Visiting Vietnam Before our party of monks and nuns left Plum Village and Deer Park Monastery to go to Vietnam, Thay gave us instruction. His first words were, "We are sending you as an offering to Vietnam." These words impressed us deeply. They made us feel light and easy and…
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Dharma Talk: Cultivating Our Deepest Desire
When a woman becomes pregnant, something happens in her body, mind, and heart. The presence of the baby in her transforms her life, and a new energy arises that allows her to do things she normally could not do. She smiles and trusts humanity and the world more, and she…
Letters
Sangha Building This latest issue of the Mindfulness Bell is just bursting with treasures for Sangha practice (as well as a very helpful article on the aspirant training process!). It really helps those of us with young Sanghas and provides us with inspiration and direction with wonderful examples from practice.…
Condolences from Prison
By Tamar Enoch photo by Paul Davis Thay wrote the poem, “Please Call Me by My True Names,” after he heard the story of a young girl who was raped by a sea pirate as she and her family were fleeing Vietnam in a boat after the Communist takeover. After…
Our Racism is a Crying Baby
Larry Ward Interviews Sister Chau Nghiem June 20, 2004 at the New Hamlet, Plum Village Sr. Chau Nghiem, can you give us a glimpse into what it was like being a person of African American and European American descent, prior to coming to Buddhist practice and monastic life? It’s been…
Touching Peace in England
By Kate Atchley Touching Peace" was the theme of a deeply moving four-day retreat led by Thich Nhat Hanh, along with ten nuns and monks from Plum Village, in late March at Stourbridge, near Birmingham. The retreat was held in Old Swinford Hospital, whose grounds lent themselves well to walking meditation and provided superb evening…
All That Has Breath
By Adele Macy Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know that this is a wonderful moment! Thay's words seem so simple. At times, reading such simple words, I find myself searching for some extraordinary revelation. This intellectual hunger usually crops up when I feel overwhelmed by…
Clap, Tap, Hum, Breathe
Mindful Songwriting with Children By Joe Reilly Joe Reilly performs with Library Songsters Program, Ann Arbor District Library, 2013, photo by Mark Clague Where do songs and music come from? I ask this question to the many groups of children with whom I have the privilege of working as a…
Writing Down the Roots
By Natalie Goldberg After four years at the Minnesota Zen Center, during a seven-day sesshin, I went to Katagiri Roshi. "You know, the more I sit, the more Jewish I'm feeling." "That makes sense," he said. "The more you sit, the more you become who you are." This feeling of being Jewish deepened…
Simple Living
An Interview with Brother Phap Trach Question: Thank you, Brother, for taking this time. Can you share some of your early childhood experiences of spirituality, Buddhism, or mindfulness? What experiences or conditions watered your seed of becoming a monk? Brother Phap Trach: When I was little, my mother always took…