Winter/Spring 2005 A Journal of the Art of Mindful Living Issue 38 $7/£5

Mindful Politics

Reclaiming our Roots

Deep Listening
As a Key to Peace

Transformation at the Base

Thich Nhat Hanh
At the Feet of the Buddha Retreat
 Thich Nhat Hanh’s

2005 North American Tour

August 11 - 16, 2005 September 11, 2005

Walking in Peace Today: Practicing Day of Mindfulness at Deer Park Monastery,
Together in the Midst of Turmoil Escondido, CA
Five Day Mindfulness Retreat at Stonehill
College, Easton, MA September 14 - 18, 2005
Colors of Compassion: Healing Our
August 17, 2005 Families, Building True Community
Refreshing Our Hearts: A Retreat for People of Color at
Understanding True Love Deer Park Monastery
Public Lecture in Boston area
September 18, 2005
August 20 - 25, 2005 Day of Mindfulness at
Touching Peace: Finding Inner Free- Deer Park Monastery
dom with Understanding and Love
Mindfulness Retreat at Bishop’s University, September 21 - 25, 2005
Quebec, Montreal Listening Deeply to Love,
Looking Deeply to Understand
August 26, 2005 Mindfulness Retreat for Vietnamese
Peace in Oneself, Peace in the World Community at Deer Park Monastery
Public Lecture in Montreal, Quebec
September 25, 2005
August 27, 2005 Day of Mindfulness at
Day of Mindfulness for Vietnamese Deer Park Monastery
Community at Maple Village, Quebec
September 28 – October 2, 2005
August 29- September 3, 2005 Liberty, Responsibility, and the Pursuit
Finding True Freedom: Opening the Door of Happiness
of Understanding and Compassion Mindfulness Retreat at Deer Park Monastery
Five Day Mindfulness Retreat at Estes Park
YMCA of the Rockies, CO October 8, 2005
Peace is Every Step
September 7, 2005 Peace Walk, Los Angeles
Nurturing Togetherness and Peace
in a World of Fear and Separation
Public Lecture in Denver, CO Information for events Information for events
in Massachusetts, Canada, in California:
September 10, 2005 and Colorado: Toll free: 800-640-7448
Remembrance and Transformation Toll free: 866-896-6151 www.deerparkmonastery.org
A Public Lecture in Pasadena, CA www.greenmountaincenter.org
 To Our Readers
It is a rich blessing to be sitting here,
receiving treasures of the practice from
all over the world to share with you in the
Mindfulness Bell. During the months of
developing the material for an issue, I go
through many changes. At first, I am inspired
to create a new weaving of insight from
A Journal of the Art of Mindful Living the material I have waiting and from the
transformation happening in my own life; and
in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh I am also a little anxious that I won’t receive
enough material (that’s the part of me who
Issue 38 Winter/Spring 2005 thinks I am in control).
Then, inevitably, the river of insight flows
Advisor and Editor Sister Annabel forth and so many of you offer wonderful
teachings. My confidence becomes strong
Managing Editor Barbara Casey
and my appreciation for this wonderful path of practice deepens as I work with
Associate Editor Phap Tue each piece, watching how each one becomes a beautiful thread in the overall
design, both lovely and strong.
Design LuminArts
Because we have been in such a tumultuous time with the recent U.S. Presidential
Editing Support Lois Schlegel
election, I wanted to address how to practice with politics and how to engage
Young People’s Editor Terry Masters without becoming embroiled in partisan conflicts. Being quite involved in the
campaign, I had a chance to look daily at this issue. I saw that first of all, I
Subscription Manager David Percival needed to stop. I needed to stop feeding my prejudices and judgments about
Transcribing Greg Sever others, and to start every day with an open curiosity about each person I would
meet. I needed to listen deeply, both to the stories in my head and to what I
Website Design Brandy Sacks heard from others and from the media. I had to look for the truth, and to learn to
Sangha Directory Leslie Rawls let go of all the rest. I had to have confidence in my own true nature and in the
foundation that my practice has built for me to rest on. I had to take refuge in
Advisory Board Thay Phap Kham myself, in the strength of my spiritual and blood ancestors. I needed to nourish
myself every day, with the presence of supportive and loving friends, and in the
Jerry Braza
beauty of nature. And I had to work every day, to uproot my limited views and to
Richard Brady open my heart to life in this moment.
Peggy Rowe Ward The morning after the election, as I went out to retrieve all the political signs from
my front yard, the neighbor dog ran over to greet me, wagging his tail in great
happiness. In that moment I realized that to him, this morning was just as new
and full of possibility as was the morning before. I realized that I needed to renew
Submissions
myself by spending time with the trees and the deer, with the moon and the stars.
Writing: Please send us the fruits of your practice. We
The teachings in this issue speak of these practices. Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us
welcome longer feature articles (2,000–3,000 words);
the power of visualization and gives us ways to explore the nature of our minds.
essays and stories; and poetry. We also welcome submis-
sions from young people of any age. Please send writing to: Four lay sisters share stories of taking refuge in their spiritual and biological
Barbara Casey, e-mail: mindbell@mind.net or address: roots. A group of practitioners encourage us to go further with the transformative
645 Sterling Street, Jacksonville, OR 97530. practice of deep listening. Thay and other wise teachers offer views on the political
situation and our place in stepping forward as mindfulness practitioners. A guided
Images: We welcome photos, artwork, and cartoons from
meditation helps us to learn to continually let go.
your local Sangha, family, and community. Please send
original image or if sent by computer please send as TIFF Perhaps the most important personal result of my participation in politics over
or JPEG file no larger than 5MB. We can promptly return the past year has been the establishing and deepening of friendships, resulting in
all original photos and artwork. Please send images to: strong community-building. Acquaintances became friends as priorities shifted
Barbara Casey, e-mail: mindbell@mind.net or address: and people stepped forward to live their highest good.
645 Sterling Street, Jacksonville, OR 97530.
May we all rest in the net of Sangha, offering one another the power of our
Advertising Inquiries: mindbell@mind.net mindfulness and deep faith in the beauty of life as it is.

The Mindfulness Bell is published by the Community of

Mindful Living at Deer Park Monastery, 2496 Melru Lane, In gratitude,
Escondido, CA 92026, U.S.A.

On the Cover: photo by Robert Sorrell

ISSUE NO. 38 - WINTER/SPRING 2005

transformation AT THE BASE

4 The Power of Visualization
By Thich Nhat Hanh

11 Bowing
By Bill Menza

12 Learning to Speak the Truth

By Thay Phap An

reclaiming OUR ROOTS

15 From Sicily with Love
By Concetta Troskie

19 Reflections While Sitting in a Catholic Church

By Starr DiCiurcio

21 The Scent of Oranges

By Nancy Hom

23 A Sweet Reunion: Transcending Birth and Death

By Beth Howard

photos by Robert Sorrell

listening TO TRANSFORM
24 Discovering Levels of Deep Listening
By Ian Prattis

26 Healing Through Listening

By Margaret Kirschner

27 Moments of Communion
By Connie Nash

28 Deep Listening: A Sangha Exercise

By Bill Williams

29 A Key to Peace: Listening to Myself

By Peggy Lindquist

30 Form, Formless
By Janet Aalfs

Illustration by Mari Gayatri 31 How the Dog

By Kelly Parsons
 mindful POLITICS
32 Nothing is Lost
By Thich Nhat Hanh

33 Plumeria Tree Buddha

Retold by Eileen Kiera

34 Now is the Time for Engaged Buddhist Practice

photo by Gary Richardson By Larry Ward

35 Buddha in me
By Ariel Blair

36 Toward Mindful Politics

By Nathanial Cordova

37 Letting Go and Being Happy

By Ben Matlock

young people’s PRACTICE

39 Mindfulness and Mathematics:
Teaching as a Deep Learning Process
By Richard Brady
illustration by Francoise Pottier
41 Bowing
By Terry Masters

sangha HAPPENINGS
41 Three Poems for Thay
By Jamyson Clair Vining

42 Building Our Orange Blossom Sangha

By Rhoda Reilly

43 Reviews:
Book Review: Journeying East:
Conversations on Aging and Dying
By Lois Schlegel

Compact Disks: Rivers and Oasis

By Barbara Casey

life TRANSITIONS
44 Poet, Peace Advocate, and
Goodwill Ambassador Dies
By Norman R. Brown

45 Zadie’s Manifestation
By Clay McLeod

45 New Seth Family Member

By Shantum Seth

46 Vietnam Relief: Please Help to Rebuild the Temple

and Feed the People
t r ansfor mation AT THE BASE

The Power of
Visualization
By Thich Nhat Hanh
photo by Gary Richardson

I
From talks given June 11 and June 14, 2004
The Feet of the Buddha Retreat, Plum Village

4 Winter/Spring 2005
 fe e t o f t h e bu d d h a R E T R E AT

“The practice of mindfulness,

concentration, and insight can

beautify our mind, and make

our mind into a very powerful

I
instrument with which we can look

deeply into the nature of reality.”

In June, 2004, Thich Nhat Hanh offered

teachings on the nature of consciousness at
The Feet of the Buddha Retreat in Plum Village.
Expounding on the material published in
Transformation at the Base, Fifty Verses on the
Nature of Consciousness (Parallax Press, 2001)
Thay offered methods of practice that will deepen
our understanding of ourselves and of reality.

Here, Thay speaks about the practice of

visualization, explaining how it can enhance our
mindfulness through such diverse examples as
recent information from nuclear science and a
marvelous story about the mother of the Buddha.

Also included in this section is Learning to Speak

the Truth, an excerpt of a talk given at the same
photos by Gary Richardson

retreat by senior student and Dharma teacher,

Thay Phap An, who shares stories of some of his
difficulties as a young monk in the early days at
Plum Village.
the Mindfulness Bell 5
t r ansfor mation AT THE BASE

The practice of visualization is very important in Buddhism, can see your mother walking with you. Not in your imagination,
but practitioners of other disciplines need imagination and visu- but as a reality. You can invite your father and other people you
alization too. In order to learn, in order to create, we need the love to walk with you, and you feel they are present in the here
capacity to imagine and to visualize. For example, studying and the now. You don’t have to be with them physically in order
mathematics takes a lot of visualization. If your power of visu- to touch their presence.
alization is weak you cannot learn a kind of mathematics called
If we know that all our ancestors are fully present in every
projective geometry. If you are an architect, you have to visual-
cell of our body, then when we make a step, we know that they
ize in order to create new forms of architecture. Many scientists
are all taking that step with us. Your mind can see the feet of all
have to visualize a lot, because they have to see molecules and
your ancestors, millions of feet, making a step with you. Using
atoms with their mind, since they cannot see them with their eyes.
visualization in that way will shatter the idea that you are a separate
Theories concerning the elementary particles of the cosmos come
self. You walk, and they walk too.
from visualization.
While scientists use instruments and tools to empower their Our Perceptions are Mental
vision, practitioners use visualization to purify their minds so they Constructions
can look deeply at the nature of reality. There are many incorrect things on the screen of our con-
Visualization While Walking sciousness, and if we know how to focus we can erase them. We
bring our wisdom to that view of illusion projected on our screen,
Using the techniques of visualization during walking medita- and we recognize it as an illusion. Then we press on the mouse,
tion can bring us love, wisdom, and joy. When we study the levels and it is erased from our screen.
of consciousness, we see that the sixth––mind consciousness, also
called the gardener––has the power to imagine, to visualize. When illusion is erased, something appears. The disappear-
ance of ignorance (avidiya) helps the light, the wisdom to arise.
When you make a step, you might visualize that your mother So when you use your mind to erase the illusion, the truth appears.
is taking the step with you. This is not difficult to do, since you Thanks to our practice of looking deeply, we know that what ap-
know that your feet are a continuation of the feet of your mother. pears in our consciousness is the collective construction of our
As we practice looking deeply, we see the presence of our mother mind. With practice, we are no longer sure of our perceptions.
in every cell of our body. Our body is a continuation of our We become more careful. We know that what is perceived is very
mother’s body. When you make a step you might say, “Mother, much the collective construction of our consciousness.
walk with me,” and suddenly you feel your mother walking with
you. Perhaps during her lifetime she did not have a chance to Parakalpita means collective mental construction. In the past,
walk in the here and the now, and to enjoy touching the earth like when we did not practice, we believed that the world of mental
you have. So, suddenly compassion is born in you, because you construction is a solid, objective world. But now as we begin to
practice, we learn that what we touch,
what we see, what we hear, is only a col-
lective mental construction. We begin
to understand that what we perceive is
very much the construct of our con-
sciousness. To recognize parakalpita as
a mental construction is a step toward
wisdom. And our practice will help us
to see that the nature of the world as we
see it is the nature of parakalpita, the
nature of mental construction.
So with the practice of mindfulness
you become more alert. Anything you
hear, you touch, you see––you know that
it has the nature of mental construction,
and you do not consider it as reality.
The world of representations may carry
some substance of the world, of things
in itself, but it mostly consists of repre-
sentations. And it is collective in nature;
for example, the person sitting next to
photo by Gary Richardson

you will see and hear almost the same

things that you see and hear. Because
you are made similarly, you perceive in
the same way.

6 Winter/Spring 2005
 fe e t o f t h e bu d d h a R E T R E AT

The Process of Seeing

and Hearing
We know that the images we see are projected onto our retina,
and our brain translates them into electrical impulses, which
forward them to the center of sensation in the occipital lobe. We
don’t see with our eyes; our eyes only receive images which are
translated into the language of electrical signals. And an image
does not come as a whole; it comes as millions of dots, received and
That is the purpose of
processed by more than thirty different regions of the cortex.
The same happens with sounds. A sound is received and
translated into electrical signals, then goes to an area just below visualization — to erase
the occipital lobe, and then is transferred to many areas of the
cortex, and finally sent to the parietal lobe. Then we become
aware of it. the duality between you
Whether it is sound or image or touch or smell, all are translat-
ed into electrical signals so that the mind can receive and process.
It is very, very complicated. That is why the teacher Vasubandhu
said that the processing of store consciousness is not something and Buddha.
that mind consciousness can access. And that is why we agree
with what the Buddha said in the Diamond Sutra: All conditioned
dharmas are like a dream, are like magical performances, are like
water bubbles, are like reflected images, are like a drop of dew, illustration by Francoise Pottier
are like lightning. The Buddha said, “Dear one, you have to train
to look at them like that.”
Because of what we know, we don’t believe that what we
perceive is objective reality. It is the mental construction of our Looking into the son, you see the father and the mother and
consciousness, and we know that is the nature of our perceptions. the ancestors; you see the son is not a separate entity. Looking into
What we conceive to be personalities, people, atman––what we yourself––your suffering, your happiness––you don’t see you as a
conceive to be entities, dharmas––are just mental constructions. separate self, you see a continuation. This is to learn how to see
They are evolving in many ways, but they are all manifestations everything in the light of interdependence, interbeing. Everything
from consciousness. That is the first verse of The Thirty Verses is based on everything else in order to manifest. Slowly the notion
on consciousness, offered by Vasubandhu. of one and of many vanish.
Touching Interbeing Training to See the
Knowing that we live in the world of parakalpita, we should True Nature of Reality
practice looking deeply in order to discover the nature of interbe-
The nuclear scientist David Bohm practiced looking deeply,
ing, because if we look deeply into the world of mental construc-
and he said that an electron is not a separate entity; one electron
tion, we can touch the nature of interbeing, the nature of paratantra.
is made of all the other electrons. He seemed to understand that
Paratantra means “leaning on each other,” depending on each
the one is made of the all, and just touching the one deeply, you
other in order to manifest. You cannot be by yourself. You have
touch everything.
to inter-be with everything else.
So touching the nature of paratantra, we understand that there
For example, a flower has to rely on many non-flower elements
are no separate entities. There are only manifestations that rely
in order to manifest. That is why when we look at a flower we don’t
on each other to be possible, like the left and the right. The right
see a separate entity. If we see a flower as an entity, then we are still
is not an entity that can be by itself. Without the left, the right
in the parakalpita world. And when we see another person as an
cannot be. Everything is like that.
atman, a separate self, then we are still in the world of parakalpita.
That is why using mind consciousness, we are not focused on these The first verse of Vasubandhu’s thirty verses is that the meta-
so-called selves and dharmas in order to discover the nature of phor of selves and dharmas are evolving in several ways. They
paratantra. Empty inside, empty as a self, empty as an entity: for are creations of consciousness, mental creations. The sixth, the
that you need the energy of mindfulness and concentration. You seventh, and the eighth levels of consciousness create.
live your day mindfully. You look deeply at anything you come
The Buddha offered us the insight of impermanence and the
in touch with, and you are not fooled by appearance. You are not
insight of no-self, as tools for us to touch the world of parakalpita
caught in a world of parakalpita; you are capable of seeing that
so that we can discover the nature of interbeing, the nature of
those you meet are devoid of any solid entity, any solid selves.
interdependence, which is devoid of any solid, separate self. One

the Mindfulness Bell 7

t r ansfor mation AT THE BASE

Touching the Earth Opening Gatha

The one who bows and the one who is bowed to
Are both by nature empty.
Therefore the communication between them
Is inexpressibly perfect.

