fIheMindfuCness J Veil Issue No. 14 • Right Action • Autumn 1995 • S6.00

RightAction :Wakin g Upt o Loving Kindness byThic h Nhat Hanh

ight Action is a part of the Noble Eightfold Path energyo flovin gkindnes si nourselves ,th emor ew ear eabl et o taught by the Buddha. It includes, first of receiveth ejoy ,peace ,an dlov eo fth ebuddha san dbodhisattva s R all,th ekind so faction stha tca nhel phuman san dothe r throughout thecosmos .I f you areto olonely ,i ti sbecaus e you livingbeing swh oar ebein gdestroye db ywar ,politica loppres ­ have closed the door to the rest of the world. sion,socia linjustice , andhunger .T oprotec tlife ,preven t war, andserv elivin gbeings ,w enee d ight Action is the action tocultivat eou renerg yo flovin g R'o f touching love and pre­ kindness. venting harm. There are many Loving kindness should be things we can do. We can pro­ practiced every day. Suppose tectlife .W eca npractic e gener­ you have a transistor radio. To osity (dana). The first person tune into the radio station you who receives something from like,yo unee da battery .I norde r anac to fgivin gi sth egiver .Th e to get linked to the power of Buddha said, "After meditating lovingkindnes so fbodhisattvas , on the person at whom you are buddhas,an dothe rgrea tbeings , angry, if you cannot generate you need to tune in to the "sta­ lovingkindnessi nyourself ,sen d tion" of loving kindness that is that person a gift." Buy some­ being sent from the ten direc­ thing or take something beauti­ tions.The nyo u only need to sit ful from your home, wrap it onth egras san dpractic ebreath ­ beautifully, andsen di tt ohi mo r ing and enjoying. to her. After that, you will feel But many of us are not ca­ betterimmediately ,eve n before pable of doing that because the the gift is received. Our ten­ feeling of loneliness, of being dency when we are angry is to cut off from the world, is so sayunkin dthings ,bu ti fw ewrit e severew ecanno treac h out.W e orsa y somethingpositiv e about do not realize that if we are him or her, our resentment will movedb yth eimminen tdeat ho f simply vanish. an insect, if we see an insect We seek pleasure in many suffering and we do something ways, but often our so-called to help, already this energy of pleasure is really the cause of loving kindness is in us. If we our suffering. Tourism is one take a small stick and help the Thich Nhat Hanh atWes t Lake in Hangzhou, China example. The positive way of insect out of the water, we can practicingtourism—seein gne w alsoreac hou tt oth ecosmos .Th eenerg y oflovin gkindnes si n countries, meeting new people, being in touch with cultures us becomes real, and we derive a lot ofjo y from it. andsocietie s thatdiffe r from ours—isexcellent .Bu tther e are TheFourt hPrecep t ofth eOrde ro fInterbein g tellsu st ob e thosewh ovisi tThailand , thePhilippines ,o rMalaysiajus t for aware of suffering in the world, not to close our eyes before the sake of consuming drugs and hiring prostitutes. Western suffering.Touchin gthos ewh osuffe r ison ewa yt ogenerat eth e andJapanes e businessmen got oThailan d andth e Philippines energyo fcompassio ni nus ,an dcompassio n willbrin gjo y and just to set up sex industries and use local people to run these peace to ourselves and others. The more we generate the (Continued on Page 3) Thich Nhat Hanh'sAutum n Schedule

West Coast East Coast Saturday, September 23 Monday, October 9,7:00 p.m. Day of Mindfulness Public Talk SpiritRoc kMeditatio n Center Cathedral of St.Joh n theDivin e Woodacre,Californi a (MarinCounty ) Amsterdam at 112thStreet ,Ne w YorkCit y (510)464-1393 (212)501-265 2

Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 12, 7:30 p.m. Public Talk Public Talk Berkeley Community Theater Washington Hebrew Congregation 1930Allsto nWa ya tML KJr . Way Massachusetts andMacom b StreetsN.W . Berkeley, California Washington,D.C . (510) 525-8509 (703)799-044 1

There will be 4-day retreats at Camp Swig in Saratoga, California, and at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. Both of these are nowfull. For information regarding retreats and lectures in Vietnamese, call (408) 848-1541 (No. CA), (619) 631-1689 (So. CA), or (703) 938-9606 (D.C).

The MindfuCness ISett issue No. 14 Newsletter of the Order of Interbeing Autumn199 5 Fromth e Editors

Right Action 1-5 e've had a wonderful spring and summer, traveling to Wfour countries in Asia with Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Daily Practice 6-10 ChanKhong ,an dth eWester nmonk san dnun so fPlu mVillage . A very full account of this trip begins on page 20.We'r e also Sangha News 11-19 continuingt osearc hfo rpropert y for aresidentia lretrea t center inVirginia , while, at the same time, preparing for Thich Nhat Thich Nhat Hanh's Asia Tour 20-37 Hanh's visit toth e U.S.thi s fall, including alectur e and aDa y of Mindfulness at the State of the World Forum in San Fran­ Vietnam Reports 38-40 cisco, organized by the Gorbachev Foundation/USA. And we are pleased to announce that Riverhead Books, a division of Plum Village Nuns' Conference 41-42 PutnamPublishin gi nNe wYork ,ha smad eThic hNha t Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christthei r lead fall title. Announcements and Letters 43-47 In this issue, we continue to present Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching on the Noble Eightfold Path. Joan Halifax, Svein Editors:Theres e Fitzgerald, Arnie Kotler, and Ellen Peskin Myreng,Patrici aDai-E nBennage ,Katharin eCook ,an dother s Editorial and Production Assistance: Mark Copithorne, shareaccount so fthei row ngoo dwork ,an dTheres e Fitzgerald LeeAnne Haglund, and Mushim Ikeda-Nash sharesth ecoming s andgoing s ofThay' srecen t tript oTaiwan , Photos: Therese Fitzgerald pp. 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 15,20-35 ,45 ; South Korea, Japan, and China. unknown p.4 ;Christophe r Reedp . 19;Maryann eTen gp .37 ; We hopeyo u enjoy thisissu e ofThe Mindfulness Bell,an d Courtesy Sister Chan Khong p. 38;Do n Farber p.43 . we look forward to seeing many of you at Thich Nhat Hanh's Drawings: Michele Benzamin-Masuda, pp. 1,48 ; Courtesy retreats and lectures this fall. John Chang pp. 39-40; Anneke Brinkerink p. 10; Svein —Arnie Kotler, Therese Fitzgerald, and Ellen Peskin Myrengp. 18. themi sthei rparents ' ownhappiness .Ther eha s been somuc h Right Action (Continuedfrom Page 1) suffering becausepeopl ed ono tpractic esexua l responsibility. industries.I nThailand , atleas t200,00 0childre n areinvolve d Doyo u know enough about the way to practice Right Action in the sex industry. Because of poverty and social injustice, topreven tbreakin g upfamilie s andcreatin ghungr yghosts ?A there are always people who feel they have to do this out of childwh oi ssexuall yabuse dwil lsuffe r allhi so rhe rwhol elife . desperation.I nth ePhilippines ,a tleas t 100,000childre nar ei n Those who have been sexually abused have the capacity to the sex industry and in Vietnam, 40,000. What can we do to become bodhisattvas, helping many children. Your mind of help them? loveca ntransfor m yourow ngrie f andpain .Righ tActio n frees If wear e caught up in the situation of our own daily lives, youan dthos earoun dyou .Yo uma ythin kyo uar epracticin gt o wedon' thav eth etim eo renerg y tod osomethin gt ohel pthes e helpother saroun dyou ,but , atth esam etime ,yo u arerescuin g children.Bu t if weca n find afe w minutes ada y tohel p these yourself. children, suddenly the windows open and we get more light and more fresh air. We relieve our own difficult situation by ight Action is also the practice of mindful consuming, performing an act of generosity. Please discuss this situation R bringingt oyou rbod yan dmin donl yth ekind so ffoo dtha t withyou r Sangha and see if you can dosomethin g tosto p the are safe and healthy. Mindful eating, mindful drinking, not waves of people who profit from the sex industry. These are eatingthing s thatcreat etoxin si nyou rbody ,no tusin g alcohol all acts of generosity, acts of protecting life. You don't need or drugs, you practice for yourself, your family, and your to be rich. You don't need to spend months and years to do society. A Sangha can help a lot. something.A fe w minutes ada y can already help.Thes e acts One man who came to Plum Village told me that he had willbrin gfres h airint oyou r life, and your feelings of loneli­ been struggling to stop smoking for years, but he could not. ness will dissolve. You can be of help to many people in the After hecam e toPlu m Village, he stopped smoking immedi­ world who really suffer. ately because the group energy was so strong. "No one is smokinghere .Wh yshoul dI? "H ejus tstopped .Sangh ai sver y ight Action is also the protection of the integrity of the important. Collectivegrou penerg yca nhel pu spractic e mind­ R individual, couples, and children. Sexual misbehavior ful consumption. has broken so many families. Children who grow up in these broken families become hungry ghosts.The y don't believe in ight Action is also linked to Right Livelihood. There are their parents because their parents are not happy. Young Rthose who earn their living by way of wrong action— peoplehav etol dm etha tth egreates tgif t theirparent sca ngiv e manufacturing weapons, killing, depriving others of their

Infron t ofth e Buddhist Institute in Beijing,Ma y 1995 3 responded, "How can you become a Buddha by practicing sitting meditation?" Tome ,th e practice should bejoyfu l andpleasan t in order to be Right Effort. If you breathe in and out and feel joy and peace,yo u aremakin g RightEffort . If you suppress yourself, if you suffer during your practice, you are probably not practicing Right Effort. You have to examine your practice. Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Liveli­ hood, and Right Effort are manifested as the practice of mindfulness in daily life. This is the teaching of engaged Buddhism—the kind of Buddhism that is practiced in daily life, in society, in the family, and not only in the monastery.

uring the last few months of his life, the Buddha talked Dabout theThreefol d Training—sila (precepts), samadhi (concentration), andprajna (understanding). Mindfulness is the source of all precepts: We are mindful of the suffering causedb yth edestructio no flife , sow epractic eprotectin g life; We aremindfu l of the suffering caused by social injustice, so we practice generosity; We are mindful of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, so we practice responsibility; Wear emindfu l of thesufferin g caused by divisive speech, so wepractic elovin g speech anddee p listening;W e are mindful ofth edestructio ncause db yconsumin g toxins,s ow epractic e mindful consuming. These Five Precepts are a concrete ex­ pression of mindful living. The Threefold Training—pre­ Hugging meditation with children at Plum Village cepts, concentration, and understanding—helps us practice Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Liveli­ chance tolive , destroying the environment, exploiting nature hood, and Right Effort. andpeople ,includin g children.Ther e arethos ewh oear nthei r living byproducin g items that bring ustoxins .The yma year n nhi sfirst Dharm a talk, the Buddha taught theNobl e Eight­ a lot of money, but it is wrong livelihood. We have to be Ifold Path. When he was about to pass away at the age of mindful toprotec t ourselves from their wrong livelihood. eighty,i twa sals oth eEightfol d Paththa tth eBuddh a taught to Evenwhe nw ear etryin gt og o inth edirectio no fpeac ean d hislas tdisciples .Th eNobl eEightfol d Pathi sth ecrea mo f the enlightenment, our effort may also be going in the other Buddha's teaching. The practice of the Five Precepts is very direction, ifw edon' t haveRigh tVie w orRigh tThinking ,an d much connected to this teaching. Not only is the practice of areno tpracticin g Right Speech, Right Action, orRigh t Live­ Right Action linked to the Five Precepts, but the practice of lihood. That is why our effort is notRigh t Effort. If you teach Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, and Right theHeart Sutra, an dd ono thav ea dee punderstandin go fit ,yo u Effort are also linked to all Five. If you practice, you will see areno tpracticin gRigh tSpeech .Whe nyo upractic esittin gan d foryourself .Th eFiv ePrecept sar econnecte dt oeac hlin ko fth e walking meditation in ways that cause your body andmin d to Eightfold Path.W e need Right Speech, RightLivelihood , and suffer, your effort will not be Right Effort, because it is not Right Action.Buddhis m isalread yengage d Buddhism. If iti s based on Right View. Your practice should be intelligent, not, it is not Buddhism. It is silly to create the term engaged basedo nRigh tUnderstandin go fth eteaching .I ti sno tbecaus e Buddhism, but in society where people misunderstand so you practice hard that you can say you are practicing Right greatlyth eteachin go fth eBuddha , thister mca npla ya rol efo r Effort. acertai ntime .Whateve rw esay ,wha ti smos timportan ti stha t Therewa s amon kpracticin g sitting meditation very hard, wepractice . day and night. He thought he was practicing the hardest of anyone, and he was very proud of his practice. He sat like a Thislecture will be incorporated into TheHear to fth eBuddha' s rockda y andnight ,bu th edi d notget an y transformation. His Teachings, ThichNhatHanh, tobe published byParallax Press teacher saw him there and asked, "Why are you sitting in inearly 1996. meditation?" The monk replied, "In order to become a Bud­ dha." Thereupon his teacher picked up a tile and began to polish it.Th emon k asked, "Why areyo upolishin g thattile? " andhi s master replied, "To make it into amirror. " The monk said,"Ho wca nyo umak ea til eint oa mirror? "an dhi steache r Openthe Road Wider TheJo yo f Simplicity bySvei n Myreng Hair which is the color of precious wood is now offered as incense. hegrea ther oo fNorwegia n folktales, Espenth eAs h Lad, Beauty becomes eternity. Tgothi snam ebecaus eh esa ti nfron t of thefireplac e dayi n How wonderful the awareness of impermanence! and day out. Not your most productive activity, but Espen's renowned kindness and inventiveness must have originated Sinceeverythin g is as a dream, during these idle moments in front of the fire. Weofte n have anide a of time assomethin g finite that we thetru e mind is determined to lead the way. havet ous ea sfull y aspossibl ewhil ew ehav eit .But ,paradoxi ­ After listening to the voice of the rising tide, cally,th emor ew efil lou rtim ewit hactivity ,th emor ei tshrink s stepsar emad ei nth edirectio n ofth e unconditioned. and disappears. Contemporary society pushes us into many frantic activities. Still,a s I sit writing this on my veranda, the The winds chant this morning on the slope of birds and blue sky remind me that life's greatest treasures are free. By cutting down on work, meetings, and organized Gridhrakuta. activities that aren't really necessary, we give ourselves the The mind is no longer bound to anything. chancet orelax .Then ,w eca nsee wha tbring su speac ean dho w The song now istha t of the lovely teaching; muchtim ew espen drunnin gawa yfro mdifficultie s orpreserv ­ its fragrance is the essence of truth. ingou rself-image . Ourvalu ei nlif e doesn't dependo n clever­ ness,wha t weown , orwha t wedo ,bu tmos t of us have adee p belief that these are the things thatjustif y our existence. We In times past, it was with boket water need to look more deeply to get in touch with what we really that her hair was washed, enjoy and what isreall y goodfo r us, and we need the courage thendrie di nth efragran t breezeo fth elat e afternoon. tofollo w our insights. Thismornin g it isth ebodh i nectar that shereceive s We also need to get in touch with our lazy nature. Like Espenth eAs hLad ,wh ospen tcountles shour slookin gint oth e for the mind of enlightenment to appear in its fireplace, Ihav e used illness tomak e myself stop and experi­ wholeness. enceperiod so finactivity .Wheneve rI get to ocaugh tu pi nbus y livingan dignor eth esignal sfro mm ybod y andsoul ,ba dcold s For twenty-five years orfl u takeover .S oI hav en ochoic e butt ob ei ntouc hwit hm y sheha s made daily offerings needs,an dI don' t experience this somuc h anymore.I see mt o bemor elaz y and energetic at the same time! A more relaxed of loving kindness with her hands. and mindful life diminishes our energy leaks (asrava), the Compassion has never ceased to grow in her heart. drain that comes when our mind constantly chases ideas, desires, and projects. This morning her hair is shed, Theworl di sful l ofsuffering , soho wca nw ejustif y alazy , and the Way becomes wide open. relaxed lifestyle? The question is rather, in what ways do our fast lifestyles and forced activity contribute to the ills of the Suffering and illusion, though limitless, world?Wester n consumerist lifestyles lay waste to the Earth, areentirel y ended. while not bringing true happiness to anyone. The prestige carried by our culture also creates a strong incentive for Ahear t can touch the ten directions. materialisman dinjustic e inpoore rpart so fth eworld .B ylazil y goingagains tth estrea mo fconsumerism—an d showing ways totru ejoy—w ear edoin gsomethin gver yuseful . Morerelaxe d Thispoem was written by Thick Nhat Hanhfor Sister Chan and simple in our lifestyle, we may be surprised to find Khong theday she shed her hair on Gridhrakuta Mountain ourselves drawn more to give our time, energy, and material tobecome a nun. resources to beings and situations that truly need us.

Svein Myreng, True Door, is a teacher in Oslo, Norway.

5 Beingwit h Dying Accepting Mortality byJoa n Halifax by Elizabeth Baker

n a windy afternoon, I stood with John and his other ntiltw oyear sago ,th eide ao fmortalit y restedi na distan t Ofamily members atop a mesa in New Mexico. John Ucornero fm ymind .Bu tthing s changed withth edeat ho f handed hiswif e the ashes of theireldes t son,Patrick , whoha d of our family friend, Lacey Fosburgh—a strong, intelligent, diedo fAIDS . Wordless, she received them and offered some loving woman and mother. to the wind. We each did the same, in turn. Lacey's death remains a continuous influence in my life. Iha d spent agrea t deal of time withPatrick , and he often That night atChildren' s Hospital in San Francisco, I realized tookrefug e inou r silence.Whe n hewa srelaxed ,h ewoul das k the nature of dying. What I witnessed was a calm transition met o"tell "hi mth e HeartSutra. H eha dchante ditman y times from atormente dtim eo fillness ,pain ,an dsorro wt o afreedom over the year he practiced in our community, but for some without constraints.I don' t know if her "soul"departe d from reason, he seemed to understand it best when I told it in this her body and went to heaven, or reincarnated in a new body, quiet and simple way as a story. but, clearly, achang e took place. Patrickmad eu slaug han dcry .W elearne dfro m him,wer e After longdeliberation s with doctors and thechie f of staff stretchedb yhim ,an dturne dt ohi mt ohea rhi strut han db ewit h ofth ehospital ,he rhusban dwa sgrante dpermissio nt otur nof f hisquietness .Hi sbod y wascovered with thepurpl e blossoms thelif esuppor t system.Essentially , hereturne d hert ohe row n of Kaposi's sarcoma, and he hid nothing from us. We, our­ being so she could live and die as she would. The forced selves, were revealed through his struggle and hisjoy . breathingtha tha doriginate d from amachine ,joltin ghe rches t Beingwit hdyin gmeans bein gfull y withlife .Th ewonder ­ witheac h breath, ceased. Her tense musclesrelaxe d through­ ful practice Thay has given us is a treasure that illuminates out her body, and her face, which had been tight and uncom­ living and dying through the direct experience of love. Rilke fortable, eased into a smooth, comfortable one. Ten somber oncewrot etha tlov e anddeat h areth egrea t gifts thatar egive n minutespassed .Fourtee n of usgathere d around thebe di nhe r to us; mostly they are passed on unopened. This practice of cramped room, holding her feet, hands, arms, face. Her hus­ non-duality, love, and compassion shows us that dying and bandan dyoun gdaughte rsa ta tth ehea do fth ebed .Whil etear s living, death and life are truly one. covered her husband's face, her daughter's cheeks remained dry. Shewa sjokin g with hermother , saying goodbye, telling Dharma Teacher Joan Halifax, True Continuation, is the herno tt oworry .Th emonitors ' screensgraduall yreporte dles s Director ofUpaya Foundation inSanta Fe,New Mexico. For and less, and after a few last hints of the activity of life, they information onthe Project onBeing withDying, contact 1404 went flatline. Cerro Gordo Road,Santa Fe,NM 87501, (505)986-8518. Latertha tnight ,a tLacey 's house ,m ymothe ran dtw oothe r closewome nfriend s washedan ddresse dhe rbody . Iwa sa tth e house as well, holding her daughter, who by then had wet cheeks and no mother. The next day, and for two successive days, Lacey lay out in the living room on a table,covere d in Indian cloths and surrounded by the first springtime flowers and visiting friends. Afunera l washel da tGree nGulc hFarm ,attende db yabou t 300people ,man y ofwho mspok et oher .Th eformalit y of this lastobservatio n closed thetim eo f herdeath ,remembere d her life and living, and opened us to our mourning. In my own life, I have always strived to experience life fully andt oeducat emysel f asmuc h aspossible . Itseem stha t thetransienc eo fou rlive si swha tmake s life worth living,an d that living without trepidation about death can only enhance life. In forming my own concept of dying, I have found in myself aconfidenc e andacceptanc e ofm y own mortality and that of others, which helps me live.

Elizabeth Baker is 17 years old. She lived at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center until she was seven, and she will enter her senioryear in high school this fall.

Bodhisattva of Compassion RightActio ni n PrisonWor k StoppingViolen t Play byDai-E n Bennage by DaphneWhit e

hen we resolve to live by the Noble Eightfold Path, our years ago, I attended aretrea t with Thich Nhat Hanh Wteaching meditation in prisons can bring special chal­ Fthat literally changed my life. I was deeply moved by his lenges.Seve nfedera l correctionalinstitution s standamids tth e words,"Yo udon' t needt o arriveanywhere .Yo uhav e already gentle,rollin gmountain s andcor nfield s ofcentra l Pennsylva­ arrived,"an dI fel ta powerfu l liberation.Whe nI lef tth eretreat , niawithi n aradiu s ofhal f anhour' s drivefro m our meditation I knew thatI wanted to do something different with my life. I center.Whe nI visi tme ni nfive o fthes eprisons ,I as kmyself , hadbee na freelanc e writerfo ra numbe ro fyears ,bu tno wI fel t "What would the Dharma have me do right here and now? a need to work with people rather than words. For months, I What is the Right Action, both for those incarcerated and for went onlon g walks and spent many hours in silence. I began the citizens on the outside?" Some of the inmates are ethnic to see how all things in the world are interconnected. Buddhistsfro m Asia.Other sar ene wBuddhists .Som ehav en o I noticed that many of my son's friends were playing with affiliation butyear nfo rpeac eo fmin dwithi nth eunendin gdin , violent wartoys an d spendinghour s engaged in make-believe theconstan t possibility of violence and sudden death born of murdero nvide oan dcompute r games.A tth esam etime ,I wa s overcrowded conditions. mindful ofho wman y violentcrime swer ebein gcommitte db y "Welcome toou rasteroid! "i s agreetin gI ofte n receivea t youths inWashington , D.C. and its suburbs. It was clear that the maximum security penitentiary, where men can be held these two phenomena were interconnected, yet many of the from 30year s tolife .I try to shareThay' s teachings that even mothers I spoke with denied any links between toy guns and asmil eca nhel pothers ,bu tI a mme twit ha choru so f"N oway ! real killings. You can't afford a smile around a place like this. It can be Themor e of these conversations Ihad , the more disturbed mistaken for asnee r ora leer , and that would beth elas t thing I became. I was also upset by the sheer quantity of violent youwoul db ealiv et odo. "On eda y wediscusse d theprecepts . temptations that enticed my son at every turn—militaristic "Prevent othersfro m killing? Youwan tm et opu tm ynec kou t arcade games, "Game Boys" loaded with "Mortal Kombat," in a fight? This isn't the outside world!" violent television programs and movies, "Power Ranger" Inlo wsecurit yprison ,me n areofte n intraum afro m being actionfigures, "Supe r Soaker" squirt guns.I spen ta goo d deal incarcerated for the first time, dealing with being away from ofm ytim esaying ,"No! "t om yso nan dexplainin gth ereason s their loved ones. Some are suddenly transferred to other why. institutions. How to find constancy? On one visit, there was Ayea ran da hal fago ,I wa smove dt oaction .Althoug hI ha d singing and preaching pouring out of the other chapel rooms noexperienc e setting up anonprofi t organization, I started an along the corridor. A man sprung up from his zafu, his face initiative—by andfo r parents—which provides specific tools livid, "I'm going tokil l those guysi f they don't shutup! "Th e and suggests activities for families who want to make their other meditators helped him calm down. We said quietly, children's world less violent and more peaceful. We have remaining seated, that we need to look deeply at the noise developed astep-by-ste pParen tActio nKi ttha tguide s parents inside of us. He sat down again. I remember reading the through a series of activities and conversations with their sentence, "Take no action and the world is transformed." To children related to violent "entertainment," toys and games. take no action at appropriate times isRigh t Action. Beforeth eretreat ,I fel toverwhelme dmuc ho fth etime .Bu t Whether they are aware of it or not, many of the men are Thay, Sister Chan Khong, and others convinced me that one being changed by mindfulness meditation. One chaplain said person can make a difference. Now I am trying to build an tome ," Ilik ethes eBuddhis tguys .The yar erespectfu l andthe y organizationaroun da controversia lissue .Bein gmindfu l ofth e don't give me any flack." When I ask new men in the group problem made it impossible for me toremai n silent. why they have come,the y might say, "Joe, here,he' s quiet in My challenge now is to make this project as effective as a different way. I want to be like that." And so, even though possible without forgetting to smile. On many days,I feel so inmates feel they cannot risk a smile, unknown to them, it is stressedb ymy workloa d thatI forge t tofee ljo y atbein g alive their whole body that smiles. and "not having atoothache. "I need to remember thatI don't need to arrive anywhere, that I have already arrived. Patricia Dai-En Bennage isa Soto Zenpriest, who livesand teachesin Muncy, Pennsylvania. Daphne Whiteis founder of The Lion and LambProject . For more information, or to offer assistance of any kind, contact 3302Glenway Drive, Suite 105, Kensington, Maryland 20895.

