Autumn 2007 A Publication of Plum Village Issue 46 $8/E8/£6 Thich Nhat Hanh The Sangha in The Three Spiritual Powers Vietnam Suggestions for Ecological Living from Sister Annabel Every two years we gather as a family with Thay and the monastics of Plum Village for the 21-day retreat. In 2008 the retreat will take place in May rather than in the traditional month of June: May 4th 17-Day Retreat to May 20th, 2008 (during the Vesak period). In this retreat, we will train together to live our lives deeply. Plum Village We will have the opportunity to train to be Buddhas while walking, drinking, eating, speaking, and acting. We will learn to deal with our fears, anger, depression, and despair with beauty and dignity; thus training ourselves to be in touch with our ultimate dimension while 2008 living our ordinary lives. We will train ourselves as individual cells as well as being a part of a collective body of cells. We will learn to understand the functioning of our mind in order to protect ourselves and our planet. Themes that we will explore together include: * How Buddhist practice can be applied to global conservation. * How we function in the world as humble workers, as fathers, as mothers, schoolteachers, scientists, legislators, policemen, businesswomen — serving as silent bodhisattvas. * How we can live in harmony with millions of species on earth in order to beautifully contribute to the spiritual globalization of our planet. Engaged Buddhism – Applied Buddhism Retreat in English at Plum Village, Protecting Ourselves and Our Planet France — May 4-20, 2008 For more information and registration, visit www.plumvillage.org after November 2007. Subscribe to The Mindfulness Bell A Publication of Plum Village Your multi-year subscription to the Mindfulness Bell helps Thay’s work in the world and supports Plum Village. See the subscription Subscriptions make form on page 47 or go to great holiday gifts! www.mindfulnessbell.org ISSUE NO. 46 - Autumn 2007 Dharma Talk 4 The Three Spiritual Powers By Thich Nhat Hanh Vietnam Spring 34 God of the Silences By Kate Evans 10 Sitting in the Spring Breeze: The Sangha in Vietnam By Sister Jewel, Brother Phap Lai, Heike Mayer, For the Children Dagmar Quentin, Harriet Wrye 35 The Hare in the Moon: A Traditional 16 Prayers and Vows: To Be Expressed Buddhist Tale During the Great Requiem Ceremonies Retold by Teri West By Thich Nhat Hanh 37 Touching the Earth for Young People 17 Haiku from Vietnam Trip By Sister Jewel, Chau Nghiem By Patricia Garcia 18 Spanning a Bridge Heart to Heart By Sister Dang Nghiem 38 The Third Mindfulness Training By Meryl Bovard, Adam More Sangha Magic 22 Sowing Sangha Seeds Sangha News By Judith Toy 40 Blue Cliff Monastery, Car-Free Day, 24 Taking Refuge UCLA Conference, Building Community By Tony Lorenzen Through Art 25 Transforming Suffering into Peace and Joy Book Reviews By Sheila Canal 44 For a Future to Be Possible: 26 Ten Years of Sangha Life Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life By Joseph Emet By Thich Nhat Hanh 27 Five Remembrances Chant 44 Sweet Zen: Dharma Talks from Cheri Huber By Dean Kuethe Edited by Sara Jenkins 45 Best Buddhist Writing 2006 Mindful Living Edited by Melvin McLeod 28 On the Way Home (part 5) By Sister Annabel, True Virtue Support the Monasteries 30 Suggestions for Ecological Living 46 Help Deer Park Monastery Go Solar By Sister Annabel, True Virtue 31 Wishing You a Peaceful Heart: An Open Letter to Cindy Sheehan By Beth Howard 32 Rising Steam By Stan Voreyer 33 Shoes in the Dharma Hall By Carolyn White mindfulness BELL Dear Thay, dear Sangha, We sit on the dew-covered grass, watch- ing the light of dawn reveal the towering mountains all around us. Thay sits like a rock, like a tree, like a Buddha, in front of several hundred sleepy retreatants. It is six a.m. on the first day of the retreat at the YMCA of the A Journal of the Art of Mindful Living Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado. in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh After a while Thay invites the little bell and we rise to walk as one to Published by Plum Village the meditation hall. In the half-light our mass of peaceful mindful people lumbers up the hill. That’s when I see for an instant through the present mo- ment into a potential future. I see not a few hundred people but thousands, Issue 46 Autumn 2007 millions, walking in silence. I see people descending into the streets of towns and cities all over the world, walking together, and with our breathing Advisor and Editor Sister Annabel bodies, with our hearts joined in love, saying no — no to war, to injustice, Managing Editor Janelle Combelic to poverty and exploitation — no to the powers that be. Associate Editor Judith