Our practice center is the net of Indra

Reflecting all Buddhas everywhere.
And my own person reflects in all Buddhas
To whom with my whole life I go for refuge.
Stone circle and sacred cave at
Maple Forest Monastery

day the Buddha told his beloved disciple, Ananda: “Whoever sees before the Buddha, you have to visualize that you are empty of a
interbeing, that person sees the Buddha.” If we touch the nature separate self, and also that the Buddha is empty of a self. The one
of interdependence, of interbeing, we touch the truth, we touch who bows and the one who is bowed to are both by nature empty.
wisdom. We touch the Buddha. It’s difficult to find another tradition with a similar practice. For
instance, you cannot stand in front of the deity you worship, and
During the day, while walking or sitting, eating or cleaning,
say, “You, my God, you are empty!”
you dwell in the concentration of paratantra, so that you can see
things as they are, not as selves, not as entities, but as mental Before you bow, you say something like this: “Dear Buddha,
constructions that rely on each other in order to manifest. This is I am bowing to you, but I know deeply that I am empty and you
the process of training. And finally, when the training is complete, are also empty, because you are in me and I am in you. When I
the nature of parinispanna will appear, will reveal itself entirely, am touching the Earth before you, it may look ridiculous. But
and what you touch is no longer a world of illusion, but the world looking deeply, I see that I bow like this in order to touch you in
of thing-in-itself. These are the principles of the practice. me, and so that you can touch me in you also.
First of all, we should be aware that the world in which we Then you visualize countless Buddhas appearing, like the
live is being constructed by us, by our mind, collectively. That image of Indra’s net. This is a net made of jewels, and in each
if we look deeply, if we know how to use mindfulness and con- jewel you see reflected all the other jewels. Looking into the one
centration, we can begin to touch the nature of interdependence. you see the all. Suppose you build a hall made of mirrors, and
And when our practice is deep, we can erase the illusion of para- then you enter holding a candle. Looking into a mirror you see
kalpita so the true nature of reality can be revealed: the nature you and the candle, and when you turn around you see that each
of parinispanna. mirror reflects you and the candle in the mirror too. You just need
to look into one mirror to see all the reflections of you and the
Visualizing Before Touching the Earth candle. Countless yous and countless candles are reflected in just
Visualization can be very helpful. When I was a young novice one mirror.
in Asia, this practice was taught to us, but most of us could not So you are standing there, about to touch the Earth and get
do it. We memorized very well, we chanted very beautifully, but in touch with the Buddha. And you have to visualize countless
we could not do this visualization for the first ten or fifteen years. Buddhas appearing around you, and in front of each Buddha there
The moment you can do it, you feel wonderful. You can erase the is one you who is touching the Earth. You touch the Earth in such
notion of self through this practice. a way that the barrier between you and Buddha is no longer there.
If you are an intelligent practitioner, you do not touch the You use the tool of your mind to erase the distinction between you
Earth with the intention of begging the Buddha to give you some- and the Buddha, so that you can touch the nature of interbeing,
thing, or to forgive you for having done something. That practice and you can be free of the notions of one and many, the same and
is still based on the notion of separate selves: the belief that you different. And that is the purpose of visualization––to erase the
and the Buddha are different; that you are almost nothing, and duality between you and Buddha. Before you can wipe out that
the Buddha is everything; that you need him to give you a little kind of separation, the practice of bowing is not deep. You have
bit of wisdom or happiness. With that kind of intention, you still to see the nature of interbeing between you and Buddha before
live in the world of parakalpita. So before touching the Earth the bowing can bring a deeper result.
8 Winter/Spring 2005
 fe e t o f t h e bu d d h a R E T R E AT

So touching the Earth before a Buddha is not an act of su- denly that petal became a whole lotus with one thousand petals.
perstition. You develop your wisdom by doing so, and you realize And he saw himself sitting on one petal. And suddenly he saw that
freedom. You transform your suffering, your loneliness, by this his petal had become a whole lotus with one thousand petals.
kind of practice.
And he was so happy. He joined his palms and looked up, and
The Mother of the Buddha a very nice conversation began between the mother of the Buddha
and the young man Sudhana.
In the Avatamsaka Sutra there is a delicious portion describ-
ing the young man Sudhana looking for the mother of the Bud- Lady Mahamaya said, “Young man, do you know something?
dha. Sudhana’s teacher is the great boddhisattva Manjushri, who The moment I conceived Siddhartha was a very wonderful mo-
encouraged his disciple to go and learn from many people. Not ment! There was a kind of bliss that made my whole body and
only old teachers, but also young teachers; not only Buddhist mind feel wonderful. The presence of a Buddha within yourself
teachers but also non-Buddhist teachers. And then one day he is a wonderful thing! You cannot be happier than that.
was told that he should go and meet the mother of the Buddha, “You know something, young man? After Siddhartha came
that he would learn a lot from her. So he looked hard for her, but to my womb, countless boddhisattvas coming from many direc-
he couldn’t find her. tions came and asked my permission to pay a visit to my son in
Then someone told him, “You don’t have to go searching, you my womb, to make sure their friend was comfortable in there.
just sit down and practice mindful breathing and visualization, and And before I had a chance to say yes, they all entered my womb.
then she will come.” So he stopped searching. He sat down and Millions of them. And yet I had the impression that if there were
he practiced. Suddenly he saw a lotus with one thousand petals more boddhisattvas who wanted to come into my womb, there was
come up from deep in the Earth. And sitting on one of these petals still plenty of room for them to enter.
he saw the mother of the Buddha, Lady Mahamaya, so he bowed “Young man, do you know something? I am the mother of all
to her! And suddenly he realized that he was sitting on one of Buddhas in the past. I am the mother of all Buddhas in the present.
the petals of the same lotus, and then each petal became a whole And I shall be the mother of all Buddhas in the future.”
lotus with one thousand petals.
That is what she said. Beautiful, very deep. And that is the
You see? The one contains the all. The lotus has one thousand work of visualization: to show you the nature of interbeing, to
petals, and Lady Mahamaya was sitting on one petal when sud-

photo by Gary Richardson

the Mindfulness Bell 9

t r ansfor mation AT THE BASE

that she carries a Buddha within. Everything

she eats, everything she drinks, everything she
does, every film she watches––she knows that
it will have an effect on her child. The Buddha
Shakyamuni said, “You are a Buddha. There is a
baby Buddha in each of you. Whether you are a
lady or a gentleman, you carry within yourself
a Buddha.” We also carry a Buddha but we are
not as careful as Mahamaya in our way of eat-
ing, drinking, smoking, worrying, projecting
and so on. We are not responsible mothers of
the Buddha.
Like Mahamaya, there is plenty of room
inside of us, not only for one Buddha but for
countless Buddhas. We can declare, like Maha-
maya, that we were the mother of all Buddhas in
the past. We can be the mother of all Buddhas
in the present. And we shall be able to be the
mother of all Buddhas in the future. Mahamaya
is hope. Is she outside in objective reality or is
she inside ourselves?
So if you visualize like that, all negative
feelings, all complexes will vanish. All doubt
photo by Gary Richardson
that you can behave with the responsibility of a
Buddha’s mother will disappear and the Buddha
Who is Mahamaya, the mother in you will have a chance to manifest for yourself
and for the world. And that is why visualiza-
tion is a very important tool of meditation, of
of the Buddha? Is that someone transformation. With a mind that is polluted by
greed, by anger, you cannot do it well; that is why
the purification of our thinking, of our mind, is
outside of you? Or is she you? very important. The practice of the Mindfulness
Trainings, the practice of mindfulness of walking
and sitting, the practice of samadhi to help purify
the mind and to bring the fire of concentration to
burn away the ignorance, the delusion. Through
show you the truth that one contains the all. The smallest atom these practices, we erase all the wrong perceptions in us so that
can contain the whole cosmos. reality can reveal itself very clearly to us.
We all Carry Buddhas Within When mind has become true mind, when mind has become
You know that the human body is made of cells, and now beautified in true mind, the world parakalpita is no longer there.
science has declared that cloning is possible. From one cell they Instead, the world parinispanna reveals itself completely. There
can duplicate the whole body. How is it possible? Because one is no longer any fear, any craving, any sorrow, any anger, because
cell contains the totality of the genetic heritage of that person. If all these have been created by our wrong perceptions and our
not, how could we, from one cell, bring the whole body into full complexes.
manifestation? So current science has proved not only in theory Transcribed by Greg Sever;
but in practice that, in the one you touch the all. edited by Barbara Casey.
And we all have all our ancestors fully present in every one of
our cells. We carry all of them while we walk, while we eat, while
we do things. Without visualization you cannot see it. That is the
power of the sixth consciousness, called the gardener.
Who is Mahamaya, the mother of the Buddha? Is that some-
one outside of you? Or is she you? Because all of us carry in our
womb a Buddha. Mahamaya is very careful because she knows

10 Winter/Spring 2005
 fe e t o f t h e bu d d h a R E T R E AT

How wonderful, With palms together,

The honor and privilege As if holding a flower
To bow That is bending
To your teacher, toward them,
Loved one, friend, As you look into their eyes
Even a stranger To their soul
Or an enemy. To become one.
To the Buddha-to-be
Bill Menza
Bowing Within each one.

photo by Gary Richardson

the Mindfulness Bell 11
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Learning
to Speak
the Truth
From a Dharma Talk by
Thay Phap An

June 13, 2004

Upper Hamlet, Plum Village
photo by Gary Richardson

R Respected Thay, respected brothers and sisters, and the whole

community: Today is June 13th, 2004. We are in Dharma Cloud
Temple in the Upper Hamlet.
In the last two weeks, we have learned that we can depict our
consciousness as a circle with two parts. The lower part is called
store consciousness, and the upper part is the mind consciousness. In
our store consciousness there are many seeds––seeds of joy, seeds of
happiness, and seeds of tolerance. But there are also seeds of anger, of
frustration, and of jealousy. Our practice is to water the positive seeds
so they will manifest and try our best not to invite the negative seeds to
come up into our mind consciousness.

12 Winter/Spring 2005
 fe e t o f t h e bu d d h a R E T R E AT

The Early Days at Plum Village someone to do this during the summer retreat. But the next day as
I was washing my dish, he came up and said, “Well, I’m not going
When I first came to Plum Village I had many ideas about to organize the Full Moon Festival because the monk who did it
the practice. I had ideas about the Buddha from books I had read. last year refused to help me by passing on his experience.”
I had ideas about how a teacher should be and ideas about what
monks and nuns should be like. At first, the Sangha was very small. I said, “ What?! You promised that you would organize the
There were only four monks, and there was a lot of work. My Full Moon Festival, and now you won’t do it? How can you do
perception was that life in Plum Village was not well organized, that to me? Everyone already has jobs, so who’s going to organize
so I volunteered to be the work coordinator, and I worked very the festival? Nobody can do it. Will you please do it?”
hard, trying my best to organize Plum Village. But he refused again.
I had the idea that my teacher should be available to me, giving A few days later, under the linden tree, we had a Sangha
me affection when I needed it, and spending a lot of time talking meeting to water the positive seeds within ourselves before the
with me. One time in 1993, when I had been a monk for about a retreat. Thay gave a good talk, watering the flowers of everyone
year and a half, I went to America to lead a retreat. I missed Thay in the Sangha. Then he asked, “Are there any questions?”
a lot and I hoped that when I saw Thay again, he would ask me,
“How are you doing? Are you doing fine?” I raised my hand and said, “Yes, I have a question.” I stood
up and asked, “How can we organize a summer retreat when
Upon my return, Thay visited the Upper Hamlet, and he someone here refuses to take the responsibility of doing his work?”
walked by the temple office where I was standing, waiting patiently [Laughter.] Right in front of the Sangha, I continued explaining
to see him. I joined my palms and bowed to Thay sincerely and and complaining.
with respect, and Thay continued his practice of walking medita-
tion. He didn’t even look at me! And I felt very sad. I said to
myself, “Well, it seems that Thay doesn’t have any sense about
the student-teacher relationship.” [Laughter.] “He doesn’t seem To go beyond the net of
to look at me at all; he just continues walking and disregards his
student.” At that time most of us were new to the practice, so our
understanding was still very weak. our thinking and to touch
I had so many ideas about how monks should be. When an
elder brother would do something different from my expectation,
I would feel sad and want to leave Plum Village. The seed of the Ultimate dimension is
wanting to run away is very strong within me. Thay used to call
me Hungry Ghost, because I have a very big seed of hungry ghost
within my consciousness. Growing up in America, I was trained the essential teaching of
to be judgmental and critical.
Often we do not have much opportunity to touch the good- Zen practice.
ness and beauty that is around us. When our practice is weak, we
continue to allow the seeds of frustration, anger, and judgment to
come up from our store consciousness into the mind conscious-
ness. And if our mindfulness is weak, we allow ourselves to be In this meeting, Thay had tried his best to bring all of the good
carried away by those energies. seeds from our store consciousness up to our mind consciousness,
and then I turned around and invited all the negative seeds up. The
Learning to Speak the Truth whole Sangha became very tense.
In the summer of 1994 I made a big mistake while preparing Thay was not very happy. He said, “Sit down and shut up!”
for the great ordination ceremony. I was the work coordinator, and [Laughter.]
it was a difficult job because the Sangha was small and we had to
I was very upset because I thought I was only speaking the
do all the cooking, and we also had to be attendants for many elder
truth and had asked for help. I didn’t realize that I had watered
monks and nuns who were coming for the ceremonies.
the negative seeds in everyone’s consciousness. When the meet-
There was one elder brother who had been a monk for many ing was over, I went and bowed to Thay and said, “Thay, please
years. He had studied in India and then went to Holland; gradually forgive me. I have made a mistake, but I don’t understand what
he left his path as a monk. But that spring he had come to Plum I did, because I was only speaking the truth.”
Village and was to be ordained as a monk again. I respected him
Thay said, “What you spoke was not the truth. Truth is some-
a lot, but I also had a lot of ideas about him.
thing that has the capacity to reconcile, to give people hope, to give
During our planning meeting he volunteered to organize the people happiness. That is truth! When you speak and it causes
Full Moon Festival. I was very happy, because it is difficult to find damage, even though it may be correct, it is not truth.”

the Mindfulness Bell 13

t r ansfor mation AT THE BASE

we continue walking and talking at the same time. So we listen

only with our ears, not with our heart. And we are not able to
really practice.
Truth is something that When I have a problem, when I have sadness, I approach
Thay. He listens to me, then takes my hand and we walk into the
garden. He points out the beauty: “Hear the sound of the creek,
has the capacity to see the bamboo, the blue sky, the flower.” To go beyond the net of
our thinking and to touch the Ultimate dimension is the essential
teaching of Zen practice. To touch life deeply in the here and now.
reconcile, to give people When Thay teaches us about the Four Noble Truths, he first teaches
us to water our positive seeds, to get in touch with the positive
element around us. He teaches that it is possible to be happy in
hope, to give people the here and now, regardless of how much suffering we have. And
then, once we are strong enough, that tiny bit of happiness and
joy is the ground on which we will stand when we begin to look
happiness. into the big block of suffering that’s in our store consciousness.
Without this ground of happiness and joy, it’s very difficult to
touch our suffering. Without it, we will be carried away by our
suffering, and we will have no chance to recognize it, understand
I come from America, where we are taught that we should be it, and transform it. So the foundation, the first stone we put our
honest, direct, and straightforward. So if I don’t like something, feet on, is our tiny bit of joy, our tiny bit of happiness, before we
I want to say it directly. But sometimes you need to use skillful can go farther.
means to speak, and that skill for me is truth. Truth has the capacity
to reconcile, has the capacity to bring harmony and peace. So don’t hurry to jump into the suffering within you and
the block of suffering in the world around you. We need to
Slowly I began to learn that some of my perceptions were touch the joy and peace within ourselves, to make ourselves
not in accord with the practice. I needed to learn new ways of strong before we dive deep into our suffering. The practice of
perceiving. I needed to learn to look at things positively. Plum Village is to touch the Ultimate Dimension, to touch the
The Secret of Plum Village Practice peace and the joy, regardless of how tiny it is. And that is the
ground from which you will transform the big block of suffering
Many people come to Thay and talk about issues that come within yourselves.
up in the community, and they are earnestly looking for answers
from Thay. But being a Zen master, usually Thay doesn’t respond
directly. Instead he helps that person to return to his or her practice, Thay Phap An is a Dharma teacher and senior student of
to touch what is beautiful in that moment. And that is the secret Thich Nhat Hanh, currently living in Plum Village.
of the practice of Plum Village.
If we do not have happiness within ourselves, if we do not have
peace within ourselves, whatever we do is only a reaction. Action
is based on joy and happiness; reaction is based on suffering and
pain. Slowly I learned to act, and not to react.
Many times I have said, “Well, Thay only talks about breath-
ing in, breathing out, year after year––water the good seeds––he
has nothing new to talk about with us!”
But after five years of listening to Thay’s Dharma talks, I
understood what he meant when he said that life is a miracle and
it’s possible to touch joy and happiness in the here and now. It’s
possible to see the beauty of the blue sky, and to be able to have
deep joy in the present moment.
In every single retreat Thay tells us that when we walk, we
should not talk. And when we talk, we should stop and be truly
present to each other. But as soon as we leave the Dharma hall,

14 Winter/Spring 2005
 r e c l a i m i n g O U R RO OT S

reclaiming
OUR ROOTS
In this section, four lay sisters,
Concetta Troskie, Starr DeCuricco,
Beth Howard and Nancy Hom share
personal stories of finding renewed
value in their spiritual roots and
their blood ancestors.