7 Right Consumption by Katharine Cook

henI decide d totak eth eFift h Precept, Ithough t about Wneverdrinkin g again.I believe d thati twa sn oproble m form et ohav ea noccasiona l glasso fwin ea trelatives ' dinner parties,bu tno wI se etha talthoug hi tma yno tb ea proble mfo r me,i tcoul dbecom ea proble mfo r someonewh osa wm edrin k alcohol and felt free to do it because I did. I also see that my drinking aglas s of wine supports the production of alcohol.I did not understand those points when I took the precept. Both my parents drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and drank coffee. My mother was also addicted to many kindso f pain relievers and other medications.I believ eI inherite d the habit energy for all these things from both of them. Fortu­ nately for me, I felt such a great aversion to my mother's extremealcoholism ,I hav eneve rbee ntempte dt ob ea drinker . I have, however, been addicted to cigarettes, caffeine, and a tranquilizer, although Idi d not know it atth e time.I recently spent a year and a half getting off these things as well as another psychotropic drug, after trying unsuccessfully for aboutfive years .I a m very grateful tob ewel lint orecover y at this time. I know firsthand how much energy, skill, support, and mindfulness it takes to become free of chemical depen­ dencies.T o release myself from these poisons, Iha d to learn to pay very close attention to exactly what was happening insidem eo nth ephysical , emotional,an dmenta l levels.I ha d to learn what their cycles were in my body and how they interactedwit hmy ow nbod ychemistry .Th ewhol ethin gwa s Iwa sfortunat e tofind a nutritio ncounselo r andheale rwh o a very detailed exercise in mindfulness practice as well as a specializes in biochemical restoration, using right diet to great lesson in how to use nutrition, herbs, flower essences, effectively build the mind and body to release one from and gem elixirs to keep me stable enough to withstand the addiction. Her work has been primarily with alcoholics. The withdrawal symptoms. evidence is in that many children of alcoholics are born with Thetranquilize r thatI cam eof f of, which iscalle d Xanax, a genetic sensitivity to sugars which eventually leads them issai dt ob e"mor e addictivetha nheroin, "an dth ewithdrawa l backont oalcoho la sa wa yo fgettin grelie ffro mth eirritabilit y symptoms are formidable. They can include tremors, muscle and mood swings caused by the way their systems process spasms,insomnia , headache,nausea , balanceproblems , bone sugar. By teaching people to keep food journals and develop and muscle pain, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, their awareness of how they react to specific foods, this itching and burning skin, memory loss,confusion , obsessive counselor helps people gradually shift their diets away from thoughts, anxiety, agitation, irritability, and depression. Last sugars, refined starches andcaffeine , andtoward s abalance d February, I was diagnosed as being in chronic Xanax with­ intake ofprotei n and vegetables. At that point, they find they drawal, which means I was actually in asyndrom e of depen­ do notcrav e alcohol as they used to. As she is intuitive about dencean d withdrawal on adail y basis for aboutte nyears .N o brain chemistry, she was able to help me get free of several one I worked with during this time suspected therea l root of drugsbecaus esh ecoul dexplai nt om eho wthe ywer einteract ­ theproblem .Th edru g was notknow n tob eaddictiv e wheni t ingchemically .Becaus e ofhe remphasi s onth eimportanc eo f wasfirst prescribe d for me in 1983,an d onlyrecentl y has the nutrition, she was able to help me succeed in detox where evidence of its addictiveness been determined. Xanax, along several psychiatrists had failed. Walking meditation was a with other benzodiazepine tranquilizers like Valium, can be very important element in my healing. One of the Xanax very damaging. Thedocto r whodiagnose d mesaid , "Itputs a withdrawal symptoms is not being able tosi t still, so walking blackhol ei nth ebrain "an ddestroy sth ebrain' snatura labilit y meditation wasth eonl ywa yI coul dpractic emeditatio n atall . tocreat ecalmness .I certainl y felt andofte n actedcraz ydurin g the time I was on it. The nutrition counselor and healer who helped me come off it describes it as the most devastating t aretrea t in California in 1993,Tha y spoke of "living- addictionsh eha seve rtreated , worsetha nth ehar dstree tdrug s Aroom consciousness" and "basement consciousness,"a in terms of how it destroys the personality of the user. simplified version of theAbhidharma model of how themin d works.H estresse d theimportanc e ofkeepin gth elivin g room openo rempty ,s otha tther ecoul db egoo dcirculatio n withth e touch with the essence of life itself. At the same timeI would basement or storehouse consciousness. Transformation of feel a kind of ultimate ferocity, like a lion or tiger mother. I ourselvesan dsociet yoccur swhe nth ewholesom eseed si nou r knewI woul d lay down my life toprotec t my grandson's life. unconscious mind are strengthened and the unwholesome Iti sthi sspiri tw enee di nou rpractic eo fmindfu l consumption. ones weakened. For transformation to begin to occur, there Wehav e tob e willing to go all the way toprotec t our life and hast ob eroo m orspace ,ligh t orawarenes s inth elivin g room that of our descendants by limiting ourselves to what truly consciousness,s oth eseed sca ncom eu pan db eseen .Th ewa y nourishes, supports, and heals us. they areviewe d by theconsciou s mind inth elivin groo m has Nowtha tI a ma grandmother , Ica nse esom eo fth egeneti c everything to do with whether they go back down to the factors operating in my family history, and I have firsthand basement strengthened or weakened. experience of the hard work it takes to reverse habit energy Whenyo upractic emindfulnes s ofwha tyo uconsume ,yo u from onegeneratio n toth enext .I believ eI inherite d ageneti c haveman yopportunitie st oobserv eho wparticula r substances disposition fordepressio n from myfather , for example, asdi d areconnecte dt oal lkind so fmemories ,thoughts ,an d feelings my brother. We have both been diagnosed with clinical that are stored in the basement consciousness. When I drink depression, and hecommitte d suicide, asdi d my father. ButI coffee, for example, I notice that my upper chest becomes also believe at this point, from my own experience and from tense,I hav eles soxyge navailabl et ome ,I fee lmor eangry ,th e myow n self-observation, thatthi skin d ofgeneti c inheritance fluid levels inm yjoints , calcium levels, andhormona l levels can bemoderate d through mindful consumption. I remember areal laffected . Ia mmor elikel y toget intoa nargument , and Thay saying we could eat our way to health and Ibeliev e it. I mywil li saffected . Andi tbring smy mother' sfac eu pfro m the know now there are many wonderful herbs to help with storehouse consciousness, "the basement." Drinking coffee anxietyan ddepressio nwhic har eno taddictive ,shoul dthe yb e andsmokin gaffecte d hercountenanc ean dhe rconsciousness . necessary. Wild oat, lady's slipper and skullcap are all won­ Herlivin groo mconsciousnes s wasno tavailabl et om ea she r derful nervine tonics. child.Sh ewa sno tther efo r me,o rfo r herselfeither .I fin d that I feel very fortunate that I am able to meet my grandson when I have no caffeine at all for three days, I am more with an ability to be present that I did not have when I was peaceful, moreacceptin gan dtolerant ,an dmor elight-hearted . locked in the grips of addiction. And I am also very grateful Twice Ihav e been able to see who my mother really was, thatm ydaughte rs ofa rdoe sno tdemonstrat emuc ho fth ehabi t notcovered ove rb yaddictions .Durin ga Dharm atal ki nPlu m energym yparent s had.Althoug h shedabble d in smoking and Village,I ha d animpressio n ofhe r fundamental gentle good­ coffee fora coupl eo fyears ,sh ewa sabl et ogiv ethe mu p fairly ness. And after I abstained from coffee for three weeks, easily. We have both worked hard to release ourselves from talkingwit hm ydaughter , thesam eimpressio n camethrough . the habit energies coming down to us. Iwa ss ohapp y tose ewh omy mothe r wasi nhe ressence ,an d TheFift h Preceptsays :" Iwil lwor kt otransfor m violence, knowtha tI coul d find thatpar to fmysel f through abstinence. fear, anger, andconfusio n inmysel f andi nsociet y bypractic ­ I saw how I could truly forgive her alcoholism and heal my inga die tfo rmysel f andfo r society.I understan d thata prope r relationship with her through how and what I chose to con­ diet iscrucia l for self-transformation and for the transforma­ sume. tion of society." This means that in order to transform the seeds in our own storehouse consciousness, we need to have recently spent a very special week with my daughter and our minds clear and open, light and aware, unaffected by I her newborn child. She took very good care of herself intoxicants. It also means that it is essential for us to refrain during her pregnancy and delivered a 9 lb. 2 oz. boy without from sowingne wharmfu l seeds inth e storehouseb y whatw e drugs or anesthesia. Sheha d agoo d friend, herpartner , anda consume through any of our senses.I n this way weca n begin midwife supporting her during labor and delivery. She lost a totransfor m our lives,ou r children's lives, and the life of our lot of blood during the birth, and so has had to build her society. hemoglobin levels back to normal. For that purpose she has usedyello w dock andnettl ete a on adail y basis.I brough t her Katharine Cookco-founded Crimson CloverRecovery tohelp an aloeplan t to help heal the vaginal tear she received in the people whoare dependent ontranquilizers. She isa counselor delivery, and she has also used thejuic e of the aloe success­ andan art teacher, andhas practiced withSan Francisco Zen fully totrea the rbaby 's hea trash .M ymothe rprobabl y hadn o Centerfor 30 years. way of knowing about healing herbs. My daughter limits herself to wholesome food as she breast-feeds her baby. I know thatbot hth equalit y ofth ebreas t milk andth e attention shegive shi m aregood . Hei shavin g animportan t experience of being loved and cared for in this world. I grew very fond of holding my baby grandson over my ownbreast ,ofte n lyingdow n withhi mrestin go nme .I woul d look outa t the leaves and branches swaying in the wind, and themos tincredibl e peace would come over me, asi fI wasi n AnOrdinar y Practice ATasteo fPlu mVillag ei nVirgini a byMett a LepouseMaye r byCaro l Fegan

t is easy to get discouraged by the endless needs group of 32 gathered for a week in June at a 4H camp Iaround us.I tr y tokee p in touch with suffering through my A near Charlottesville, Virginia, for our family mindful­ involvementwit hAmnest yInternational .Thei rmeetings ,vid ­ nessretreat .Man yo fu sha dbee nt oPlu mVillag ei nth epas t or eos and pamphlets are often agonizing, but they succeed in wanted to go this summer, and a number had been to other shattering mybourgeoi s tranquility. Iwrit eletter s andkee pi n family retreats organized bythei rloca lSangha .Mos to fu sha d touch,hopin gfo r aBurmes e sister, aSudanes e grandfather, or notme tbefore , andi twa sa namazin gan dinspirin g experience aHaitia n child.Letterwritin g seems sohumbl ei nth emids to f to feel us become a community within a few hours, and an greatsuffering , butth eresult s aretangible .Ove r 1,000 prison­ extended family tribe after five days. erswer erelease di n 1994.Onl ya dro pi na nocea no ftears ,bu t Our perfect setting was on a wooded hillside. We trans­ that drop relieves! formed the front porch of the dining hall into our zendo, and Thisi son ethin gordinary ,non-heroi cpeopl eca ndo .Ther e enjoyed the fresh air, fireflies, sunlight, and birdsong during are countless more.We can take on one thing at a time. One our sitting and Dharma talks. The children could walk by and cause, one person, one breath at a time. seean dhea rus ,sometime sjoinin gu sb ysittin go nth elarg e flat rocks nearby. Metta Lepouse Mayer, True Abode of Trust, is a registered The older children instructed the younger ones in sitting, nurse in Vancouver, Washington. walking,an dpebbl emeditation , andth efine ar to finvitin g the bell.Al lo f thechildre n organized a teaceremon y for Father's Day,adaptin gelement so fth eRos eCeremon yfo rth eoccasion , and presenting fathers and fathers-to-be with leaf print cards theyha dmad efollowin g theirsegmen to fth emornin gDharm a discussion.Othe rchildren' s activitiesinclude da guide dmedi ­ tation leading to the children's illuminated mandala drawings ofpersona l symbolsfro m theworl do f nature,th e construction of simple dolls, origami mobiles, and cookies, which the children delivered toth e Salvation Army shelter. All adults— Findinga Wa y Home parentso rnot—enjoye d thechildren' ssens eo ffreedo m asthe y explored the environment with the nurturing support of so byJi m Fauss many "auntsan duncles, "thei rattentiv edeligh t inlistenin g for thever y moment when thebel lcoul d nolonge r beheard , their henever I catch myself reacting to people with anger, growingeas ei nparticipatin gi nmeditatio n withth eadults ,an d WI realize that I am in forgetfulness and not mindful­ theirstron gsens eo fconnectio nt oeac hother .O nth elas tnight , ness. When Iloo k deeply, I discover that these people are weforme d twogroup sfo r "BeginningAnew "ceremonies ,an d really suffering, making everyone around them turn against theeffect s ofthi scarefu l sharingo f"flowe r waterings,"regret s them. Perhaps I cannot change them, but Ica n change and concerns could be seen in siblings' efforts to deal more myself. When I breathe and shine the light of awareness on gently with their inevitable conflicts. what is happening, it always helps. When Ipractic e medita­ After sharing this very deep relaxation and renewal, we tion even afe w minutes in the morning or evening, there are camehom e refreshed by love andjo y and the children asking, usually fewer lapses of mindfulness in the day. "When is our next family retreat?" Sometimes Istar t the day by driving thebu sfro m themal l onth eedg eo ftown .I driv eou tther ea littl eearl yan dhav etim e Carol Fegan is a clinical social worker living in Baltimore, fora fe wminute st owal kan dprepar efo rth eday .Th emal lca n Maryland,with herfour children. bequit ebeautifu l early inth emornin g whenther ear eno ta lo t ofcar spresent .I ti selevate d aboveou rvalley ,an dfro m ityo u can see a long way. Itca nb ea challeng e tofind thes eopportunitie s for medita­ tiondurin g theday ,bu tthe y arethere .Knowin g they arether e is, in itself, already a breakthrough.

Jim Fauss, True Great Illumination, is a bus driver in Modesto, California.

10 SanghaNews

Thefollowing communities ofmindful living practice togetherregularly. Pleasefeel free to contact them.

Australia Lotus Bud Sangha Khanh LeVa n c/o 43Ospre y Drive Illawong,NS W223 4 Tel:6 1(2)543-782 3 Wehav ea weekl y sitting and amonthl y Dayo f Mindfulness. This summer, Eileen Kierale d aDa y of Mindfulness andgav e public talks.I nMarch , weha d a successful five-day retreat with Sister Annabel inth e tranquilBus h environment of Wat Buddha Dhamma. Three people were ordained into theOrde r of Interbeing. We also hada successful retreat for youngpeople , manyo f whom took the FivePrecepts .

NewZealan d Joan Halifax and Arnie Kotler in Korea during Thay's recent trip there LongWhit eClou d Sangha Michael Emerson Taiwan Boris Labkovsky 14Grott oStree t Dr. Hsiang-Chou Yo III.Geroe v Panfilovzev, Bid. 22/1, Apt.62 3 Onehunga, Auckland Tel:6 4 (9)634-7296 6F, 209 Sung-Kiang Road Moscow Tel:7 (095)949-8671 Wemee tWednesda y nights for meditation Taipei 10430 Tel:88 6(2)57-00 2 andDharm a discussion, and wehol d At-Oneness Sangha monthly Days of Mindfulness. India Edward Meaning New Delhi Sangha P.O.Bo x 7, 198147 Japan Shantum Seth St.Petersbur g Tel:7 (812)316-2235 Mindful Project, Webo f Life 309B Secto r 15A After much turmoil and struggle,a TamioNakan o Noida, UP20130 1 Tel:9 1(11)852-152 0 constructive effort has enabled three 6-8-26-103 Daita, Setagaya-ku Shantum Sethwil l leadpilgrimage st oth e Buddhist groups toestablis h acente r TokyoT15 5 Tel:8 1(3)3466-346 0 siteso f thelif e of theBuddh ai nDecembe r together where we can share our practice 1995an dFebruar y 1996. Inth eUnite d and material resources, including alibrar y of books by Thay. Many Buddhist teachers Korea States,contac t AuraWright , 3439 N.E., have already come and weloo k forward to Frank andJenn y Tedesco Sandy,Suit e207 ,Portland ,O R97232 , other teachersjoinin g us in the future. We 516-85 Suyu 5Don g (503)335-0794 . are hoping Therese andArni e will be ablet o Kangbuk-gu,Seou l 142-075 Tel: 82(2)997-395 4 visit us again next year. Thay's visitt o Korea inApri l wasgreete d Russia withmuc h enthusiasm, and agrowin g Moscow Sangha interest inmindfulnes s continues.Nationa l BorisOrio n Latvia network MBC-TV produced aone-hou r Novogireevskaya Street 14-2-34 Firma Jonathan television special onThic h NhatHan h 11140Mosco w Tel:7 (095)304-4562 Juri Kutirev which was seen byfou r million people. Wemee t every Saturday for sitting medita­ Sapieru ield5 Many established groups have expressed tion and mindfulness practice.W ehav e Riga Tel: 371 (2)323-701 interest inlearnin g more about mindfulness grown solid, and continue to attract new practice and new groups areformin g to members on aslo w but steady basis.W ear e Poland share sitting and walking meditation. looking forward tohavin gTheres ean d Mindfulness Sangha Wehav e been participating ineffort s to Arnie,o r someone from PlumVillage , Tanna Jakubowicz-Mount helpfamilie s whower eaffecte d byth e return here nextyear . ul. Czerniakowska 36m8 0 tragicdepartmen t store collapse.Th eBud ­ Members of our Sangha participated ina 00-714Warszaw a Tel:4 8 (22)40-06-58 dhist volunteer response wasremarkable ! silent march andmeditatio n against thewa r Wemee t monthly for aDa y of Mindfulness. The Catholic Maryknoll Sisters do in Chechnya and against all forms of Last spring, Dorota visited the Washington, important work with oppressed and outcast violence.I t was wonderful tofee l the D.C . Mindfulness Community. women inurba n Korea and are very interes­ support of the Sangha for this important tedi ninterreligiou s activities.The y invited expression of emotions about violencei n Czech Republic Frank topresen t thetelevisio n videotape and our daily lives. Robert Nemec othervideo s of Thay's lecture s atmeeting s After many difficulties with thevis a Box6 , Posta4 8 of theentir e Seoul community. authorities, twoo f us arrived atPlu mVil ­ 1400 8Pragu e 4 Tel:4 2 (2)53.47.70 lage for end of theo f theSumme r Opening. 11 Norway Francoise Pottier, andShelle y Anderson Switzerland Sangha of Floating Clouds (Drivendeskyer) from Alkmaar and PaulaGree n from the Foundation of Mindful Living/Haus Tao Svein Myreng United States metwit h ust oexplor e howw e Marcel and Beatrice Geisser Mellomb0lgen 74 can helphea l thewound s of children of war. CH-9427Wolfhalde n Tel/Fax: 41(71 )44.35.3 9 N-l15 7Osl o Tel:4 7 (22)28 805 3 We offer Days of Mindfulness monthly, Wemee tWednesda y evenings and hold Didi Overman with recitation of theprecepts .I n August, monthly precept recitations. This spring,w e Haarlem Tel:3 1 (2)327-3705 webega n athree-yea r training program hadtw o weekend courses inOslo ,an d Svein which offers seminars on Buddhist practice, visited Stjarnsund, Sweden, and Hemsedal G. Hutschenmackess philosophy, psychology and meditation. and Karm0y, Norway for retreats and Alkmaar Tel:3 1 (7)261-6289 Using Plum Village's four-year program as courses.W ear e also spending more time our model, and with Thay's supervision, we together informally todeepe n our friend­ Germany designed our program for laypeople tomee t shipswithi n the Sangha. Gesprachskreis fiir achtsames Leben 26day s each year. Wepla n to develop an One of our dearest friends and Sangha Manfred Folkers "Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies" and brothers,Werne r Liebezeit, passed away.H e Franz-Poppe-Str.ll hope that our experiences inGerman y will was7 6year s old and hadpractice d the 26121Oldenbur g Tel:4 9 (44)177.67.37 benefit Sanghas is other countries as well. Dharma since the early 1950s.Hi s great Wemee tever yWednesda y for meditation radiant love and selflessness clearly showed andDharm a discussion andhav e aDa yo f France thefruit s of his practice.W emis s himbu t Mindfulness oneSunda y amonth . Paris Sangha also are inspired by his example. Daniel Milles Gemeinschaft fiir achtsames Leben e.V. 8 rue Crebillon, 4th floor Denmark KarlSchmied Fax:4 9 (8)025.7159 94300 Vincennes Tel: 33 (1)43.28.09.11 Peace Isth e Way Sangha (Fred ErVejen) AttenbergstraBe 20/P.O.Bo x6 0 We meet the first Sunday every month for Katla andJ0rge n Hannibal D-83730 Fischbachau Tel:4 9 (8)025.6065 sitting, ameal , andprecep t recitation. Vinkelvej 16 C We meetever y Thursday inMunic h for Travelers toPlu m Village are welcome to DK-3200Helsing e Tel/Fax:4 5(48)79.62.8 8 mindfulness practice andmonthl y in stay overnight. Wemee t every second week for meditation, Gmund, Tegernsee,fo r aDa yo f Mindful­ Dharma talk, walking meditation, and ness.W ehol d Dayso f Mindfulness inth e Plum Village recitation of theprecepts .On e Sunday each Stuttgart area. Meyrac month, weshar e aDa y of Mindfulness. 47120Loubes-Berna c Tel:3 3 (53)94.75.40 Bodensee-Sangha While Thich Nhat Hanh and members of the Sangha of the Here andNo w Claudia Wieland community were in Asia this spring,w e Lisa Vorsig Uberlingerstr. 23 studied Buddhist psychology texts and Lilliendalsvej 29 88682Salem-TUfinge n Tel:4 9 (7)55.35.96 watched videotapes of ThSy's Dharma talks 4735 Mem Tel:4 5 (53)79.72.15 Wemee t weekly for meditation, precept from previous retreats.Ou r spring retreat We meetth e last Sunday of even-numbered recitation, singing, and sharing, andon e began with everyone doing walking medita­ weeksfo r meditation, atap e by Thay,dis ­ Saturday every month for aDa yo f tion toth e plum orchard, where the trees cussion, tea, and sharing amea l in silence. Mindfulness. were inful l blossom with fragrant, white flowers. During working meditation periods, Copenhagen Sangha Margrit Irgang the soil in the vegetable gardens waspre ­ Morten Winkler KaiserhausstrauBe 20a pared for planting. In May, we celebrated Rolighedsvej 18 l.tv. D-79872 Bernau Tel:4 9 (7)675.10.51 Buddha's birthday amidstbeautifu l decora­ 1958Frederiksber g Tel:4 5 (31)39.90.38 Weoffe r anevenin g meditation every other tions of acacia andothe r spring flowers. Wemee t atLie u Quan Temple inValb y Thursday inFreibur g and aDa yo f For our summer retreat, ThSy's Dharma every otherTuesda y evening for meditation Mindfulness thelas t Sunday ofever y month talks offered teachings on how tomak eou r andon e Sunday amont h for aDa yo f where wemee tfo r sitting, walking,an d everyday lives peaceful through the practice Mindfulness. eating inmindfulness . Werecit e the of mindfulness. Hefocuse d on ways weca n precepts and shareou r thoughts and feelings identify what our mind and body needs and, Holland about thepractice . In May,ou rSangh a also, how not to give ourselves what wed o Eveline Beumkes participated inth e formation of the Buddhist not need, including unhealthy foods and DeGenestetstraa t 17 Union of Freiburg—a coalition of local unnourishing activities. 1054A WAmsterda m Tel:3 1 (2)616-4943 groups from various Buddhist traditions. Wemee t on Friday evenings. Italy Zen-Klausen inde r Eifel Deanna Malago Nora Houtman-de Graaf Judith Bossert and Heidi Meutes-Wilsing Via Pirano 3 Spoorlaan 46 Huffertsheck 1 Tel:4 9 (6)55.94.67 Milano Tel:3 9 (2)27.00.59.98 3721P C Bilthoven Tel:3 1 (3)028-3369 54619 Lautzerath/Leidenborn We meet every Thursday for meditation, Wehol d aDa y of Mindfulness on the last Wehav emornin g and evening meditations, reading Thay's books,discussion , anda weekend of every month. and walkingmeditatio n inth ewoods . potluck dinner in silence. Wemee t Sunday afternoons for family practice and organize Sunflower Sangha Bettina Schneider short mindfulness retreats out of town.W e Anneke Brinkerink Bliicherstrasse 38 print anewsletter , L'Alber di Tiglio (Under Dorpsweg 8 1091Berli n Tel:4 9(30 ) 6911294 the LindenTree), with the Rome Sangha. 1711R J Hensbroek Tel: 31 (2)265-2499