Toy I remember Princess Diana’s funeral, when over a million people Design LuminArts lined the streets of London standing for hours in silence, united in their Proofreader Elaine Hild grief and their love. Even more amazing, all major U.S. television channels broadcast her funeral live, one of them broadcasting the silence as well Subscriptions & Advertising David Percival as the images. Around the world as many as 2.5 billion people watched at Website Design Lien Ho the same time. So imagine, imagine what power we have — to say yes to Webmaster Brandy Sacks life, to love, to paradise here on earth. Advisory Board Richard Brady In his Dharma talks at the retreat Thay reminded us that we are all Jerry Braza cells in one body, part of a single organism. I have heard Thay say that the next Buddha to be born will be a collective. This is what I see awaken- Barbara Casey ing all over the planet: the Cosmic Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the Thay Phap Kham Buddha to be. It is happening now. (Read magazines like Yes!, Ode, and Peggy Rowe Ward Utne Reader for positive developments worldwide.) Matt Sherman Thay’s own happiness is his best teaching — after all he has seen and suffered and accomplished in this life, he radiates peace and joy. When he says that there is no birth and no death, that our only continuation is our actions, he is the living proof. Writing Submissions: Please send us the fruits of Thay’s joy — and that of the ninety monastics traveling with him on your practice. We welcome feature articles (1,500 to the U.S. tour — touched the nearly one thousand lay people at the retreat. 2,500 words), essays, and stories, as well as poetry. We especially welcome submissions from young people of We sang, laughed, sat, cried, walked, ate, talked mindfully together for six any age. glorious days in the majestic Rocky Mountains. Art & Photo Submissions: We welcome photos, art- work, and cartoons from your local sangha, family, and And we shared the Mindfulness Bell — a joint creation of monks, community. Please send digital images as TIFF or JPEG nuns, and lay people. After one of the Dharma talks, four of us, including files no larger than 1 MB. We can promptly return all origi- Sister Chan Khong, made a presentation about the Mindfulness Bell to the nals sent by mail. Send submissions via e-mail to editor@mindfulnessbell. sangha. I was thrilled at the response from the retreatants. We sold every org or by mail to Mindfulness Bell, 745 Cagua S.E., Albu- single magazine we had and collected many subscriptions and donations. querque, NM 87108, U.S.A. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all! Advertising Inquiries and Subscriptions: ads@ mindfulnessbell.org, [email protected]. or As Sister Chan Khong said, when you support the Mindfulness Bell you David Percival, 745 Cagua S.E., Albuquerque, NM 87108, are doing more than just purchasing a magazine, which hopefully inspires U.S.A. The Mindfulness Bell is published three times a year by you. You are helping Thay to spread the Dharma and build sangha around the Community of Mindful Living, Deer Park Monastery, the world. Consider renewing your subscription for two or three or even five 2499 Melru Lane, Escondido CA 92026, U.S.A. years. And don’t forget that subscriptions make wonderful holiday gifts! May our sangha flow like a river, each step in power and beauty. May the turning of the seasons and the year bring peace into all aspects On the cover: During the third day of the Great Requiem of your life. Breathe on! Ceremony near Hanoi, a projection screen allowed the lay people sitting outside to see what was going on inside the temple; photo by David Nelson. 2 Autumn 2007 sharing OUR VIEWS Prison Dharma Mindfulness Bell reminds me to be in the prison in our country. They pass them on to present and wonderful moment. It is truly the prisoners there for inspiration. I would like to introduce myself. I am the bell that rings, to remind us the present There was a very nice article by Darwin Brown. Through my years of incar- moment is right here. ceration I have received the Mindfulness Sister Annabel about learning to do walking Darwin Brown meditation. Thanks for the news of Blue Bell. But that’s not all! I have also received Pugsley Correctional Facility from Parallax Press books by Thich Nhat Kingsley, Michigan, USA Cliff Monastery. A suggestion would be Hanh. Thay’s teachings have helped me to to include the retreat programme of Thay’s live in the present moment. monasteries, so we know what is happen- ing, for those of us who are out of circuit I know that directly I am not a student and don’t get to hear what’s going on unless of Thich Nhat Hanh’s, but through his you continually check websites.