We travel with Concetta to Sicily to

find her mother’s long lost family;
we sit with Starr in a Catholic
Three of the Concetta’s Sicilian relatives church and find understanding of
the treasures and the challenges

From Sicily in that religious faith; and we

witness Beth and Nancy coming

with Love to peace with the experience of

losing a parent.
Finding My Family

I
By Concetta Troskie

“In Gratitude, I bow to all generations of ancestors I open my heart, flesh, and bones to receive the energy
in my blood family. I see my father and mother, whose of insight, love, and experience transmitted to me by
blood, flesh, and vitality are circulating in my own my ancestors. I see my roots in my father, mother,
veins and nourishing every cell in me. Through them grandfather, grandmother, and all ancestors. I know that
I see all four of my grandparents whose expectations, I am only a continuation of this ancestral lineage. As a
experiences, and wisdom have been transmitted from so continuation of my ancestors, I bow deeply and allow
many generations of ancestors. I carry in me the life, their energy to flow through me. I ask my ancestors for
blood, experience, wisdom, happiness, and sorrow of all their support, protection, and strength.”
generations. The suffering and all the elements that need
—Touching the Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh
to be transformed I am practicing to transform.
the Mindfulness Bell 15
r eclaiming OUR ROOTS

“Margherita.” My mother’s name means daisy, and she is indeed my grandmother’s house in Brooklyn for an apartment in Man-
as delicate and as beautiful as that flower. Born into a large family hattan where she spent a year working at Saks Fifth Avenue and
in Sicily in 1950 during an economic depression, she was intro- enjoying financial freedom for the first time. It was then that she
duced to the dark demon of abandonment at an early age. The met my father, who was traveling from South Africa on business.
Puzzo family had three boys and two girls, and was not able to At a party of a mutual friend, Albert and Margherita got drunk on
financially support them all. Knowing that the boys could provide red wine and fell headfirst into what they both thought was love.
income for the family by working in the fields, the family gave My father returned to South Africa, but after telephoning and
their two little daughters to the local orphanage, “Il Boccone dei writing each other for six months, they decided to get married.
Poveri” –– roughly translated: “A bite of bread for the hungry.” Seeing this as an opportunity to begin anew, my mother flew to
At just four years old, my mother was alone, scared, and without South Africa with visions of creating a secure and loving family
a family. of her own. She invested her idea of happiness into her marriage
and two years later, in a small clinic in a suburb of Johannesburg,
Four years later and six thousand miles across the Atlantic,
I was born.
Mary Bilello had just finished burying her forty-five-day-old son
who had died of pneumonia in Brooklyn, New York. Overwhelmed It was a turbulent marriage from the beginning, as my father
by grief, yet still full of the desire to love and to nurture, Mary and had a restless heart. On his frequent business trips he met many
her husband, Joseph set about organizing an illegal adoption for women who were responsive to his good looks, quick wit, and
an orphan child. At eight years old, my mother found herself on a irresistible charm. After eight years of marriage and the birth of
boat with a lawyer, headed in true United States-immigrant-style my brother Joe, my parents divorced.
for the Statue of Liberty.
My mother’s world was shattered
as she confronted the ruins of her
broken dream with two small chil-
dren. Filled with anger, the three of
us returned to the United States. She
did not tell my father that we were
leaving, and forbade us to ever speak
to or see him again. “He is the ruin-
ation of our home,” she would often
say. “If I ever find out that you love
him, or that you speak with him, you
no longer have a mother.” At four and
six years old, my brother and I took
these words to heart, and promised
our mother that to us, our father was
as good as dead.

Starting My Healing
Journey
As the years passed, I began to
feel an undeniable longing to know
my father. As this longing grew, so
did anger and resentment towards my
Concetta on her journey to Sicily mother. Though she worked hard to
give my brother and me everything
we asked for, and though there was
always delicious home-cooked food
Unable to overcome the loss of her first child, my grand- on our kitchen table, we were emotionally starving. My mother’s
mother, although still yearning to be a loving mother, treated inability to forgive my father was poisoning us all. I began to feel a
her adopted daughter with anger and resentment. If Margherita strong compassion for my father. I knew that he had attempted to
misbehaved, she was reprimanded with such comments as, “You contact us children many times, but that my mother had prevented
are not my real child, anyway.” Or, “Is this the thanks I get for tak- it. I understood how my father must be suffering, feeling rejected
ing in a rejected orphan?” This lack of nurturing and the concrete and abandoned by his own children. At age sixteen, I began to
garden of the Brooklyn sidewalks made it difficult for my mother communicate with him secretly through letters and telephone calls.
to blossom into the beautiful flower she was born to be. Initially, he resisted my attempts to get to know him. He felt hurt,
and believed that my brother and I hated him. He had constructed
As the years passed, the communication between my mother
a wall of guilt, sadness, and confusion. It took several years of
and grandmother did not improve. At twenty-two, my mother left
loving and compassionate listening to earn back my father’s trust,
16 Winter/Spring 2005
 r e c l a i m i n g O U R RO OT S

but today I enjoy an open, loving relationship with him, though one day I will be able to pass this beauty on to a small flower of
our communication is infrequent and he still lives far from me my own.
in South Africa.
Traveling to Sicily
Ironically, it is the parent I lived the closest to geographi-
cally with whom I felt the most distance. The anger I had built It’s seven in the morning, and already the blistering eighty-de-
up for my mother was insidious; it grew and disguised itself so gree weather has filled the hotel pool with several guests and their
well that I did not recognize its true face until one day, I found children. It’s one of the hottest summers in Southern European
myself with no desire to speak to or see her. I left home at sixteen, history, and Sciacca, a popular tourist destination in Sicily, is filled
eager to leave New York City and my mother’s biting resentment. to capacity. I’ve ended up at the only hotel room available, at the
For ten years I traveled around the world searching for a place I five star Hotel delle Terme––way beyond my budget.
could call home. At age twenty-two, just like my mother, I found I pick up my knapsack, slip on my Birkenstocks, and head
myself in a foreign country, engaged to be married. But several down to the bus stop, in front of the Franciscan monastery at the
months before the wedding, I became very ill. I developed a se- piazza in the center of town. I’m armed with only my mother’s
vere hormonal imbalance, producing seven times the amount of last name and the name of her village. Deep breath. I’m on a
male hormones normal for a woman, and three times the normal mission to find my family. I’m in God’s hands.
amount for a man. My subconscious rejection of my mother and
my own feminine self was physically turning me into a Superman! After a pleasant walk through the bird-filled central park, I
Sometimes not able to leave my bed for days, I fell into a deep arrive at the modern, bright blue bus parked with its doors closed.
depression––vomiting, crying, and yet praying constantly. The In front of it, smoking a Marlboro light, stands a young guy. With
wise insight of my body told me that I was not ready to provide his stylish haircut and sunglasses and his golden chain glistening
my partner with a stable love and home. One month before the over his dark curly chest hair, he looks stylishly out of place in
wedding––dress made, invitations printed––I broke off the en- this antiquated little town. He smiles as I approach him, and I find
gagement. Although I desperately wanted to stop traveling and the strength to mutter my pieced-together question: “Scusi, ma
to plant my roots somewhere, the anger that festered in my heart voglio andare a Montevago. Cuando parte il pullman?”
against my mother prevented me from being able to love myself He takes off his sunglasses and looks at me with kind blue
fully. I knew that in order to be able to settle into my own skin, eyes and a big smile. He tells me that the bus leaves in twenty
I’d have to deal with my internal rage. How could I ever expect minutes, and asks me where I am from.
to be a loving mother if I could not love my own?
“New York.” I say.
Four years have passed since the onset of my illness. I can
now see that my anger at my mother for not being able to let go “Me too!” His response surprises me, but immediately I
and forgive my father was part of my problem. However, my can see him blending in with the Brooklyn Italians that hang out
own inability to forgive my mother mirrored her difficulty and every day at Sal’s Pizzeria on my corner. His name is Vito and he
prevented me from feeling compassion for her and for our rela- was born on Grove Street in Ridgewood –– the same street where
tionship. I am tired of fighting with my anger, and am ready to my mother’s high school still stands, the same sidewalks that my
forgive. When my grandmother passed away three years ago, my mother walked on to school for four years. We are both amazed
mother yelled and cursed at her until the last breath left her body at this coincidence, and immediately he becomes a sacred ally on
on her deathbed. I do not want to repeat this. my mission. I confide that I am going to Montevago to look for
my mother’s lost family, but have no information other than her
My spiritual practice is helping me to dig into my dirt, to last name. He asks me her name.
unearth the brittle and withered roots of the maternal and the
Goddess within me. Today I celebrate the eight- year-old Sicilian “I know everybody here and there is only one Puzzo left in
orphan girl who still dances in the music of my mother’s laughter, Montevago, my friend Guiseppe’s girlfriend Maria’s father, Vin-
basks in the sunshine of my mother’s eyes. I embrace this little cenzo. All the others left for other parts of the world, or died.”
girl as the same uprooted little Concetta taken from her home in Vito assures me that if my family name is Puzzo, then this
South Africa. Breathing in, I smile at the wounded Sicilian cells Vincenzo will know something about them. Maria works at
within me. Breathing out, I prepare myself for the road of practice Guiseppe‘s flower shop on the outskirts of Montevago, and he
which lies ahead. says that he’ll take me there directly. The monastery bells chime
I know that I need to go to my mother’s village in Sicily to eight o’clock and Vito turns to open the bus doors.
look for the family that she believes has forgotten her, in order to Finding My Family
start this healing process with her. I have only the family name
and the name of the village. So I go forward, step by step, with On the ride to Montevago, I notice how the landscape of Sic-
forgiveness in my heart and love as my guide. I try to remember ily is a beautiful balance of masculine and feminine. In between
the uncanny parallels in my mother and in myself, both in our rugged lines of jagged brown stones sprout bushels of bright green
internal and external lives. I trust that the daisy-bud within me, prickly-pear fruits and deep purple grape vines. The horizon is
the precious Margherita, has already begun to blossom, and that vast, open, and welcoming, yet the valleys run deep and feel in
places desolate and abandoned. I can feel the appropriation, the

the Mindfulness Bell 17

 r eclaiming OUR ROOTS

subjugation, and the violation of this island’s history embedded A space of silence hangs heavy in the humid air of the bus be-
like ancient seeds in its soil. Simultaneously, its resilience, pride, fore Maria’s big brown eyes begin to well with tears. Overwhelmed
and commitment to survival spring forth in every flower blossom by relief and disbelief, my heart is swollen and sits heavy in my
and luscious ripe melon. heaving chest. Maria and I stare at one another, speechless.
The big blue bus pulls around in front of a tiny yellow store- “Mamma mia....” Vito’s deep voice breaks the weighted si-
front. “Maria!” Vito yells, while honking the horn. “Maria!” lence, and Maria and I turn to see him taking a handkerchief from
Again, I am instantly transported back to Brooklyn. his shirt pocket to wipe away the tears rolling down his cheeks.
Vito seems to be both a man and a very old woman. I recognize
him as my angel, my divine charioteer.
Vito’s reaction brings Maria’s composure back, and, wiping
her eyes, she snaps back into her old self. She remembers that
my mother’s brother is about to have one of his life-long wishes
fulfilled––to reconnect with the sister he never knew. Grabbing
my hand, she looks me squarely in the eye. “Come on, let’s go.
My father will want to meet you...what is your name?”
Deep breath...my mother has finally come home.

Sharing with My Mother

My short time in Montevago was filled with love, joy, tears,
stories told over espressos and home-baked Italian pastries.
Pictures were taken, gifts given, and lots of spaghetti was eaten.
However, it was the anticipation of my return home to my mother
Concetta at her grandmother’s grave in Sicily in New York that filled me with the sweetest delight. I was eager
to share with her the pieces of her past that I had found, and to see
Though she may never fully understand how she would respond. I knew that this was a sensitive part of
her life, and I was curious to see if she would open to it.
exactly what happened, she knows that a Returning to New York, my mother seemed overjoyed at my
journey, willing to receive what I had brought back. Sitting at the
dining room table, I spread out the pictures of me with her brother
severed root [has been] re-connected so and her aunts. I placed the rock I had taken from the rubble of
what was once the house she was born in on the table, and shared
stories of each wonderful family member I had met. “They love
that new stems may grow––and in their you so much, mama. They miss you so much.” She looked at each
picture carefully, curiously fingering the outline of her brother’s
own season, bear bright new blossoms. face. “I don’t have his nose, thank God.” She laughed. There was
a precarious joy in her, an awakened inquisitiveness, still too new
to be understood or defined. “I’m going to visit them.”
“Che? Che?!” A tiny yet tough female voice calls out from A few months later, my mother left for Sicily. She stayed a
behind the plants and trees lining the bright stone storefront. A week with her brothers, met the townspeople, and traveled, seeing
few seconds later, peering nervously from behind the tinted bus everything as if for the first time.
windows, I see a short girl of nineteen or twenty sprint from
behind the green jungle and walk defiantly towards the bus. “Si, The meeting with her family was not one of carefree joy and
whaddya want?” Her gait and her energy are feisty and strong, celebration. With hearts still heavy, heads still carrying years
though physically she is very skinny and delicate. of confused stories and misunderstandings, my mother’s return
home was wrought with anger, confusion, and many unanswered
Vito tells her that I am here looking for my family. Maria’s questions. Upon her return to the States, she said that although
expression changes to one of profound curiosity. I feel my mother’s she may never return, she felt that she had fulfilled a kind of duty
fiery energy coming from her. Even her eyes radiate my mother’s and for that she is happy. Though she may never fully under-
temperament. I can feel my blood in her. My heart beats faster. stand exactly what happened, she knows that a bridge has been
Maria boards the bus cautiously, peering in at me. “Are you re-built, a severed root re-connected so that new stems may grow
Theresa’s daughter?” Maria asks me, studying my face carefully. ––and in their own season, bear bright new blossoms.
Theresa is my mother’s sister, and I know that I have found my
cousin.
Concetta Troskie, Compassionate Source of the Heart, lives in
“No, I am Margherita’s daughter.” Boulder, Colorado, where she feels she has finally arrived.