12 Roberto Mander Regional groupshol dDay so f Mindfulness BowValle y Sangha Viale Gorizia 25c throughout theUK .Fo r acomplet e listo f Mary Dumka Roma Tel:3 9 (6)855.89.01 contacts and for acop y of our newsletter, Box 3285 Wemee tregularl y once amont h for sitting LookingDeeply, writ et oVa lPhilpott , 12 Canmore,A B T0L0M 0 Tel:(403 )678-203 4 andwalkin g meditation, andprecep treci ­ The Mount,Thornto n leDale ,Pickering , We meet the first and third Tuesdays in tation,followe d bydiscussio n of Thay's North YorksYO1 87TF . Canmore, and the second and fourth writings. Sangha members share experiences Wehav ebee n looking for wayst o Mondays in Banff for meditation practice and information about social action integrate newmember s intoou r Sangha.W e and discussion. activities they are involved in. attract many newpeopl et oou rDay so f In September, ClaudeThoma s will lead Mindfulness, but they don't seem inclined to Mill Hill Mindfulness Society aweeken d retreat, "Understanding theRoot s continue topractic e with uso n anongoin g Phil Rossner of War."Octobe r 27-November 1,Siste r basis.W ear eintereste d in learning about 2550Wentwic h Road Annabel will offer amindfulnes s retreat. other Sanghas' experiences with newcom­ Victoria,B C V9B3N 4 Tel:(604 )478-709 8 ers—any input orinsight syo uhav et oshar e Wemee tweekl yfo r meditation anddiscussio n Scotland would be appreciated. Glasgow Sangha United States IanStea d Brighton Sangha Maine 46Landress y Place DaveTeste r Morgan Bay Zendo Glasgow G40 1HF Tel:4 4 (141)554-6301 18aHov ePar k Villas,Hov e Howard Evans and Vicki Pollard Wehol dDay so fMindfulnes s twicemonthly . EastSussex ,BN 36H G Tel:4 4(1273)703-46 9 P.O.Bo x 838 We meet alternate Wednesdays for Blue Hill, ME0461 4 Tel: (207) 374-9963 England meditation, tea,discussio n andreadin go f Wemee t Sunday mornings for meditation MikeBel l Tel:4 4 (122)323-3200 theprecepts .Day s of Mindfulness arehel d and work. 69Cambridg e Road onSunday s once amonth . Oakington, Cambs CB45B G Mid-Coast Sangha LastDecember , Martin Pitt sent question­ Canada Mair Honan naires tocommunit y members throughout MapleVillag e RFD 2Bo x 596 England. Responses indicate astron g ChanHu y Lincolnville,M E0484 9 Tel:(207 )763-369 2 interest in establishing anationa l organiza­ 1730Sued e Crescent We meet atth e Camden Yoga Studio the tion that could support the efforts of local LSBrossard ,P Q J4HIN 7 Tel:(514 )466-872 6 first and third Sunday of every month for Sanghas,organiz e atleas t onenationa lre ­ September 7-12:Retrea t with Sister Anna­ sitting, walking, andDharm a discussion. treat each year,publis h aregula r newsletter, bel;Octobe r 5-9:Retrea t with Chan Hoi. develop apractic e manual, andestablis h a Days of Mindfulness will behel d onever y Brunswick Sangha mail order service for books andtapes . other weekend until October 15.Evening so f Anne Dellenbaugh InMarch ,a steerin g groupme ti nLon ­ meditation arehel do nMondays ,Wednes ­ 941Mer ePoin t Road don,an d inApri l thefirs t issue of Here & days, and Fridays inMontreal . Brunswick, ME0401 1 Tel: (207) 721-9005 Now: Newsletter ofthe UKCommunity of We meet Wednesday evenings for practice Interbeing was published. Wedevelope d an Tu-An Pagoda Meditation Group and Dharma discussion, and recite thepre ­ outline for amanua l of Thay's basic teach­ ChanNg o cepts on Wednesdays nearest the new moon. ingswhic h will include sutras,gathas , 601-40Landry ,#60 1 songs,an dpractices .A roste r of regional Vanier.ON K1L8K4 Tel:(613)747-909 6 New Hampshire representatives isbein g put together and We meetThursda y evenings for sitting and Peggy Cappy and Ferris Urbanowski specificjobs—suc h as retreat organizer and mindfulness practice. Professional Health Center treasurer—were assigned. The National 10Rout e 101Wes t Steering Groupwil l hold its second meeting Warm Snow Sangha Peterborough,N H0345 8 Tel: (603)924420 9 in September. Gabrielle Yensen Wemee tWednesda y eveningsfo r meditation 61Fran k Street anddiscussio n orreadin gfro m Thay'sbooks . Buddhist Interhelp Network Ottawa,O NK2 P0X 1 Tel:(613 ) 236-8662 MaiNguye n With Chan Ngo's guidance andencourage ­ Vermont 12Shel lRoa d ment, weno w meetSaturda y mornings for Fire on the Mountain London SE137T W Tel:4 4 (181)692-1737 sitting and walking meditation, followed by Ellie Hayes and Michael Gray Wehol d amonthl y Day of Mindfulness and tea and precept recitation and/orDharm a RD1Bo x 133 precept recitation. discussion. SouthWoodbury ,V T0565 0 Tel:(802)456-198 3 Wepractic etogethe rever yMonda y evening. Vari McCluskie M.Bac hV o 60Cavendis h Road Beauport,Quebe c Tel:(418 )660-640 7 Summer VineCommunit y Sangha London SW120D G Tel: 44(171)673-6691 Sitting meditation sessions areorganize d on Carrie Bagnall Wemee to n thefirs t and third Tuesdayo f Friday nights atB oD ePagoda . 19Vin e Street themont h for meditation, precept recitation, Montpelier, VT0560 2 Tel:(802 ) 229-9678 anda share d meal. Wehav e quarterly Days TorontoZe n Meditation Group Our child-centered Sangha has meditation ofMindfulnes s incentra l London. TrongPh uNguye n Tel:(416 )752-689 4 onWednesda y evenings.Childcar e isshare d We study and practiceth eprecept s in small by everyone. Community of Interbeing groups. Forregular/yout h groups,cal lTi m MartinPit t Nguyen (416) 463-4241;professiona l group, 42Hangingroy d Road, Hebden Bridge call Ms.Va n Nguyen (416)860-1652 ; WestYork sHX 76 A Tel:4 4(1422)842-80 4 English-speaking group,cal l Ms.Cha nHa o (416)482-7308. 13 PotLi d Sangha New York Wemee t the first Sunday evening of each Bill Lipke, Vermont Respite House LynFin e month for sitting and walking meditation, P.O.Bo x95 4 530Wes tEnd ,#5 B with apotluc k afterwards. Williston, VT 05495 Tel:(802 ) 864-0981 New York,N Y 10024 Tel: (212) 362-5923 Wemee tFrida y afternoons for sitting and ADa y of Mindfulness is held onth e second Sally andEri c Taylor Dharma discussion, and recite theprecept s Saturday of every month, which includes Box 0089 the first meeting each month. precept recitation in themorning , silent Maryknoll, NY 10545 Tel:(914 ) 941-5954 potluck vegetarian lunch, and afternoon tea Every two months wehav e aDa yo f Southern Vermont Sangha meditation.Jewish-Buddhis t practices are Mindfulness in Ossining, New York. EvaMondo n alsoheld . Lyn invites those whowan t RR2, Box 345 someonet ochec k in with aboutpractic e to Budding Flower Sangha Putney, VT0534 6 Tel:(802 ) 387-4144 call her. Patricia Hunt-Perry We meetregularl y for Days of Mindfulness AnUppe rWes t Side study groupmeet s 77Well s Road, Rural Delivery 7 andrecitin g theprecepts . on Sunday evenings. Downtown study Newburgh,N Y 12550 Tel:(914 )561-099 5 groups meeto nThursda y evenings. Meditation practice is held Thursday Massachusetts September 15-17,An h Huong andTh u evenings andth e first Monday of every Community of Interbeing Nguyen willjoi n Lyn in leading aretrea t at month. Parents of young children are Andrew Weiss Miriam Hawley Pumpkin Hollow. especially welcome. 64Winslo w Road 25Cogswel l Avenue Belmont, MA0217 8 Cambridge,M A0214 0 David Flint New Jersey Tel: (617)237-527 7 Tel:(617 )354-755 5 311Wes t 97th Street,#6 E Sid Kemp and Kris Lindbeck We gather thefirs t Sunday evening of each New York,N Y 10025 Tel: (212) 666-4104 TheWholenes s Center month for meditation, precept recitation, tea, Each Tuesday evening wemee tfo r sitting 54El m Street anddiscussion , and offer monthly Dayso f and ashor treading . Morristown, NJ 07960 Tel: (201)898-936 8 Mindfulness. ForJamaic aPlai n sitting Wemee t Wednesday evenings for mindful­ group,contac t Laura Derr (522-3656).Fo r Amy Krantz ness practice, have monthly Dayso f walking meditation in Cambridge, contact 115Wes t 86th Street,#9 B Mindfulness, and monthly introductory Fred Small (497-1416).W e have aquarterl y NewYork ,N Y 10024 Tel: (212)873-314 2 meditation classes. newsletter. We meet for guided meditation thethir d Thursday evening of every month. Central NewJerse y Sangha ClaudeThoma s Bineke and Bram Oort 321Bedfor d Street Phyllis Joyner 20Montgomer y Avenue Concord, MA0174 2 Tel: (508) 369-6112 110Ree d Street,# 2 Rocky Hill, NJ 08553 Tel: (609) 924-1324 Weekly Mindfulness Daysfo r VietnamWa r NewYork ,N Y 10013 Tel:(212 )732-492 1 OurSangh a celebrates monthly Mindfulness combat veterans and Sunday Dayso f We sittwic e amont h on Sunday evenings. Saturday evenings and a Mindfulness Mindfulness for everyone. Sunday once every three months. Agrou po f Patrecia Lenore us meets weekly to study Thay's Dharma First Parish Church 4129t h Street,# 3 talks. Barbara Atenasio Brooklyn, NY 11215 Tel:(718 ) 499-5104 Box 16 Mindfulness practice every Sunday Pennsylvania Stow, MA0177 5 Tel: (508) 264-9076 morning. Lilac Breeze Sangha Wemee t on thelas t Sunday evening of each Lynne Shivers month for meditation, precepts recitation, RobertaWal l 267 South Van Pelt Street anddiscussion . We also have aWednesda y 4356t h Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Tel:(215)545-3319 evening sitting group. Brooklyn, NY 11215 Tel:(718 ) 965-1992 Wemee t every two weeks for meditation, Wemee t Sunday mornings for mindfulness reading, and listening totape s of Thay. Sebern Fisher practice. 268Wes t Street David Dimmack Cummington,M A0102 6 Tel:(413 )634-542 1 Linda Kramer 29Cavendis h Drive Wemee tth e fourth Sunday of each month 17 ValleyRoa d Ambler, PA 19002 Tel:(215 ) 646-1655 for anAfternoo n of Mindfulness including a LocustValley ,N Y1156 0 Tel: (516)676^46 2 We have morning sittings and weekly precept recitation. We meetth efirs t Friday of every month for recitation of theprecepts . sitting, reading, and Dharma discussion. Prudence Grand Children arewelcome .O nDecmbe r 2,w e P.Dai-E n Bennage Windy Hill, Box 131 will have aDa y of Mindfulness. R.D.4 , Mt. Equity Road HCR#0108 5 Muncy, PA 17756 Tel: (717) 546-2784 ShelburneFalls ,M A0137 0 Tel:(413)625-949 5 Tonia Leon-Hysko We meet Tuesday evenings to sit and share Wegathe r on Sundays for sitting meditation, 10Gai lCour t readings by Thay, and have monthly Days and wehav e seasonal Half-Days of Mind­ Huntington, NY 11743 Tel:(516 ) 427-9790 andWeekend s of Mindfulness. Weekly, we fulness inEasthampton , Massachusetts. We havewalkin g meditation the fourth bring our practice to amaximu m security Sunday of every month. prison. Beginning Anew ceremony and the Connecticut SixProstration s arepractice s that are impor­ Deborah Star Conklin Judy Davis tant to the men in the five federal prisons we 46Doughert y Street Florence Street visit. One member of our Sangha is working Manchester,C T0604 0 Tel:(203 )647-034 7 Chappaqua, NY Tel:(914 ) 238-8296 on abook , Mindfulness Practice and We meet every Thursday for meditation, Cerebral Palsy, by typing with awan d chanting, tea, and discussion. attached tohi scap . 14 Some senior citizens inou r Sanghajoi n usb y sitting inchair s andbringin g lovely arrangements of flowers from their gardens for the altar.Fo rMother' s Day, someone brought an armful of red and white carnations for our lapels. For Buddha's birthday, oneo f thechildre n was our Baby Buddha bathing leader. The Buddha image onou r cake was made of chocolate sprinkles, but many of the children wanted toea t the lotus leaves madeo f green icing.

Laughing Rivers Sangha Katherine Hammond 1006Sout h Trenton Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15221 Tel:(412 )243-154 5 Wemee t twice monthly on Sunday after­ noons toenjo y sitting, walking, andte a meditation, followed by Dharma discussions and support for one another.

Maryland Bill Menza and Don Switzer Brother Sariputra and India Hunt Badiner onth e bus in China 4340Eas tWes t Highway, Suite70 9 Bethesda,M D 20814 Tel: (301)504-0994x138 8 Acorn Sangha Florida Wemee t Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Craig Green Fred Eppsteiner atnoo nfo r meditation and discussion. Route 3,Bo x486 A 99Nort h Street Mineral, VA 23117 Tel: (703) 894-0582 Naples, FL 33963 Tel: (813) 566-1769 Washington,D.C . We are aSangh a within aland-base d Washington Mindfulness Community community.W eshar edail y morning Ohio Mitchell Ratner Grace Ogden practice, and aMornin g of Mindfulness on Bob Prater 6814Westmorelan d 1301 15th St.N W #303 Sundays. 146Nort h Virginia Lee Road Takoma Park, MD Washington,D.C . 20005 Columbus,O H4320 9 Tel:(614 )235-846 2 Tel:(301 ) 270-8353 Tel:(202 ) 667-1873 Mindfulness Community of Hampton Roads Wemee t Sunday evenings for meditation Wemee tever y Sunday evening for Allen Sandler and discussion, and sometimes we listen to meditation, precept recitation, and Dharma 612Westove r Avenue tapes. discussions at the Washington Buddhist Norfolk, VA2350 7 Tel: (804)625-636 7 Vihara. Thefirst Sat . of each month wejoi n We meet two Sunday mornings each month Ruth Ragucci the Vietnamese Zen Group for meditation for meditation and listening toThay' s tapes. 2616 Dartmoor Road and chanting. Wewil l have afamil y retreat ClevelandHts. ,O H 44118 Tel: (216)371-137 2 Nov.3-5 , and aretrea t Dec. 1-3 at Claymont North Carolina We meet monthly for meditation, precept Court led by Anh Huong Nguyen. Jackie Wilson recitation, and discussion. 1004Nort h Buchanan Boulevard Virginia Durham, NC2770 1 Tel:(919 ) 286-1869 Indiana Bill Menza We meetWednesda y evenings for sitting, Lotus Sangha 8502Rehobot h Court reading, andDharm adiscussion . Nancy Carter Vienna, VA 22182 Tel:(703 ) 356-4912 3887 East Woodsmall Drive Wemee tTuesda y evenings for meditation, Charlotte Community of Mindfulness Terre Haute, IN 47802 Tel:(812 ) 299-2926 preceptrecitation ,an ddiscussion . LeslieRawl s Wemee t Saturday and Sunday evenings for 14200Fountai n Lane mindfulness practice and monthly precept Loudon County Sangha Charlotte,N C 28278 Tel:(704 ) 588-1413 recitations. LarkBrownel l After somedifficulties , ourSangh a isbegin ­ P.O. Box 254 ning tobloo m inman y ways.W eno w Kentucky Bluemont, VA2201 2 Tel:(703 ) 554-8476 gather twice awee k for sitting, walking,an d Louisville Community of Mindfulness Wemee tonc e amont h for sitting,discus ­ Dharma discussion, andw eshar e monthly Howard Sturm Bronson Rozier sion, and apotluck . Days of Mindfulness and monthly precept 3502 Indocin Court 1544Quadran tAvenu e ceremonies. In October, alarg e contingent Louisville, Ky4022 0 Louisville, Ky4020 5 Charlottesville Sangha from Charlotte isgoin g toThay' s retreat at Tel: (502) 451-2193 KimCary Omega. Wear egratefu l for theongoin g Ourbuddin g Sangha is doing very well.W e Box 33 support wereceiv e from Therese Fitzgerald meet Sunday mornings for sitting medita­ Massie'sMill.VA 22954 Tel:(804)277-845 2 and wewil l have aDa y of Mindfulness with tion, reciting sutras, and discussion. Onth e Wemee tWed .evening s atth eFriend s Arnie Kotler and Therese October28 . first Sunday of the month, werecit e precepts Meeting Housefo r meditation, precept and we have discussed the Heart Sutra. recitation, anddiscussion , and havemonthl y Several of us areplannin g tog o to Chicago Dayso f Mindfulness. toreceiv e the precepts from Jack Lawlor.

15 Louisiana Practicing theSi x Prostrations and Werecit e precepts monthly, hold two Blue Iris Sangha Beginning Anewtogethe r hasha da retreats per year and occasional Days of Dewain Belgard profound effect onou r Sangha.W eals o Mindfulness. 2419 Chartres work with ashelte r for homeless women and NewOrleans ,L A7011 7 Tel:(504 )947-622 7 children. Dallas Sangha Wemee t Monday evenings for meditation, Luke Barber and Lee Paez discussion andrecitatio n of theprecepts . Mindfulness Community of Milwaukee 8015Fores t Trail Chuck Eigen and Mary Bernau-Eigen Dallas,T X 75238 Tel:(214 ) 342-3309 Illinois 2958 SouthMabbet t Avenue Wemee t Sunday mornings for meditation Lakeside Buddha Sangha Milwaukee, WI5320 7 Tel:(414 ) 271-9988 practice,readings , and sometimes precepts Jack and Laurie Lawlor Wemee t twoSunda y mornings amont h for recitation. Onth e last Sunday of each month, P.O.Bo x706 7 meditation, readings from Thay,an d wehav e apotluc k vegetarian silent meal. Evanston, IL6020 1 Tel:(708 ) 475-1583 discussion, andhav eoccasiona l Half-Days Wemee t every Sunday evening for sitting of Mindfulness. Plum Blossom Sangha and walking meditation followed byDharm a Jim Mixson discussion. The first Sunday of each month, SunFar m Sangha 1507 Nicerkson werecit e theprecepts . Chris LaForge and AmyWilso n Austin, TX7870 4 Tel: (512) 928-1128 In May,w eha d aDa y of Mindfulness in Route 1,Bo x7 1 Wemee t Saturday mornings and Sunday Piano,Illinois . Not only did the weather PortWing ,W I5486 5 Tel:(715 ) 774-3374 evenings for sitting meditation, precept cooperate,bu t the thousand frogs lazing in We siteac hmornin g and read from Peace Is recitation, tea, and discussion. Some of us thepond s along the Sugar River were happy EveryStep. W eals opla n tohav e regular visited Plum Village in the summer, andw e tojoi n us andprovide d astead y choruso f Days of Mindfulness. held our second Day of Mindfulness at chanting.Participatio n byfriend s from Stonehaven Ranch in SanMarco s in August. Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan further Missouri graced theday . Ozark Buddhist Association Sangha del Corazon InJune ,w eha d a special visit from Dr. SandiWes t Bonnie Flake A.T .Ariyaratne , leader of theSarvodaya 2541Wes t Monroe Street 10606Benchmar k Way ("Everybody wakes up!") Movement inSr i Springfield, MO6580 2 Tel:(417 )865-473 2 San Antonio,T X 78213 Tel: (210)344-068 1 Lanka, dedicated to enhancing the qualityo f Wemee t Sunday evenings for meditation, We meet every Sunday morning for life in impoverished villages using mindful­ have monthly potluck dinners,an d often meditation. Werecit e the precepts andhav e nesspractices . InJuly , weha d anope n visit theFedera l Medical Prison Buddhist tea the first meeting of each month. house and annual meeting tocelebrat e our group. fourth anniversary as aSangha . Sangha of the Rio Grande Valley Many of our members willjoi n Snow- Louise andAshle y Cadwell Mark Matthews flower Sangha inWisconsi n on September 69Arunde l Place P.O.Drawe r D 8-9 for aFoundation s of Mindfulness St.Louis ,M O6310 5 Tel: (314) 725-8231 LaJoya , TX 78560 Tel:(210 ) 485-2202 Retreat. InDecember , we will host athree - Wemee t atth eFirs t Unitarian Church We meet twice monthly for sitting and day retreat outsideo f Chicago, andJac k will Monday evenings for sitting and walking walking meditation. Every other month we lead aDa y of Mindfulness in Wisconsin meditation. gather for tea andprecep t recitation. December3 . Arkansas Minnesota Prairie Buddha Sangha Ecumenical Buddhist Society Clouds in Water Meditation Group Bruce and Estelle von Zellen GansPlac e Carriage House MikePor t 136Ilehamwoo d 1010Wes tThir d 5701 Garfield Avenue South DeKalb,IL 60115 Tel:(815 ) 756-2801 Little Rock, AR 72201 Tel:(501)661-981 9 Minneapolis, MN 55419 Tel: (612)798-171 5 Wemee t thefirs t and third Sunday of each Wehol d meditation practiceever y weekan d We have weekly meditation, biweekly month for mindfulness practice. have occasional Dayso f Mindfulness. precept recitation and Dharma talk, and InJuly ,Theres e Fitzgerald guided our regular retreats andclasses . Wisconsin second annual retreat onbeautifu l Petit Jean Sacred Lakes Buddha Sangha Mountain. Weshare d ideas aboutjoy ,suf ­ Montana Catherine and Larry Mandt fering, and living in thepresen t moment.W e Open Way Sangha 2254Monro e Street also discussed theprecept s and ten people Bill Clarke Madison,W I5371 1 Tel:(608 ) 256-0398 accepted theThre eJewel s andFiv e P.O. Box 7281 Wemee t weekly for mindfulness practice. Precepts.W eal lbenefite d from the blissful Missoula, MT 59807 Tel: (406) 549-6214 silence,joyfu l walking, swimming, and We sit on Sunday evenings, andhav e Snowflower Sangha playing with our children, and emerged a monthly Days of Mindfulness and commu­ David and Barbara Lawrence stronger Sangha for our time together. nity meetings. Sister Jina will lead our fall 1836 South Sharpes Corner Road retreat August 31-September 4. Mt. Horeb,W I5357 2 Tel: (608) 832-6658 Texas Our Sangha continues togro w and sodoe s Houston Zen Community Colorado our capacity to support and nurture each Vicki Tidwell Palmer WhiteCloud s Peace Center other. We meet every Friday evening for P.O.Box 131372 Deborah Huntley and Mary Garvey sitting and walking meditation, reciting the Houston,T X7721 9 Tel:(713 )862-341 4 1009Terr y Street precepts, and Dharma discussions.W ehol d Wemee tThursda y and Sunday evenings for Longmont, CO 80501 Tel:(303 )772-644 8 aDa y of Mindfulness the last Saturday of meditation, discussion, andchantin g the each month. Apotluck/socia l is scheduled HeartSutra. every other month. 16 Wemee tfo r sitting meditation each Utah Oregon weekday morning. One Sunday each month, Vaugh andJoann e Lovejoy Portland Community of Mindful Living weoffe r aMornin g of Mindfulness. Each 1588Princeto n KatieRaddit z season wehav e aChildren' s Mindfulness SaltLak eCity ,U T8410 5 Tel:(801 ) 583- Looking Glass Bookstore Workshop, adult Dharma classes, and talks 9238 318 S.W.Taylor onmindfulnes s and children. We meetever y Sunday for sitting medita­ Portland, OR 97204 Tel:(503 ) 227-4760 tion and Dharma discussion, andonc e Wemee t one evening each week for medita­ GaiaMik a monthly for precept recitation. Wehav ea tion andprecep t recitation. 3546Nylan dWa y Day of Mindfulness the third Sunday of the Lafayette, CO 80026 Tel: (303)499-741 8 month ina beautifu l country setting. Leah Wronker We have monthly Mornings of Mindfulness 84Wes t 19th Avenue and precepts recitation. Arizona Eugene,O R 97401 Tel:(503 ) 683-2383 MarcieColpa s Wehav e sitting meditation thefirst an d NewMexic o 5437 East Pinchot Avenue third Wednesday evenings of the month. Open Way Sangha Phoenix, AZ8501 8 Tel: (602) 952-0915 Cynthia Jurs and Hugh Wheir Wehav e aHalf-Da y of Mindfulness the first Bonnie Whittington Route 9,Bo x 65XX Sunday of every month and oneevenin go f 2430 Cherry Grove Street Santa Fe,N M 87505 Tel:(505 )982-384 6 meditation practice each month. Eugene,O R 97403 Tel:(503 ) 683-2127 Wemee tWednesda y evenings for sitting We have aDa y of Mindfulness the third andwalkin g meditation, andDharm adiscus ­ TomBroderse n Sunday of the month in abeautifu l country sion.Day s of Mindfulness are held monthly, Satisfied Mind Bookstore setting. with precept recitation and writing practice. 113Wes t Goodwin Prescott, AZ8630 3 Tel:(602 ) 776-9766 Central Oregon Sangha Upaya Foundation Wemee t every Wednesday evening asa Marion Tripp Joan Halifax nonsectarian Buddhist meditation group. 123Sout h Ninth 1404Cerr o GordoRoa d Redmond, OR 97756 Tel: (503) 548-0590 SantaFe ,N M 8750 Tel:(505 ) 986-8518 Alaska We meet every Sunday evening and havea Wemee tThursday s for sitting and walking Anchorage ZenCente r monthly Half-Day of Mindfulness. meditation. Precept recitation and Dayso f Elizabeth McNeill Mindfulness arehel d monthly. 3852Caravell eDriv e Nevada Anchorage,A K9950 2 Tel: (907) 278-6732 Dharma Zephyr Sangha Open Heart Sangha We sit Sunday mornings and have ashor t Kathy Schwerin Susan McCarthy recitation. A Dharmadiscussio n onth e 1331Patric k Avenue P.O.Bo x 1591 precepts ishel d once aweek , and Dayso f Reno, NV 89509 Tel: (702) 324-7413 Taos,N M8757 1 Tel:(505 ) 758-4035 Mindfulness each month inou r forest We have sitting andDharm a discussion on Wemee to n Wednesday evenings for sitting retreat. Monday nights, recite precepts monthly, and and walking meditation, precept recitation, have occasional retreats and Dayso f and tea ceremonies.Cynthi a Jurs visits ust o Washington Mindfulness. offer inspiration and support, and wear e Mountain Lamp Community alsoplannin g toinvit e othergues t teachers. Eileen Kiera California Bellingham Dharma Hall Carole Melkonian Idaho 115Unit y Street P.O.Bo x 496 Mindfulness Sangha Bellingham,W A 98225 Tel: (360)592-524 8 Mendocino,C A 95460 Tel:(707 ) 937-4549 NancyGin g Wemee tWednesda y evenings for medita­ 819Sherwoo d Street tion and discussion. Wehav e aDa yo f Sebastopol Sangha Moscow,I D 83843 Tel: (208) 882-2490 Mindfulness thefirs t Saturday of each Marg Starbuck and Bill Boykin Ourweekl y Sunday evening gatherings month.I n early September, Sr.Jin a will lead 8915Barnet t Valley Road begin with sitting meditation, and are a retreat. Sebastopol, CA 95472 Tel:(707 ) 829-6796 followed by either aprecep trecitation , ate a We meet Thursday evenings for meditation ceremony, asutr arecitation , or aDharm a PeachTe aSangh a anddiscussion . Wehos t aVeterans ' Writing discussion. When there is afift h Sunday in NannDaw n Workshop each season. the month, wehav e special events sucha s 331 17thAvenu eEas t Mindfulness Days,Famil y Days,o r potlucks Seattle,W A 98112 Tel:(206 ) 870-9712 Peggy Denial andplannin g meetings. Our fall retreat with We meet Monday evenings for sitting 9175 Poplar Avenue Eileen Kiera will be held October 5-8. meditation and discussion. Onth e third Cotati, CA Tel:(707 ) 792-2635 Saturday of each month,Eilee n Kiera leads We sit and chant on Tuesday mornings and Beginner's Mind Sangha a Day of Mindfulness. meet the second Sunday evening of the Peggy Rowe and Larry Ward month for meditation and precept recitation. 1430Shenandoa h Drive Laughing Frog Sangha Boise,I D8371 2 Tel:(208 ) 366-1525 CarolAn n Stockton andE dBrow n Dharma Gate Sangha Wemee tThursda y evenings for meditation P.O.Bo x 1447 Patrick Thornton andDharm a discussion. Poulsbo,W A 98370 Tel:(360 ) 598-4247 P.O. Box 1933 We meet twoFrida y evenings amont h in Benicia, CA Tel: (707)747-955 0 our forest retreat for sitting, walking,an d Wemee t Sunday evenings for meditation, tea.Ou r beautiful, secluded retreat cottage is Dharma talk, and discussion. We also offer available for solitary retreat. beginning meditation classes andretreats . 17 Almond Blossom Sangha Green Gulch Farm Wehav eestablishe d aSangha-by-mai l for JimFaus s Stan Cunningham Wendy Johnson people whoar e visually orphysicall y chal­ 115Magnoli a Avenue 601Tho r Street Highway 1 lenged, reside ina hospice ,o r livefa r from Modesto,C A9535 4 Turlock, CA 94180 MuirBeach ,C A9496 5 Tel:(415 )383-313 4 others.W ecorrespon d with people individu­ Tel:(209 ) 576-7311 (209) 634-2172 The springrain s letu pjus t longenoug h for ally andals opublis h asmal ljournal , The InModesto , wemee tever y otherWednes ­ us tohav e alovel y Family Practice Day in Bamboo Staff, with large,eas y torea d print, day evening for meditation, recitation, and Maywit h alivel y group ofchildren ,thei r which includes articles andpoem s aboutho w discussion of theprecepts .I n Turlock, we parents, andfriends . Wendy gave anengag ­ weca n practicemindfulnes s indail y life. meet every otherTuesda y evening. ing Dharma talk about bodhisattvas, andw e We areexplorin g thepossibilit y ofpur ­ transplanted seedlings ofFrenc h beansan d chasing land inHawai i wherepeopl e whoar e Hayward Buddhist Center prepared thesoi l for summer crops.W ear e visually and physically challenged can Thich Tu-Luc looking forward toou r nextFamil y Mind­ practicemindfulnes s together. 27878Calarog a Avenue fulness Afternoon September 9. Hayward, CA 94545 Tel:(510 ) 732-0728 Wendy also led aworksho p on "The Hearth Sangha Wemee tTuesda y evenings for meditation Miracle of Mindfulness" atth e national Nanda Currant and chanting.W eals o meet the second conference of theCatholi c Women's 530Amig o Road Saturday morning of each month for medita­ Network, anecumenica l celebrationo f Soquel, CA9507 3 Tel: (408) 462-3703 tion,precep t recitation, and discussion. women andprayer . Wemee t regularly for meditation, discus­ sion, drawing, and writing. Community of Mindful Living Trudi Unger 850Talbo t Avenue P.O. Box53 6 White Heron Sangha Albany,C A9470 6 Tel:(510 ) 527-3751 MillValley ,C A9494 2 Tel:(415 )381-568 3 Rosemary Donnell Every Tuesday evening wehav e meditation Wemee tTuesda y nights for meditation. P.O.Bo x 870 anddiscussio n on mindfulness practice led MorroBay ,C A9344 3 Tel:(805 )772-458 0 by adifferen t member of the community.I n West Marin Sangha We meet every Sunday evening. Meditation the spring, we studied The Sutra onthe Four Debora Faust is followed by aDharm a discussion or Establishments ofMindfulness an dthi s 100Sycamore ,# 9 Dharma tape.W e recite the precepts the first summer, wear e studying TheHeart Sutra. SanAnselmo ,C A9496 0 Tel: (415)485-557 6 Sunday of every month. Arnie and Therese Wemee t monthly for precept recitation We meetth e second Sunday of every month will lead aweeken d retreat November 10-12. and discussion on the Saturday evening for sitting, preceptrecitation , and discussion. closest toth e newmoon . On the full moon, Open Door Sangha wed ooutdoo r walking meditation together San Francisco Mindfulness Community Thea Howard ina loca lpark . Each season, wehav e ate a Michael Kahn 440Whitma n Street, #46 meditation tocelebrat e the gifts that nature 1034Filber t Street Goleta, CA9311 7 Tel: (805) 685-8787 has tooffer , and tostrengthe n our ties with SanFrancisco ,C A9413 3 Tel: (415)885-312 2 Wehav eDay s of Mindfulness the third each other. Wemee ttwic e amont h onSunda y Sunday of each month and sittings every mornings for sitting andwalkin g meditation, Wednesday evening. Mona Bernstein precept recitation, tea, and discussion. 2420 Sacramento Street Santa Monica Sangha Berkeley, CA9470 2 Tel:(510 ) 486-8107 Clear HeartSangh a Penelope Thompson Every other Sunday morning wehav e Marylee Revels 67Villag e ParkWa y sitting,outdoo r walking,precept s recitation, 1245Johnso n Street SantaMonica ,C A9040 5 Tel: (310) 392-1796 and discussion. Redwood City,CA9460 1 Tel: (415)369-102 1 Wemee tMonday sfo r sittingan ddiscussion , Wemee tth efirs t andthir d Monday andmonthl y hold aHalf-Da y of Mindfulness. Edie Hartshorne evenings of each month for sitting, walking 768Contr a Costa Avenue meditation, and discussion. Greg Smith Berkeley, CA9470 7 Tel:(510 ) 843-5504 639Pear l Street Wesi tWednesda y andFrida y mornings. Palo Alto Friends Mindfulness Sangha LagunaBeach ,C A9265 1 Tel:(714 )494-473 4 Susan Murphy Wesi tWednesda y evenings andhav e a Day Educators' Sangha 2043 ElSeren oAvenu e of Mindfulness every Sunday. Once amonth , Jennifer Biehn LosAltos ,C A9402 4 Tel:(415 ) 969-3452 Christopher Reed teaches meditation here. 2230War d Street Wemee tThursda y mornings for meditation Berkeley, CA9470 5 Tel:(510 ) 843-0548 anddiscussio n based on exercises in The Wemee ton e Sunday every month for Miracle ofMindfulness. meditation, tea,potluc k dinner, and sharing experiences and ways to cultivate peace in Fair Haven Sangha our work and everyday lives. Jan Coleman 1648Fairwoo d Avenue Oakland Sangha San Jose,C A 95125 Tel: (408) 266-7277 Marjorie McRae Wemee tMonda y evenings for sitting and 418 Forty-Fourth Street walking meditation. Oakland, CA 94609 Tel:(510 ) 652-3827 Every Sunday afternoon wemee tfo r Wild Iris Sangha meditation and discussion. Once amont h we Roy Wilson reciteprecept s and have afamil y potluck. P.O.Bo x 1667 SanJose ,C A9510 9 Tel: (408) 258-0382 18 Sangha Profile:Ordinar y Dharma/Manzanita Village Sangha-Building Christopher Reed and Michele Benzamin Thesepeople have expressed interest in beginning Sanghas in their areas. Please contact them. Ordinary Dharma 247 Horizon Avenue MarkWet z Venice, CA 90291 P.O.Bo x 292 Tel: (310) 396-5054 ChiangMa i50000 ,Thailan d Tel: 053 245142 We offer classes, retreats, and Ena Linares Days of Mindfulness. 18.J . S. Bach, (sobco) 08021 Barcelona, Spain Tel: (93)414-755 1 Manzanita Village P.O. Box 67 Barbara Babich 271Mille r Place Road Warner Springs, CA 92806 MillerPlace ,N Y 11764 Tel:(516)928-699 1 Tel: (619) 782-3604 ' Manzanita Village, our country Peter and LindaEn o retreat, is now two years old. 511Woodmer e Road Since May 1993, we have had Asbury Park,N J 07712 Tel:(908 )531-551 8 more than a dozen retreats; Anne andGeorg e Vivino-Hintze hosted visiting teachers, Asian RR3,Bo x 3215 andWestern , from different tra­ Rome,P A 18837 Tel: (717) 247-7752 ditions; and enjoyed the pres­ Michael Syein enceo fman y visitors whocom e ' P.O.Bo x6 9 for a few days up to several months. Wheeling, WV 26003 Tel: (304) 232-4083 The hills and mountains you pass through en route to Manzanita Village are beautiful. There are many parts of Southern California that are wild and relatively Amy Oedel unspoiled. The non-human world, the biosphere as it manifests here, offers continual 3828 The Prado Macon, GA 31204 Tel: (912) 471-9168 support to practice authenticity, awareness, and kindness. It offers a breathtaking spectacle of beauty, interpenetrating forces, and a gateway to the unconditioned. Terry Levy Manzanita Village wasth efulfillmen t of anongoin gdrea m anda searc h for land that 2901 Sheridan Street began several years ago and took us through nearly every county in Central and MiamiBeach ,F L 33109 Tel:(305 )538-941 9 Southern California. With very limited financial resources, we had almost given up the Lynn Lyle possibility of finding suitable land, when we found Manzanita Village in dilapidated 5102PickfairDrive condition after years of neglect.Practic e has become the practice of work, and we have Toledo,O H 43615 Tel:(419 ) 534-3063 learned, little by little, to do the work of construction and restoration in a relaxed and Gary Bundy mindful way, without getting caught in deadlines or expectations. We've learned that P:0. Box 804 we don't have to view work as a means to an end orjus t a way to get things done. We Bay City, MI4870 7 Tel: (517) 892-3422 canus e work, not only topractic e mindfulness, but tocelebrat e our lives in theher e and now. It is possible to work in a relaxed way, and such work can be as concentrated and David Williams insightful as sitting in the meditation halL 18776Hillto pDriv e Riverview, MI4812 9 Tel: (313) 283-9415 Practicing mindfulness in a community is much easier than practicing alone. The challengeo fcommunit y livingseason san dsoften s us,demandin ghonest y and patience Sharon Brown with ourselves and each other. Although it seems to be a challenge, as it gathers 5910 Winamac LakeDrive ,#1 B momentum, it starts to take care of itself. Starting a community is not easy. If you can Mishawaka, IN 46545 Tel:(219 ) 273-2553 help in any of the following ways, we would be most grateful: Jerry Braza • Comean dvisit .Shar eyou rtime ,joy , andenerg y with us.Ou rmode li sPlu m Villag 6810 Corvalis Road and we feel it is deeply important to develop a sanctuary where Thay's teachings can Independence,O R9735 1 Tel:(800 )473^132 5 be practiced on an ongoing basis. • Full-time residents. There is room for three full-time residents. Gardening and Bob and Mary Burns construction skills are especially needed. 609 Quaking Aspen BearValley , CA 95223 Tel:(209)753-251 1 • Grant writing. Can anyone help with grant writing tofurthe r our work with inner- city children and community-service work? Bob Golling • Donations. We need financial help. There are still many things we need to do to 917 Marilyn Drive makeManzanit a Village fully livable.Roof s still leak, plumbing needs fixing, rewiring Campbell, CA 95008-6019 (408) 866-8841 needst ob edone .W e areincorporate d asa nonprofi t religiousorganizatio n recognizing Judy Dalton Thich Nhat Hanh as our spiritual head. Your contributions arefull y tax-deductible and 4330 Kauai Beach Drive F-12 are very much needed and deeply appreciated. Lihue, HI9676 6 Tel: (808) 246-9067

