retreat on the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. Thay, monks, nuns, and lay…
Mindful Living at Omega
By Howard Evans Five days at Omega—an amazing experience for 800 retreatants, including 50 children. The intense joy was sometimes palpable. At one point, as the children prepared to sing for the Sangha, Thay…
Announcements
Growing Green MountainAs fall arrives, we want to let you know of our plans for future retreats at Green Mountain Dharma Center. Since it is taking longer than anticipated to acquire the…
Letters to The Mindfulness Bell
Thank you for the hot MB issue! Well done. I think the guidelines for Order of Interbeing mentoring needed to be addressed. We are still a developing order. I hope we do…