18 Winter/Spring 2005
 r e c l a i m i n g O U R RO OT S

Reflections
While Sitting in a
photo by Robert Sorrell

Catholic Church
By Starr DiCiurcio

Aware of the suffering created by attachment to views and wrong perceptions, we are determined to avoid
being narrow-minded and bound to present views. We shall learn and practice nonattachment from views in
order to be open to others’ insights and experiences. We are aware that the knowledge we presently possess
is not changeless, absolute truth. Truth is found in life, and we will observe life within and around us in
every moment, ready to learn throughout our lives. — From The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings

I Recently I was sitting in an old Catholic church for the funeral

of a dear friend’s father. The massive stone building reminded
me of the church I attended every Sunday as a child. Memories
came up from the familiar smells of incense, candle wax, and
dampness. I began reflecting on the intertwined relationships
of religious institutions, the larger experience of spirituality, and
culture. I am an American Buddhist, a member of the Order of
Interbeing. I am also a Christian. The first fifty years of my life
were spent as a Catholic, if not always a happy one. There was a
certain discomfort with the institutional church that came early in
my life, leaving me feeling such a lack of identity with the com-
munity that participation became rote and empty. In Buddhism,
I have found the spiritual home that I had lost in Catholicism, but
I do not reject that great wisdom tradition that formed so much of
my spiritual life. Many parts of the church might reject me today,
his reaching out in love to the world. He is not the Jesus known
to some as a judge, a strict interpreter of right and wrong. Nor
would he condone his followers becoming judges of others in his
name. It does not matter to me whether Jesus rose from the dead
in a physical sense; whether he was immaculately conceived; or
whether he walked on water. It does matter to me that he gave the
Sermon on the Mount to help inform my life, and that he reached
out to everyone around him, even the lowest of the low. The Jesus
I know was a great reformer who came from the fringes of society.
He prayed in solitude before performing his public work. He was
alone, and he was also in community. This Jesus called on all his
followers to live lives of lovingkindness, above all else.
In the quiet of the church the vibrant jewel tones of the stained
glass windows shone even on that gray, rainy morning. I looked at
the old statues around the sanctuary that some artisan lovingly and
but I do not feel any impulse to reject in turn.
with great devotion sculpted. I felt unmoved. But as the elderly
As I sat sharing my friend’s grief, I thought about all I had priest came in and prepared the altar, compassion arose in me.
learned as a teacher of English as a second language to students This is not an easy time to be a priest. Certainly over the years
transitioning to America. I repeatedly told them to value their this man has witnessed many of his contemporaries’ departures
homelands, their roots, their heritages. Now I was telling myself from the priesthood, through choice, accusation of misconduct,
the same thing. There is no need for me to dismiss the great teach- and death. Few young men have joined these communities and the
ings and beauty of the Church of my youth in order to embrace priests who are left in the ministry commonly experience declining
my new spiritual life. respect and great loneliness. As he genuflected before the altar and
put flowers in a vase before the Blessed Virgin, I remembered that
My Real Jesus in my youth a priest would never have performed this simple task
Jesus is real to me, but the Jesus I love is not the one many of flower arranging. Where are all the ladies of the Altar Society?
others profess to follow. I love the Jesus whom I understand to They are part of a lost culture.
be Buddha’s brother—full of compassion and all inclusive in continued on following page

the Mindfulness Bell 19

 r eclaiming OUR ROOTS

Reflections continued

Embracing the Gifts of journey. It shows us ways to incorporate old

My Root Faith practices we wish to retain with new practices
we have come to love. Perhaps that is one of
This faith of my youth is an encompassing the richest opportunities for spiritual growth
culture that has defined much of me: my sensi- ––embracing what in our past religious or
tivities, my values, and my spiritual awareness. spiritual practice has disappointed or wounded
It has brought its great history and scope to my us, as well as what has enriched us. If anger is

photo by Robert Sorrell

days and, in turn, I have given back through there, instead of pushing it down or away, we
devotion, study, and teaching. This is the faith can embrace it and learn as we heal.
experience of my early childhood when I knelt at
Mass alongside my rosary fingering, Irish father Practicing Interfaith
who was one of the most faith-filled people I Dialogue
have ever known. This is the faith experience
Thay has taught us that the most basic
that rejected my mother’s belief system – also
principle of interfaith dialogue is that it
Christian but of another church. This is the faith
experience of my college life and studies, and
As we open our must begin within ourselves. It may take
time to look deeply at all the aspects of our
also the faith experience that guided my teach-
spiritual histories and the institutions that have
ing of theology. This is the faith experience I
have passed on to my children who came to
hearts and minds attempted to hold them. But like so much in
life, it is the challenging nature of this quest
us through Mother Teresa. We know nothing
that brings great fruit to the practitioner. If
of their birth parents except that they chose to
leave their children with the sisters, and that is
to the past, we we understand the major wisdom traditions as
dynamic and living entities, we realize that this
a connection full of meaning and import that
is an ongoing process. Bringing the practices
we, as a family, continue to honor.
create a wholeness of deep looking and deep listening to interfaith
This Catholic Church has all the earmarks experiences can lead to greater understanding
of culture––art forms, language, rituals, and and progress for peace. But first one needs to
belief systems. Gregorian chants can lift me within that allows establish that understanding and peace within
emotionally and spiritually and remind me one’s own being.
of robing with my college classmates to sing
Over the ages we have seen borders
Benediction every Thursday. Their Latin brings us to enter the drawn, walls erected, families splintered and
back my earliest profound experiences of
wars fought over religious differences. Over
prayer. The structures of European cathedrals
inspire and call to mind spiritual ancestors who present fully, with and over, we witness people claiming to know
the best, or even the only true way to spiritual
labored to place stone upon stone until they
fulfillment. Misinformation, stereotyping, deep
erected something far greater than the sum of
prejudice, intolerance –– all abound. More than
each daily effort. Entering many churches, old our entire being. ever, the stake in these dangerous human games
or modern, grand or modest, can be conducive
is the very existence of humankind. Our rea-
to reflection, meditation, prayer, and spiritual
sons for fighting are discouragingly unchanged
opening. As a mother, during rough times I have always found
over time, but the instruments of battle evolve in more and more
comfort in contemplating Mary and her extraordinary experience
far ranging and catastrophic ways.
of motherhood. I also take refuge in Avalokiteshvara, but Mary
holds a special place in my heart since she was a mother figure A Call to Step Forward
for me through my formative years. It is interesting that statues
of Mary and Avalokiteshvara have been used interchangeably in For the practitioner who has a deep experience of more than
times of persecution of Asian Buddhists and Catholics. Shouldn’t one spiritual root, there is a real call to step forward and create
that teach us all something? opportunities for healing. It seems all too common in religions
institutions to find extremists who are counterproductive to helping
For those of us coming to Buddhism later in life, it can be create a peaceful world of true brotherhood and sisterhood. Isn’t
refreshing and nourishing to reflect upon the earlier lessons of it wiser to look at all spiritual life as a mere glimpse of the Ground
our spiritual lives. As we open our hearts and minds to the past, of Being, the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land? How blessed is
we create a wholeness within that allows us to enter the present the person who gets to really see through more than one of these
fully, with our entire being. This is an acknowledgment of the non- lenses! And with that blessing comes a responsibility to use the
duality of existence that can be gleaned and nurtured within us as enlightenment of the resultant understanding to help others come
we mature. Being inclusive of the differences within ourselves is together – not just in tolerance, but in true appreciation of the great
helpful as we try to be inclusive of differences in the larger contexts depth, beauty, and opportunity offered by each tradition.
of our world. Our compassion as Buddhists is transcendent. It
includes that which we have appeared to have left behind on our
continued on page 22

20 Winter/Spring 2005
 r e c l a i m i n g O U R RO OT S

The Scent
of Oranges
By Nancy Hom

D Death, and the notion of aging, has always hung over me like a heavy cloud. I
have sought ways of avoiding the topic, such as staying away from hospitals,
funeral parlors, and nursing homes. But here I find myself visiting my mother,
recently confined to a home. All around me, I hear death hissing through the clang
of bedpans and squeals of wheelchairs, through the endless drone of catatonic
dining companions. Amid the vacant eyes of childlike faces, the tired bodies
draped before the dinner trays, my mother sits facing me. She glances at the gift
of oranges I have brought her and nods her approval.
I have come 3,000 miles to be with her, but silence forms a wall between us
now. Advanced Parkinson’s has already claimed her voice. Her legs, long withered,
dangle uselessly. I wheel her into her small room, still stupefied by the disease
that chains us both to these white walls away from life.
My mother’s eyes are luminous, glistened pearls. Once they flashed indig-
nantly at the thought of being in a nursing home, then accusingly, then beseech-
ingly. Now they simply look at me with resignation. Sometimes they stare into
a far off place.
I watch her helplessly as the minutes tick by. My mind races to fill the space
taken up by silence. I think of meetings missed, the dinner not yet eaten, the bus
and train I have to take in the cold windy night. I think, If only she had been
diagnosed earlier, if only I didn’t live so far away. Then hope, not guilt, would
be a visitor. I remember the warmth of her back when she carried me, my small
arms wrapped around her like a shawl. How, when I was red with fever, she
rocked my blistered body until I fell asleep. The hot nights on the rooftops of
Kowloon eating watermelon seeds and watching the neon lights twinkling in the
streets below. The first days in America, when I clung to her like a shadow. The
dark times, too, when I cowered in a corner before her wrath. These thoughts I
hold onto like photographs in an album, stilled images of the mother I no longer
have access to.
She points a gnarled finger at the orange I had left on her table. I peel it
Note: this article comes from Spoken Like carefully, glad to have something to do. A spray of citrus fills the air and her
a True Buddha, a compilation of stories eyes widen like a child anticipating sweets. I hand her a slice, which she grasps
about mindfulness practice in everyday life, unsteadily. She brings it painstakingly to her mouth and sucks with soft smacks.
edited by Carolyn Cleveland Schena and I eat my slice too, squeezing the little beads of juice with my teeth until the flavor
Sharron Mendel. bursts over my tongue like a rainshower. continued on following page

the Mindfulness Bell 21

 r eclaiming OUR ROOTS

Oranges continued Reflections continued

Oranges were always around in our house when I grew up. Many spiritual leaders have understood this need for heal-
They cleansed the palate after every dinner; topped pomelos ing and have had keen appreciation of paths outside their own.
on New Year’s altars, were the calling cards of visitors who What is desperately needed today is to take that understanding
always brought the fruit as a gift to the host. To me they were out of our individual spiritual lives and into religious institutions.
heavy sacks of obligation during holidays and weekends, when Thay has modeled this brilliantly in his own life, and in the life
my mother and I wended our way through tenement build- of his community. The first several of the Fourteen Mindfulness
ings to visit fellow immigrants from China. The tables were Trainings are beacons of hope for the world. They call us to
littered with melon seeds and orange peels as I waited impa- practice openness, truth, freedom, compassion, and understand-
tiently while my mother and her friends chatted; conversations I ing. They warn us against judgment, intolerance, rigidity, and
found hard to relate to, preferring instead to bury my head in a self-righteousness. As we support one another in our Sanghas
Nancy Drew book while they reminisced about the old village. we can bring this healing to each other, our communities, and to
the world; we can be peacemakers all, taught by the Buddha, his
Now this bright leather-skinned fruit is the only bridge between brother Jesus, and our other precious spiritual ancestors.
us. We eagerly suck the memories the piquant flavor evokes.
The tart vapors tickle our nostrils. I can see from my mother’s
Starr DiCiurcio, True Understanding of
twitch of a smile that she remembers, too. She chews slowly,
the Sangha, lives in Schenectady, New York
savoring each bite, as if the thoughts will fade away as soon as and practices with the Kingfisher Sangha.
the orange is eaten and more slices of her life will peel away.

We finish the whole orange. She belches in satisfaction. I wipe

her chin; then we sit and gaze at each other. There are so many
words that will never get spoken; dreams that will stay unful-
filled; regrets that are etched in our skins like birthmarks. But
in this moment it does not matter what I want her to be, what
she used to be, or what I fear she is becoming. There is only the
room, the faint scent of oranges, and us, breathing in unison.

If I cease my mind’s constant chatter and look deeply, I see that

she is still here, still my mother. She is different and she is the
same. She will be here after her body has deteriorated. She will
be in the air I breathe and in the earth I touch. Her brightness will
shine through her children’s eyes, and those of their children.
Although I have a long way to go with my practice, this fleeting
insight becomes stronger whenever I stop my thoughts long enough
to see my mother as she truly is instead of what I want her to be,
what she used to be, or what I fear she is becoming. We sit and
breathe together. In this moment is the whole of our lives.

For the practitioner

Nancy Hom lives in San Francisco. Her experiences as an
immigrant, a mother, a community leader, and spiritual seeker
provide the framework for her visual and literary pursuits. who has a deep
.
experience of more

than one spiritual root,

there is a real call to

step forward and create

opportunities for healing.

photo by Gary Richardson
22 Winter/Spring 2005
 r e c l a i m i n g O U R RO OT S

A Sweet Reunion
Transcending Birth and Death

By Beth Howard

I
photo by Gary Richarson

I first heard Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on transcending birth “Yes,” I answered, “the time I held your hand all night and
and death in August of 2002, while on retreat at the Rocky Moun- you felt the life flow back into you.” He’d remembered this to
tain Shambhala Center. My father had just been diagnosed with me many times at the end of his life. Only this time, the energy
terminal chronic lymphocytic leukemia. I was fortunate to have flowed into me, with his presence as the channel. I received deep
many months to help my father and to live with these teachings love and peace, a blessed gift. My heart filled with gratitude for
until he died on May 5th, 2003. The following September, I at- this sweet reunion.
tended another retreat with Thay and the teachings really came
The sky lightened. The group stood and began walking in
home to me.
silence, moving out of the field and into our day. This new energy
Up early one morning, at the YMCA of the Rockies, I lit a would carry me back into the fullness of life.
candle and dressed in its small circle of light. Leaving the room,
Later that morning, during the Dharma talk, Thay held up
I joined the others in the chilly, pre-dawn darkness, in the parking
his left hand and said, “This is your father’s hand, for your father
lot outside the building.
lives on in you. If you are ever missing your father, hold your
Hundreds were gathered as the monks and nuns began grace- left hand with your right hand and know you are holding your
fully and wordlessly leading us in mindful movement –– humans father’s hand.”
moving powerfully, silently like the wind. I could see the power
I was struck by the powerful confirmation of this message so
of the practice shifting and sweeping away old paradigms so that
soon after feeling the fullness of my father’s presence.
new thoughts might take hold and grow. This movement through
consciousness is as dramatic as a forest fire destroying old growth. These are the messages of mindfulness that remain with me:
At first, it is the loss that is most obvious, but quite soon the new That which is part of you can never be lost. You may, however,
growth becomes apparent. have to find and feel it within you. Also, Something can never
become nothing. This is the principal teaching of the Buddha in
The group began walking meditation, moving as a human
order to overcome fear. The energy of one you have loved remains.
river, flowing down roads and walkways, pooling into a field for
The challenge is to look deeply, to be quiet, aware, and willing to
sitting meditation. We faced northeast, embraced and surrounded
find and feel the energy in a new form. Once you discover this,
on all sides by mountains. In this cold darkness, we anticipated
you will begin to understand that you can never lose someone
the light and warmth of the sun before its arrival, reminding me
you love. You will only begin to find
of the Sanskrit term, anahata, meaning unstruck, as in hearing the
them again in a new form.
sound of the un-struck bell.
In this pre-dawn stillness, my father came to sit with me. I
was so warmed by his presence that my eyes filled with tears. I Beth Howard, Living Dharma of the
Heart, lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming
held my left hand with my right hand, imitating how I had held
and practices with the Bird & Bell
his hand often at the end of his life. I thought, “It’s good to sit Meditation Group at the Unitarian
with you again.” Universalist Church of Cheyenne.
Beth is an artist, weaver, and yoga
He replied, “You know what I remember best about you?”
teacher and she enjoys writing.

the Mindfulness Bell 23

 T
l istening TO TRANSFORM

“
We invoke your name,
Avalokiteshvara. We aspire to learn
your way of listening in order to help

”
relieve the suffering in the world. We
know that just by listening deeply we
already alleviate a great deal of pain
and suffering in the other person.
photo by Eric Alan

Listening to
Transform
Deep listening is a transformative
practice that is at the heart of the
Buddha’s teaching. To be able to
listen deeply to ourselves and others,
we must become empty and open,
clear of misperceptions and personal
agendas.

In this section, brothers and

sisters share their experiences of
transformation through listening.
We begin with a story explaining
levels of deep listening practice,
followed by two stories of healing
through being truly heard. Next, a
Sangha shares how they practice
deep listening together, followed by
a story of learning the art of listening
to oneself.