19 television throughout Taiwan. Four Springs inAsi a Twenty Buddhist groups had been working together for byTheres e Fitzgerald moretha na yea rt oorganiz eThay 's visi tt oTaiwan . Under the leadershipo fDr .Hsiang-Cho u Yo,a la yDharm ateache rwell - known throughout the country, the group had planned every­ thing.The y even printed beautiful T-shirts with "Thich Nhat or more than 30 years, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) had Hanhi nFormosa "beautifull y calligraphed inChinese ,an do n Fhoped tog ot oChin at orepa y thedeb t hefeel s tos oman y the back alis t of 100daily-lif e situations in which to practice generationso fBuddhis tteacher s whosewriting san dpractice s mindfulness. Whenw eme twit h theorganizers ,thei renergeti c were so important to his own formation, by visiting Buddhist devotion to helping prepare the ground for and receiving temples in China and by offering the Buddha's Dharma back Thay's teachings was inspiring. to the younger generation of monks and nuns there. In the Thay's first public meeting was with Master Sheng-yen, spring of 1995, Thay was finally able to realize this dream. thefounde r ofth eChun g HwaInstitut e ofBuddhis t Studies in Travelling with seven Western nuns and monks from Plum Taipei and the Chan Meditation Center in Elmhurst, New Village—Sisters Jina, Eleni, Vien Quang, and Annabel, and York. The two masters bowed to each other and Thay said, Brothers Gary, Sariputra, and Doji—Thay and Sister Chan "We see inyo u many generations of Chinese ancestral teach­ Khong flew from France on March 20t obegi n a three-month ers.W e feel gratitude for the teachings passed down to many visit to four countries: Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the generations."The n they held apubli c dialogue on "Chan and People'sRepubli co fChina .Arni eKotle ran dI wer eprivilege d Environmental Protection." Master Sheng-yen elaborated on to be able to fly from California tojoi n them. the function of meditation in purifying the mind, and Thay Forth etw oyear sprio rt oou rdeparture ,Siste rCha nKhong , spoke about "mental pollution" and the need to observe care­ Sister Jina, and Arnie had made extensive and detailed ar­ fully the Five Precepts. Forty members of the press attended rangements. Thay also agreed to visit Taiwan, Korea, and thedialogue ,an ddozen so farticle sappeare di nth emainstrea m Japan to lead retreats and give lectures there to help "renew" press the next day. Torch of Wisdom, a Taiwanese Buddhist Buddhismi nthos ecountries .Muc h asChristianit y hasfel t the newspaper, reported: "[Thich Nhat Hanh's] simple way of need for renewal inth eWest , Buddhism in much of Buddhist practice fits the need of modern people and can be easily Asiaha sbecom esomewha tstagnant ,andThSy' s approachtha t practiced in daily living....It is so direct and lively. Chinese wei nth eWes tfin d sorefreshin g andnew ,seeme dt oou rhost s Buddhists are caught in metaphysics too much. His fresh air in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan to be the right medicine for the may inspire people. Why should we play at sophistication?" situations there as well. Then we travelled south by train through lush country by

Taiwan hen we arrived in Taiwan, W spring was bursting every­ where.Afte r an hour's drive from theairpor tthroug hTaipe ian dthe n up a mountain at the outskirts of the city, we reached Yang Min Shan Mountain and arrived at our lodging. Walking down the stone steps amid azaleas and blooming cherry trees, with the sound of a waterfall in the background and the sulfurous smell of the hot springsi nth emist y air,I fel t Iwa s in paradise. Our first two morn­ ings,w edi dwalkin g meditation in thepar knearb y withth ekin d fam­ ily who was allowing us to use their home for nearly a month. A national television newsmagazine interviewedThay ,filmed ou rgrou p walkingpeacefull y like that, anda few days later, our walking medi­ tationwa sbroadcas to nprim etim e ThichThie nSo nan dnovic easlee po nth emokugy oa tTz uCh iFoundatio n

20 the sea to Hualien to visit the Buddhist Tzu ChiCompassio n Relief Foundation andit sfounder , MasterChen gYen , "the MotherTeres ao fTaiwan. "W ewer eme t at the station by a team of Tzu Chi staffpeople who ushered us into one of theirbuse san dgav eu sa thoroug horien ­ tation, including Foundation songs. At theStil lThought s PureAbod eCenter ,a processionme tus ,an dThay ,Siste rCha n Khong, and Master Cheng Yen had a semiprivate meeting. After exchanging introductions,Tha yaske dMaste rChen g Yen how she dealt with conflict in the community, anda nengagin g discussion ensued. We visited the Tzu Chi College of Nursing,a larg ecampu sse tamon ggree n hills, full of vibrant young women in bright green uniforms. Their well- roundedcurriculu m includes flower ar­ ranging,te aceremony , andsittin gmedi ­ Tzu Chi students massaging the Elderly tation. We enjoyed tea and songs with several faculty members inthei r refined tearoom. That evening, Sister Chan Khong gave an inspiring moment ismor epreciou s than gold ordollars . Don't sacrifice talk on "Practicing thePrecept s as aSocia l Worker and Peace your life for the future," he cautioned. At the formal lunch, Activist." She and Master Cheng Yen communicated their Thay said, "If we dwell completely and peacefully with the deep mutual respect and quickly became friends. The next food and the community, we transform this place into morning, there was a large gathering of the local community Gridhrakuta Mountain or theJet a Grove."I t became apparent fora ceremon yt odistribut eai dt oth edisable dan dpoor .I twa s how fertile the ground is in Taiwan for Thay's teachings. encouraging to see the many forms of "compassion relief practicedb yTz uCh istudents—financia l andmedical ,a swel l nou r free time,we visited the National Palace Museum as hair cutting, massaging, and simply listening to the stories Iwhich offered many treasures of China's cultural heritage, ofth eelderly . Welearne di ndetai lho wth enun smak ecandles , including an exhibit of an illuminated manuscript of chapters soypowder , andcla y statues for self-support. Passing through on Kwan Yin from theLotus Sutra.Man y exquisite paintings thekitchen ,w esa wgiganti cwok sfilled wit hfoo dfo rhundred s of Kwan Yin further strengthened my affinity with her. We of people, and we enjoyed a sumptuous feast of Taiwanese endedu pspendin ga smuc htim eenjoyin g oolongte aan daduk i delicacies. This was our first taste of what a vegetarian's bean pastries in the grand tearoom as we did looking at the paradise Taiwan is. Our visit to Tzu Chi impressed upon us exhibits.W e also had time toreceiv e acupuncture treatments howaliv eth epractic eo fgenerosit y(dana) i sfo rth eTaiwanes e from adocto rfrien d ofDr .Yo's .I twa samusin gt osee a doze n Buddhists.Peopl ebeliev ever ymuc hi ngivin gt omonks ,nuns , ofu s stretched outholdin g ourlimb s up with needles sticking and the temple to attain merit. One-fourth of the Taiwanese out every which way! people contribute towards the work of Master Cheng Yen, On several occasions, we experienced the strong support enabling her to give aid throughout Taiwan and the world. given to monks and nuns that is so integral to the collective The next day in Taipei, Thay gave a public lecture at the consciousness of the Taiwanese people. The laypeople have Telecommunications Headquarters to an audience of about highexpectation so fth eclerg yan dvigilantl yprotec tthem .Fo r 800. He spoke about recognizing the favorable conditions in example, if a monk were to buy a cake containing meat, the our life for practicing mindfulness, telling the story of a vendorwoul dinfor mhi mtha tther ei smea ti nit ,concerne dtha t Catholic woman whopractice d mindfulness withal lhe rheart , the monk bought the non-vegetarian cake by mistake. And successfully overcoming severe depression. vendors often refuse toaccep tmone yfro m monks ornun s and The following day, there was a Day of Mindfulness at an just give them whatever they want. Taxi drivers often give elementary school on the mountain with 400 people. I had monks and nuns rides free of cost. never seen that many people assemble so smoothly. Every­ We travelled by bus from Taipei to Taichung, in central thing—mindful movement exercises, walking meditation, Taiwan,enjoyin g theTaois t templesnestle d inth elush ,mist y lunch—seemed naturally synchronized. Thay's Dharma talk mountains,th egree nric efields , andman ygarden so fbananas , focusedo ndwellin gi nth epresen tmoment ."Lif ei nth epresen t palms,papayas ,eggplants ,an dstrawberries .Tha yle da Da yo f 21 Mindfulness with 400 people at a newly-built temple located Theteaching so fTha y andth epractic e ofprostration s brought high above the city of Taichung, famous for its gigantic peoplei ntouc hwit hthei rroot s and allowed for deep transfor­ wooden fish drum (mokugyo) and brass bell. mation totak eplace .On eTaiwanes ebhik u toldu stha t thanks We were greeted at Chung-tai-shan Monastery by the toth epractic eo fprostrations ,h ewa sabl et otransfor m hisdee p fragrance of orange blossoms and very balmy air. The next conflict with his father and become a free person. morning, weha d breakfast with the kind, elderly abbot of the On the last day of the retreat, we were joined by 600 temple, Master Wei Chueh, one of the great Chan masters in laypeople from the nearby community for a Rose Festival. Taiwan. Women in traditional white dresses offered each person are d SisterCha nKhon g gavea nevenin g sessionfo rnearl y 100 or white rose, representing their living or deceased parents, novice monks and nuns, ages five to fifteen, complete with respectfully. The statements about filial relationships moved jogging meditation! Sister Annabel and Arnie gave public everyone to tears, including the abbot. The translator had to lecturesi nTaichun go nth epractic eo fmindfu l livingtha twer e pass the microphone when he became overcome by emotion. well received. It was a beautiful and powerful ending to our time together. Thenex tmorning ,w evisite dth eHsuan-tsang-sz u Institute After afestiv e lunch, the sun shined through the clouds, after of Buddhist Studies, a sprawling campus. The senior monks seven days of rain. askedTM y basic questions withgrea t sincerity, andTha y led alovel ywalkin gmeditatio ni nth emist .W espen tth e afternoon urDa yo fMindfulnes s ata hig h schoolgymnasiu mi nth e atSu nMoo nLak ei na thic kfo g andenjoye d walking through Osouthern city of Kaoshiung was also attended by 400 a temple together and learning about Chinese pilgrim Hsuan- people, including 35 children. People here were especially tsang, who is said to have carried theTripitaka from India to inspiredb yThay' sfresh , applicableteachings .The yfoun d the Chinai nhi sbackpack . Then westoppe d ina te asho poperate d practice of the Five Prostrations reaffirming of their connec­ by "aboriginal" Taiwanese. The tea was delicious and we tions with ancestral teachers and family and the land of their exchanged songsi nEnglish ,Madarin , andTaiwanes ewit hth e birth. One Chinese bhiksuni revealed that although she had shopkeepers,whom ,i tturne dout ,recognize dTha yfro m aT V been anu n for twelve years, it was only after hearing Thay's feature on him that had aired afe w evenings earlier. Dharmatal ktha tsh efel t trulyliberate dfro m hersuffering . We ended the day with anInfinit e Lamp Ceremony. It was lovely highlight of our visit toTaiwa n was aseven-da y retreat tose eTha ybegi nth elightin go fth ebattery-powere d "candles" A atPa o Lien, aPur e Land Buddhist Temple in Chungli, andwatc h asth e wholeroo mbecam e ask y of twinkling stars. about an hour from Taipei. Master Kwan Hsin, the dynamic "The lamp continues from one to another and becomes ever­ abbotan dhi scommunit y ofmonk san dnun sworke d tirelessly lasting,"Tha y said,"t oremin du so fth eimportanc eo fmakin g to accommodate us and the 400 people who attended the our life the Dharma and passing on the Dharma." retreat. In fact, the abbot and his monks and nunsjoine d usi n Travellingbac kt oTaipe i from the southb ybus ,w epasse d many of thepractice s over seven days. ancestral shrines facing every direction amidst rice paddies, During thefirst Dharm a talk,Tha y said there was "no line corn, papaya, strawberry, and sugarcane fields, lotus ponds, separating Pure Land Buddhism from Chan (Zen, or medita­ bamboo groves, duck farms, chicken coops, occasional clus­ tion)Buddhism. " Hepresente d mindfulness asth e"mothe ro f ters of traditional brick buildings with tile roofs and court­ concentration and wisdom," and spoke about being present yards, ornate Buddhist and Taoist temples, three-storey con­ and real for our loved ones, outlining the "Six Miracles of crete apartment houses, and huge concrete and gravel facto­ Mindfulness"—to bepresent , tomak eth eothe rreal ,t oreliev e ries. Spring continued to unfold as leafless trees produced the suffering of others, to stop and calm ourselves, to look orange,magnolia-lik e blossoms tucked onth euppe r branches deeply, and to transform ourselves. In speaking about the like baby doves. "FourNutriments"—edibl efood , sensecontact ,intention ,an d Our last days in Taipei centered around three evenings in consciousness—Thaypresente dteaching sabou tlookin gdeepl y the elegant Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, including two public intosufferin g and seeing the "food" that fuels our suffering in lectures by Thay and a Five Precepts ceremony for more order to bring about liberation. He also outlined the Buddhist thanl,500 people.W e especially enjoyed the opening perfor­ understanding of seeds of consciousness Q?ijas) and empha­ manceo fmoder nBuddhis t songsb ya choru so fyoun gpeople . sized the need for the practices of the Peace Treaty and On our last day in Taipei, Thay led a Day of Mindfulness for Beginning Anew. 1,200 people. DuringDharm adiscussions ,retreatant sexpresse d howth e Throughoutou rsta yi nTaiwan ,ou rpractic ewa spermeate d teachings andpractice s were being experienced. Topics from with the singing of the Chinese version of "Breathing in, discovering the smile, to marital problems stemming from Breathing out," kindly translated by Shyang Jen, our host in families separatingt ogiv echildre nschoolin gabroad ,t owive s Taipei, who took care of our meals and transportation, and "I whose husbands gamble or have mistresses, were explored Have Arrived," translated by Nancy Kuo. with great gusto.Th ebenefi t ofThay' s teachings in renewing Beforeleavin gfo rth eairport ,w eha da nimportan t meeting' Buddhism and giving peoplepractica l ways of understanding with local organizers, during which Thay emphasized mind­ andtransformin g therealitie so fthei rlive swa s very apparent. fulness practice while organizing. Dr. Yo, John Chang, and others expressed their hopes that Thay or someo fhi sstudent sretur n toTaiwa n regu­ larlyt ohel pth ewonderfu l seedso fDharm a grow steady andstrong .W e expressed spe­ cial gratitude to Dr. Yo and all those who helped him make our visit so pleasant and fruitful.

