By John Beaudry I was standing on a narrow sidewalk, bent over, putting a small bandage on a cut my sandal keeps making in the top of my right foot. The bus that would take us the remaining distance to the island and the temple had not arrived yet. So…
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No Mud, No Lotus
The intimate connection between suffering and happiness
Maple Forest Update
Twelve monks and twelve nuns are now residing in Vermont for the Winter Retreat. We are also expanding our guest facilities. The Winter Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your practice and understanding of the Dharma. It began November 15 and will continue until February 18. The daily schedule includes sitting and walking meditation, working…
Letters of Thanks
In November 1998, Plum Village sent $2,500 to Sisters Hanh Toan and Hanh Lien from Quang Nga and $10,000 to Hue, to help victims of the recent typhoons in Vietnam. These letters are in response to this aid. On December 14, 1998, after receiving Sister Hanh Toan's letter (below), Sister Chan Khong sent another $6,000, all…
Poem: A Teacher Looking for His Disciple
I have been looking for you, my child, Since the time when rivers and mountains still lay in obscurity. I was looking for you When you were still in a deep sleep Although the conch had many times echoed in the ten directions. Without leaving our ancient mountain, I looked…
Outside In, Inside Out
Separation to Inclusion Reflection along El Camino de Santiago, Spain; photo by Valerie Brown I was born in South Africa during apartheid, with African and Indian heritage in a lineage of slavery and indentured labour. I grew up in a segregated Indian area to a family who lived in a…
Walking with Ancestors
Brother Pháp Xả shares how his aspiration to end suffering is a continuation of his family’s work to save onderduikers, people hiding from the Nazi German army, in World War II.
The Leaves of One Tree
By Le Thu Thuy When we arrived, the hallway in the Claymont Court building was filled with light. It was a cold, windy, winter night and the retreatants came in wearing heavy winter jackets. We hugged each other with deep breaths and beaming smiles. At dinner time, the sound of…
Buddha Nature
An Exercise for Children By Terry Masters mb36-Buddha1 NOTE What the facilitator might say is in boldface. The answers in parentheses are the answers our children gave us. We know that a Buddha lives inside of each of us. Not the man who lived a long time ago, of course!…
The Light at the Tip of the Candle
I was deeply touched recently by a book called At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace. The author, Claude Anshin Thomas, describes in detail the suffering he has experienced as a Vietnam veteran [see below]. The description of his suffering made me look more deeply into the…