24 Winter/Spring 2005
T
l i s t e n i n g TO T R A N S F O R M

The adventure with my teenage son in Glasgow’s drug world

brought home to me that when all else fails there is still mindful-
ness. And it can work miracles. As I spent time with my son
in his rambling apartment, inhabited by a shifting population of
punks, drug users, and dealers, I knew that I needed support from
all the tools of mindfulness I had—particularly deep listening—in
order to remain steady and clear and not be drawn into judgment
Discovering Levels
and discrimination.
Late one night, after teaching my son and some of his friends
of Deep Listening
how to do walking meditation in a park, we all sat on a bench,
By Ian Prattis
fresh with morning dew, and they began to talk to me. I entered
stillness and said very little. As I listened to my young friends pour
out their hearts and stories, I encountered a level of deep listening
within myself never before experienced. I felt an all-encompassing
energy embrace me, my young friends, the park, the lights, and
the night sounds of Glasgow. This experience totally changed my
We talked about
understanding of deep listening, a mindfulness practice I was very
familiar with, but never before at this level. On later reflection I our experiences the next
could see that I had journeyed through several distinct levels of evening. My new friends
deep listening in my practice of mindfulness. The first level of had shown great consid-
coming to know the practice of deep listening was intellectual, eration for me, turning
whereby I scrutinized Buddhist literature on deep listening, gain- down their heavy metal
music and not dealing
ing a conceptual grasp of what it meant within the corpus of
drugs in my presence.
Buddhist teaching. Although this was the least significant level
The kitchen even got a
of understanding, it was a starting place, which enabled a window
cursory clean. I thanked
to open for me.
them for their consid-
As time went on, I began to realize that deep listening is eration and said that I
not just an intellectual exercise, but is a fruit or consequence of was aware of every acid
mindfulness practice—my second level of deep listening. The hit, every cocaine use,
simple insight that deep listening could not be there alone was a every moment of their
key. I experienced a distinct improvement in my capacity for deep despair, anger and self-
listening, as my practices of walking meditation, mindful breath- destruction, as I felt the
ing, and mindful eating grew stronger. I realized that they were energy of it all in my
the necessary ground out of which deep listening could arise—as body and that it hurt like hell. A long, thundering silence ensued,
a flower growing from fertile soil. When such a ground was not filled with healing and open-heartedness. Before leaving, I did
there, my focus was largely on my own agendas and assumptions, many walking meditation exercises with each one of them in the
and I would not be listening carefully to what was being said to nearby park. I spent time listening deeply to them and learned a
me. This understanding deepened as I investigated how it directly great deal about the angst of alienation amongst young people,
affected my life—the times I suffered from not being heard, as well about how they intuitively understood the interconnection of all
as the suffering I had caused when I was not able to deeply listen life, but that they were simply lost.
to the concerns of those speaking to me, especially my children.
Thanks to my young friends, my journey and practice of
On this evening I encountered for the first time, a third level deep listening had deepened, from an intellectual and personal
of deep listening. As I was deeply present with my young friends, appreciation to an instrument of transformation. Interbeing was
my carefully constructed sense of self dissolved and the “I” of me no longer a concept or just a good idea—it was a direct experi-
disappeared. “I” became particles of energy, touching and engag- ence of reality. If the Divinity we quest for cannot be found
ing with the particles of energy in everything there—my friends, everywhere, including with these alienated young people, then
the grass, trees, park bench, city lights and sounds, and beyond it is doubtful if it will be found at all. When we come home to
to a vastness that I cannot find the words to express. In that still- our true nature, we discover that we are all interconnected—even
ness, the vastness of energy touched deep seeds of consciousness with situations we do not readily understand. But if we can stop
in my young friends as they trusted me with their confidences and discriminating against others, we can know wholeness.
secrets. We stayed there for hours, frequently silent, and walked
home just before dawn. From the smiles and embraces that were
exchanged I knew that something had changed in all of us. I had Ian Prattis is a Dharmacharya living in Ottowa, Canada.
discovered within myself a level of deep listening I had never This essay is excerpted from a chapter in his
forthcoming book “The Buddha at the Gate.”
thought possible. My young friends and son had nurtured long
forgotten seeds of hope within themselves.
the Mindfulness Bell 25
l istening TO TRANSFORM

Healing Through
Listening
by Margaret Kirschner

If we feel there is someone we cannot help, it is only Listening is what I need

when my thoughts are so tangled
because we have not yet looked deeply enough into his they have no beginning nor end.

I F
or her circumstances. —Thich Nhat Hanh1 Listening is what I need
when my heart despairs
into molten tar.

Listening, your silence tells me what I need to know.

I was feeling a deep and discouraging helplessness about the suf-
Listening, your eyes show me I am loved.
fering of a loved one when a dear Sangha friend, Mary, was able
Listening, your hugs free me from my own judgment.
to hear my despair Her calm nonjudgmental listening opened
the door for me to pour out my helplessness, and I had the strange
You listen and awareness untangles my thoughts
sensation that I was pouring out my loved one’s pain as well.
You listen and a peaceful path beckons to me
Through this experience, I gained a new understanding of how to
You listen and your compassion overflows my heart.
listen. Always before, I had tried to deepen my listening skills by
being the listener. This time, I was given a better understanding
Thay teaches us to listen with only one purpose: to offer
of what one needs in a listener by truly being heard.
someone an opportunity to empty his or her own heart. If you are
My experience that day was that Mary stepped aside and let able to keep awareness and compassion alive in you, then you can
me solve my own problems. Her eyes held my pain and soothed listen even if what the other person says contains a lot of wrong
me like a gentle mother. They gave me space to acknowledge my perceptions, condemnations, and bitterness. You can continue to
mistakes and to find solutions. Here are some things I noticed: listen because you are already protected by the nectar of compas-
sion in your heart.
• It was helpful that she didn’t say “I understand” when I didn’t
understand myself. With our listening we offer confidence that the suffering per-
son can find his or her way through. Thay suggests that at some
• It was helpful that she gave no advice so that I could discover
later time we might give a word or two to suggest a better way,
my own answers.
warning that “Truth heals, but it should be released in small doses
• It was helpful that she said little, permitting my thoughts to flow over time, like a medicine. If you force the other person to drink
without interruption. all the medicine at one time, he will die.”2 The nonjudgmental
attitude that allows people to be where they are and the freedom
• It was helpful that she remained calm in the midst of my chaos,
to understand in their own time is essential. The trust in each
offering an environment in which I could calm.
person’s inner awareness without judgment and often without our
• It was helpful that she didn’t give the impression that she knew understanding is why Buddhist psychology is the most effective
the answers that I didn’t know myself. approach I’ve found to a happy, healthy life.
In that listening I began to remember the times when I had My heart expanded with joy the day that Mary listened to
not felt helpless, the times when my loved one and the many oth- me. And I know hers did too.
ers who sought my counsel, responded positively. They were the
times I kept my balance, when I maintained the nourishment of my
Margaret Kirschner, True Silent Sound,
positive seeds. As my breathing calmed with my recall, I stopped
lives and practices in Portland, Oregon.
crying and returned to mindfulness. I began to feel the stability
gained through my own suffering. I could recall the Buddha’s trust
in our inner awareness and joy, no matter how much pain hides l. Thich Nhat Hanh, Transformation at the Base, Berkeley, CA, Parallax
Press, 2001, p. 41
it. I now understand that it is necessary for me to maintain that
same trust whenever I am listening deeply. I wrote the following 2. Thich Nhat Hanh, “Cultivating Compassion, Responding to Violence,”
in tribute to Mary: Mindfulness Bell, (September 13, 2001) p. 8

26 Winter/Spring 2005
 l i s t e n i n g TO T R A N S F O R M

Moments of
Communion
By Connie Nash

F
For years, I’ve been hearing and reading about parents –– mostly
struggling mothers and other family members –– talk about their
beloved children or loved ones who have ended up behind bars.
There are all kinds of reasons given for the arrests and imprison-
ments along with, in some cases, a parent’s confidence his or her
child could not be guilty. Some of the unfortunate were in the
wrong place at the wrong time; some had committed an awful
act under the influence of drunkenness, drug use, despair, guilt,
or in a moment of terrible anger. Some were in prison for an act
due to post-traumatic stress from fighting America’s terrible wars
in Vietnam or Iraq I.
Several years ago I was attending the National Coalition
unrushed, undistracted, listening so well. My concerns became
his for those few precious moments. His eyes seemed to reflect
not only my words but my heart’s agony. He seemed able to feel
what I couldn’t articulate. As he listened, I could feel my despair
slipping away. It felt like magic.
After I calmed down, he shared that his mother was the in-
spiration for his deep dedication to human rights and the plight of
so many behind bars. Then he expressed confidence that my own
mothering would help bring about fruit in each of my children, to
help them survive no matter what came their way. He offered me
a comforting and healing embrace before we each went our way.
I still wonder often, what will become of all our children,
Against the Death Penalty and was listening deeply to a sister of
particularly those who are traumatized? Yet, because of those few
a death row prisoner whose DNA test proved him innocent of the
moments with someone so adept and willing, I am less frightened
crime he was convicted of, yet he was still not free. Her life was
than I’ve been in years. That experience continues to water my
filled with many complications because of this difficult situation.
faith and encourages me to work hard for the well-being of all
Although I’d been a friend to family members of inmates for years,
children.
all at once it struck me deeply that these same events could occur
to anyone, even to my family. I know many who carry deep pain and are afraid to let it out
for fear there would be no stopping the tears. Yet I know that I
My husband and I adopted three magnificent sons who were
now have greater empathy and strength for my suffering friends,
fourteen, eight, and four years old when they entered our family.
because my own agonizing fears were expressed and heard.
The two oldest had experienced disrupted lives filled with poverty,
violence, and loss of parents and friends in Africa, followed by How many more sons and daughters might we raise who
many adjustments to life in the southern United States. The young- do not turn from fear and pain? Mothering –– even with my four
est had experienced seven different homes and all manner of other children now out of the nest –– has become ever more urgent
abuses in his early youth. We also have a lovely daughter with an and important to me. My desire for a just peace has become
artistic temperament. Whenever I would bring up my concern about my very sustenance, as has my need to work for healing, the
how our children would succeed in life, my husband would give abolition of the death penalty, and the ceasing of all war. Not
me all the reasons our kids would survive unscathed. He made it least among that which strengthens me is the power of a few
clear he didn’t think our children had special needs. moments of communion, and of feeling truly heard.
Listening at this conference brought up my deep fears and
panic about my children’s future, and I began crying. At some
point I found myself receiving the balm of deep comfort I had
been needing for years from a human rights activist I barely knew. Connie Nash is relocating to Asheville, North Carolina. As a
disciple of Christ, she has been enriched by the teachings of
This man just stood there in front of me, completely tuned in,
Thay Thich Nhat Hanh and the deep listening of practitioners.

the Mindfulness Bell 27

l istening TO TRANSFORM

Deep Listening:
A Sangha Exercise
By Bill Williams

R
Recently, the Greater Hartford Sangha practiced a deep listening
exercise during our Day of Mindfulness, held in a cozy home
overlooking a beautiful lake in rural Litchfield, Connecticut.
First, I shared briefly from Thay’s teachings about the impor-
tance of deep listening. Deep listening is a high compliment to the
person who is speaking because it means that I value what you’re
saying, I care about you and want to hear your pain, distress, joy,
and sorrow. In the Fourth Mindfulness Training we read, “Aware
of the suffering caused by...the inability to listen to others, I am
committed to cultivating...deep listening in order to bring joy
and happiness to others and to relieve others of their suffering.”
Because we have cultivated a strong tendency to judge, compare,
ment about the importance—and the difficulty—of deep listening.
It does not come naturally. Good listening is a skill that must be
cultivated with patience and practice. We realized how hard it is
to repeat the facts of a story, even minutes after hearing it. And
it’s not always easy to sort out emotions and values. Variously, the
four stories conveyed feelings of embarrassment, sadness, disap-
pointment, fear, love, pride, and frustration. The values included
forgiveness, courage, acceptance, commitment, determination,
and trust.
Stephen initially was reluctant to take part in the activity,
saying he was fearful of being judged and afraid he would not
remember the facts of a story. But once we began, he felt at ease,
interrupt, advise, or change the subject, we must practice to be- secure in the embrace of the Sangha. Rickey liked the intimacy
come empty and open to each other. that was created. Nick found it valuable because he loves to tell
stories but believed he was an awful listener. He was touched by
In this exercise, four people sit facing one another in a small
Sangha members expressing that his parents were wonderful in
circle in the middle of the room while the rest of the Sangha
showing such loving concern about his safety after he destroyed
watches and listens. One of the four tells a story of deep personal
a family car driving recklessly. I was moved by the validation of
meaning, while the others listen carefully. Then the first responder
hearing others reflect back to me the feelings and values important
repeats the facts of the story, the second describes the emotions or
to me in my story.
feelings conveyed and the third relates the values involved. After
that round, a second person tells a story and so on until each person Doing the exercise increased the intimacy, sharing, and
has played all four roles. connectedness between Sangha members. In our Dharma
discussion later in the day, one member, a therapist, said she
The four participants included three men and one woman.
listens to people all the time in her work, but does not often get
Stephen told us how he met his wife; Rickey described a disap-
the chance to be heard. The long-term challenge is to carry the
pointing turn of events when she was producing a TV news seg-
practice of deep listening into our daily lives in encounters with
ment; Nick recalled a reckless escapade when he was a newly
family members, friends, and colleagues. Continued practice
licensed sixteen-year-old driver; I recounted events surrounding
with the Sangha will support us in this aspiration.
the death of my wife in 1998 from breast cancer.
When we finished, we went around the circle giving feedback
about the experience, and then invited other Sangha members to Bill Williams, Peaceful Friend of the Heart, is a host of the
Greater Hartford Sangha, in West Hartford, Connecticut.
do the same. Several themes emerged. There was general agree-
28 Winter/Spring 2005
 l i s t e n i n g TO T R A N S F O R M

A Key to Peace:
Listening To Myself
By Peggy Lindquist

K
Kwan Yin sits on my dresser. Although she has twice taken a fall
and there are chips from her veil, her eyes are half closed/half
open, listening to the pain of the world. She pours from her bottle
a river of endless compassion. I can enter it at any time.
Since autumn of 2002, I have belonged to the Yahoo group
“Deeplistening.” Inspired by Thay’s urging for us to listen deeply
to the pain of the world, we share our sorrows, our frustrations,
even our rage at times. We report when we are able to be calm
and when we can listen to people with views different than ours.
We encourage each other not to despair and to listen to the birds
singing or notice the flowers blooming even when we read of
injustice or of the great damage of war.
I don’t know often come from a fear that I am not good, smart,
pretty, or likeable enough.
I have also learned to listen when I don’t feel comfortable
with a plan and when I just need to stay still and quiet. Sometimes
I have recognized a fear and just allowed it time to be. I have been
able to be patient and let conditions for a particular course of ac-
tion arise naturally without forcing them because I listened to my
need to move slowly. And I have heard anger arise in me and have
been able to take care of it rather than take it out on someone. (Not
every time, mind you.)
These discoveries have been very rich, not frightening as I
supposed they would be. The inner voices are not those of boogey
But only recently did I understand the value of listening men or monsters—they are more like uncertain children with
deeply to myself. At the winter retreat in Deer Park, I was able to something interesting to say. I have gotten to the point that, when
notice when voices arose in my consciousness. The voices were I feel an upsetting emotion start to arise, I look forward to the
critical, fearful, anxious, doubting. They are with me all the time journey of listening and discovering.
and have been probably since I was a child, but I have been in the
Thay says that in order to create peace we must listen to the
habit of pushing them away. They are uncomfortable––not how
suffering in the other person. He also teaches that peace begins with
I want to feel and not how I want to think of myself. They get in
each of us. I am finding that deep listening is the key to creating
the way of my goals.
peace within myself and that inner peace and respect create the
Reminding me of voices of children who aren’t getting the ground for moving toward peace in the world. As I learn to listen
attention they need, they repeat themselves again and again and to myself as Kwan Yin does, with an open heart of compassion,
again, getting louder and louder and finally doing something I hope I will be able to listen to the suffering of others and take
destructive, or becoming silent and withdrawn. With the loving part in their transformation.
support of the Deer Park Sangha, I began to listen to the voices
If you are interested in joining our discussion, go to ya-
rather than push them away. I began to ask, “What is it?”
hoogroups.com and register for the deeplistening group.
What I heard were stories tucked away in my consciousness
from years ago, accompanied by fear, doubt, and anger. Most of
these stories were so simple I found that I could just listen. For Peggy Lindquist, Gentle Forgiveness of the Heart,
is an aspirant to the Order of Interbeing and practices
example, I discovered that when I am in a group, I am sometimes
with the Joyful Refuge Sangha in Portland, Oregon.
afraid of being left out. I learned that my petty criticisms of people
the Mindfulness Bell 29
l istening TO TRANSFORM

FORM, FORMLESS

My one small life is formed

from more than a hundred
million breaths. In, out

I am still Songbirds ecstatic, clouds

breathing. Even swirl like feathers. Multiplying
as I count cell by cell
the only breath I dissolve.
is now.
Gratitude is nothing, a breath
This heart that is nothing
my only heart pulses you can keep.
without a break Neither a heartbeat.
thousands of times a day Neither this moment, formless,
whether I am grateful or not.
more powerful than all
Thank you heart. our lives. In one
Thank you breath. fleeting sigh
a simple feeling
washes through me. Hello
Love, I recognize your face.