Korea ive years ago, Ok-koo Kang Grosjean Fhad the idea to translate Thay's books into Korean. She found a publisher, Bud- dhalandPublications ,an dBeing Peace an d TheHeart of Understandingbecam e best­ sellers there. When Ok-koo learned that Thaywoul db evisiting ,sh ean dMr .H yung - Kyun Kim, Buddhaland's pub-lisher, in­ vited him tocom e to Korea to teach.When we arrived in Seoul International Airport, wewer e surprised tose ethre e TV cameras Thayan d Ven.Tanson ga tth een do fth eDa yo fMindfulnes s inKore a recordingThay' s arrival.I n fact, our whole tenday si nKore awer efilme d byMBC-T V andthe nbroadcas t blooming forsythia, and then at the bell tower surrounded by to4 millio npeopl eafte r weleft . Wewer ewhiske d off inblac k cherry trees raining sweet blossoms, and felt the beauty of cars across sprawling Seoul to Chung An Temple, where being together with Korean practitioners in their beautiful Reverends Wan Taek and Won Myong, who work with Mr. country. During the talk, Thay asked, "How is a Buddhist Kim publishing Buddhist books, greeted us. After bowing to university different from a non-Buddhist one?" He depicted theBuddh aan dchanting ,w esa tdow n ata long ,lo wtabl ean d theBuddhis tuniversit y asMaitreya , theBuddh ao fLove—th e enjoyed a feast of mountain vegetables, varieties ofkimchi, students asth e arms, and the teachings andpractic e of love as special wildmushrooms , spring herbs, and traditional Korean the heart—"a center of love, the body of the Buddha recog­ desserts.Afte r strongginsen gtea ,w econtinue d onou rwa yt o nized by the whole country. A Buddhist university should the Korea Christian Academy House outside Seoul, that was teach the students how to love—love ourselves and love one chosen for itsnatura l beauty, fresh air, andquiet , forTha y and another—in order to be happy. Professors have toprov e they his entourage to stay. have the capacity to love and to understand. Enrolling in a On our first morning in Korea, I rose early and hiked up Buddhistuniversity ,I woul dwan tt ob esur etha tth e professors WhiteClou dMountain , enjoying thefresh , cool airo f another areabl et otransmi t the arto f loving and understanding. There spring in Asia, fragrant with magnolia and azalea blossoms, should be good communication between the students and the listeningt ovariou schantin g andsingin gb yth epassersby ,an d professors.Th eprofessor s shouldb eabl et oliste ndeepl yt oth e marvelling at hikers dressed in brightly colored sun visors, suffering of their students. Wisdom and spiritual values from long socks over their trousers alpine-style, and parkas. many generations are the greatest teachings to be given to the That evening, after a two-hour drive, Thay gave a public students." lecturet o 1,000 peoplei nTaejo n City,sponsore d byPo pDon g The next morning, Thay gave a public lecture in Chogye Social Welfare Buddhist Institute, an urban nunnery and Temple to500 mostl y middle-aged andelderl y lay Buddhists, kindergarten run by Chong Sil Sunim, the abbess of Cha along with a number of monks and nuns. After listening to Kwang Temple. The evening program began with 20 little choral music reminiscent of American gospel music, Thay boys and girls dressed in brightly-colored traditional robes spokeabou tcompassionat elistenin gan dlovin gspeech :"Brin g circumambulating Thay while singing a Buddhist song to spaceint o your and theother' s heart. True love always brings pianomusic . Smiles turned tojoyou s laughter as the children freedom andhappiness .Mindfulnes s helpsu sexamin eou rtru e continued around andaroun dunti l theadult s werefinall y able situation and stop and transform our suffering." tocoa xthe mof f thestage .Thay' s lecturefocuse d onharmon y In Seoul,w eals o visitedth eLotu sLanter n Temple, where inth efamily .Th eabbes so fCh aKwan gTempl elate rtol dTha y Thay gavea Dharm a talk toa ver y crowded roomo f Western­ thatlistenin gt ohi sDharm atal kwa slik elistenin gt oa dee pan d ers. beautiful poem. Thatafternoon , after aslo wdriv eacros sth ecit yi nbumper - The next morning, before Thay's public lecture at Dongguk to-bumper traffic, we arrived at Koo Ryong Temple for a Buddhist University, we looked across at the hillside full of televised interview with renowned Buddhist poet Ko Un. To 23 Ko Un's question about Thay's involvement in the peace rootswer estrong .Th epeac e andjo y inmy first teacher, Thay movement, Thay emphasized the necessity of "making peace ThanhTu ,attracte dm et om yroo ttradition .H eradiate dpeace , within ourselves and thereby establishing harmony between buth edi dno texplai nBuddhis m well,an dhi s answers did not members of a family, between Christians and Buddhists, and satisfy me.Tha yNha tHanh explaine di na ver yprofound , non- between North and South." When questioned about "produc­ dualistic way, and I began to feel the desire to become a ing what we don't need and losing traditional values," Thay 'thoughtful tiger,' dealing with negative 'habit energies,' an­ pointed out that "Buddhist mindfulness alerts us to the pollu­ ger and strongheadedness, making a constant effort to trans­ tion of our consciousness" and proposed such practices as form myself through my work in society." "selective television viewing" asa practic e of self-protection, ProfessorChun gspoke abou tth etendenc yo forigina lsi ni n and warned against "eating meat and drinking alcohol as us—"Can wereall ytrus ti nth epotentia lunderstandin go feac h unkind acts towards those who are starving." To Ko Un's person?" Thay responded: "If you doubt the seed of under­ question about thepopulatio n explosion, Thay recommended standingan dlov ei neveryone ,yo u doubtGod . Understanding "helping people with education andmeans of exercising fam­ isth epowe r ofliberation , andth elac k ofunderstandin g is the ily planning." The cause of suffer­ TV film crew had ing. The practice already stopped of meditation is whenTha yan dK o lookingdeepl y in Un exchanged in­ order to under­ timacies:"Yo ufee l stand.'Lovei sth e to me like an an­ force of libera­ cient Korean poet tion,' Martin monk," Thay said, LutherKin g said. •andK oUnsai dtha t 'Love your en­ reciting a poem emy' sounds chases away evil funny unless you spirits and recited can understand one of Thay's po­ him or her. Un­ ems. That evening derstanding isth e afe wo fu sattende d keyt olov ean dac ­ a celebration for ceptance." the publishing of Professor Thay's Old Path Chungbrough tu p White Clouds, self-immolation Miracle of Mind­ % as a radical ex­ fulness and The •-'a, pression of the Diamond That Children at Tongdo Temple longing for Cuts through Illu­ peace—"a ritual sion in Korean, as among student well as Ok-koo's new book of essays. movements in the '70s and '80s in Korea." Thay emphasized The next day, Professor Hyun-kyung Chung, a Christian motivation as the crucial point—"the willingness to restore feminist liberation theologian (who has been toPlu m Village understanding and compassion and alleviate suffering, rather andtaugh ta tHarvar dUniversity) ,interviewe dTha yan dSiste r than thedesir e todestroy"—an d pointed toJesu s on the cross Chan Khong for Dialogue, the largest academic Christian andth elif eo fGandh ia sexamples ."I ti sth etrut htha tliberates , magazinei nKorea .I nrespons et oProfesso rChung' squestion , so communicating the truth is the most important thing. In "Whya ne worde r(th eOrde ro fInterbeing)?" ,Tha y described Vietnam,mor ei sknow nno wbetwee nth eNort han dth eSouth . himselfa sa mon ki nth etradition so fLi nCh iZe nan dth eOrde r In Korea, too, if Buddhists and Christians in the South can of Interbeing as a "new branch of an ancient tree, a bridge understand each other better, that will help the North. True between the lay and monastic communities, an important understandingo fth etrut hi sth eke yt oliberation .An dou rwor k instrument for responding to difficulties and anguish of the ist omak e the truth available based on thepractic e of looking world (engaged Buddhism)." Thay emphasized that "church deeply." leaders need to renew practice to respond to the needs of the Professor Chung said that in liberation theology there is a youngpeople , and help Buddhists make peace with theirow n tendencyt othin ko fGo da s"optin gt osid ewit hth epoor. "Tha y tradition." responded, "Theric hsuffe r too.Go d operateswit h thehighes t Sister Chan Khong added, "I was half ahungr y ghost asa understanding and embraces the rich and the poor. Work for youngperson ,admirin geverythin gmoder nan dWester nabou t socialjustic eshoul db edon ewithou ttakin gsides .Yo uhav et o French culture. My cultural roots were weak, but my family find the causes of oppression and do the right thing to help 24 transform thesituation . Dualisticway sonl ystrengthe n suffer­ several other family members for tea withThay .Eve n though ing. Love and understanding are our best 'weapons.'" their interest seemed toli ei ndetail s about how topreserv e the To Professor Chung's quote, "Hope is exiled," and her shrineo fth eL iEmperor ,Tha yrelate dt oth e seedso f yearning question, "What is your source of energy?" Thay responded, inthe mt okno w their Vietnamese cultural andreligiou s roots. "Faithi nth epractice ,no ti nideas ,ca nbrin gjo y andhappiness . He spoke about thepeaceful , loving nature of theL i Dynasty; Faith is afrui t of thepractic e that that noon e can remove, not how socially conscious they werei nexercisin g understanding even theologians." in making judgments of criminals and how they cared for prison inmates. Thay made concrete suggestions about con­ ater that afternoon, Thay gave the keynote address to a vening a family gathering and listening to the needs and Lgroup ofthirt y Catholic,Protestant , andBuddhis t leaders experience ofth eyoun gpeople ;meetin g again andhavin g the gathered for an "Interfaith Dialogue for Peace" organized by parents calmly express their difficulties, as the young people the Korean Christian Academy. Rev. Pyon Sun-Won intro­ need to understand; deep listening between husbands and duced Thay, saying, "The cross and the lotus should be wives; and lastly, how most of our perceptions are wrong comrades in thefac e of suffering." Thay spoke about "how to perceptions and what trouble that can get us into in relation­ coordinateou rligh tari denerg y tobette rserv eth eworld .Al lo f ships. On our bus ride south to the Kong Rim Temple in ushav esuffere d betrayalan dmisunderstandin gfro mpeopl ei n Choong Chung Province, we passed through "seas" of black ourow n tradition. Sodialogu e needs to go on within ourow n plasticwavin gi nth esunshin ecoverin gcrops ,field s ofginsen g tradition.I fyo uunderstan dyou row ntradition ,yo uca nunder ­ covered by stripso fblac kfabric , peach orchards, terraced rice standanothe rtraditio nwell .W enee dt otransfor m ourselvest o fields with rock walls, traditional houses with blue, red, and become instruments of love. We need to make peace within green tile roofs, Christian missions dotting the countryside, ourselves, be the King ruling over our territory, our five bright green mountains, and wide green rivers. elements. But we resist. The pain is too great." In ameetin g with the abbot of Kong Rim Temple, Vener­ "People need Jesus; Jesus needs other people in order to able Tansong, who had served as administrative head of the manifest. Before bringing an offering to thealtar , be sureyo u Chogye Order, Thay said, "You are here like the roots of the are reconciled with your brother or sister." ancient tree.W e inth eWes t are like the branches.W e admire Wedi dwalkin gmeditatio n inth emist yafternoon , and after yourcourag ean ddeterminatio n andfreedo m from attachment asilen tdinner , wehear d responses from theparticipants . One tofam e andposition , as,afte r thereformation , youreturne d to nun related that during walking meditation, as worries and the monastery to practice and share the Dharma." The abbot thoughts about her self-centered practice assailed her, she responded, "If we practice deeply and keep the precepts, we heard a voice say to her, "Jesus Christ, look at the cherry will spread the Dharma well." Smiling, he added, "The refor­ blossoms. It is your image reflected here." One man spoke mation(i nKorea nBuddhism )happene dthank st oman yclerg y about transforming "righteous anger" into transformation of members and laypeople. It is because of my lack of ability to society,an d"inne rpeac eto oeasil yattained. "Tha yresponded , manage the Order, not because of courage and determination, "Thisreveal s thatyo u aremor e aphilosophe r than apractitio ­ that I came back to the monastery. Vietnam and Korea have ner. Inner peace is not easy to attain. To not be aware of similarly been divided because of ideologies, and I have children dying ofhunge r isno tt opractic emindfulness . Iti st o appreciated the work of Thich Nhat Hanh throughout." The be a rabbit hiding in its hole." A monk spoke of walking day-and-a-half retreat was enjoyable and meaningful for the meditation as "the synthesis of Zen and social action" and participants,includin gman yintellectuals ,writers ,artists ,schol ­ presented the problem in Buddhism of emphasizing wisdom ars, and peace activists. moretha ncompassion :"Understandin gth ewor di sth epriorit y inKorea nBuddhism .Quietnes so fth ehol yon ei sno ts ouseful ; hatafternoo n wewen tb ybu st oBaekryunam ,a subtempl e abstract compassion not sohelpful. " Thay spoke about "com­ TofHaein-sa (Reflectio n ona Cal mSe aTemple) ,on eo fth e passion as the flower born from understanding," and then he three main temples in Korea, representing Buddha, Dharma, ended the dialogue with these questions, "Can someone have and Sangha. This subtemple was the home of the late Vener­ twodifferen t spiritual roots?Could you sponsor amarriag eo f ableSun gChul ,wh owa sth ehea do fth eChogy e Order before two people of different traditions? Could you encourage the he passed away last year. While he lived there, anyone who two to develop both roots?" wished to see him had to prostrate 3,000 times before the Early the next day, Thay met with descendants of the Ly Buddhafirst. Reveren dWo nTaek ,Sun gChul' s chiefdisciple , Dynastyo fthirteenth-centur y Vietnam.Whe nth eL yDynasty , welcomed us.I t was marvelous to step out of the bus and feel one of the most benevolent and intelligent, was overthrown, thedee psilenc ean dsolitud eo fthi sremot esubtempl e perched ona mountain .I nth emorning ,I climbe d upt oa pine yspo tan d PrinceL yLon gTuong lef t hiscountr y byboa tan dtoo k refuge enjoyed watchingth egra ymornin gtur ngolde na sth esu nrose . in Korea. He and his friends and families were welcomed by After breakfast of white rice, vegetables, and pickles, we the Emperor of Korea, and for more than 30 generations, the headed off for the main temple, Haein-sa. they andthei rdescendant s have been assimilated into Korean culture.Now , oneL yDynast y prince namedL yXuon gCa ni s The abbot of Haein-sa thanked Thay for planting seeds of attemptingt otouc hhi sVietnames eroots ,an dh ewa sjoine db y theDharm a all overth e world.Tha y responded, "We areonl y Later wewen t toTongd o Temple. We visited the museum andthe nwer eallowe di nt osee th eston estupawher eth erelic s ofth eBuddh aar ekept .Tha yan dth emonks ,the nth enuns ,an d then the laypeople were invited into the special parlor of the abbot, Venerable Wol Ha, the newly elected head of the Chogye Order, to visit with the abbot's assistant. The two masters exchanged calligraphies—Thay's in English, "There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the Way," and the assistant abbot's in Chinese: "The Tathagata Buddha of Infi­ nite Lifespan/Limitless Life Thus Come Buddha." Wetravele d by bus on toPusa n on the southern coast, and that evening the Buddhist Broadcasting System sponsored a lovely dinner, during which Thay commented, "It is because we wereco-practitioner s in former lives that we are sharinga mealtonight. "Tha y gave apubli c lecturetha t night sponsored by BBS radio, which 1, 000 people attended. Mr. Kim intro­ Jenny Tedesco of Seoul, Korea at Haein Temple duced Thay, remarking on his "childlike face and presence, the seeds and flowers. You are theroots, "an d he spoke of the purity, clarity" and how "great difficulty makes for a great importanceo frenewin gBuddhis m andspeakin gi na languag e personality." Thay spoke about practicing mindfulness in thatyoun gpeopl eca nunderstan dan drelat eto .W ewer egive n ordert ob epresen tfo rou rlove done san dabou t how"Buddhis t an extraordinary tour of the building where the entire Korean meditation, in the deepest sense, is to remove our notions of Tripitaka,consistin g of 81,340 wood blocks, is kept. happiness that can be an obstacle to happiness. There are so Afterwards, we traveled to the nearby Po Hyun Am manyway st ocreat ehappiness ,yo ushoul dno trestric tyoursel f (SamantabhadraNunnery) .W ebecam eabsorbe di nlookin ga t to only one way." Thay also encouraged "rediscovering the the various buildings, when Thay reminded us thatw e should jewels of your Buddhist heritage....We can produce cars and got oth e main temple andpa y ourrespect s andmak e prostra­ computers, but we have not been able to produce enough tions. "No bowing, no eating," he said, and we all smiled. mindfulness. We have made great developments in telecom­ Indeed,w ewer eserve da scrumptiou s vegetarian feast, ending munication, and yet communication is weak between family witha lovel ypin kdessert .Afte r lunch,w eheade dsoutheas tt o members, between Christians and Buddhists, between North Kyongju City,th eol dcapita lo fth eShill aKingdom ,wher ew e and South." visited the stone grotto, Suk Kul Am, and the beautiful, huge stoneBuddha. Thi scit yi slik ea museum ,featurin g the famous urlas tnigh ti nSeoul ,afte r a mostdeliciou sdinne ra tJun g Pul Kuk Temple with two pagodas, and Nam San Mountain OSoo Am Nunnery, served by the abbess, Sang Duk that contains several hundred rock-carved Buddha images. Sunim,w eha da Sangha-buildin gmeeting .Mr .Ki mpropose d In Kyongju City, there was an impromptu discussion, thath eprin t asmal l booklet about Thay's teachings and a20 - during which Mr. Kim said, "What the clergy teaches is not pagearticl e ina popula r Buddhist magazine.Th eT V program what people need." Thay asked, "Who can help renew Bud­ onThay' s visitt oKorea ,whic h wasbroadcaste d inMa y after dhism in Korea, laypeople or the clergy?" Mr. Kim: "There weleft ,turne dou tt ob ea grea tresourc efo rth e Korean Sangha. needs to be cooperation of both. Renewal of lay Buddhist Professor Chung proposed holding an afternoon of mindful­ organizations is already happening. How toreall y practice is ness to help a core group of mindfulness practitioners to thequestion . How todevelo p educational programs to spread develop.Fran kTedesc osuggeste dtha tther eb ea networ kwit h authentic practice? Most laypeople don't know about authen­ foreigners in Korea through the mailing list of retreatants and ticpractice .The y only want blessings. The clergy is involved otherswh oattende dlecture sb yThay .Siste rCha nKhon gsaid , inesoteric ,extreme practices. "Tha ysuggeste dtha tth eKorea n "Mr. Kim reminds me of the young people in Vietnam who Sangha send a few young people to train atPlu m Village. work sohumbl y andprofoundl y and devote their wholelif e to the Dharma." Thay said, "Many seeds have been sown, and neo f thehighlight s of our timei n Korea was ourvisi tt o many more will be sown through the television program, OUnmun Nunnery in Kyung Buk Province. Asofte n hap­ videos, and books. Still, some work needs to be done to help pened throughout Asia, as soon as we entered the grounds of theseseed ssprin gup .Al lo f usshoul dpractice .N oon eshoul d thenunnery ,a feelin g ofpeac ean dlovin gcar ewa sfel t through only organize." every detail of theplac e andpeople .Here , 300nun s practiced Ourtim ei nKore awa sshort ,onl yte ndays ,an dw eha donl y meditation, studied sutras, learned how to care for children's abrie f retreat program, butw ecoul d see through our contacts educationan datten dth eelderly ,an dpractice d cooking,clean ­ thatThay' steaching sar ever yusefu l forKorea nBuddhist s and ing, and gardening in mindfulness. The Buddhas there were Christians.Th e thirst for spiritualityjuxtapose d with theeco ­ feminine (without moustaches). In the morning, Thay gavea nomic boom in Korea makes for fertile ground for the teach­ talk to the nuns in one of their classrooms. ings of the Buddha as presented so vitally by Thay. 26 Japan papers, television, and so on. Buddhist teachings can help us owmarvelou st oarriv ei nth eOsak aAirpor tan ddiscove r change the situation and protect the environment of the heart Hyetanothe rspring .W ewer egreete dther eb ya hard ytea m and of nature. Plants, animals, and inanimate objects all have of local organizers andpractitioners , notably TamioNakano , Buddha nature.Th eBuddhis t teaching of non-self istha t man Keisuke Shimada, and others of the "Web of Life/Mindful ismad eo fnon-ma nelements .I fw edestro ynon-ma nelements , Project" organization. Kaz Tanahashi, Richard Baker Roshi, we destroy ourselves." Issho Fujita, and the Hunt-Badiner family also joined our Onereporte rcommente d onth evariet yo fThay 's approac h group here. At a meeting that afternoon with reporters, Thay toBuddhis tteachings ,notin ggenre ssuc ha spoetry ,ecologica l said,"Drivin gthroug h Kobe,I wa sbreathin gdeeply ,awar eo f writing, Dharma teaching, and fiction. Thay responded, "We the suffering experienced through the earthquake. When the owe so much to the Buddha whose teachings are simple, not tragedy occurred last January, I told my students in Plum metaphysical but practical guidance for real problems of our Villagetha tth eteaching so fth eBuddh astres simpermanence , day. People have made these teaching too complicated. Per­ and that the best thing to do in response to this tragedy is to sonally I have been able to transform my suffering, anguish, accept each other, reconcile with each other, and love one and fear, and to get in touch with refreshing, wondrous, and anotheri nth epresen tmoment ,o ri tma yb eto olate .I nth etim e healingelement so fnature .M yhappines si sa noutcom eo ftha t of theBuddha , catastrophes were believed tob ereminder s to practice andtha t allowsm e tohel p others.Tha t is whyI think live a noble life. I believe this practice and belief have to do it is important to rediscover the simplicity of the Buddha's with the Buddha's understanding of collective karma. People teachings and help young people with their real problems. needt oconsul twis epeopl ei nth ecountr ya st oho wt otak ecar e Buddhism isa tth efoundatio n of Japanese culture.Jewel s are ofth ecountry. "Siste rCM n Khong added, "Iunderstan d your there,perhap sburie dunde rlayer so ftime .Fo rexample ,I hav e suffering. Life seems fine, then suddenly, like in the war in discovered thatth eDiamond Sutra isth eessentia l teachingo f Vietnam,friend s arekille dan dlif eseem sturne d upside-down. theBuddh afo r protecting theenvironment . Japan hasrealized Peaceful villages suddenly collapse. Nothing can prevent technical success, and we know that that does not guarantee catastrophes.Th eonl y wayt oprotec t ourselvesi st oliv ea lif e happiness. We can look to the Buddha's teachings for happi­ of beauty and goodness, so that good energy will envelop us ness. It's time to go home, to get in touch with our spiritual and protect us." roots. I asked someone, 'Are many people becoming monks Therewer equestion sabou tTha yno tbein gabl et oretur nt o andnun si nJapan? ' Theirnegativ erespons edisturbe dm ever y Vietnam, to which Thay responded, "I am in this position much.I f there aren't people devoted toth ehappines s of many because Iwa s not aligned with any party during the war butI people, society will suffer. That would be a loss." spoke out for the people caught between the warring parties. Later that afternoon, a few of us went with Thay and Sr. My books and tapes are now being widely circulated in Chan Khong to the area of the temporary shelters for the Vietnam. Ifee l I am there now.I believe in afe w years I will Vietnamese victims of the earthquake. This was an appalling beabl et og oback ,a sthing sar echanging. "Smiling ,h eadded , sight—people crammed into uninsulated tents and makeshift "Also impermanence." The reporters noted that many Viet­ namesei n Kobe are still living intempo ­ rary shelters after the earthquake. "What words of consolation do you have for them?" they asked. "Tragedies usually come double, one after another. Good- heartedpeopl eca nb eawar eo fthei rpligh t and help the victims. " Therewa sals oa lon gdiscussio nabou t city people losing a sense of connection withth eearth ,an dth egrowin ginteres ti n ecology stemming from this threatening senseo f alienation. Thay responded say­ ing,"I ti sver yhar dt ose eth emoo ni nth e city. That is regrettable. People are so busy. They lose contact with nature and get sick. They feel a void and fill them­ selves with things thatpollut e their body and their consciousness. It is the duty of themedi a to warn people about the need topractic e mindfulness in order to avoid Walking meditatation at Kojirin Monastery on Mt. Hiei outside Kyoto the pollution of consciousness by news­ 27 structures.Needles s to say,peopl e were very grateful to have others. There needs to be space within and around him. The Thay visit and see their plight directly. ideao fmarrie dpriest si sno ta ba didea .Bu tt osto pth etraditio n The next day, Thay gave a public lecture in a beautiful of celibate monks and nuns completely is a bad idea. The auditorium in Osaka to some 1,100 people, emphasizing "re­ Buddhaan dth emonk so fhi stim echerishe dfreedo m andtim e alizingth ePur eLan da sou rheart, "recognizin gth econdition s for themselves. As amonk , you leave family and enter a new in our lives for happiness, being present for our beloved ones one. To me, a monastic community is a real family. If your and the nourishing elements in our lives (the moon, the monastic family is nothapp y enough, transformation will not bloomingmagnoli atree) ."Tru epeac ean dhappines si simpos ­ bepossible .A monasti c family has therigh t toexclud e some­ sible for one who is running and believing that they are tob e onewh oma ynee dmor etha nth ecommunit yca ngive .A mon k attained sometime in the future." He dwelled on practical ornu nwh oleave sth ecommunit ydoe ss obecaus eth ecommu ­ methodso fpracticin gth eDharm at orestor ecommunicatio na s nity is not happy enough. If you can communicate with your a family: "Pain and anger in us cause us to get agitated and teacher and Dharma brothers and sisters, you don't feel the react.W enee dt opractic emindfulnes s anddee plistenin gwit h need for aprivat e family. We have to invite each member to each other and take mutual responsibility for the growing speak thewhol e truth, aslon g asthe y do so with right speech. negativity in arelationship .Transforming , notblaming ,i sth e "We are very aware that beginner's mind is precious for solution.Lookin gdeepl y atou r suffering helps usse eth ewa y monks and nuns,an d wetak e care not to let it erode away. At out." Plum Village, we allow more time for the practice than for studies. Four years of training provides a strong base for hat night, we arrived in the thick mist at Kojirin Monas­ practicei ndail ylife .I tma yb epossibl et ohel pa sa couple ,bu t Tteryo nMt .Hie ioutsid eo fKyot oan denjoye d beingi nth e iti seasie r asa mon k ora nun .W ehav e totr y ourbes t tomak e middleo fa grea tconiferou s forest. Wearos ea tdaw nfo ra Da y monastic life as happy aspossible , each person accepting the of Mindfulness with 125people . other as he or sheis . Ameetin g thenex t day withpriest s andon e nun ata cabi n "The gap between Buddhist studies and practice is too ona woode d hillsiderigh ti nKyot o wasa powerfu l wayt oge t great. The studies are advanced, but they don't address real to know their situation. "Most priests are the sons of priests problems—take, for example, the gap between the 'sound of who were very busy," they said. One priest said, "I hated the onehan d clapping' and one's anger and difficulties. The first Buddhism that was passed on to me. We have no private or Noble Truth must be addressed. The fourth Noble Truth must contemplative time. But my father's temple needed me to respond to the first truth. succeedm yfather . Ididn' t understand thestrang erelationshi p "OurJapanes e friends may try topractic e both the 'happi­ withparishioners.I twa sver yheav yfo rm et ob etreate da ssuc h nesso fon eperson ' (beinga marrie dpriest )an dth e 'happiness a special person. I did not feel deserving. The 'beginner's ofman ypersons ' (beinga celibat emon k ornun) .Th eOrde ro f mind' of the American Buddhists appeals to me more, so I Interbeing, inspired by the bodhisattva ideal, is composed of decided to take a sabbatical and go to the United States to monks, nuns, and laypeople. The Order bridges the gap be­ practice."Tha y asked if people consult thepriest s about their tween the monastic community and the world. The monastic difficulties, andth epries tanswere dtha tthe ydo ,bu th edi dno t community is more informed about the real problems of the know how to help. "Being a priest," he said, "is more a world. profession than areligiou s endeavor. The priests in Japan are "Tohav ea templ ei st ohav ea family . Tohav etw o families notservice-oriented. The y serveth edead ,no tth eliving. "On e atth esam etim eca nb ever y difficult. Inth eUnite d States,no t Zenmaste rsai dtha tthos ea tth eto pspea kabou t"non-realities . many people trust monks and nuns.Th e clergy has somehow Theyar eno taddressin grea lproblems ,an dth epeopl ewh oar e lost their spiritual leadership. When people have problems, concernedabou trea lproblem shav en opower .Anyon eu phig h they go to psychotherapists." does not dare speak out because of the delicate connections Thay askedquestion s about the bhiksu and bhiksuni tradi­ betweenreligio nan dpolitics. "Anotherpries t describedthing s tion. "More and more priests do not want to take care of this way: "Buddhism is out of shape. Superiors are always temples.Ho war ew egoin gt osolv ethi sproblem? " Thepriest s giving splendid advice, but there is discrimination based on described the problem of private ownership of the temples. gender, seniority, and social status, and the discrepancy be­ Thay said, "In China and Vietnam, monks have the power to tweenthes eproblem san dth eBuddhis tteaching st oliv ei nth e decideth efat e of thetemples .Bu t the lay followers influence present and look into our own hearts is too great." People the clergy. They expect the clergy to behave, or they boycott discussed thelac k of response from temples in thecas e of the them. For example, if they eat meat or drink alcohol, those Kobe earthquake, and then a discussion about addressing monks will lose support." One priest responded, "The Japa­ nuclear energy problems ensued. "If temples in Kobe cannot neselaypeopl e don't have great expectations of their clergy." helpearthquak e victims,ho wca n theyhel psto pth e prolifera­ "It isa matte ro fmas seducatio n of thelaypeople, "Tha y said. tiono fnuclea renergy? "Tha yqueried . "Thesec t headquarters shouldgiv eth eorde rt oth evariou stemple st otak ei na certai n e held a four-day retreat at the main center of the Shi- number of families made homeless by the earthquake." W shinkai Sect that follows the teachings of the Lotus Thaysaid ,"Unles sa mon ki shapp yan dfree ,h ecanno thel p Sutra,i nIsehara , KanagawaPrefecture , nearMt .Fuji ,fo r 150 laypeople,includin g 10children .Thay' s teachings focused on the "four man­ tras" as apractic e of love according to Buddhistteachings ,an dmisperception s and pride as the greatest obstacles in realizingtha tlove .H eals odevote dsom e timet oth e "purpose of Buddhist medi­ tation, that is, cutting through the vi­ cious cycle of suffering transmitted to us by previous generations"—dealing with anger and other negativities by "embracingthe mnon-dualisticall y with the energy of mindfulness and trans­ forming them." "Every mental forma­ tion touched by mindfulness can change,"Tha y said, reassuring and en­ couraging us. He taught methods of "unilateral disarmament," reconciling with or without the other. Theloca lorganizers ,man yo fwho m have been students of Joanna Macy, requested that one evening be devoted to "American Mindful Living," in the form of a panel of Baker Roshi, Kaz, Arnie, and myself. Arnie began with a Richard Baker Roshi and Hogen Yamahata Roshi calm overview and established some basics about the community of Bud­ dhist practitioners in the United States. I spoke personally though they are enacted in the name of a 'religious vision or about myinspiratio n topractic e meditation from an inneran d revelation.' It is a fanatical act borne of violence, hatred, and engaged perspective. Baker Roshi spoke about being and not ignorance." being an American, and Kaz concluded with a description of Ata nintervie w after thetal k withYomiuri Shibum, alarg e thewor k of Plutonium Free Future and Japan's production of dailynewspaper ,Tha yemphasize dBuddhis tpractic ea s effec­ plutonium. The evening ended with a young Tendai priest tivemean st oaddres sreal-lif e problems."Suc hkoan sa s 'Why cryingwit hdistres san dsham ea thi scountry' s namingth etw o did Bodhidharma come from the West?' must be practiced in nuclear power plants "Monju" (Manjusri) and "Fugen" a way that can help liberate us from our despair, fear, and (Samantabhadra), the bodhisattvas of wisdom and action. anger." Thewalkin gmeditatio npractic ea tthi scente rwa ssplendif ­ erous,a sth e azaleas were in full bloom, andth e greenery was he next day we headed west to Kiyosato near the Japan lushan dsweet . Oneo fth echildre n noted "13differen t variet­ TAlps for a four-day retreat at the Keep Foresters Camp. ieso fazalea. "Discussion s insmal l groupswer egrea t vehicles Thay's teaching dwelled on "arriving home at our true nature forexpression andsharin gfo r peopleperhap s nots ouse dt oit . inth eher ean d now."'"Hav e agoo d day' may beonl y awish . The children enjoyed themselves, even though they were too Weca n make our day good with conscious breathing. When I shyt odispla yi ti nfron t ofth elarg egrou pmos to fth etime .Th e firstencountere dthe Sutra on the Full Awareness ofBreathing, cookswer emacrobioti c andth emeal sdependabl y interesting, Ifel t liketh ehappies tperso ni nth eworld .I hav ebee n ahapp y and healthy. monk for over 50 years. If I have been able to help others be We arrived atth eToky o Grand Hotel asguest s of Sotoshu happy, it is thanks to the practice of conscious breathing." International, energized and ready to face the noise and con­ Thay spent most of the Dharma talks instructing people gestiontha tgreete du so nth estreet so ftha thug ecity .I enjoye d how to practice "love that is not just an intention but a real hours andhour s of exploring sidestreet s full of noodle shops, capacity to make the other person happy," warning us that bakeries,an deverythin gimaginable beingproduce d andsold . "acting in the name of love without understanding could be Thay's public lecture to more than 1,000 in Tokyo, spon­ destructive to your loved ones." soredb ySotosh u International, concentrated onth e establish­ Imagineou rjo y atth een d ofth efou r days ofrain , fog, and ment of real understanding and love as an antidote to the cold mist to wake up the last day of the retreat to a clear blue growing phenomena of "hungry ghosts," especially as they skyan dful l looka tsnow-covere d MountFuj i rising aboveth e manifest inth efor m of strange sects. "Violence and anger are other mountains!W e had an especially long walking medita­ symptoms of the lack of love and understanding within, even tionafte r thelectur eo n "nobirth , nodeath "tha tmorning , and 29 we were so happy to be outside in the bright day. The retreat for 400people .Later , Thay said, "We all acted ason e Sangha wass odee ptha tman y participants kept stopping eacho fu st o through this tragedy. Everyone tried to support each other. thankus .On eZe nteache ran dyog icam et oSiste rCha nKhon g There was no blaming, no suing. The event was a strong bell andaske dhe rt otransmi tt oTha yhi sdee pappreciatio nfo r"th e of mindfulness. We have to rejoice that no one among us is greatest gift of wonderful teachings. Inparticula r theprostra ­ dead.Thi si sth emos t enjoyable thing.W ehav egrow n upan d tions helped me transform deep and hidden pain in me." become stronger, andw ehav ebenefite d from the experience. Wesai dfarewel l asth eothe rretreatant s weresettlin gdow n MaezumiRosh i died yesterday inTokyo .W e almost met with for lunch in the dining room of wooden picnic tables. I him there. His death is another bell of mindfulness. He was remember thanking the macrobiotic cooks for their wonder­ strong and healthy yesterday. If wehav e anything unresolved fully tasty, nutritious, satisfying meals. Because of the long with anyone, weshoul d resolve it or it may be too late. Those walkingmeditation ,ou rgrou pwa sunabl et osta yfo rlunch ,a s whorecovere d from the food poisoning have learned to prac­ we had to catch the train to Kamakura to prepare for the Day tice well in the face of adversity." of Mindfulness there. At the train station, we witnessed the Sister Chan Khong reflected, "Looking deeply into that strange seizure experienced by one of the Vietnamese event, why did we, the team accompanying ThSy, escape the retreatants. Later that night in the lovely Komyo-ji Templei n accident? Weha d some merit, yes, but arathe r humble merit, Kamakura,ou rhost ,Tamio-san ,learne do fth etraged ytha tha d notenoug h toprotec t our 80friends . The fact that we escaped befallen the other retreatants after the accident may be thanks to the we left. merit of the 400 Japanese friends One of the cooks had meant to who attended the Day of Mindful­ gather a particularly delicious wild ness in Kamakura whodeserve d to herb for the soup, but had inadvert­ receiveThay 's wonderfu l teachings ently picked a poisonous one that that Sunday. If we all went to the looked almost exactly the same. hospital, how could they have had Within minutes of eating the soup, thatchanc et opractic eth eDharma? the 60 retreatants who were having Itals oma yb ethank st oth emeri to f lunch began to feel the effects. At theChines epeopl ewh odeserve dt o first their vision became lucid, then receive Thay's teachings.I f weha d theylos tvision .Followin gthat ,the y gone toth e hospital, our China trip lost use of their limbs, and finally, would probably have been can­ they collapsed and vomited, some celled. So the patriarchs in China for hours. All but two people were protected us from that accident, so rushed to the hospital. that the trip could be possible. For the next 24 hours, we were allo npin s and needles awaiting re­ "IT Te had asecon dmeetin g with ports from Kiyosato about priests and others in Kama­ everyone's health. Tamio-san and kura the next day to discuss the Brother Doji drove there that night, Amida Buddha in Kamakura, Japan future of Buddhism in Japan. Thay andth enex tday ,Brothe r Doji, with opened the session by saying, "We letters from Thay and Sister Chan have come from far away, and we Khong, visited more than 60 people in four hospitals. As the don't know much about Japanese Buddhism. Please tell us reportstrickle din ,w efel tmor ean dmor ehopeful :peopl ewer e about your aspirations and hopes for Buddhism in Japan. recovering and eventually everyone was released from the Please tell us about your happiness and your difficulties. Our hospital, fully recovered. time is a time of adaptation. Christianity, Judaism, and of Allo fth e Kiyosatoretrea tparticipant s expressed gratitude course, Buddhism need to renew themselves." for beingaliv ean dfo r thepractic eo fmindfulnes s and Sangha The first speaker was very critical of institutional Bud­ thathelpe dthe m enormously during theirordeal .On e woman dhism: "We are not interested in the future of Buddhism. We woke up during the night in the hospital and began to sing care about the future of human beings. Japanese Buddhists Thay's poe m"Cal lM eb yM yTru eNames, "an dhe rroommat e don't think much about their response during World War II. joined her. They described to us later the amazed look of the Monks and nunsdon' t pay attention toth e difficulties of poor nurses seeing these patients singingjoyfull y in the middle of people. Only a few Japanese Buddhists are interested in the sucha difficul t night.Anothe rwoma nwrot et oThay ,express ­ difficult situation of Buddhism in Burma and Bangladesh. If ing her thanks for the powerful experience that helped many theBuddhist s would reflect on thepast , maybe then we could people measure the depth of their practice after the lesson of discuss the future. Look at the homeless in Tokyo's Shinjuku no-birth, no-death that morning. Station. Can Japanese Buddhists go to such places and show But in Kamakura, we were unaware of the outcome asw e their care? Christians dojoi n in the work being done here to beganou rDa yo fMindfulnes s Sundaymorning ,Mother' sDa y protect the rights of the homeless, not the Buddhists." 30 A monk said, "Our rich society is losing its spiritual life. BailinTemple ,wher ew ewil lmee tth emaste ri nth eabbot .I a m JapaneseBuddhist s onlywan tpersonal ,individua l happiness. so grateful to Chinese Buddhism. My books being translated There is toomuc h institutionalization and people caring only intoChines e (inTaiwan ) makes me very happy, asI fee l Ica n about problems about property maintenance, and position of givesomethin g back.Economi c growthi sno tenough .Happi ­ power; too little bodhicitta; no real Sangha. My pessimistic ness is based on spiritual life. We rely on masters to practice view is that without a Sangha of all different sects in Japan, spiritual leadership." ThSy cautioned us to refrain from dis­ there is no future for Buddhism here." cussingpolitica l topics.H esaid , "Wema y notb eabl et oshar e There was some discussion about women and Buddhist ourpractic e on this trip.Mayb e the only thing weca n share is practice.Tha y andSr .Cha n Khong spokeabou t the "invisible ourmindfu l steps.Pleas epractic e mindfulness every timeyo u practice" of nuns in Vietnam and Taiwan practicing the walk outside of our bus. Keep silent and walk mindfully with Pratimoksa and doing humanitarian work. In response to the joy and peace. That will be powerful enough." feeling that the clergy serve only the dead, Thay said, "This Wemad ea shor tvisi tt oth eTempl e ofHeaven ,buil ti nth e practice is needed too. When wepra y for the dead, we create Ming Dynasty, originally a site for harvest and atonement peace in our heart. It serves both the living and the dead. But rituals.Ther ewa samarvelou smomen twhe non eo fth eguard s becausew eignor eth erea lsufferin g ofpeople ,the ydon' tcom e peered with great curiosity at Sister Jina, pointed to her own toou rtemple s when they haverea lproblems .W e havet oas k sky-blueunifor m andthe n atSiste rJina' s eyes and exclaimed the children, the families, and others in society what kind of inChinese ,"I'v eneve rsee na blue-eye dBuddhis tbefore! "W e suffering they experience. Then wewil l be able tooffe r them didwalkin gmeditatio n throughapar ko fcedar sbac kt oth ebus . waysou to fthei r suffering. Agoo dBuddhis t knows hiso rhe r Wewer easked no tt owal ki nTianame n Squarea sa group , ownsufferin g andtrie s wayst oalleviat e it.H eo rsh eca nthe n becausei tmigh t looklik e ademonstration , but SisterJin a and sharewha t has beenlearned . Ifw ecom etogethe r andse eho w I went and walked around the Monument to the Peoples' to address real problems, we will create a Sangha thati s very Heroes and the Mao Zedong Mausoleum with the awareness interesting, andpeopl e willcom e back tous .Monk s and nuns that thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators had been andelde rbrother s andsister s inth eDharm a should offer their killed there less than six years before. That was in stark happiness toothers .Tha twil lspea kmos teloquently , andthe y contrast with the hundreds of Chinese flying kites and taking can helppeopl e know how topractice .W e need torestor e the photographs. capacity of spiritual leadership and authority, not just as The next day we went to the Temple of the Reclining scholarship, but aspractice—th e living Dharma. Buddha atFragran t Hills Park, where wedi d walking medita­ "Herei nthi stemple ,I hav ebee nabl et otouc h thespiritua l tiono nth eroa dleadin gt oth etempl ean dthroug hth egrounds . heritage of Japan. Many young people came to our Day of In the main temple, which is now amuseum , we took off our Mindfulness yesterday. They arethere ,read y topractice .Yo u shoes and were allowed into the inner sanctum to make only need to offer them a chance." prostrations, light incense, and chant the Heart Sutra to pay Therewa sa namazin gdemonstratio n ofNo hdrummin gb y our respects to all Chinese Buddhist ancestors, while many asixteenth-generatio n artist,an dthe nw eal lenjoye d amarvel ­ Chinese tourists gathered round. The temple grounds were ous box lunch. beautifully shaded and evoked a feeling of great serenity. As Our last morning in Kamakura, we visited the Great Bud­ Thayinvite dth elarg etempl ebell ,w ecoul dimagin eth elif eo f dha{Dai Butsu) an dwer einvite dint oth eprivat egarde nthere . practicetha tonc eflourishe d here.Tha y explained tou san dt o Our last evening in Tokyo, we had a farewell dinner and a the guides the deep meaning of each Chinese expression Sangha-building gathering.Th etim ewit hth ewonderfu l Japa­ written on every gate of the temple. Then he looked straight neseSangh acam et oa clos efo rnow ,an dw ewer eof ft oChina . intoth eeye so fou rguide san dsaid ,"You rheritag eo fBuddhis t culture is very rich. It would be a great loss if you ignore it." Peter and Hibiscus listened carefully. China Outside the temple gate,Tha y sat down under some shade lying from Hong Kong to Beijing, the sun spread out like treesan dou rgrou po f 15 began singing "BreathingIn ,Breath ­ Fmolten gold over the glistening rice paddies. There was ing Out" in English and Chinese. Our guides asked several some feeling of magic in the air as we approached the long- questions, and a spontaneous Dharma talk began. Soon more awaited fulfillment of Thay's dream to visit China. than 50 people had gathered to hear Thay speaking with China was the only country that we visited where there translation byJean , about love basedo nunderstanding . When were no local Buddhist hosts (for obvious reasons). But we hefinished , Peterprostrate dt ohim .Later ,Pete rtol dArni etha t werecertainl y hosted inChina—b y our national guide,Hibis ­ he experienced a breakthrough in regards to how to treat his cus,an d bya loca l guide ateac h location. Hibiscus and Peter, own daughter. Our silent, mindful walk through the park was our Beijing guide, were waiting at the airport to greet us and very powerful. Some elderly people joined their palms and escort us through the crowds and traffic to our hotel. bowed. Thay bowed respectfully to a street sweeper. He was Thefirs tmorning ,Tha ycalle du sal lt ohi sroo man dtol dus , deeply moved and joined his palms with tears in his eyes. "We can share thepractic e the world over. Take each step in Wecoul dno tresis ta visi tt oth eForbidde nCity , impressive mindfulness herei nChina .W eca nbrin gligh tt oCha oChou 's for the sheer volume of ancient buildings and land devoted to theseclude dlif eo fth eMin gan dQin gDynastie sfo r500 years . life. Thich Nhat Hanh also teaches Chan in everyday life and We did walking meditation for the 90minute s we werethere , makes the profound concepts and teachings of the Buddha stoppingt oenjo ypeopl efro m allove rthi shug ecountr yhavin g accessible."Tha yurge dth erenewa lo fBuddhis mi nChin aan d their pictures taken at every prime location. the need todro p the language of complicated Buddhist terms SisterJin aan dI spen thour searl yth enex tmornin gwalkin g that turns young people off, relating how the very intelligent the wonderful, medieval back streets of Beijing. At times we translator for Thay in Moscow did not know how to translate happened upon dirtpath s crowded with vendors and sampled Buddhist terms, and yet many people received the Five Pre­ someo fth ecornbrea dan dscallion-flavore d whiteroll scooke d cepts with deep understanding and commitment. Master Jing in their makeshift ovens. Hui described their summer camp for university students. He We visited Fa Yuan Temple and the Chinese Buddhist also said, "We want to be in communication with Thay, who Institute. Thay spoke to 60 young monks in golden-brown has done agoo djo b spreading the Dharma through the West, robes about walking meditation: "I hope you enjoy your time and we can learn from each other." Thay responded, "We all in the Institute andd o notjus t think about the time when you have the same lineage. If we can explore the teachings of the willb eth eabbo to fa bi gtemple .I hav ebee na happ ymon k for Buddha, we can help people be happy," adding, "I know moretha n5 3years .I fw elov eth eBuddha ,th ewa yt osho wou r conditions are not completely favorable yet, but they are appreciation is to practice his teaching of living deeply your improving." life inever y moment,"an dh ebriefl y taughtth egatha ," IHav e We travelled by train from Beijing to Shijiazhuang where Arrived, I am home."Tha y also spokeo f thenee d for ancient westaye d in what came to be a very familiar sight—a "four- Chinesetext st ob etranslate dint omoder nChines efo rcontem ­ star" hotel towering above surrounding concrete blocks of poraryreaders .Afte r hearing Thay speak about arrivingi nth e apartmentsan dprimitiv ecrowde dwoode ndwelling so nwind ­ present moment, the abbot, Yin Hai,obviousl y refreshed and ingpaths . inspiredb yth etalk ,said , "Within 20minutes ,yo uwer eabl et o Once on a walk, Thay, seeing a child on the street, said, offer usth ecrea mo f thelivin gteaching so f theLor dBuddha. "There are so many children, and yet from time to time I am Thankyou !I hop eyo ual lenjo y and arrivei never yste pdurin g drawn to aparticula r child to speak or to bow to him or her. I your stay in China." feelI a mrecognizin ga futur e monko rnu ni na particula rchild . We went to Kwan Chi Temple and the Chinese Buddhist It is very easy to water seeds here." Association.Maste rJin gHui ,a chie fdiscipl eo fth egrea tCha n patriarchX uYun ,greete dTha yb ysaying ,"Th eteacher so fth e nMa y 21, we travelled by bus through wheat fields, past have taught us about the integration of practice in daily O peach orchards, not far from a coal mining region to visit Bailin Temple, residence during the Tang Dynasty of the great Chan master Chao Chou, famous for thiskoan :A monkaske dCha oChou ,"Wh y did Bodhidharma come to China?" Chao Chou replied, "Looka tth ecypres stre ei nth e courtyard." At a Dharma talk to the young resident monks, Thaysaid ,"Ho wca nth emon k as such a question? He had been practicing here at Bailin Temple for several years and yet he never even noticed the cypress trees in the courtyard. Whati sth eus eo faskin gabou t Bodhidharma, or ultimate re­ ality? We are very grateful for thecypres stree sa tthi stemple . Like young monks and nuns, they are very beautiful andre ­ freshing. When you are sur­ rounded by brothers and sis­ terspracticin gdeeply ,i ti seas y for u t0 see the Cypress groves at Bailin Temple,wher e Chan Master Chao Chou taught y° cypresstrees .

