On Wednesday night, we had a wonderful gathering at Mindfulness in Healing. Our practice center is undergoing some changes because we are merging with another sangha in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who we call Thay. We meet in this wonderful Chinese medical clinic, the Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo. The […]
The Happiness of the Buddha
May 8, 2014 by
Today, we have words of wisdom from two respected teachers on the happiness of the Buddha. The first quote is from Ajahn Chah, the great Thai forest teacher of Theravada Buddhism who taught the likes of Jack Kornfield and inspired the formation of many practice centers all over the world. His reputation as a spiritual […]
Birth and Death
May 2, 2014 by
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, known as Thay by his followers, spends a lot of time talking about birth and death, being and not-being, and interbeing. The insight of interbeing is that nothing can exist by itself alone – everything has to inter-be with everything else. He also talks about no birth and no death. […]
Love Letter to Planet Earth
April 28, 2014 by
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a love letter to planet Earth. It is in the form of a book that is based on dharma talks he has given in Plum Village and other places. This book is an appeal to political and business leaders for ecological mindfulness and strengthening of our relationship to Mother […]
Wisdom and Compassion
April 26, 2014 by
Wisdom and compassion are the cornerstones of Buddha’s teachings. Wisdom includes the teaching of emptiness. Compassion includes the teaching of interbeing or interdependence and altruism based on the insight of interbeing. What do we mean by emptiness? When you say that something is empty, you must ask, “Empty of what?” Take that mug on the […]
Bells of Mindfulness
April 22, 2014 by
Today is Earth Day, and there is no one I know who is more committed to save Mother Earth than Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He uses the bells of mindfulness to try to wake us up and look deeply at the condition of Mother Earth. In recent years, we have had many mindfulness bells, […]
The End Of Suffering
April 19, 2014 by
As we move towards Easter Sunday, we witness the blossoming of spring and the warmer days of summer approaching. We prepare to celebrate Earth Day on April 22. We bring our love and compassion to Mother Earth and pray for the end of suffering. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh puts is so beautifully in this […]
Giving Up Addictions
April 18, 2014 by
These words of wisdom from Pema Chodron came from the Tricycle Daily Dharma on April 15. Pema is the director of Gampo Abbey – one of the few Buddhist centers in North America that maintain the traditional monastic precepts. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh calls these the Five Mindfulness Trainings, which his has revived from […]
Zen Practice
April 16, 2014 by
Peter Matthiessen is famous for his book, The Snow Leopard. He passed away on April 5, 2014 at the age of 81. It turns out the Matthiessen was a Zen Buddhist. I did not know this until these words of wisdom came in an email. Zen is really just a reminder to stay alive and […]
Awareness Is A Life-and-Death Matter
April 15, 2014 by
These words of wisdom come from my teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. We call him Thay, meaning beloved teacher. This teaching is important because in everything we think, say, or do, awareness is a life-and-death matter. When I had breakfast with Thay in 2006, I witnessed the way he would grasp his bowl with […]
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