By Janet Aalfs

Janet Aalfs is the poet laureate

of Northampton, MA (2003-2005)
and the director/ head instructor of
Valley Women’s Martial Arts, Inc.
She pays attention to her breath
in everything she does.

photo by Gary Richardson

30 Winter/Spring 2005
 l i s t e n i n g TO T R A N S F O R M

on a pile of clothes. And how the dog

allows,
hears violin when you throw yourself

How the Dog across the bed for effect

whimpering again in that strange

is dog white. How he opens himself human accent you have. When you’re
down
to the world each day—every morning
there, trying to tell the dog about your life

the same—empties himself, then drinks.

how the dog’s best music
How his black pads and variegated claws
is listening.

click the pavement

exactly in time with the barefoot version By Kelly Parsons

of Ode to Joy and he means it. How in the Kelly Parsons practices with the
Mindfulness Community of Victoria, B.C. and the
dignified Mountain Lamp Community in Washington.
winter of his life he’s so willingly

your child. How the dog recovers. How his

heart is an unsealed document and he

writes upon it daily. How inside his small

body
is a great hall, a library of smells in which

you’ve been permanently shelved. How

the dog
forebears, how the dog goes about doing

the work of dog. How the dog unmirrors

you.
How the dog is dog quiet, sprawled

illustration by Mari Gayatri

the Mindfulness Bell 31

mindful POLITICS

For the past year, citizens of the United

States and people throughout the world have
been deeply involved in and affected by the Nothing is Lost
Presidential election. How do we “take a A Response to the Recent U.S. Election
clear stand against oppression and injustice from Thich Nhat Hanh

and ... strive to change the situation without November 7th, 2004

F
engaging in partisan conflicts?” (from the
Tenth Mindfulness Training of the Order of
Interbeing). How do we keep from falling into For those of you who voted for John Kerry, we must look deeply
the mindset of “us and them?” to see the John Kerry elements in George Bush. In this long and
difficult campaign, Bush has learned many things from Kerry and
those who voted for him. We have to see that they inter-are. If there
Fortunately, our teacher, and several
had been no election, Bush wouldn’t have questioned his positions
brothers and sisters offer comfort and help or his approach. He would have been able to assume that his way
is best. But he almost lost the election, and he is aware that at least
us understand through their articulate and
half of the American people don’t believe in him. Now, because he
compassionate sharing. The message from
Thay lifts us from the small view of events and
helps us to see that both the wonders and the
difficulties are as present today as they were
before the election. Our call to practice is
more vital than ever.

Towards a
Mindful Politics
In this section we are also invited to meditate
on America’s karma and to practice deep
T
inquiry; we are offered suggestions on how to
practice the Tenth Mindfulness Training; we
gain insight from a story of the Buddha’s life
as a plumeria tree; and we are offered a deep
practice of letting go. We are invited to nourish
ourselves through watering seeds of love and
understanding in us, and to step forth as a
healing force in our wounded world.

32 Winter/Spring 2005
 mindful POLITICS

almost lost, he is more humble and must realize that if he doesn’t Historically it has happened that the agenda of the left has
listen to the other half of the American people, there will be a big been realized by the right. We have to speak out and keep speaking
disturbance in the country. So we have to see that now all of us out, and it is possible that the Republicans will accomplish what
are in him. Those of you who didn’t vote for him are in him, are the Democrats, what the left, had hoped to realize had they won.
a part of him after this very close presidential race. We also need to remember that even if Kerry had been elected,
he would also have had to partly realize the wish of those who
We have to help our government so that a president elected
voted for Bush, and it is not certain that he would have been able
by fifty-one percent of the population will not serve just that
to stop the war in Iraq.
fifty-one percent but the whole country. We need to keep speaking
out, daily letting our government know what we want, expressing Nothing is lost because we are in President Bush. There is a
our insight and understanding. We need to be very present, very loss only if we respond with anger and despair. We have to continue
firm, and constantly let the government know we are here. We on, to continue our practice, and remain strong in our role as bod-
can support them in our own way, through being present, calm, hisattvas, helping the other half of our country by our firm, clear,
lucid, and compassionate. Being compassionate doesn’t mean we and compassionate action for peace—the kind of peace in which
surrender and give up. It means we see clearly that our country, both sides win because there is mutual understanding.
our government is us and it needs our help. Compassion means
acting with courage and deep love to help manifest what we know
our country is capable of.

Plumeria Tree

T
Buddha
From a Dharma Talk by Eileen Kiera

T
November 6, 2004

There are an estimated ten to the thirty-seventh, that’s ten

with thirty-six zeros after it, molecules in a cubic inch. And
within our bodies there are how many cubic inches? There
are an inconceivable number of molecules in our body. There
are two things about atoms and molecules, the basic stuff
that makes up our bodies; first, there are so many of them,
inconceivable numbers; second, they are very long lived. They
go on and on and on and on. So when I tell a story about a
past life of the Buddha, we can see that the molecules that
made up the Buddha are still circulating. And who we are
will manifest in many, many different forms. It’s maybe not
our idea of who we are, but something essential about us will
continue to manifest.
So we can see that when the Buddha was speaking
about his many lives before he was manifest as the body of
Shakyamuni, there is some literal truth there, at some level.
In traditional Buddhist cultures they speak about reincarnation
continued on page 38

Francoise Pottier the Mindfulness Bell 33

mindful POLITICS

Now is The Time

for Engaged
Buddhist Practice

photo by Robert Sorrell

By Larry Ward

A
At this very moment, American society is full of anger, fear, confu-
sion, and reactivity. The recent loss of our perceived psychologi-
cal safety and physical security has removed the veil of material
success as our great protector. With this curtain of affluence and
influence torn away the depth of our suffering is fully revealed.
In these disturbing times full of apathy, fear, dispersion,
and hope we find ourselves in a state of spiritual emergency. Some
of our people of every race and class find themselves seduced by
radical extremes of material, religious, and ideological funda-
mentalism in an attempt to respond to this emergency. In such
able signature. Through my daily practice of the five remembrances
I try my best to stay aware that “I inherit the results of my actions
of body, speech, and mind. My actions are the ground on which
I stand.”
This living reality continually shapes my being and my
becoming, and as it does so it shapes the being and becoming of
my family, my community, and my society. The living reality of
karma is my continuation and the continuation of my ancestors
at every moment. No activity is more important right now to the
well-being of our world than our capacity to inquire deeply into
a time nothing is more important than cultivating our capacities the true nature of our actions, individually and collectively.
for mindfulness, understanding, and compassion.
The Process of Deep Inquiry
As our teacher has said on many occasions, “Meditation is
to be aware of what is going on––in our bodies, our feelings, our Inquiring into America’s karma is not easy. It must be done
minds, and in our world.” True meditation is not running away with stability and compassion. It is easy to get caught in judgment,
from ourselves and our world but rather the courageous act of assigning blame to others and regret to oneself. It is easy to be
coming home. This is not a grim process, however sobering it tempted by despair, for America is so big and we are so small.
might be. Acknowledging and embracing our suffering and the During this depth inquiry it is important to remember to
suffering around us is really challenging. But coming home to breathe and smile. This inquiry is not an intellectual or philo-
ourselves and our world is also touching and being touched by the sophical exercise. It is a real invitation to practice, to touch life
wonders and mystery of life. right here, right now.
I know that many of us feel powerless and overwhelmed by To look into America’s actions at this moment of history is to
the situation and behaviors of American society today, and we encounter many emotions, pleasant, unpleasant, and mixed. In or-
wonder how our meditation practice can help. It can help a great der not to be overwhelmed we must use the tools we have received
deal because as we personally heal and transform, our society from Thay. I have found it important to enjoy a mindful walk or
heals and transforms also. If we dare risk deepening our practice cup of tea in Noble Silence, and not to try to take in too much at
of stopping and calming ourselves and deepening our practice once. I have learned that if I make such an inquiry without practic-
of looking and seeing, we can witness miracles in ourselves and ing concentration and awareness of emptiness, signlessness, and
our world. aimlessness, it is very easy to get trapped by wrong views. I have
discovered that the best place to begin a meditation on America’s
America’s Karma karma is with me. Since America is the place of my most recent
I invite all of us as individuals and Sanghas to meditate on blood ancestors, I have been deepening my awareness of America’s
America’s karma. There are many notions of karma that have karma inside of myself. What seeds of thinking, speech, and ac-
been handed down to us through centuries of spiritual practice. tion are resident in the storehouse of my consciousness? What
We often refer to karma as historical or divine retribution that we perceptions of America reside in my mind? What individual and
will receive by some power at the end of our life. collective nutriments water these seeds?
Thay’s description has been most helpful to my mindfulness We have come through another Presidential election season.
practice. Karma is the living reality of our actions of body, speech, I find that seeds of fear, confusion, power, and divisiveness have
and mind that flows through time and space, having our unmistak- been profoundly watered in us all. Engaged Buddhism is not
34 Winter/Spring 2005
 mindful POLITICS

The Fifth Remembrance: My actions are my

only true belongings. I cannot escape the

consequences of my actions. My actions

are the ground on which I stand.

zendo-only Buddhism. It is the continuous act of coming home

to ourselves and coming home to America. Regardless of the
outcome of the recent elections, if our individual and collective

Buddha in me
actions remain without enquiry, the path of our destiny will not
be altered.
In an effort to participate in American society, many of us
simply substitute the most familiar or latest politically correct
ideology. Sometimes we protest the warlike behavior of America Sometimes I see the Buddha in me
with a sense of our own rightness while we remain at war with
ourselves, our families, our Sanghas, our communities, and our
a phrase, a touch, something I see
country.

Bringing Home the Flag It touches my heart

Four days after our national independence day my father And awakens in me
passed away. As is a custom for veterans, an American flag was
placed on his coffin during the funeral. I have never been com- A memory of how to be free
fortable with the flag, especially as an African American, based A memory of how to be me
on how it has often been used and abused.
But I had an insight during the funeral services that this is
my flag, the flag of the land of my birth. I brought the flag home There’s a time the Buddha in me
and placed it on an altar in my office to remind me of my con-
nectedness to America. While America has negative qualities,
Comes to surface
she also has positive ones. It is my responsibility to manifest her As if to say
hope and promise in my own life and the life around me. It is
my opportunity to look into her suffering and the causes of her Remember, life will pass you by
suffering in order to find relief. If you forget to stay alive
Shortly before he passed away, my father shared with me his In this moment
reflections on war as a WWII veteran. He said, “Please remem-
ber that nobody really wins.” So we must go deeper than mere In this place
politics in order to heal and transform America’s karma. We must
not leave out the political realm but bring deep practice to it. We
must bring our Buddha mind, our Dharma mind, and our Sangha There’s a time
mind to our collective life and destiny.
The Buddha in me
The trees outside my window are turning brilliant col-
ors as they let go of their summer’s disguise. We too must Comes to the surface
let go of outdated disguises of opinions, positions, judg- As if to see
ments, and habits in order to free ourselves to give Amer-
ica true understanding, true peace, and true love.
If I remember
Larry Ward, True Great Sound, is a Dharma teacher living in
North Carolina. This article is from notes on a book he is writing
called America’s Karma. He and his wife, Dharma teacher Peggy
Rowe are also developing a curriculum for the Bodhisavatta Ariel Blair
Mystery School of the Lotus Institute, which will include retreats
and an on-line learning community, beginning in 2005.

the Mindfulness Bell 35

mindful POLITICS

Toward
Mindful Politics
By Nathanial Cordova

W
photo by Robert Sorrell

We are encouraged not to shy away from suffering, to take a clear In controversial political issues it is easy to demonize the op-
stand against oppression and injustice, to behave responsibly as posite side, disregarding their concerns and fears as unwarranted,
citizens, and to work for the well-being of all living creatures. But silly, or full of malice. Such an approach increases polarization
how does our involvement in politics integrate into our practice? and anger. Instead, I try to maintain an invitational rhetoric that
engages opponents of same-sex marriage.
In our tradition a direct admonition regarding the political
comes in the Tenth Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbe- Not Turning Away
ing, Protecting the Sangha. This training reads:
It is also important not to let our fears or a pious concern over
“Aware that the essence and aim of a Sangha is the practice the “purity” of our practice or beliefs, lead us away from the politi-
of understanding and compassion, we are determined not to use cal fray. On the contrary, we can seek to transform the political with
the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit or transform our compassion and mindfulness. We can employ mindful abiding,
our community into a political instrument. A spiritual community looking deeply at the roots of suffering, and careful contemplation
should, however, take a clear stand against oppression and injus- of skillful means to water seeds of lovingkindness.
tice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in
partisan conflicts.” What about the frustration and anger that frequently ac-
company our forays into the political arena? How do we protect
But how do we advocate for certain political positions if we do ourselves from the toxicity of politics? A strong and consistent
not engage in partisan conflict? Don’t we run the risk of remaining practice allows us to develop the energy of mindfulness so we
ineffective if we do not stake out clear positions that align us with can embrace such feelings when they arise. Educating ourselves
certain political orientations? about the political process and political events also means carefully
Not necessarily. Refraining from partisan conflict does not nurturing a good sense of how and where we can be of service,
keep us from identifying with particular political orientations or and where we need to step back.
having a standpoint. There are many ways to be politically con- Anger and frustration are normal human emotions, and as
scientious and active without partaking of what often passes for they arise they can serve as mindfulness bells bringing us back
political activity, but is actually conflict in disguise. For example, to ourselves. What is important is how we respond and manage
we can look deeply into the roots of the perceived conflict and those feelings, and how we work to transform them. Mindful
division. As Thay has noted in Creating True Peace (Free Press, politics is at its best when we understand that the change we
2003), our enemy is misperception, and right action stems from seek is greatest when motivated by love and compassion. We
right understanding. We can work at developing skillful means that must remember to care for ourselves before, during, and after
allow our voices to be most effective. This begins with internal we enter challenging arenas. That is why developing healthy
transformation. Sanghas within which we can find support, joy, and contin-
For me, the issue of same-sex marriage has been a compelling ued strength is an integral part of mindful politics.
way to begin this internal change. On a daily basis I challenge
myself to be more understanding of the values, belief systems, Nathanial Cordova, Spacious View of the Heart,
and fears that drive those who oppose same-sex marriage. I’m also practices with the River Sangha in Salem, Oregon.
challenged to be more aware of the fears of those who support it, He is an Assistant Professor in the Rhetoric and
and how that fear shapes our responses, attitudes, and assumptions Media Studies Department at Willamette University.
about those who disagree with us.