32 Youhav etim et oloo kdeepl y andse eth etree san dothe rthing s came to Vietnam from China is a branch of the Lin Chi sect. aroundyou .I f youar ealway slos ti nregret s aboutth epas tan d The sense of coming home brought tears to our eyes as we worries about the future, how can you be available tob e with offered incense, prostrated to the images of the Buddha and the cypress tree?" great Master Lin Chi, and then walked among roses in the ThenTha ytol dth estor yo fth eBuddh aholdin gu pa flowe r courtyardan dadmire dth eancien tpagoda .Tha ylooke ddeepl y forthos ei nth eassembl y tosee .Onl yMahakasyap areall ysa w atth elineag echar tcarve d onth ewall .Afte r adeliciou slunch , it, and he smiled. "The heart of Buddhist practice is mindful­ ewer eabou tt oleav ewhe nth e abbot,Y uMing ,returne d from ness, which is the absence of thinking and the presence of atri pt oWutaishan , and invited us tojoi n him for acu p of tea being.Th e Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Hui Neng, did and mutual greetings. not spend much time inth e meditation hall,bu t inth e kitchen pounding rice and outside sweeping the yard. henex tmornin g wese t out for Wutaishan (Five Terraces Free from notions, Chao Chou. his successor in later TMountain) in Shanxi Province, one of the four major generations, could not avoid seeing thecypres s treedeeply .I f Buddhist holy places in China. There hundreds of temples, youunderstan d theteachin g ofyou rteacher ,yo udon' thav et o monasteries, and nunneries there that have flourished for come to aparticula r temple. The cypress is alive everywhere, centuries.I ti ssai dt ob eth edomai no fManjusri ,th ebodhisattv a but most people are caught by their ideas of the cypress and of wisdom. The vast, barren valleys between the five great cannot seeit .S ow ehav et o 'kill' theide ao fth ecypres s soth e peakswer ebreathtakin gi nthei rawesom ebeauty ,althoug hth e reality of the cypress can reveal itself to us. Master Lin Chi extento fth edeforestatio n wasshocking .Th e sheer numbero f said, 'If you see theBuddha , you have tokil l him.'" It means buildings left—for this area was far enough from Beijing to wemus tkil lou rerroneou sconcept sabou tth eBuddh a inorde r suffer minimally during the Cultural Revolution—is impres­ to be able to be in touch with the real Buddha. sive.Bu ta grea tsadnes shang sove rmuc ho fth earea .Th ehote l "Some time later, another monk came to Bailin Temple westaye din ,fo rexample ,wa sonc ea monastery ,an dtha ti sth e wanting to see the cypress tree, which had become famous fateo fman yforme r dwellings ofreligiou slife .An dth emonk s throughout thecountr y becauseo f thisdialogue .Maste r Chao in many of the temples seem to be busy with the work and Chouha dalread ypasse d away,an dhi ssenio rdiscipl etol dth e business of tourism. visitor, 'I don't know anything about a cypress tree!' The The first monastery we visited, Xian Tong Si, is grand visitor was shocked. But the senior disciple of Chao Chou (there are over 400 rooms), although in serious disrepair. We offered hima nimportan t teaching.W ehav et odwel ldeepl yi n entered the main temple to offer incense, make prostrations, the present moment, not in our notions." The young monks andhea rTha y give aDharm a talk. As the 75monks , all either truly enjoyed Thay's talk about their great ancestor. older than 60 or younger than 25,assembled , I was struck by It was a sweet pleasure for us to sleep in the temple that how tattered their robes were and how unkempt their bodies night on simple raised platforms with grass mats and to wake (liketh edusty ,artificia l flowers onth ealtar) .I twa sreall yquit e early to join the monks for sitting meditation and chanting. Dickensian—their ruddy, lined faces, their stooped posture, After an elaborate breakfast served formally and briskly, we their unshaven faces. When they began chanting in raspy didwalkin gmeditatio n asa Sangh ai nth einne rcourtyar d with voicesamids tmuc hcoughing ,accompanie d bytinn ybell san d themonks , amidst the noblecypres s trees.Tha y held thehan d alifeles s drum,I fel t agrea tsadness ,an dI bega nt ocry deeply . of one 13-year-old novice monk and instructed, "Depending Theyha dobviousl y struggled solon gan dbee n sowor ndown . onho wyo uwalk ,i ti sth ePur eLan dovsamsara. I fyo use tasid e Thayaddresse dth emonks ,"W ehav ecom efro m faraway ,an d your worries and preoccupations and walk as a free person, wear ever y happy to beher e with you.W e would like to bow lotuseswil lbloo munde reac hstep. "Stoppin gt opractic e"tree - toyo u and thepatriarchs. " The pain was unmistakable. Thay huggingmeditation, "Tha y said,"Cypress ,I a mher efo r you," spoke about coming from a country "where there was great and,pointin gt oth eyoun gnovice ,said ,"Thi si sa cypress ,too. " suffering from warsdurin g which teachers anddisciple s were Getting on the bus to leave Bailin Temple, Thay put his killed. There was much I had to transform, and thanks to the handso nm yshoulder s andsaid ,"Yo u area cypress. "Late rh e practice of mindfulness, happiness and peace are possible." observed that the young novice was very happy being with Thay gaveinstructio n inwalkin g meditation, emphasizing TMy. "That willhel phi mwhe n heha sdifficulties . An impor­ walking slowly so asno t to lose the serenity of being amonk . tant seed was planted. To help one person is great." "We lose the life of a monk if we rush around like others. I Thenw evisite dCha oChou' s famous bridge.Th ereceptiv ­ prefer the simple life not to lose the time to breathe and be ityo fth eguides ,whic h seemedreflectiv e ofth egenera lstron g myself.I ttake s methre e times longer towal k somewhere, but receptivity of the Chinese for Buddhist teachings, demon­ that does not mean that I have not been able to help many strated itself when we visited Chou Chou's bridge.Th e local people. I have trained three generations of monks and nuns guide,echoin gThay ,said ,"No w weca nse eno tou rconcep to f whoar ehapp y andwh ohel pother sb ehappy .A goo dmon ki s the bridge, but the actual bridge." a happy monk, and he does not need to be very busy. If we That afternoon we visited Lin Chi Temple, the residence practice deeply each moment, each step, we will learn to live manycenturies ag oo fth egrea tancestra lteacher ,Li nCh i(La m deeply our life." Later, a young monk approached Thay, Tei nVietnamese ,Rinza ii nJapanese) .Thay' sZe nlineag etha t prostrated to him, and expressed his desire to practice well. area lperso ni nneed!' "Tha ynoticed ,an di toccurre dt om etha t herewa sth erea lManjusr i onth estep st oManjusr i Temple.The local guides were so inspired by the practice that they made sure they xeroxed their daily reports to the government that eveningfo r thesak eo fthei rstudie s andpractice ." Ihav eneve r done that walk without getting exhausted," they exclaimed. "He must be enlightened!" In a meeting with the earthy, ruddy abbot, Thay asked, "DoesManjusr i reveal himself from timet otim ethes edays? " Theabbo t responded, "It depends on your luck."Tha y put his hand on the abbot's shoulder, smiled, and said, "He is our Manjusri." On a more mundane level, Thay cautioned the abbot to resist bringing in a tram. "Donkeys and horses are okay."Th eabbo tsaid ,"W eonl yhav econtro linsid emonaster y gates.Outsid e thegat ei sunde r governmental control, beyond our control." Wereturne dfro mou rclim bu pth emountai nful l ofenergy . Thay asked Sister Vien Quang to go to a nearby Buddhist Institutefo r nunst ose ei fi tmigh tb epossibl e forTha y tomee t with,o rgiv ea Dharm a talk, toth enun s there.I tturne dou t the abbess had read about Thay in many Taiwanese newspapers, andsh ekne wtha tTha yan dth eDala iLam awer eknow n asth e twomos tbelove d teachersi nth eWest .S osh ewa sver y happy to invite Thay. Our visit to this nunnery was the bright spot of our trip to Wutaishan. We felt thelovin g care of details by thewome n as soon as we entered the gate. One hundred and sixty nuns, Monks atXia nTon g Temple onW uTa i Mountain mostlyyoung ,greete du swit hcheer yface s andw ewalke dpas t dormitories, gardens, and laundry areas beautifully arranged and tended, and a lot of active construction. The nuns and Thaytol d him, "We have toope n ourselves,o rw e will suffer. monks from Plum Village were served tea and given blankets When you have difficulties as a monk, don't giveup. " tocove r their lapsdurin g Thay's Dharma talk on theSutra on Nextw evisite dB iShe nTempl ewher eth eabbot ,Sho uYe , theFull Awareness ofBreathing and happiness as the fruit of age 83, had used the blood of his tongue to write out the practice."I f theBuddh a wasa happ yperson ,enjoyin g life, we Avatamsaka Sutra.Th eJapanes e whooccupie d theare aa tth e students should be happy and smiling." We then had a most time took the sutra to Japan. The abbot wrote out theLotus enjoyable walking meditation outside. As the sun set, Thay Sutra twice by the blood of his finger. We learned about their formeda spira lan dgathere dth enun sclos efo rsom ediscussio n summer schedule of study of theAvatamsaka Sutra,an d their about the practice. Then the nuns, beaming withjoy , lined up winter schedule of Zen meditation. Thay gave a Dharma talk to bid us farewell. to 110monk sabou tdealin gdirectl y withth erea lproblem san d suffering ofth epeople ,an donc eagai nurge dth emonk st ous e Thenex tday ,w ewen t byplan efro m Taiyuan to Shanghai contemporary language in conveying the teachings of the ("Only 12millio npeopl eliv ehere, "ou rguid e said) andi twa s Buddha andhelpin gpeopl e live harmoniously asa family . He something of ashoc k after our idyllic days inWutaishan . But talkedo fth eman yDharm adoors ,includin gB uddhis tpsychol ­ weacclimate dquickl yan denjoye d thevas tvariet yo farchitec ­ ogy, saying that there is a need for monks here to train to be ture and human life. Markets were staggeringly rich with Dharma teachers in the West. displays of every imaginable vegetable, including eggs caked in mud and mushrooms of every description, and every con­ We rose early the next morning to climb 1,080 steps in ceivable animal—snakes galore squirming alive or being mindfulness (one step, one inhalation and exhalation) to skinned of their innards, ducks, pigs cut open and splayed on Manjusri Temple. Four young children with their disabled atable ,chicken sbein gdecapitate d onth espot ,an dfish an deels . father were begging on the steps. The oldest sister brought We met Venerable Ming Yang, a very warm and politic forward theother st ob e"blessed "b yThay ,an dh epu thi shan d abbot of Long Hua Temple (150monks , Pure Land practice). onthei rheads .Al lbu ton estoppe dbeggin gfo ra moment ."Th e At a meeting with him and several elderly laywomen, Thay great thingi s that they forgot about begging.It' s important to stop andrelat e tothem , notjus t ignore them,"Tha y said. One expressed his understanding that "many young people in the man with astu bfo r anar myelle d atth eto po fhi slungs ,"a si f West and intellectuals come to Buddhism, not to worship or tosay , 'Yourecit e"Amid aBuddha "al lday ,an dye tyo uignor e askfo rfavor s (ofgoo dhealt h andprosperity) ,bu tt olear n how to transform their suffering. They look at the Five Precepts verydeeply .T otak erefug e withoutpracticin gca nhav en orea l "Too busy to hear Dharma talks," he replied. effect." Ven.Min gYan gdescribe d howBuddhis mi nChin ai s While in Hangzhou, Thay met with 30 members of the "booming," and he expressed how we were all of the "same extended family of Maryann Teng and responded to the family" of Buddhists. grandfather's andgrandson 's question s aboutreincarnatio n by Ven.Min gYan g saidtha t there would bea hug e gathering saying,"Th eBuddh asaid , 'Youhav ecom efro m nowhere,an d of the congregation the next day in Yuan Ming Lecture Hall, you go nowhere.' When conditions are sufficient, you mani­ and when he suggested that Thay come again sometime and fest.Whe nthe yar eno tsufficient , youhid eyourself .Yo u exist givea Dharm a talk, SisterCha n Khongsmile d and suggested, or not, depending on conditions. According to the deepest "How about tomorrow?" Ven. Ming Yang called later that Buddhist teachings, you stay where you are and you look night to say that the governmental committee had given their deeply and see yourself continuing in your granddaughter. consent andtha t "permission for aDharm atal ko fon ehou ro n Birth and death are a continuation. It's very difficult to say the theme of the Five Precepts by Thich Nhat Hanh has been where we go after death—maybe in several directions, like a granted," and "There will be a parking place reserved by the sheet of paper when burned. Before we think we go, we have People's Police out­ already gone. Some side the temple for of you have already you." Hundreds or begun your journey perhaps thousands of into the cosmos. laypeople, mostly "Themos timpor ­ middle-aged and eld­ tant teaching of the erly,cramme dint oth e Buddha is to live BuddhaHall ,adjacen t eachmomen tdeeply . courtyard, and other Many people go to rooms to listen to the Buddha to make Thay's Dharma talk offerings and pros­ on developing under­ trations, but the best standinga sa basi s for way is to go for the love and harmony, teachings that will while participants improve your qual­ werepushin g to get a ity of life." Thay re­ glimpse of Thay, and lated how some of therewa sa cacophon y theSangh atravellin g ofcage dbird snearby . togetherha dgon eou t When Thay spoke and freed hundreds about thedee p listen­ of frogs and fish in ing practice of Kwan the nearby West Yin"wh oca neve nsi t Lake. "Without the stillthroug hfalsities, " ideao fmerit ,thi sac t there were tears Ceremony at Jade BuddhaTempl e in Shanghai gives joy and peace among the crowd, toou rconsciousness . along with mumblings of "Amitapho (Amida Buddha)," as Ihav epractice dfo r5 3years ,an dI hav elearne dtha tyo ucanno t wafts of incense flooded the air. A group of laypeople ap­ be happy unless you are compassionate," Thay said. "A talk proached Thay at the end of the talk and made an offering. likethi sca ngiv eyo usom eidea ,bu tth eBuddh ateache su stha t we must come together and practice as a Sangha." e took a special tourist train from Shanghai south to Thay proceeded to give a beautiful recapitulation of his WHangzhou inZhejian g Province.W eimmediatel y rode impassioned Dharma talks in China and ended by saying, by bus outside the bustling city of Hangzhou to Lin Yin "Buddhism needs tob erenewe d inChin a asa resourc e tohea l Temple.I breathe di nth esweet ,humi dai re nrout ewit hjo yan d and bring happiness to the Chinese people." a certain relief after the relentless smog and congestion of Before retiring, a 12-year-old girl whoha dmemorize d the wonderfully chaoticShanghai .Sixt ymonk slive da tthi stemple , Diamond Sutra, asked Thay to write something for her. He risinga t4:0 0fo rpractic ean dstudy ,an dthe nservin gth eman y responded, "I have given you a lot already. I wrote in your tourists whostrea mthroug hdurin g theday .W earrive djus t as heart." thetraffi c wastaperin goff , sotha tw ecoul denjo y thissublim e monastery undisturbed by commotion. Sitting under alovel y he last province we visited in China, Fujian, brought us alabaster, softly smiling Buddha in the "touching the earth" Tfull circle,a sw ewer edirectl y acrossth ese afro m Taiwan pose and a drawing of Bodhidharma with theLankavatara where we had begun. Here we met up again with Dr. Yo who Sutra,Tha y asked the abbot if the monks were not too busy. had made everything possible in Taiwan and also mainland 35 China. Dharma talks were offered at a temple in Fuzhou by comes to our door.Ther e is no reason for us not toinvit e him Thay and SisterCha n Khong.Tha y spokeabou tth edange ro f to teach us.Wit h or without your approval, we will organize wrong perceptions which lead to suffering. The audience of this retreat. Later that day, the authorites granted permission. 700 laypeople drank in every one of Thay's words, and were Thay gave Dharma talks to 400 monks and nuns at the veryexpressive .Th enex t evening,th ecrow d waseve nlarger . Nenputuo Temple about establishing a firm foundation of Sister Chan Khong spoke about Three Gems and the Five mindfulness practice."I fa mon konl yproduce sa grea ttemple , Wonderful Precepts.Peopl eenjoye d thetal kan dclappe dthei r butdoe sno tproducepra/na , hei sno ta nauthenti cmonk .Eve n hands loudly. ifyo umak eth evo wt opractic e2 4hour sa da yan dt omemoriz e We had a wonderful Day of Mindfulness at a beautiful theTripitaka, i fyo uar eno thappy ,yo uhav eno tmuc ht oshar e nunnery nestledi na hillsid eoutsid eo fFuzho u withmor etha n with otherpeople .Peopl ei n society always run, because they 100bhiksuni san dnovice si nthei rteens ,twenties ,an dthirties . believe happiness is to be found in the future. They are not Thislovel yol dnunnery ,lus hwit hgarden so fsquash ,eggplant , capable of establishing themselves in the present moment. beans, and rice paddies, with the fragrance of jasmine and Monksan dnun shav et osho w thati ti spossibl e toliv e happily gardeniaeverywhere ,wa sric hgroun dfo rplantin gseed so fth e in the present moment." Thay gave instruction in mindful Dharma about "arriving home" through the practice of con­ eating, and there was laughter when he suggested chewing sciousbreathing .Tha y spokeabou tth edifferenc e betweenth e eachmouthfu l 30times ."A tPlu mVillage ,w etak ea lo to ftim e Southern and Northern traditions of Buddhism—"the one being together enjoying our meal (not a lot of time chanting stressing suffering, the other counterbalancing that with an before and after). Today I will be eating with you, and if you emphasis on recognizing the wonders and beauty of life as a eatquickly ,yo uwil lhav et owai tfo rm ea tleas ta hal fa nhour. " manifestation of the Dharmakaya"—and "joy as the daily After abrie f walkingmeditation , wewer eushere d intoon e food" of practice. "It's much better to do less than do a lot dining room, and Thay took a seat. The rest of us nuns and without mindfulness. Living in mindfulness is the real sub­ laypeoplewer eushere dou tagain ,an deventuall yTha yalso ,s o stance of thelif e of anun. "Tha y voiced hisconcer n "to bring we ended up eating apart from the monks and nuns at the joy, relief, and happiness to those in need." temple's vegetarian restaurant. "Maybe tomorrow," Sister AtKwa nHu aTempl ean dth eBuddhis tInstitute ,w ejoine d Annabel said. the 150resident monk sfo ra Da yo fMindfulness . The30-year - Atthi stemple ,onl ymonk san dmal eDharm ateacher swer e oldabbo twa smad eth eyounges tabbo ti nChin asi xyear sago . permitted to give teachings. For Jean Hsieh to translate for When there was resistance because of his youth, his teacher Thay, Dr. Yo had to begin the translation and let Jean "add" said, "If youngme n his ageca n bemad egeneral s inth earmy , something.Likewise , for Sister Chan Khong tolea d theprac ­ can't a man that age be an abbot?" This young abbot has ticeo fth eFiv eProstrations ,Brothe rSariputr a hadt obegi nth e extraordinary integrity in that he is actively resisting the instruction. Thepractic e ofprostrations , "touching the earth," tendencyo ftemple si nChin at obecom econsume db ytourism . was greatly appreciated here.O n the second day, Sister Chan Instead of developing a restaurant that caters to the public, Khong was allowed to teach alone.I t was very moving to see including serving alcohol and non-vegetarian dishes, Kwan over 400 nuns prostrate on the ground in the open air. Hua Temple invites its guests to eat as the monks do. The Everyafternoo n duringth eretreat , therewa sa questio nan d temple publishing house publishes the greatest number of answersession ,an dmonk san dnun sasked dee pquestion stha t Buddhist texts throughout China. weresubmitte dbeforehan d onpaper .I nrespons et oon eabou t physical difficulties in meditation, Thay said, "Too much urfina l stoppingplac ewa sXiame no nth ecoas to f Fujian effort creates tension in the body and the mind. Meditation is OProvince.W e werewonderfull y hosted byth eabbot ,th e not samurai practice. Sit erectly without strain. People sit for most Venerable Miao Jan of Nenputuo Temple—a n extraor­ hours at the television without complaining about pain. Prac­ dinarilycourageous ,intelligent , andskillfu l 87-year-oldman , ticea sa lotu slea ffloatin gi nth ebreeze ,no tlik ea soldie rgoin g who, when students from Xiamen University stood at his toth efron t tokil lth eenemy .Strugglin gwit hbreathin g creates temple's gat edurin gth eCultura lRevolutio nread yt oente ran d oppression." destroy the temple,declared , "You will have tokil lm ealong ­ In response to a question about "transgressing a basic sideth estatue s of theBuddh a ifyo uente rhere! "Th e students precept,"Tha ysai dtha t"tha thappen s whenyo uar eno t happy sensed his determination and left the temple. enoughi nyou rdail ylife ,an dyo usee kjo yi nth eworl doutsid e Thay'scomin gwa sth efirst occasio nsinc e 1949tha ta hig h of your community of monks or nuns. Living in a happy monk had visited Nenputuo Temple, and the abbot wanted to Sangha, feeling supported every day, allows for keeping the welcome him properly with a procession of 600 monks and precepts.I admir e you, because you still have the intention to nuns in their sanghati robes. The abbot arranged everything continuea sa monk .I fyo ucanno tconfes s infron t ofth e whole evenbefor ereceivin gth enecessar ygovernmenta lpermission . Sangha, confess to onemon k you trust and together go to the Inhi sintroductio no fThay ,th eabbot ,referre dt othe Avatamsaka BuddhaHal lan dconfes s toth eBuddha .A tth enex t ordination Sutra, where the young novice Sudhana climbed mountains ceremony,yo uma ywan tt oreceiv eth eprecept sagain. "Whe n and crossed oceans to study with 53teachers .Th e abbot said asked,"Ho wca nI overcom esexua ldesire?" ,Th§ y responded, he had told the governmental authorities, "Now the teacher "If weenjo y ourtim e studying andpracticin g the Dharma, we In the evening, the Plum Village nuns were invited to Ten Thousand Rock Petals of Lotus Nunnery to give teach­ ings to the Chinese nuns, and on our last morning in China, Thay went there also because Sister Chan Khong told him, "It would be a shame if you cannot see this magnificient granite temple high up on the mountain."Bu tTha ycoul dno t spend much time walking aroundo nth eground sther ea s hundreds of nuns came, knelt down, asked his blessing, and triedt ogiv ehi mre denvelope s ofa fe wyuan, believin gtha ti n thislif e orth enext , conditions Nuns prostrating at Nemputuo Temple inXiame n will be sufficient for them to become Thay's students. won't have time and energy left to think about sex. Sexual Thay's last lecture in China was about no-birth, no-death, relationsdestro yth ecareer o fa mon ko ra nu nb ydeprivin ghi m andal lth emonk san dnun swer edeepl ymoved .Th eabbo twa s or her of the powerful energy to want to make many people surprised that Thay ended the three-day retreat at 11:00 a.m. happy." just after the Dharma talk. So he invited Thay tojoi n him for Headded ,"I fyo uhav esexua lrelation sa samonk ,yo u ruin onemor equestion-and-answe r sessioni nth eafternoo n at 3:00 her life and yours. Your love, compassion, and will toprotec t p.m.,befor ew edeparte dfo rth eairpor tat4:00p.m . SisterCha n her allow you tokee p theprecepts ; otherwise, you struggle. I Khong was asked to give 30 minutes more of deep relaxation do not have sexual relations with my students, not because I andon ehou ro f sharing herexperience s on no-birth, no-death strugglea lot ,bu tbecaus eI lov ethe man dwan t toprotec tthem . after lunch. Thay concluded the session by offering recom­ As a monk or nun, you have to be careful not to let your mendations to the monks and nuns. Everyone was almost in bodhicitta beeroded .A sa mon k ora nun , wenee d tolov ean d tears when Thay left. belove db you rteache r andbrother s andsisters .I fyo u areno t On the way to the airport, Hibiscus, our national guide, happy with them, your situation is critical, and you will be spoke these last words over the bus' microphone, "Dear bro­ temptedb ysens epleasur e andwil lsto pbein ga mon ko ra nu n thers and sisters. I can hardly believe our time together is very soon.Yo u may feel ignored byyou r brothers andsisters . comingt oa nend .I tha sgive nm egrea tpleasur et oget t okno w Maybe it is your fault. Maybe you get angry easily and don't youdurin gyou rver y special visiti nmy country . Ia m grateful know how to listen carefully or use loving speech." that 'conditions havebee n sufficient' for met ob eyou r guide, Thay gave instructions on methods of maintaining har­ and Ihop e they will be sufficient for us to meet again. I have mony as a Sangha, including "Beginning Anew" and "The especially enjoyed all the beautiful songs, and I would like to Peace Treaty." During one of the afternoon sessions, Thay sing India (the child's) favorite one now to you." And so our posedthes equestion st oth emonk san dnuns : 1.Wha thav eyo u three-monthvisi tove rth ecours eo ffou rspring si nAsi aended , done to support your family spiritually over the past three singing "In, Out, Deep, Slow" on the bus to Xiamen Airport. months? 2. What is your practice to get along with difficult Thay felt quite happy with his China visit. He said that he Sangha members? 3. What are your insights and struggles communicated well both with the old and the young genera­ discovered during walking meditation? He cautioned that "a tionso fBuddhis tmonk s andnuns .No tonl yth eyoun g monks Buddhist institute is not for acquiring intellectual knowledge. and nuns appreciated the refreshing and invigorating teach­ Teachers and students need to come together and discuss ings, but the venerated masters over 80 years old also recog­ strategies of developing authentic practice to train much- nizedi ta sauthenti can dessentia lteaching so fth eBuddha ,an d neededDharm ateacher scapabl eo fmindfu l living.Monk san d theyurge dth eyoun gmonk s andnun st opractic e accordingly. nunsmus t gothroug h transformation, andonl y through direct Inmainlan d China,Tha y was able to share the teachings with experience canyo u teach others.Whe n you hear high ideaso f more than 1,200 monks and nuns. the Diamond,Lotus, and Hua Yen Sutras, you have to ask, 'Whatdoe s thishav et od o with my real suffering? How canI ThereseFitzgerald, TrueLight, is an editor of The Mindful­ apply these wonderful teachings in my practice to transform ness Bell and Director of the Community of Mindful Living. my own suffering?'" 37 Rejuvenation in Vietnam ThichQuan g DoSentence d by Sister Chan Khong by Stephen Denney

