Recently babysitting my granddaughter, after finishing The Butter Battle Book, Ada and I opened another Dr. Seuss classic: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. It’s a story I’ve read many times over the years, but reading it with my seven‑year‑old granddaughter brought a fresh wave of insight — the kind that only arises when […]
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins: Thoughts, Distractions, and the Path Back to Mindfulness
June 2, 2026 by
Butter Side Up, Butter Side Down: Dr. Seuss, My Granddaughter, and the Second Mindfulness Training
June 1, 2026 by
Last Thursday night I read The Butter Battle Book to my granddaughter Ada, age seven. It was the first of three books we shared before bed, and as soon as the Yooks and Zooks began arguing about which side of their bread should face the butter, I felt a familiar bell of mindfulness ring inside […]
American JuBu
February 11, 2020 by
In the current issue (Spring 2020) of Tricycle Magazine, there is a review article about Emily Sigalow’s new book, “American JewBu: Jews, Buddhists, and Religious Change.” I was deeply moved by this review to the extent of making a comment. Here is what I wrote: I was brought up in a conservative kosher home in […]
Lights in the Dark
December 26, 2017 by
Paul Tingen, a fellow Order of Interbeing Member in the Plum Village Tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh has made this wonderful offering of music which he calls “Light in the Dark.” It is an acoustic guitar rendition to the tune of Leonard Cohen‘s Hallelujah. Paul hopes that we keep in mind the lessons […]
Walk With Me
August 15, 2017 by
Last Friday, I attended the world theatrical premier of a new film by Max Pugh and Marc J. Francis called, “Walk With Me.” It is tagged as “A journey in mindfulness featuring Thich Nhat Hanh.” The movie was narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch and featured monks and nuns from Plum Village. Sister Dinh Nghiem was present […]
Prayer of the Mothers
January 10, 2017 by
The song “Prayer of the Mothers”, was born as a result of an alliance made between singer-songwriter Yael Deckelbaum, and a group of courageous women, leading the movement of “Women Wage Peace”. The movement arose on summer 2014 during the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and the military operation “Tzuk Eitan”. On […]
Reverence for Life
December 1, 2016 by
Reverence for Life is the first of the Five Mindfulness Trainings authored by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as “Thay” by his followers.) In the time of the Buddha it was known as the first precept and, in fact, at that time, all of the precepts were simple statements like, “Not to kill,” “Not […]
Happy Continuation to Thich Nhat Hanh
October 11, 2016 by
Please join me in wishing a Happy Continuation to Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) on his 90th continuation day today! The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation had invited people to submit a three minute video of how we continue Thay. This is similar to what I had to say in my video: Continue in Good Health My […]
Can You Hear Mother Earth?
July 7, 2016 by
In this special message from Sister Chan Khong, she asks, “Can you hear Mother Earth? In this excerpt from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, we learn of the desperate situation we are in. Please wake up, my children, and see what you are doing. Your atomic bombs have laid waste to billions of precious lives, […]
For a Future to be Possible
May 31, 2016 by
The final session of the Earth Holder Retreat was on the theme of “For a Future to be Possible” on Sunday, May 1 at the Deer Park Monastery. The panel discussion was led by Brother Phap Ho (Brother Protection) and included Kristin Barker (founder of One Earth Sangha), Jayna Gieber (director of “People of the […]
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