36 Winter/Spring 2005
 mindful POLITICS

Letting Go and
Being Happy
By Ben Matlock

S
photo by Robert Sorrell

Seven members of our Sangha volunteer as Buddhist chaplains Breathing in, I see all the goodness in me.
at a large, local hospital. We visit Asian and Western Buddhist Breathing out, I relax in the knowledge of the goodness in me.
patients, consult with staff, and lead a weekly meditation in the
hospital chapel, mostly attended by staff members.
I have noticed that much of the suffering I encounter in the Breathing in, I see the many ambitions I have for myself.
hospital is created when the patients and staff cling to the image of Breathing out, I let go of the many ambitions I have for myself.
the patient’s formerly “well self.” Much sadness arises in patients
who see their illness as changing them permanently, and much
energy is spent by staff trying to restore that state of supposed Breathing in, I see that I am sufficient in all ways.
wellness for the patient, often in vain. Breathing out, I relax in knowing that I am sufficient in
My personal practice includes exploring the areas of belief all ways.
where I try to hold on to my ideas and perceptions at all costs.
I wrote the following guided meditation while traveling on the Breathing in, I see that I crave many things.
subway to lead a session at the hospital. Somehow during that
journey, the implications of continuing to hold on for dear life to Breathing out, I let go of the need to crave many things.
the very things that make me unhappy became much clearer to me
than they had before. I realized that I even had to convince myself
Breathing in, I see that I have enough.
from time to time that I actually wanted to be happy.
Breathing out, I relax in the knowledge that I have enough.
We used this meditation at Sangha on the Wednesday
before the presidential election. We each agreed to spend the
following week looking deeply and becoming friends with one Breathing in, I see that I am too busy.
of our attachments. Then we envisioned what life might be
Breathing out, I let go of the need to be too busy.
like were we to let go of that attachment. The third step was
to investigate with compassion what is keeping us from let-
ting go. In sharing this guided meditation with you, I hope you Breathing in, I want a less hectic life.
find this process of deeply looking freeing and transformative.
Breathing out, I relax in the quiet of this moment.

Guided Meditation On Letting Go

Breathing in, I see that letting go can make me free.
Breathing in, I see the need I have to control my life.
Breathing out, I am free.
Breathing out, I let go of the need to control my life.

Breathing in, I see that by being free I can be happy.

Breathing in, I see that control is an illusion.
Breathing out, I am happy.
Breathing out, I relax in my inability to control.

Ben Matlock, True Equanimity of the Sangha, lives in Roxbury,

Breathing in, I see how critical I am of myself. Massachusetts and practices with the Boston Old Path Sangha.
An administrator at Episcopal Divinity School, he is the father of
Breathing out, I let go of the need to be critical. Adam, a nineteen-year-old college sophomore, and was married
this summer to Ted Todd, also an Order of Interbeing member.

the Mindfulness Bell 37

mindful POLITICS

Plumeria Tree continued

very literally, about how this body becomes another body. But And so the heron picked up the first shrimp and took it over
the Buddha taught that that doesn’t happen because there isn’t an and landed beneath the plumeria tree and proceeded to eat the
individual, separate self. Of course we’re not going to manifest shrimp and spit out the shells, the carapace of the shrimp. When
again as a self, because there’s no self there to begin with. But the the plumeria tree saw this, he felt so terribly sad. He said, “This
likelihood of everyone in this room having atoms that once lived heron has lied. He has not only lied, he has manipulated, he has
in the body of Buddha is very, very great, very likely, because broken the trust.”
they are constantly being mixed up and they keep going on and
But the Buddha then was a plumeria tree, and could only
on and on.
stand there and feel really sad; he couldn’t change the situation.
So this story is about Buddha as a plumeria tree. If you’ve And after the heron finished the first shrimp, he went back, and
ever been to Hawaii you’ve seen plumeria trees. They sometimes got another shrimp and ate him under the plumeria tree. And
have pink flowers, sometimes white flowers, and they’re very every time he went back, he would assure the other shrimp and
velvety, with five or six petals, tinged with a little yellow, and fish that those in the lotus pond were very happy, that he was
with an absolutely heavenly fragrance. When they’re blooming willing to take them all over, not to worry. And so, one by one,
in the summer, Hawaii is filled with the fragrance of plumeria. he took all the shrimp and all the fish underneath the plumeria

I
One of Buddha’s lifetimes, as probably one of our lifetimes, was tree, and ate them.
as a plumeria tree.
And the Buddha standing there, fragrant flower plumeria Bud-
The story the Buddha told of his lifetime as a plumeria tree dha, was so sad, that he could feel tears running down his bark.
was that he lived next to a very beautiful lotus pond, filled with But standing there as a tree, there was nothing he could do.
fragrant flowers, and not far from him was a very muddy little
Finally the only one left in the pond was crab. The crab was
pool that was filled with shrimp and crab, even a couple of fish.
feisty and said, “I don’t entirely trust you. So if you take me, I
A heron came to that area once, and the heron saw all the life in
don’t want to be in your bill, I want to ride with my claws holding
the muddy pond and thought to himself, “Oh, I would like to eat
onto your neck.”
that life. But if I just go chasing after them, they’ll all hide.” So,
being a smart heron, he went over and waded into the pond and he And the heron thought, and said, “That will be okay.”
said, “Little fish, little shrimp, don’t be afraid. I’m here to carry
So the crab put his claws on the heron’s neck and they flew.
you over to that beautiful lotus pond. You can get in my beak and
When they flew over the plumeria tree he could see all the shells
I’ll take you there.”
and the bones of the shrimp and the fish, and he knew that the
Because the shrimp and the fish and the little crab were fairly heron had eaten them all. So he tightened his claws on the neck
smart, they said, “Oh, we don’t believe you. You just want us to of the heron and said, “You have been lying. You’ve eaten all my
jump in your bill so you can swallow us whole.” friends.”
But the heron said, “No, no, I’m not a heron like that; you And the heron chuckled. But when they landed, the crab
can really trust me. You can trust me so much that I’ll take one of pressed his claws tighter and tighter on the heron’s neck, until it
you over to visit the lotus pond and then you can come back and broke. The heron died and the crab went into the lotus pond.
tell everybody what it’s like.”
The Buddha was standing there, just watching it all
None of the animals were willing to do that, except for one happen with his full attention. And what the Buddha real-
very old fish, who had heavy, thick, tough scales and very little ized was that when we feel helpless, it is very important to
meat. Bony, old, ancient fish. And that fish said, “You can take strengthen our intention to practice: to transform suffering, to
me over to the lotus pond,” because he knew that if he got eaten be a source of kindness and peace. And as a plumeria tree,
then nobody else would go. And he knew that he didn’t have very the Buddha vowed that whenever he had an opportunity to
long to live anyway, and besides that, he would not be tasty. manifest peace, to make a difference, to change something, to
transform some suffering in the world, he would do that. And
So the heron picked up the fish in his bill and flew over to the
his intention to practice became very, very strong.
lotus pond and let the fish go. The fish swam around the lotus pond
and indeed, it was very beautiful; the waters were cool and fresh
and there was a lot to eat. It was lovely being in the lotus pond. Eileen Kiera, True Lamp, lives
After he had spent some time there, he came back to the shore and with her husband and daughter
said to the heron, “You can take me back to my pool now.” So the at Mountain Lamp, a rural retreat
heron took him back to the little muddy pool and let him go. center in northern Washington. A
Dharma teacher for almost twenty
And the old fish said, “Indeed, the heron did take me to the years, she is a beloved guiding
lotus pond,” and he described the lotus pond to everyone. And he influence to Sanghas throughout
said, “But you should still use your own judgment about whether the Pacific Northwest.
photo by Guy Evans

you want to take that journey or not.”

But needless to say, all the little shrimp and fish lined up and
said, “Take me, take me.”

38 Winter/Spring 2005
 yo u n g P E O P L E

Mindfulness &
Mathematics
Teaching as a Deep Learning Process

By Richard Brady

I
Richard Brady inviting the bell in his math class

During the June, 2004 Feet of the Buddha Retreat at Plum Village, of thought is given to a particular issue, but direct absorption by
a group of retreatants gathered to discuss ways of sharing mind- the store consciousness is a much more economical process. In
fulness practice with young people. This prompted me to begin this kind of learning, environment is a key factor.
thinking freshly about my high school mathematics teaching.
I ask myself, “How can I create an environment in my
My students learn new algebraic methods in a day and new competitive, college preparatory math classes spacious and safe
topics in a month. At the same time, there is deeper learning in enough for all of us to be in touch with our feelings and deeper
process that will continue for the rest of their lives. This learning is questions? What can I do to promote mindful speech and deep
about things such as perseverance, taking risks, and communicat- listening in my classroom? For example, how might it affect the
ing with others. Ultimately it is about understanding themselves classroom environment if we sat in a circle some of the time as
and the world. we do in Plum Village for Dharma discussions?”
Returning home, I pondered how my Plum Village experi- Relationships
ence could help me grow as a teacher. An insight that grew out of
a conversation with Sister Jina helped me answer this question. During my appointment with Sister Jina, a special moment
I stayed at Plum Village for two weeks after the retreat ended, occurred when she remarked, “There’s one thing I don’t under-
after most of my friends had left and the full schedule gave way stand. You said that everyone you’re close to has left the Upper
to lazy days. I began to feel lonely, so I made an appointment Hamlet. That’s not true.” I scratched my head and waited for her
with Sister Jina to talk about this loneliness and my practice at to continue. After a pause, Sr. Jina said, “You are still here.” I
Plum Village. can’t describe how I felt at that moment, but I recognized that I
had just received a teaching that would continue to work inside
Environments me. Like a Zen koan, it is something I can sit with, practice with,
and let ripen until, over time, a transformation can occur. How
At Plum Village feelings such as loneliness are more ac-
does a teaching have the potential to set this deep learning process
cessible to me because my usual busyness doesn’t keep them at
in motion?
bay. Also, fellow retreatants exemplify how to be in touch with
and share their emotions. The safety and trust I feel comes from Sister Jina continued. “As a young person I was blessed to
the quality of mindful listening and responding that I receive in always be close to myself. However, I wasn’t aware of this until
Dharma discussions and other interactions. I really feel heard a time came when I lost it. I eventually recovered this closeness,
there. and I have treasured it ever since.” This sharing of Sister Jina’s
connected us at the heart level, helping me to open and receive it
The Plum Village environment often provides the context for
more deeply. I wonder how in teaching I can become more aware
deep learning, learning that changes my understanding of myself
of what students are touching in me and teach from that place?
or of some aspect of the world. This is a significant ingredient of
the learning process. As an educator, I place a high value on the When Thay gives a teaching, each person in attendance under-
consequences of the thinking that goes on in my classes. Though stands the teaching differently, depending on his or her experience
thinking occurs at the level of mind consciousness, Thay tells us of life and of mindfulness practice. Those same differences occur
that the origins of most behavior are found in the store conscious- in my students. Since much of our class time is spent working
ness. So deep learning occurs as the result of changes in the store cooperatively in small groups, I’ve borrowed an idea from Thay,
consciousness. Such change can come about when a great deal who once gave us stickers that said, “I walk for you” to put in our

the Mindfulness Bell 39

 young PEOPLE

Obstacles can become

shoes. I give my students our store consciousness. It also comes about as the result of ob-
the basis for learning stickers that say, “I learn for stacles. Obstacles can become the basis for learning if we become
you” to put on their textbook aware of the misperceptions that have produced them. Obstacles
covers. Each student was are another ingredient of deep learning. Brother Pháp Tuê pointed
if we become aware of having a different experi- out to me that when we feel stuck, there is an implication that this
ence of cooperative learn- feeling is recurrent and that each time it seems as if it is the same
ing through the year, but feeling. However, actually the situation is constantly changing. We
the misperceptions that each time they opened their can see this if we look deeply, but we tend to avoid looking deeply
books, they were invited to because there is pain in the situation we don’t wish to face.
be aware of whatever their
have produced them. current understanding was. Being vs Doing
At the end of a school year, a Through meditation and the support of friends who listened to
student told me that it had taken him the entire year to understand my turmoil, I began to see what was happening. During my time in
the meaning of that sticker. The unfolding of the unique learning Plum Village, especially the last two weeks of quiet and solitude, I’d
experience of each of my students is fundamentally a mystery. begun to get in touch with a young, tender part of myself, a flower
How can I do a better job of honoring and supporting it? nourished by my being-nature. Once home, all the old stimuli set
my doing-nature in motion. My inner flower wilted. Losing this
Practices new experience of my being-nature was painful.
After receiving a teaching, the process of learning contin-
Looking deeply, I saw that my problems did not stem from all
ues. It’s up to the student to integrate it into his or her life, which
that I have to do but from my planning/reviewing habit of mind, a
may or may not happen. Last spring I advised an algebra student
prominent characteristic I also see in my mother. When this part
to slow down and do the math just to do the math, not to try to get
of my mind quieted down in Plum Village, I got in touch with the
it finished in order to go on to the next thing. Intellectually she
flower of my vulnerability. At home my planning and reviewing
understood what I was saying. She wanted to follow my advice,
heritage shields me from these things. This defense mechanism is
but her habit energy of rushing was very strong, so she kept doing
a part of me just as my vulnerability is. Embracing them both with
her work in the same way. In retrospect I see that she needed a
great compassion is now my path of practice. I continue invoking
concrete way to focus her mind as she worked so that she could
Avalokiteshvara to water my seed of compassion so that it will be
develop new habits, some kind of practice. Perhaps it would have
strong enough to hold both my vulnerability and my defenses.
helped her to move a pebble from one pile to another and breathe
in and out three times before starting each new problem. When my students encounter obstacles, their first impulse is
usually towards one of two extremes: they try to overcome them
My new insight about practicing being close to myself brought
or they give up. The approach of welcoming obstacles, sitting
to mind the practice of chanting to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisat-
with them, and seeing what gifts of understanding they have to
tva of compassion. I began doing this chant when the monastics
offer is foreign to my students, yet it is one that could serve them
invited the retreatants to join them during the closing of the retreat.
well in life. I ask myself how I can do a better job of modeling
My experience was so powerful that tears came to my eyes. I began
this way of relating to difficulties in the classroom. I realize I can
to understand that watering the seed of my compassion is a way
begin by curbing my impulses to diagnose and suggest remedies
for me to be close to myself.
for students’ problems, and learn how to just be with the students
The store consciousness provides the internal environment and their problems.
for deep learning. When a teaching connects with well-developed
I feel good about the direction my questions are taking me and
seeds in the store consciousness, as Sister Jina’s did for me, the
look forward to practicing in the classroom. I’m aware that so much
learning process unfolds in an organic way. Much of my students’
of my students’ lives are spent in ways that do not promote aware-
internal environment is unknown not only to me but also to them.
ness. At best I can help them water their seeds of mindfulness for
I wonder how I can support them knowing themselves better so
a brief time and trust that this will make a difference.
they can learn to draw on their own wisdom.
Richard Brady, True Dharma
Obstacles Bridge, is a Dharma teacher
At Plum Village I continued sitting and walking, and chant- with the Washington
ing to Avalokiteshvara. I was aware of being in touch with myself Mindfulness Community.
He is a founding member
more deeply. I brought my chanting practice home and continued of MiEN, the Mindfulness in
trying to do it. However, e-mail, phone calls, a curriculum writing Education Network.
project at school, chores, and relationships began to overwhelm me.
photo by Robert Sorrell

After several days spent with my extended family, I completely Readers interested in
lost touch with myself. MiEN and its listserv can
get information on the MiEN
During the retreat Thay told us that transformation comes Website www.mindfuled.org.
about as the result of conditions that nurture the positive seeds in

40 Winter/Spring 2005
 yo u n g P E O P L E

Note: What you might say is in boldface. The answers

to questions in parenthesis are the answers our children
gave us.
Materials Needed:
Colored felt-tipped pens
Bowing
An Exercise for
Bowing is a deep form of communicating. A bow may mean
hello, thank you, goodbye, or excuse me. But it is not just a Young People
way to be polite. It is a way of recognizing and honoring the
Buddha Nature in each of us. By Terry Masters

We put our hands together carefully to form a beautiful

lotus flower. Then we look at the eyes of the person we will
bow to and smile. We say to ourselves, “A lotus for you, Bud-
dha to be!” and bow at our waist. Then we straighten, look at
the eyes of the other person and smile. Isn’t that an easy gift
How does it make you feel to bow to someone’s
to give someone?
Buddha Nature?
Please practice with a friend.
(happy, like I’m watering the seeds of my friend’s
Allow each child time to bow to a friend. happiness)
Instead of a lotus, you might want to give something else How does it make you feel when someone bows to you?
to a friend or someone in your family. Maybe you will put
(happy, grateful, loved)
your hands together, look at the eyes of your friend and say to
yourself, “An apple for you Buddha to be.” or ”A sunny day When you can, please practice bowing with the people in
for you Buddha to be.” or “A smile for you Buddha to be!” your family, too.
and then bow.
With the colored pens, invite children to draw simple faces
Give enough time for each child to practice bowing with a on each other’s thumbs. The “thumb people” can practice bowing
different child and with you, “giving” whatever gift they choose to respectfully. The “thumb people” might also have conversations
give (a lotus, those suggested above or one of their own choice). with each other or sing to each other.