herevitalizatio no fth eSchoo lo fYout hfo rSocia l Service n the last issue of TheMindfulness Bell (Spring 1995), we T(SYSS) in Vietnam has been possible because of the Ireportedth earrest si nlat eDecembe r 1994an dearl yJanuar y dedicated energyo fman y thousandso fpeopl ewithi nVietna m 1995 of two high-ranking monks of the Unified Buddhist and supporters outside the country. With better and better Church of Vietnam (UBC): Thich Huyen Quang, age 77, accessibility, monks, nuns, and laypeople are able to be in UBCExecutiv e Director; and Thich Quang Do,ag e 68, UBC contactwit hThay 's teaching san dstudent s sotha tth espiritua l General Secretary. Ven.Huye n Quang wasmove d toa ruine d dimension of the work has developed greatly. In many self- temple outside Quang Ngai City of central Vietnam. (See the supporting "pioneer villages," for example, not only are nextpag e for anaccount. ) Ven.Quan g Do was arrested in Ho bridges being built and other such developmental projects Chi Minh City. Their arrests stemmed from their continuing beingaccomplished , but the social workers arespendin g time protests of the government's human rights violations in gen­ in meditation and study, learning how to practice conscious eral and its policies toward Buddhists in particular. breathingwhil eworkin gan ddeepenin gthei runderstandin go f OnAugus t 15,afte r eightmonth so fdetention ,Ven . Quang lifebase do nBuddhis t teachings.Th esocia l workersmaintai n Dowa s brought totrial ,alon g with five other members of the a practice of the "Peace Treaty" and "Beginning Anew" Unified Buddhist Church. Ven. Quang Do was sentenced to teachings, aswel l as regular discussion of theprecepts .Thes e fiveyear si nprison ;Ven .Thic h KhongTan h alsot ofiv e years; teachingsar epresente dwithou tBuddhis tterminology ,s oa st o Ven.Thic h NhatBan gt o four years;Ven .Thic h TriLu c to2 - easily include Catholic and former communist Vietnamese. 1/2 years; Nhat Thuong, a layman, to three years; and Mrs. Always,th esocia l workers takeampl etim ewit ha communit y Dong Ngoc was given a two-year suspended sentence and todistribut e funds andsupplie s whilesimultaneousl y offering three years' probation. The trial lasted one day. A Voice of teachings that will strengthen their spiritual life as well, Vietnam broadcast indicated that Ven. Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Long Tri, the third highest ranking member of the Sister ChanKhong, TrueEmptiness, Dharma teacherand the UBC, may also be brought to trial soon. author of Learning True Love, assisted Thich Nhat Hanh in Thedefendant s werecharge dwit h"underminin gth epolic y establishing theSchool of Youthfor Social Serviceduring the of unity,"whic h appeared to be based on their efforts to carry Vietnam War. Tax-deductible donations for "Working To­ out religious and social work in the name of the Unified getherfor Rejuvenation in Vietnam" can be made through the BuddhistChurc ho fVietnam .Th eUB Cwa sforcibl y "merged" Community ofMindful Living. by the government in 1981 into its own state-sponsored Viet­ nam Buddhist Church. In subsequent years, courageous monks like Thich Huyen Quangan dThic hQuan gD ohav e been subjected to severepersecutio n for protestingthi sarrangement .I nfact , both these senior monks have spent most of the last 20year s under house arrest ori n prison for no crime other than urging theirgovernmen tt odevelo pa mor ecom ­ passionatean ddemocrati cpolic y toward thepeopl e of Vietnam. In late August, Sister Chan Khong wrote a letter that was sent out to nearly 8,000people , asking them to send faxes to Vietnam's Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, Vietnam Communist Party Secre­ taryGenera l DoMuoi ,th eU.S .Embass y in Hanoi, and congressional representa­ tives and senators expressing concern. Sampleletter swer eenclosed .I fyo uhav e not already seen this "Urgent Action" mailing andwoul d liket oreceiv e copies of these letters, please contact the Com­ Children inHu ewit h newschoo l supplies munityo fMindfu l Living.I ti simportan t 38 to sendletter s quickly, because iti sunlikel y thesemonk swil l beabl et oendur eman ymor eyear si npriso ngive nthei rag ean d VisitingVen.Thic hHuye nQuan g declining health. Nor does it bode well for Buddhism in byOn eo f His Lay Students Vietnam when only one, state-sponsored Buddhist Church is allowed to exist in the country. Our past actions on behalf of imprisoned monks and nuns Following is a report by an elderly Vietnamese woman who inVietna m have beeneffectiv e inpersuadin g the government recentlyvisited Ven. ThichHuyen Quang,Executive Director toreleas e them or reduce theirpriso n sentences.Man y of you of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, currently under sentfaxe s toHano ii n 1988urgin gclemenc y for ThichTu eS y housearrest. This report was given to us by Ven. Thich Minh and Thich Tri Sieu after they were sentenced todeat h onanti - Dung, a disciple of Ven. Thich Huyen Quang. government charges.Thei rdeat h sentenceswer ecommute dt o 20 years' imprisonment. Many thanks to all of you who have I sighed as if hundreds of kilograms hadjus t been lifted from participated in this effort. Please continue the good work. my shoulders as I walked into my own home. My eldest daughter cried out when shesa wme , "Mom ishome ,saf e and sound." Stephen Denney iseditor ofVietna m Journaland a long-time During the last three days, my mind had been greatly activistfor human rights in Southeast Asia. To subscribe to strainedb ym yillega lvisi twit hVen .Thic hHuye nQuang ,wh o Vietnam Journal ($8 per year), write P.O. Box 1163, isbein gdetained .T om yknowledge ,I wa shi sfirst visito rsinc e Burlingame, CA 94011. he was arrested. My family worried that I might be risking everything by visiting him. But Ia m old now and I amon eo f his life-long students. The road leading to his place of detainment was long and winding,accessibl eonl y byox-cart .Th eai rwa ssteamin g hot. Amidsta deserte dpatch offarmland , asmal lhous ewa s newly erected to imprison Ven. Quang.I coul d only see afe w small straw huts nearby. A few kilometers away was a mountain inhabited by some highlander groups. I arrived at the house whereVen .Quan greside sa texactl ynoon—th etim eo fda yth e guards are most likely to be napping. "Isanyon ehome ? Ia mlost ,thirsty ,an dwoul dlik ea glas s of water, please," I announced. Imad e no attempt to hide my presence, for doing so would only attract the attention of the guardslivin gnex tdoor .Th edoo ropened . Ven.Quan gwalke d out with the help of a cane. "Teacher,"wa sal lI coul dsa yt ohi ma tfirst. Th etear s from myeye scoul d notsto pflowing , andI coul d notfind th eword s to say anything else to him. "Whydi dyo uris kcomin gt osee me—a n oldwoma n alone ona dangerou strip ?Le tm eope nth edoo rwidel y soth eguard s won't be suspicious," he said. "Come in." SL "How are you, my teacher?" I asked. » "I was ill for afe w months,bu tI a mgettin g better. I don't know about next month, though." "Does this isolation sadden you?" "The fate of religion under suppression saddens me. Life herei squie t anddeserted .Ther ear eonl y afe w people around, and as they are the guards, and I am their prisoner, we do not # get along well." "IfNguye nThie uPagod a submitsa pardo nreques tt ohav e tf" you come live there, would you go?" "No. Howca nNguye nThie uPagod ad othat ?The yha dn o sayi nm ybein g imprisoned here inNghi a Hanh Hamlet. How can they now ask for my pardon? Some have approached me about this before. But, no.I will return with proper documen­ tationt oth eplac ewher eI wa sillegall y arrested.I fI committe d acrime ,pu tm e on trial.I f I am found guilty,I will accept the 39 punishment handed to me. If not, I would like to receive an cruel fates." official apology from the government to the Buddhist faith." "My teacher, did theyjus t build this house?" "Whenthe yarreste dyo ufro mHo iPhuo cPagoda ,wha tdi d "Oh,yes . Theybuil ti ti ntwent yday si nDecember . Onth e they do? What did they say to you?" 28th,I wa sbrough there .Man yinterrogator scome .Now ,ther e "Twopoliceme n tookm eb yth eside san dpulle d met oth e aretwo ,sometime sfour , sometimesa sman ya sten .The ycom e car. The others glared at me with watchful eyes. But they with guns and bullets strapped to their bodies.The y as ques­ wasted theireffort . If anol dma n likem edecide dt og oagains t tions about our life, our faith, and ourcountry . Gohom e now. them, he would do it with his head, not with his fists. They The police are beginning to stand up over there." didn't need to use force." Ibowe dt ohi ma sI wa sleaving .Ven .Quan gsa tsilentl y for "Did they return any of your belongings they confis­ amomen tan dthe n said, "Stay calman d answer quickly ifyo u cated?" are stopped by the police." "Only the bed, a small table, and a few things." Iwalke dout ,pretendin gI wa scalm .Actuall yI wa shurtin g "What about your files and the stamp belonging to Vien badly inside from fear and from having to leave Ven. Quang Hoa Dao (Institute to Propagate the Dharma)?" behind. "They took them all, including cassette tapes which re­ Two policemen in civilian clothes asked me where I was cordedprogram s such asVOA ,BBC ,Ne w Horizon.The ydi d going. I told them that the water from the well was very noteve n spare the tapes we use for religious ceremonies!" refreshing, andI wa s nolonge r tired after having adrin k from "Did they take any money, teacher?" it.A sI walked , Ipraye d toth e buddhas. About one kilometer "When they confiscated the money, they told me that it away,I looke d back.Ther e was asmal l housei n an otherwise would be forwarded to Tu Quang Pagoda for safekeeping. I deserted area. A monk nearly 80 years old was being impris­ had $3,000 that had been sent to us from people all over the oned there, without anyone to look after him. Oh, people of world. They took itall .Later , Tu QuangPagod a informed me authority, why areyo us ocruel ?Yo u areexecutin ghi mno tb y that no money was forwarded to them." bullets but by years of isolation, ill health, and interrogation "Didyo ufile a nofficia l complaint? Itha sbee nmor etha n sessions. If something terrible happened to my teacher, who six months. How do you survive, in terms of food and medi­ would know? Oh Buddha! cine?" "Oh well, let's consider everything lost for now." "In Saigon, I visited the family of a layman who was arrested, and learned that more than $5,000 that had been borrowed for the flood-relief effort was confiscated." "Yes,everythin gi slost .Bu tI firmly believ ei nth ebuddha s and bodhisattvas. Please leave now. You have been here for more than half an hour. The authorities forbid me to receive guests. There were six policemen here not too long ago. Occasionally,whol ecar-load so fpoliceme ncom et oguar dme . Now there are two, sometimes four." Ven. Quang was very concerned about me.H e walked to the door and went outside. In my mind, I prepared for a dialogue withth epolice , should there beone .I woul d saytha t "theol dman "(Ven .Quang ) andI wer econversin g aboutho w to get herbal oil for his troubled legs.I was going through the scenario as I took a look around to see how Ven. Quang was living.I twa sa smal lroo mwhic hinclude dals oa bathroo man d akitchen—tw o mangos andsom eflou r onth ekitche ntable — that was all. How could Ven. Quang cook and look after himself whenh ei si n suchpoo rhealth ?Doe sh eeve nhav eth e strength to draw water from the well? "Now,yo umus tleave ,m ypupil .Th epolic ear elookin ga t you from the house next door. Ia muse d tolif e inprison . The lack of facilities here isonl y like amosquit o bite on someone being burnt alive. Do you have any news about Ven. Thich Quang Do?" "No, my teacher. Some say that he is still being kept in Saigon. Some say he has been transferred north." "Oh, I wish him well. My fate is tied with prison and his with exile. Both of us are monks, and both of us endure such 40 oneperso n aloneca n work on thebhiksun i vinaya, asi t needs Reflectionso nNuns ' Conference theclos ecooperatio n ofsevera l nunsfro m different traditions. by SisterAnnabe l Laity Wewh ohav ebecom ebhiksuni sar eincline dt oassum etha t every nun wants to become a bhiksuni. But even in our own Vietnamesetradition ther ear esom enun swh oprefe r toremai n retreat seminar, "The Future of aBhiksun i Order inth e novicesal lthei rlife .W ehav et ob esensitiv et oth efac t thatno t A West," held June 25-30,1995, was the first time wea s being abhiksun i is not an impossible limitation. However, in nuns in Plum Village had organized anything like that, and it all of us deep down there is a wish for men and women to be was truly an experiment. The attendance was quite low—30 equally able to receive the ordination which allows them to visitingguest san dabou t5 0resident so fPlu mVillage .Amon g ordain others.Th eTheravadi n tradition isno tinferio r because our visiting guests there were nuns from the Theravada, the it has no bhiksuni ordination, but from time to time there are Japanese Soto (Serene Reflection), Tibetan, and Catholic nuns inthi stradition ori nth eJapanes e tradition who,becaus e traditions.Th e number of laypeople who attended the confer­ they so want the ordination that the Buddha gave to nuns, are ence far outnumbered the visiting nuns. forced to leave their tradition just to receive the bhiksuni Themajorit y ofvisitin gnun swer ei na traditio nwhic hdoe s ordination. Once they havereceive d itthe y are not welcomed not have the bhiksuni order, and we learned that their main back or recognized by their own fellow practitioners as concern was not so much reviving the bhiksuni order in their bhiksunis. traditionbu ti nmakin gnun sa strong ,respected ,an dequa lpar t of their Buddhist monastic community. Although for some nother important issue was that of our religious and peoplei tseem stha ttru eequalit y betweenmonk san dnun sca n Acultural roots. Western Buddhist and Catholic partici­ bestb eachieve d when nunsca nreceiv ethei requivalen t toth e pants felt closet oeac h otherbecaus e weshare d culturalroots . bhiksu ordination, someo fou rTheravadi n sistershav ei n fact When Western women become Buddhist nuns in an Asian gone quite far in achieving equality with the bhiksus. For tradition there is adange r that they will repress the emotional instance, they travel and give teachings in many places, and sideo fthei r character which is normally expressed in cultural they areresponsibl e for teaching thene w novices inthei row n andritua lpractice san dceremonies .A Buddhis t nuns' orderi n monastery. Tocal l these elder sisters novices therefore isjus t the West needs to allow room for the development of all a technicality. It is simply because their tradition does not aspectso fhuma nnature ,no tjus tsocia lservic ean dintellectua l allow them to take any ordination higher than the novice pursuits.Th etru elov ewhic hmonk san dnun saspir et opractic e ordination that they are still novices.Becaus e of their level of isno tservic ealon eno ri si tjus t understanding. Although love studyan dpractice ,i fthe yha dbee ni nou rtraditio nthe ywoul d necessarily has a basis of understanding, love is also an havereceive d the bhiksuni precepts long ago.Therefor e they emotion. should sit, not with the ten-precept novices, but with the When nunsvisi tou rpractic e center they areofte n stablei n bhiksunis.W eals ofel t thatChristia n nunswh ovisi tu sshoul d thepractic e towhic h they have committed themselves. When sit with the bhiksunis according to their year of ordination. It laypeople visit, it isofte n because they want to find apractic e seemed strange to separate ourselves according to religion to which they can connect. So our way of orienting nuns and 1 when our spiritual aspirations are soclose. laypeopleint oourpractic eshoul db edifferent . Whenw eorien t nuns into our way of practice it is so they know what we are ost of uswh o are familiar with the bhiksuni vinaya felt doing andthe y canjoi n and feel parto f thecommunit y for the Mthat a great deal of work needs to be done in this area. time being. We should introduce our orientation to nuns by This work would not probably in the first instance involve making it clear that we appreciate their commitment to their revisin go rchangin gth eactua lword so fth eprecepts .Wha tw e practice and by asking if we can do anything to help them would updatewoul d beth ecommentary . Ofcourse ,first o fal l observetha tcommitmen t whilethe y arewit hus ,an donl ythe n the original commentaries need to be translated into English, dow etel lthe mabou tth epractic etha tw edo .Sometime s anu n both from Tibetan and Chinese, or Chinese via Vietnamese. is away from her practice center for the first time, and if her Just as the Buddha during his lifetime revised the precepts own practice is not fully realized she will feel very strange constantly when the need arose, we can write on the various having to step into another way of practice. needs which arise in our own times. For instance, in the Buddha's time it was not allowed to ordain a monk or a nun lthough we only spent five days together, I learned so whosesigh to rhearin gwa simpaired ,o rwh osuffere d froman y Amuch from my sisters in other traditions. Ikno w that the permanent physical disability. In our own timew ehav e hear­ wayahea dfo r thefutur e isno tt omak eon eschoo lonly ,bu t to ing aids, braille and wheelchairs, which make the disabled allow the different traditions to continue with the variety of person very independent. In light of this, the commentary practices which were developed by the Buddha and after the could advise bhiksus and bhiksunis that when the disabled Buddha.Ther ei sa nimportan tprovis otha tw evisi teac h other person is properly equipped we can show compassion and andpractic e with each otherregularl y inorde r tohav e amor e allowhe rt oreceiv eth eful lordination .W eals odecide dtha tn o completepictur e ofth eteaching s ofBuddha .Thos e ofu swh o

