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Dharma Talk: Protecting the Environment
By Thich Nhat Hanh in August 1992
Many basic teachings in Buddhism can help us understand our interconnectedness with the environment. One of the deepest is the Prajnaparamita Vajracchedika Sutra (The Diamond that Cuts through Illusion). This sutra is a dialogue between the Venerable Subhuti and the…
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Poem: The Good News
Published in August 1992
The good newsthey do not print.The good newswe do print.We have a special edition every momentthat we need you to read.The good news is that you are aliveand the linden tree is still therestanding firm in the harsh winter.The good…
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From the Editors
Published in August 1992
As we were preparing this issue of Mindfulness Bell, the world's leaders were in Rio to look deeply at the state of the Earth (although in the present political atmosphere, it was difficult for them to put the needs of all people, animals,…
Other articles in this issue
First International Council of the Order of Interbeing
In the mid-1960s in Vietnam, six young members of the School of Youth for Social Service were ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh into the Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien), expressing the…
An Interview with Thay
By Stanley Young During the Retreat for Environmentalists, a reporter from the Los Angeles Reader came to Camp Shalom and conducted this interview with Thay. What is your message to environmental activists?…
Environmental Identity
By Mitchell Thomashow As an educator, I work with adults who are studying to become environmental professionals, including those who have made this career decision at an early age and mid-career adults dramatically…
Going on Retreat
By Lois Barber In October 1990 I received a letter inviting me to a retreat for environmentalists, to be held in California in March 1991. Normally, in the rush of my busy…
Revisioning Our Work
By Thomas Urquhart Easter morning in the Malibu Hills. The full moon comes to rest on a distant ridge, then melts into the cliffs. We stand in a circle and watch the…
Overcoming Burnout
Discussion from Environmentalists' Retreat Randy Hayes (Director, Rainforest Action Network):I was working in the Southwest some years ago, fighting uranium mining on the reservations, and some of us were complaining about burnout In…
Being Peace in the Balkans
I have been mesmerized. Through the Falklands and the Gulf, sitting in England in front of the TV set, the passive command center of those two wards, I protested this diet of…
Transforming Life and Death
I had a pretty uneventful early childhood. I grew up on a farm with loving parents. I quarreled a lot with my two brothers, and, when I was six, I had a…
On Equanimity
“More, more, more" is a familiar refrain in Western society—more production, more economic growth, and, presumably, more security and happiness. This message is incessantly driven home by the many forms of modem electronic…
Mindful Medical Work
I have recently returned to working as a general medical practitioner. In doing so, I have benefitted from the teachings of Thay in the following ways: I do some form of walking…
Bong Bong
Several years ago, I was staying in a little cabin in the mountains, taking some time for a much-needed retreat. One morning I woke up and began the day in a rather…
A Peaceful Sentinel
The instructions were clear: The sentinel at the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village acts to protect the silence of the zendo during meditation periods by asking people not to make noise nearby, not…
Poem: The Cliffs at Cushman
Yellow machines chip awayAt the grey limestone ridgeTo widen a black river of asphaltThat flows like some primordial seepTowards the endless Montana horizon.This is the road that falls off the…
Poem: For Jani, Emily, Jess, & you—
Full moon shining brightly down uponthe big open meadowtall tree sentinels bear witnessto the passing of life and death.Breathing in one momentout the nextComing to bepassing away.The moon's light constant…
Simple Living
One of the theme songs of the retreat for environmentalists. Too many wordsToo many soundsToo many attractionsTurn me around.Too many milesIn a chrome cocoonI never get anywhereI can't see the…
Deliberate Living
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know…
Announcements
Intersein The first German-language Mindfulness Bell will debut in November. It will include the lead article by Thay from the Mindfulness Bell, translated into German, Thay's retreat schedule in Europe, all Sangha activities…
Projects in Vietnam
By Su Tu Phap Dang As regular readers of The Mindfulness Bell know, in addition to offering teaching, and daily practice mindfulness experiences, we also share with you in each issue something…
Letters to the Editors
Dear Friends, I deeply appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh, not only because his teachings are extremely useful to me and are also evidence of his broad and deep awareness, but also because his…
Peace Treaty
In Order That We May Live Long and Happily Together, In Order That We May Continually Develop and Deepen Our Love and Understanding, We the Undersigned, Vow to Observe and Practice…