Bees Being Smiling Form

Listening deeply The clouds today
To the nature of my Are floating in my tea.
anxiety
The Flower of Calm They wet every line
Three Looking deeply
I hear the warm,
swarming sound
Of my poetry.
Every word soaks
Poems Into the heart of the bud,
I adjust my lens.
Of bees being above me.
Up the ink of the sun
They are buzzing
for Like the flower I happily, unbusily, So that I may offer you
photograph, This smiling form.
Thay
As they circle around
I am opening up. the sweetness
My eyes blossom That rests By Jamyson Clair Vining
With calm. Inside my being.
the Mindfulness Bell 41
s a n g h a H A PPENINGS

Building Our
Orange Blossom Sangha
By Rhoda Reilly

D
During a Dharma talk at the winter retreat, my ears perked up when
Thay said, “It is the duty of every Order of Interbeing member to set
up a Sangha.” Thay instructed us, “We need to be a Sangha builder;
the Sangha is our refuge, our home.” I intuitively knew at that moment
the causes and condtions were ripe to build a Sangha.

My husband and I opened our home, set a date, put up flyers,

announced our intentions to other followers on the path at Deer Park
and trusted our Sangha would evolve. The first evening, one person
attended. It was intimate and nourishing. The second week two
more people attended. During the course of the next two months,
people came and went, but a small, devoted group of six continued
to come to practice. Recently, we celebrated our Sangha with a tea
It has been a joy to watch our Sangha grow and develop, to witness
the dedication of our members in cultivating understanding and love
on this beautiful path Thay’s teachings have provided. In the middle
of a busy and hectic work week, we come together to take refuge, to
renew, and re-energize like a drink of cool water on a hot summer’s
day. We nourish the seeds of happiness in ourselves and support the
challenges we encounter working through negative mental formations
that cause us suffering. We gain strength from one another and from
the collective wisdom of our Buddha natures.

Thay has emphasized that without a Sangha, it is very difficult

to practice. Reflecting on the past few months, I can feel my practice
strengthening through the support, respect, and love of our Sangha
and Sangha naming ceremony. We had grown to eleven members members. When I feel unbalanced and stressed from the demands of
(one who practices with us in spirit from afar in Alaska.) We named my work and daily activities, the sitting and walking meditation calm
our Sangha “Orange Blossom Sangha,” in part due to the symbolism my mind and body, bringing me back to the present moment. The words
of our blossoming together as well as for the beautiful orange trees of the Refuge Chant now have new meaning to me, “The loving and
surrounding our home. supportive community of practice, realizing harmony, awareness, and
liberation, to the Sangha I go for refuge.” I cherish our Sangha and am
grateful to Thay for encouraging us to be Sangha builders.

The following poem was inspiried from the various potential

names we came up with for our Sangha:

Our Sangha,
Joyfully together,
Blooming as a lotus,
Sweet as orange blossoms,
With mindful and joyful hearts,
Our Chi flows peacefully.

Rhoda Reilly, True Attainment of Fruition,

lives and practices in Escondido, California.

The author, upper right, with her Sangha

42 Winter/Spring 2005
 sangha HAPPEN I N G S

book REVIEW

Journeying East:
Conversations on Aging and Dying
By Victoria Jean Dimidjian
Reviewed by Lois Schlegel
Parallax Press, 2004
For as long as I can remember I have been afraid of death. Even as a child I wrestled with
this unknown. At night, when the house was quiet I lay awake trying to figure it out, trying
to touch the mystery of it somehow, trying to understand.
None of the conventional answers satisfied me. I searched and questioned and suffered
for years, as both my parents died before I was twenty-five and I witnessed the fragility of
life from a mother’s perspective when my own children were born.
So, it was with a sense of kinship I read Victoria Jean Dimidjian’s outstanding collection of interviews on this subject. She too
was touched by death as a child and her experience seems to shape this far-reaching book. Devoting her entire sabbatical from
teaching at Florida Gulf Coast University to this project, Ms. Dimidjian traveled the globe to bring us insight from many of today’s
prominent philosophers and death and dying practitioners.
Journeying East includes conversations with Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Michael Eigen, Norman Fisher, Joan Halifax, Sister
Chan Khong, Frank Osataseski, Rodney Smith, and John Wellwood. Each interview is at once intimate and transcendent, as if
we too have been sipping tea with these masters and come away not with answers, but insight; not knowledge, but peace. As
Rodney Smith so aptly tells the author when she asks him about his own fear of death, “You live it consciously; you live it actively;
you live the open question of death. We access the true spirit of Buddhism by living the question of life.” This book is an invitation
to that awareness and practice. It offers ways to tolerate and even find joy in the mystery of death.

2 new COMPACT DISKS

Rivers & Oasis

Available through the
Fill your life with music!
Deer Park Monastery
Audio Visual Department

Reviewed by Barbara Casey

Sing your blues away!
www.deerparkmonastery.org/shop_online.htm

Wonderful new songs and chants are available as a gift from the fourfold Sangha. Through the direction of Sr. The Nghiem,
monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen have come together to produce a CD of twenty-seven practice songs called Rivers.
These songs clearly reflect the personal practice of the participants, watering seeds of peace, freedom, lightness, and joy in the
listener.
For those who love singing and are looking for fresh songs to enjoy and to share with your Sangha, Rivers is the CD for you!
There are fourteen songs in English, nine in Vietnamese, and four in French. Included in the English songs is the popular, In
Gratitude, which many of us have learned. Most of the others were new to me, and a complete delight. My personal favorites
include Alone Again, adapted from Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem, Recommendation, and put to music by Christian monks; and No
Wait, an acapella, two-voiced song encouraging self-reliance, which makes me cry with happiness every time I hear it. There
is also a wonderful talk-story song by Sr. Chau Nghiem, called Peace is the Way. The CD’s name comes from a lovely song
featured first, and also reflects the many sources that came together to form the beautiful music which now flows out to all of us.
Oasis is a compilation of some of the chants we already know in fresh arrangements, plus some new ones. By far the most
notable is the Discourse on Love, which I am now listening to as part of my daily practice. I have always wanted to memorize this
wonderful sutra, and by putting it to music, I am learning it without effort. I find that listening to and singing this beautiful chant is
watering seeds of deep love and happiness in me. I look forward to experiencing this chant with the worldwide Sangha. I hope
we will all learn and enjoy it.
Best of all, you can sample these musical offerings online, at: www.deerparkmonastery.org

the Mindfulness Bell 43

l i fe T R A N SITIONS

Poet, Peace
Advocate, & Goodwill
Ambassador Dies
By Norman R. Brown
TThe internationally acclaimed poet, peace advocate, and Muscular
Dystrophy Association National Goodwill Ambassador, Matthew
Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek, or “Mattie” as he’s nationally known, died
on June 22, 2004 in Washington, D.C. He had been hospitalized since
early March with complications related to the disease that impaired
most of his bodily functions.

Stepanek, of Rockville, Maryland, had dysautonomic mitochon-

drial myopathy, a genetic disease that impaired his heart rate, breathing,
blood pressure, and digestion, and caused muscle weakness. Mattie
was hospitalized many times over the years. He navigated around his
home in a wheelchair he nicknamed “Slick,” and relied on a feeding
tube, a ventilator, and frequent blood transfusions to stay alive.
For Our World* Mattie was the author of five volumes of poetry, three of which
reached the New York Times’ best-seller list. He became a beacon of
We need to stop.
hope to the millions of adults and children who have been inspired by
Just stop.
his words, making him one of the best-selling poets in recent years.
Stop for a moment...
His admirers include Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and former President
Before anybody
Jimmy Carter.
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else. Despite his physical condition, the effervescent and playful
philosopher was upbeat, saying he didn’t fear death. His work was
We need to be silent. full of life, a quest for peace, hope, and the inner voice he called a
Just silent. “heartsong,” which he explained as “our inner beauty, our message,
Silent for a moment... the songs in our hearts.” He explained, “My life mission is to spread
Before we forever lose peace to the world.”
The blessing of songs After the September 11, 2001 tragedy, Mattie wrote the poem
That grow in our hearts. to the left.

Mattie advised that, “Poetry is a great way to express your feelings

We need to notice.
and life experiences so that others can understand and get through the
Just notice.
same situation. We all have life storms. We need to celebrate that we
Notice for a moment...
get through them, instead of mourning and waiting for the next one
Before the future slips away
to come along and wipe us out again. Remember to play after every
Into ashes and dust of humility.
storm. Celebrate life no matter how bad it seems. Life is a gift, and
there’s always something beautiful that you can find. We have to make
Stop, be silent, and notice... the best of life and do what we’re meant to do. Everyone has a special
In so many ways, we are the same. song inside their hearts. If you believe you can be happy, then you,
Our differences are unique treasures. too, will hear your song.”
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept. Mattie was thirteen years old at the time of his death. He was the
recipient of several awards, including the 2002 Children’s Hope Medal
We need to be. of Honor and the 2002 Verizon Courage Award. President Carter, in
eulogizing Mattie, said, “I have known kings, queens, presidents, and
Just be.
prime ministers. But the most extraordinary person I have ever known
Be for a moment...
was Mattie Stepanek.”
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs, Contributions in Mattie’s name may be made at: www.mdausa.org or
Never judging or vengeful sent to MDA Mattie Fund, P.O. Box 66002, Tucson, AZ 85728.
Like the judging and vengeful.
Go to: www.mattieonline.com for links to purchase his poetry.

*For Our World copyright, April 2002, “Hope Through Heartsongs,”

And now, let us pray,
page 49, ISBN 0-7868-6944-5, Hyperion Book.
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life, Norman R. Brown, Disciplined Patience of
No chance for peace. the Heart, belong to the SDGLBT Buddhists
Sangha in San Diego. He is event coordinator and
registrar at Solidity Hamlet, Deer Park Monastery.

44 Winter/Spring 2005
 life TRANSIT I O N S

Zadie’s
Manifestation
By Clay McLeod

To my ears, You are my continuation,

Your cries give voice to the sorrows Yet you are so much more than me.
of the whole world.
To my eyes, You are the manifestation of love and hope.
Your smile gives light to the darkest With your life, you will unfold
places imaginable. A tapestry of joy and sorrow,
Each moment a sunrise,
Your dark eyes hold so many promises Each breath a miracle.
To the world not yet revealed.
I cherish your arrival;
I waited my whole life to meet you, Welcome to the world.
And yet I cannot imagine a time Clay McLeod lives and practices in
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada,
without you. with his wife Meaghan, his daughter
Zadie and the students he teaches.

New Seth
Family Member
By Shantum Seth

We are happy to inform you of the birth of our daughter,

Anamika Maitri, at dawn on the seventeenth of September, in
New Delhi. She arrived exactly three and a half years after her
sister Nandini was born.

Anamika Maitri means “one who cannot be defined by

name (and hence contains the virtues of all names) and offers
love and friendship.”

Her sister, Nandini, wants to continually kiss and caress

her, and her parents and both sets of grandparents are enjoying
her miraculous presence.

With love and smiles,

Gitu and Shantum

Gitu and Shantum Seth with their daughters Nandini and Anamika Maitri
the Mindfulness Bell 45
 m i n d f u l n e s s BELL

Please Help to
Complete Thay’s
Temple in Saigon

no doors or floor tiling yet.

Dear Friends,
ernment
Last November the Vietnamese gov
aud ienc e of any by twelve
gave Thay permission to teach an - Second Floor: Ten dormitories, four
not in a theater or people;
size in any temple in Vietnam, but iences, meters, each housing up to eighteen
stadium. To accommodate the exp
ecte d aud m for monks.
in one dining room; and a study roo
p Van tem ple , toilets or
we have been rebuilding the Pha you r The walls are all done; but no tiles
gra tefu l for
Saigon, with your help. We are so in the showers yet.
first app eal
generous donations, following our , and garden
Mindfulness Bel l. We hav e rece ived $18,870 in US - Third Floor: Meditation hall, balcony
in Europe. don e yet exc ept the floor.
dollars, and $67,660 from friends – nothing has been
ed so far on Gro und Floor
e the temple Cost of work complet
Now we ask you to help to complet your
to add 900 seats and Second Floor: $87,488 from
construction. We need $5,000 ,500 from a no- interest loan.
ting 800 indoors contribution and $27
outside the lecture hall to the exis
twe nty- four toilets
seats. We also urgently need
costing $150 each. Building eac h squ are met er of
With thanks and see you in
Vietnam!
Phap Van Temple costs $130.
Phap Van
Please send your donation Attn:
Construction to: GMDC , P.O . Box 182 , Hartland
SOS Help for Hun
Four Corners, VT 05049, USA or
Sr. Chan
gry
People in Tay Ngu
Khong in Plum Village .

I have summarized below the stat

remaining needs of the vari ous
us and
spa ces.
Five Provinces
yen
on the Highlands
ome a library of Vietnam
• A house for Thay, which will bec Dear Friends,
in the future: Has bee n com plet ed thanks to
from a frien d in France.
a $20,000 donation We have received an
in” SO
Thay has named it the “Tog ethe r Aga
Association of Vietna S appeal from the Buddhist Youth
house (“nhà doàn tu”) . m Gia Dinh Phat Tu
help 8,700 families wh - GD
o will have nothing to PT in Tay Nguyen to
n meters, eat by March 2005.
• A three-story building, sixty by fiftee Currently, Plum Villa
ge
including: kilograms of rice per is helping our GDPT friends bring fifte
m en
- A strong foundation: Completed help them for seven onth per family for 150 families. We need
months, until the next to
(cost: $14,000). harvest in July.
With a contribution of $3
;a 5 you can help one
- Ground Floor: A large lecture hall your donation to Un
ified Buddhist Chur
family survive. Plea
se make
age are a; a san itary block hungry people in Ta ch, Deer Park Mon
kitchen; a stor y Nguyen Highlands astery, attention:
with 20 toilets.The lecture hall has thank you letter co
nfirming your tax de
. Sister Tuc Nghiem
will send a
the
supports and walls in place, and duction for your ge
nerous donation.
has bee n laid , but there are With thanks.
concrete floor
Sr. Chan Khong
46 Winter/Spring 2005
 mindfulness B E L L

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Mountain Dharma Center, and to find the most current activities
www.iamhome.org and retreats offered by local Sanghas. and teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, go to www.plumvillage.org

the Mindfulness Bell 47

 m i n d f u l n e s s BELL

F orm & Emptiness: The Dalai Lama teaches the Heart Sutra •
dharma and creativity • Attending to the Deathless, by Ajahn
Bodhi, Jeffrey Hopkins and Jan Chozen Bays debate the law of karma • Community Profile: Foundation for the
Meredith Monk on
Amaro • Forum: Bhikkhu

Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition • Five teishos by Maezumi Roshi on breathing, energy
and the practice of qi gong • Dharma Dictionary: Thanissaro Bhikkhu defines satipatthanna
• Thich Nhat Hanh explains why sangha is a deep spiritual practice • Norman
Fischer on the controversy over “Nanchuan Cuts the Cat” • Roger Jackson reviews The Third
Karmapa’s Mahamudra Prayer • Readers’ Exchange: Being a Buddhist parent • Forum:
Robert Thurman, Joseph Goldstein and Judith Lief on the need for more full-time practitioners •
Mahamudra teachings by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso • Ajahn Chah on awakening “the One
Who Knows” • Diversity Practice at Spirit Rock • Pure Attention: A conversation with
S.N. Goenka • Eido Roshi on the “True Man Without Rank” • Ask the Teachers: What
do I do when my practice isn’t working? • Dharma Dictionary: Charles Muller defines yogacara •
Unpublished teachings by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche • The centenary of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi • Sharon Salzberg
on the meaning of faith in Buddhism • Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche on the three kayas
• The inspiring story of Dipa Ma • IN OUR NEXT ISSUE: Gehlek
Rinpoche on the practice of taking and sending • B. Alan Wallace
on purity of the dharma • Forum: Understanding Master Dogen • Vipassana teachings
by U Pandita • Jan Willis on why things are getting better for the nuns of Ladakh •

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IMAGE CREDITS: BUNKO, UELI MINDER, ROBERT HOFFAN, ANDY KARR, JAMYONG SINGYE, DHARMA DRUM MOUNTAIN, JOYCE GOLDMAN, JANICE RUBIN, KARL-LUDWIG LEITER.

48 Winter/Spring 2005
 Walking with the Angel Clouds at the Feet of the Buddha Retreat photo by Robert Sorrell

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