41 havebecom eBuddhis t nunsbu thav eChristia nroot snee dals o to bei ncontac t with our Christian sisters,t o visit them andt o practicewit hthem .Thi si sth eonl ywa yw eca noffe r anintegra l In the concluding Dharma talk of the Nuns' Confer­ teaching to those who come to our own center and ask for encea tPlu mVillage ,Tha ypresente d three important teaching.Perhap s before we visit the nunneries ofothe rtradi ­ aspects to consider in setting up a monastic commu­ tions we need stability and confidence in our own meditation nity. sotha tw ehav eth ebasi st oabsor bth eriche so fothe rtradition s without being dispersed by them. We may feel that the trans­ "The first aspect is the teaching: What kind of mission we have from our teacher is the best transmission teaching is needed? Look deeply at the suffering of anybody couldhave ,bu ttha t isbecaus e iti sth ebes ttransmis ­ society and offer teaching that is appropriate for the sion for us.I t does not mean it is the best for others. sufferingof that society. Whatkind of teaching can we give to hungry ghosts, for instance, what kind of practice will help them and their society? heinteraction between nunsan dla ywome n wasver yrich . TWe decided that laypeople should make their needs and demands known to the monks and nuns, but these requests "The second aspect is the organization of the should not be based on a rigid adherence to the status quo. religious order: How do you organize your practice Laypeople should not expect monks and nuns to uphold center and relate to nuns and sisters in other coun­ tradition for the sake of tradition. We uphold a tradition tries? This also includes the relationship between because it brings beauty and happiness into thelive s of many teacherand student. The constitutional aspects of the beings. In the time of the Buddha, when laypeople observed organization of the order would here include the that the practice of monks and nuns was not conducive to precepts and the vinaya. We must consider, for in­ liberationan dhappiness ,the ywoul dpoin tthi sout .Th eobser ­ stance, whether itis possible topractice the precepts vationso fth elaypeopl e wererespecte dan dacte dupon .Toda y asin the time of the Buddha ?What isour relationship asmonk san dnun sw enee dth elaypeopl et opractic e alongside with the bhiksu Sangha of monks? uss otha tw e tooca n remain diligent in thepractice .W e need tob e seen by the laypeople.W e need tooffe r themth ebes to f "Thethird aspect isthe financial aspect: How will ourpractice ,ou rwisdom ,ou rmindfulness , andou rhappiness . ourcommunity survive financially —by donations from But we have tooffe r the truth of our being.Whe n a layperson thelay community? Theoriginal Asian forms may not prostrates tou si t isno t because wear ecompletel y happy and 'beappropriate. Thequestion is,how totake the plant wise. We still have our weaknesses, sadness, and confusion. from thepot andput it inlocal soil and have itgrow ? Thelaypeopl eshoul dkno wthat ,an dshoul dals okno wtha tth e Wehave to rely on the lay community. It isa very good reason they prostrate is because of their gratitude to the relationship and very essential. It was so in the Buddha, theteaching so fth eBuddha , andth emonk san dnun s Buddha's time. The monks practiced walking and who are doing what they can to keep those teachings alive. eatingmeditation andthe lay community was inspired byseeing thosepractices. In Vietnam, temples make soysauce for some financial independence. Freedom 1Al lthi sma y seemrathe rstrang et othos eo fyo uwh oar eno t familiar is neededfrom the conservative elements in the lay withorganizatio n inth emonastery .Durin gan yofficia l gatheringth e supporters. monks and nuns always sit in an order of precedence. This doesno t haveanythin gt od owit hth eleve lo finsigh to fth emonk san dnun sbu t "Thepurpose of this nuns' conference was tosow depends entirely onwha t year theyreceive d theirnovic e orbhiksun i these seeds. In the next conference, we have to go ordination. When someone visits the monastery they usually take moredeeply into these three aspects—the teachings, their place according to thesam e criterion. theorganization, and the financial means of sustain­ ing the community. After one or two years, we will have many insights and we can come together again Sister Annabel, True Virtue, is a Dharma teacher and the and enrich each other. translatorof Breathe!Yo u AreAlive ,Ou rAppointmen t with Life, andTransformatio n and Healing. "TheBodhi treehas to bring forth newvitality. The same is true with Christianity. When you stop the revolution, the tree loses its vitality."

—from Sister Eleni's report of the Plum Village Nuns' Conference, June 1995

42 Announcements

TrainingSemina rfo rVeterans 'Workshop s InSeptembe r theCommunit y ofMindfu l Livingsponosre da n Evening of Mindfulness withMaxin e Hong Kingston in Ber­ keley to share the fruits of our three-year "Mindfulness and Writing Workshops for Veterans of War." Maxine presented waysou r experiences might serve asa mode l for other groups wanting tointegrat e mindfulness practices,th earts ,an dcom ­ munity activism. SanghaE-mai lDirector y Several individuals and Sangha members have expressed interest in communicating with other Sanghas worldwide through e-mail. Gabrielle Yensen of Warm Snow Sangha, Ottawa, Canada, has offered to collect e-mail addresses and Maezumi Haku'yu Taizan Roshi organize them. If your Sangha has an e-mailaddress , please inform Gabrielle at: [email protected]. Maezumi Haku'yu Taizan Roshi, abbot of Zen Center of Los Angeles, died suddenly on May 14, 1995 in Japan, at the age InGratitud e of64 .H estudie dbot hRinza ian dSot oZe ni nJapan ,an di nLo s Many thanks to Holly Cook and Mitchell Ratner for their Angeles since he was 25.H e was aDharm a heir in three Zen generous donations of computers toou r friends in Russia and traditions, and left a number of strong Dharma heirs and Plum Village, and toYuh-Jaa n and Yecu-Chyn Wey for their teachers in North America who are commited to engaged contribution towards Plum Village translation equipment. Dharma work in the world, including working with abused children, homeless people, and prisoners. BuddhistAllianc efo r Social Engagement BASE provides a structure for agrou p of volunteers to spend The VenerableMaster Hsuan Hua,founde r of the Dharma six months to a year in part or full-time service/social action Realm Buddhist Association, entered the stillness (nirvana) workcombine dwit hBuddhis tpractice .Th eprogra m includes on June 7, 1995,i n Los Angeles. He was untiring in his ongoing support, training, and discussion around issues of efforts to teach others, to rescue them from their suffering, sociallyengage dBuddhism .BAS Ebega na pilo tprojec t inth e showing them a bright road to walk upon. His kindness, SanFrancisc o Bay Area and will expand toothe r locations as compassion, and wisdom touched the lives and hearts of theprogra m develops. Applicants will be matched to specific numberless beings. jobs onth ebasi s ofbackground , skills, andinterest , aswel l as the needs of the organization. For application forms, job Sulak Exonerated descriptions, financial aid forms, and further information, We are very happy to report that in April, the Thai Criminal contact: Buddhist Peace Fellowship, P.O. Box 4650, Berke­ Court acquitted social activist, our good friend, and respected ley, CA 94704, Tel (510) 525-8596, Fax (510) 525-7973, elder, Sulak Sivaraksa, oflese majesty (defamation of monar­ e-mail- [email protected]. chy) charges.Thi s case between the Military Junta known as the National Peace Keeping Council (NPKC) and Sulak Seedso f PeaceStaf f Position Sivaraksa came after Sulak's public talk promoting democ­ Seeds of Peace is a nonprofit, educational project offering racygive nt ouniversit y studentsi n 1991.Severa lday safte r the peaceeducatio n inNe wEngland elementary schools andhig h talk, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, Deputy leader of NPKC, schools.Part-tim eposition sar eavailable ,beginnin gfal l1995 , pressedcharge so flese majesty anddefamatio n ofhimself .A s for staff educators to visit schools and teach about peace and a result of these charges, Sulak left the country and lived in social justice issues. For more information, contact Seeds of exile. In 1992, following the pro-democracy demonstrations, Peace, P.O. Box 858,Putney , VT 05346, (802) 387-4827. theNPK C relinquished power and Sulak was able toretur n to fightth echarges .Sulak' s recent acquittal shows thatth ecour t Passages understood that his remarks were aimed at raising students' OnSeptembe r 3,1995,Nguye nBic hNga n andNguye nTrun g awareness and teaching self-reliance. This landmark verdict Chanh were married at Temple Viet Nam in Massachusetts. was seenb y Sulak andhi s supporters as a"moral e booster for Ourwarmes t congratulations to both of them and their fami­ people struggling for democracy and the country." lies. May their days together be filled withjoy . Thank you toeveryon e whoresponde d toth e letterwriting campaign and sent warm wishes on Sulak's behalf. 43 The Community of Mindful Living would like to acknowledge the generosity of the following donors whose 1995 contributions, through August 31,hav e enabled us to engage in the work of preparing for Thich Nhat Hanh's visit, giving aidt oVietnam , establishing aland-base d residential practice center, and holding weekend retreats for veterans, children, families, and others throughout the United States and overseas. General VirginiaAdai r• Laur aAlderdic e •Katin aAmsta d •Brya nAnderse n •Kati eAnderso n •Joh n Ayer •Kathlen e andMarc o Biswas • Richard Boswell and Karen Musalo •Mar y JoBowma n •Ja n Boyer •Richar d Brady and Elisabeth Dearborn •Bets y Brinson •Edwar dEsp eBrow n• Kare nBurn s •Penn y andRober tCabo t •Bill yCarmichae l •Mett aChan g •To mChilder s •Sand y Claire • B. Neal Clark •Susa n Cole •Donna Hannah Cochrane •Ann e Silver Conway •Cathlee n Cordova •Susa n andBruc e Cotsonas •Robert aDavi s •Andre w Deckert •Fre dEppsteine r •Ji man dArti eFaus s •Suk iFrederick s •Rut hFrisco e •Margare t and Philip Gerlach• Nanc yGin g• Edwar dGoldsmit h •Fren aGray-Davidso n• Jeanin eGrob e• Gle nan dOk-Ko oGrosjea n •Lind aGutierre z •Clair eHaag a •Shirle y Hannah •Haywar d Buddhist Center• Elizabet hHero n •Lind a Heywood-Getz •Ne l Houtman •Mario n andAlla n HuntBadine r •Th eHun t Foundation •Donal dJackso n •Danie lJulia n •Michae l Kahn •Am iLaw s •Maryann e Levine • Joyce Loeb • Valerie Love • Lynn Lyle •Marg e McCarthy •Pau l McClelland •Michel e Mclnaney •Patt i McMann • David Middleton •Sa n HongNg o Nghiem •Pamel a Oline •Jane t Overman •Mar y Elizabeth Perry •Priscill a Piatt •Natali e Compagni Portis• Lesli eCarte rRawl s• Christophe rReynold sFoundatio n• Bil lRickar d• Hayde nRobert s• Davi d Saltz •Seny a Saraswati •Jo n Schlobohm •Donna Sopetto• Andre a Sturgis •Sherr y Sutton •Don a Swain •R .Alexi sTakasug i •Yok oThoma s •Marily n Trounson •Stephani eTsuchid a •Su eVastol a •Milto n Vedder• JackieWeltma n• Yuh-Jaa n andYecu-Chy nWe y •Lauri eWhit e • Denoya Wyatt • Sarah Young

Special thanks to Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fundfor agenerous three-year grant to help Maxine Hong Kingston conduct "Mindfulness and Writing Workshops for Veterans ofWar."

WorkingTogethe rfo r Rejuvenation inVietna m Kay Allen •Eri c and Katherine Arbitor •Meliss a Bailey •Dewai n Belgard •Jess e Bornstein •Ronal d Bourgeois •Pete r Broner •Ki mCar y •Joh nCastellin i •Mar y Celnicker• Meich u Chen• Cath yComstoc k •Judit hGodfrey-Conle y •Ann eCoope r •Eilee n Cumming• Jan eEliosef f •Sylvi aFeldma n• Cecili aFor d• Edit hTschum yGai l• Susa nGaile y• Charli eGilreat h• Foste rGoodwil l • Bob Gorringe • Maureen Griffin • John Hamilton • Gayle and Larry Heiss • Sarah Helgeson • Carl Hertel • Houston Zen Community •Joh n Howard Jr. •Pamel a Jacobson •Ti m Jensen •Sara h Kahn •Patrici a Sawyer Kane •Mar k Krueger • Barbara Lawrence• Lotu sLe e• Gitt aLewi s• En aLinare s• Lyn nLyl e• Pegg yMackenzi e• Wayn eMacKenzi e •Ed aMalenk y •Ji mMale y •Marjori eMarku s• Dic kMastandre a• Scot tMayer • Sharo nMcElro y• Jacquelin eMeye r• Mar yMicha l• Kathr yn Moye s• Victo r Mueller •Kare n Nakasone •Christopher Nash andMushi m Ikeda-Nash •Sa nHon gNg oNghie m •Thuon g Vinh Nguyen •Pau l Norton'Susa n O'Leary• Abraha man dBinek eOor t• Chri sOpi e• Lind aParke r• Gai aPin e• Michae lPor t• Car aan dDavi dPowel l • Viktor Reinhardt • Barbara Rich • Sheryl Rowe • Donald Sage • Grace Sanchez • Martin Saunders • Janis Savage • Vuong Scarborough •Eugen e Szymczak •Marci e Thurston and Ben Shaine •Hele n Stoltzfus •Phi l and Sharon Swift •Mar k Therrien •Vla d Thomas •Judit hTolan d •Stephani eTsuchid a •Mar y Uhrig• Kathri n Unger •Cynthi a Wadsworth •Dougla s Wanamaker • Madelon Wetor •Davi d E. White •Jane t Zimmerman RetreatCente r Anonymous donors (2)• Judit h Berger •Richar d Brady andElisabet h Dearborn •Mar k Bryant •Tyron e Cashman •Joh n Carroll •Cicad aFun d ofth eTide sFoundatio n •Da nDefe o •Marvi n andLoi sDicke r •Richar d andJ oAn nFirema n •Elli eHaye s •Ethe l Ippolito •Winthro p Jackman •Mar y Lazar •Rand y andLea hMatsu i •Jame sMorri s •Pau l Norton •Constanc e Packard •Josep h and Barbara Parrish •Berkele y Poole •Bu d Reiter-Lavery •Donal d Sage •Susa n Theaker •Jos h and Jody Wright Tenenberg • KimWarre n • Yuh-Jaan and Yecu-Chyn Wey

Retreat Center Update Our search for a retreat center in Virginia continues with the help of Sangha members in the Washington, DC. and Charlottesville areas.Sinc eth e announcemento fou rsearc hi nThe Mindfulness Bell an dth eParalla xPres scataloglas t year, we have received $200,000 in donations specifically for the acquisition of property, which is nearly enough for a down payment, andrepresent s about one-seventh of the anticipated purchaseprice .Than k you! In October, Therese and Arnie will make their sixth trip to Virginia inhope s of completing the search and beginning the work of funding and establishing a center for thepractic e of mindful living. Please contact us for further information or if you would like to help.

44 Letters Invoking Kshitigarbha's Name Thankyo u foryou rcontinuin geffort s in publishingThe Mindfulness Bell. I ttrul y Weinvok eyou rname ,Kshitigarbha .W easpir et olear nyou rwa y serves assuc hi nou rhousehold .I lik et o soa st ob epresen twher ether ei sdarkness ,suffering , oppression, leave it around to happen upon it while and despair, sotha tw ema y bring light, hope,relief , and libera­ doing other work. Seeing it, like seeing an altar in the room, I am reminded to tion to those places. We are determined not to forget about or comebac kt omysel fa si fa bel lha drung . abandonthos ewh oar ei ndes ­ Ourdaughte ri stw oyear sol dan dw eca n perate situations. We will use allth e reminders we can to breathe. do our best to estab­ Tycho Speaker lish contact with Santa Cruz, California them when they cannot find awa y Recently, whileeatin gbreakfast , Imen ­ tioned tom y daughter, Grace, thatI wa s outo fthei r suffer­ thanking the cow who made the milk ingan dwhe n their surrounding thecereal .A littl elater , she criesfo rhelp ,justice , said, "You're eating a blade of grass equality, and human too." I looked into her eyes and said, rightsar eno theard .W e "Yes."Wonderin g if my understanding was the same as hers, I asked her what knowtha thel lca nb e found she meant. She said, "The cow ate the in many places on earth and grasst omak e themilk. "Smiling , Isaid , wed ono twan tt ocontribut e "Yes, that's right." "And you're eating to making more hells on the sun.""An d acloud. ""An d adro po f earth. Rather we want to rain."W e were quiet for amoment , and then Grace said happily, "I learned that help unmake the hells that on 'Sesame Street.'" Imagine my sur­ alreadyexist .W ewil lprac ­ prisean dpleasur et orealiz etha t"Sesam e tice torealiz e the qualities Street" was teachinginterbeing. ofperseveranc e andstabilit y thatbelon g toth eeart hs othat , like Anna Gilman Geneva, New York theearth ,w eca n alwaysb esupportiv e andfaithfu l tothos e who need us. Ia mver yamaze da tho wstron ga "little " magazine likeThe Mindfulness Bellca n Thaywanted us to share this invocation, thatwill be included in "Invokingthe be.I especiall y enjoy thewa ytha t Thich Bodhisattvas' Names," Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Book. NhatHan hexplaine dth eprecepts .Whe n Kshitigarbha(Sanskrit), Earth-Store Bodhisattva, isthe patron of travelers, I first started to work earnestly with the thenewborn, and the unborn. In the West, heis known byhis Japanese name, precepts, Irealized that I am constantly Jizo. breaking them. But as Thay points out, wecaus ehar mt oman yorganism s when we boil water. The challenge for me is I read each issue of The Mindfulness alwayspractice dmindfulness . Ijus twa s howt oliv ewit hawarenes so fsuc hinter ­ Bell. How can I find words to tell you notawar eo f itsorigins .I practic e mind­ connections and to become more mind­ howmuc hI hav eenjoye d theman dbee n ful breathing now, and iti samazing . So ful in my thoughts, words and actions. moved by aphrase , a word, someone's many people my age are wasting their Thay uses the North Star to say that the letter, orexperience . Iti sclea r that alo t timewit hdrug san dothe rharmfu l things, precepts are a guide and cannot be at­ ofwor kan dlov eg oint oth epreparatio n andher eI amdiscoverin g myself.I feel tained.Livin g byth eprecept sha smean t of each issue. so blessed. I would like to read more livingwit h greater awareness of whereI Ena Linares books byThic hNha tHan h andothers .I am but, more importantly, it has taught Barcelona, Spain am sohungr y for knowledge and would metha ti ti soka y for met ob erigh there , very much like to understand more. right now. I just finished reading Peace Is Every Ceri Hitchcock-Hodgson, age 16 DeVoil Devane II Step.I wa slef t with abeautifu l senseo f Union City, California Maury, North Carolina myself and things around me. I have 45 THREE NEW BOOKS BYTHIC H NHAT HANH • SEPTEMBER 1995

LIVING BUDDHA, LIVING CHRIST In thisimportan t book,jus t published by Riverhead Books,Thic hNha t Hanh explores thecrossroad s of compassion and holiness at which these two great traditions meet, awakening our understanding ofboth .Addressin g arang e of subjects from the Eucharist toth e Church, Commandments, Communities of Practice,an d theHol y Spirit, Thich Nhat Hanh offers the wisdom heha s gained from practicing asa mon kfo r half a century and applies it tobot h Buddhism and Christianity in arefreshin g and inviting way. "Ifind myselfagreeing with Thich NhatHanh at nearly every significant turn.His book presents an opportune moment to deepen our understanding"—from the introduction by Elaine Pagels "Reading this book, ThichNhat Hanh's words enteredme like a Zenkoan: Speakto meof the unspeakable. Speak to me ofGod! Hiswords offerus the challenge to comealive, trulyalive." —from the foreword by Br.Davi d Steindl-Rast 200pages • hardcover • $20.00

CULTIVATING THE MIND OF LOVE ThePractice ofLooking Deeply inthe Mahay ana Buddhist Tradition Cultivating theMind ofLove Thich Nhat Hanh sharesheartfel t moments inhi s own formation—drinking the clear water of ahermit' s well;seein ga drawin g of the Buddha on the cover of a magazine; the Practice of Looking Deeply becoming amon k topractic e for his generation, his society, and the world; and falling in love.Interweavin g these episodes with aclos eexaminatio n of key Mahayana Bud­ dhist texts,includin g theDiamond, Lotus, an dAvatamsaka Sutras, Thich Nhat Hanh helps the reader understand the "interbeing and interpenetrating" nature of alltha t is, overcome thenotion s that stand in thewa y of direct experience, and enter the "Avatam­ saka realm of ultimate reality."Wit h masterful simplicity and clarity,h e shows us ways tocultivat e our own "mind of love" and bringjo y and hope to ourselves and others. -,:- "Iam continuallyamazed at how Thich NhatHanh isable totranslate the Buddhist tradition into everyday lifeand make itrelevant and helpful for so manypeople. Cultivatin g the Mind of Lovejust might be myfavorite bookofhis."— from the foreword by Natalie Goldberg 120pages • paperback • $14.00

THE STONE BOY Thiscollectio n of ten stories explores Buddhist themes while introducing the reader to the treasures of Vietnamese culture. These are stories ofwar , exodus,th e student- teacher relationship, learning toliv e in the present moment and realize true compas­ sion.Som ehav e appeared inThe Moon Bambooan d ThePine Gate,bot h now out-of-print, and some have not been published before."Like thedepth that comes withmindful breath­ ing, Thich NhatHanh's restrainedprose plumbs both visibleand invisible worlds withskill and ease. Theseare brilliant,powerful —vergingon cathartic—stories infused withpenetrating wisdomand united byinner awakening to thesacredness ofall life."—Anna Bond, East/West 220pages • paperback • $18.00

Available inbookstore s orfro m ParallaxPress , P.O. Box7355 ,Berkeley ,C A94707 .Fa x(510 )525-7129 . Add$ 4pe rorde rfo rpostag ean dhandling . MANTRA T-SHIRTS

Eachhigh-quality,100 % cotton T-shirt comes with a "mantra" calligraphed by Thich Nhat Hanh and a drawing by Mayumi Oda on the front, and commentary calligraphed by Thich Nhat Hanh on theback . These shirts are deep gifts and provide ways for families and t*SMH* 3 friends to express love and practice mindful living. h..X- r»*6 -..-*•<

Shirt# 1 Front: "Ia mher e for you." Back:"Ho w can you love if you are not there?' Color:Dar k Purple 7Y>#/rufc»a. 3. I-*tt?t*.T?»H's*.-Z?i*t ,

Shirt#2 Front: "Ikno w you are there and Ia m very happy." Back:"Mindfulnes s helps you recognize and appreciate what isthere. " Color: Natural •wwsfrua. 2 Shirt #3 (pictured above) Front: "Ikno w you suffer that iswh y Ia m here for you." Back:"Th e greatest gift you canmak e to the person you love isyou r true presence." Color: Brick

Shirt# 4 (WJ\$Affjty > Front. "Darling/ T suffer. pieaSe help." '"" J SM<\j^ft/ Back:"I n true love,ther e isn o place for pride. s \>hs*<5^-&zfy Color: Sase

mu/rtf/V"- 4

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$18.00 each, or all four for $60.00 • Specify shirt numbers and sizes (S, M, L, XL) Parallax Press, P.O. Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707. Fax (510) 525-7129. Add $4 for postage & handling. cIhtMindfulness ^dl Newsletter of the Order of Interbeing

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