Via Human Rights Campaign / FB:

On the Path with Thay A longtime student reflects on 30 years with the Vietnamese master.

Back in the ’80s, I had a friend named Michael Attie, a lay Zen practitioner known in the media as the “lingerie monk” because he once organized a sitting group on the roof of his business, Playmates of Hollywood, one of the world’s largest lingerie stores. Thanks to his persistence one Sunday in 1987, I agreed to accompany him to see a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and antiwar activist giving a talk under the “teaching tree” of the Ojai Foundation, 90 minutes by car from Los Angeles. The Foundation was created by Joan Halifax, then an anthropologist who worked with Joseph Campbell, the mythologist and writer widely known for his now often-repeated slogan “Follow your bliss.” It was meant to bring Native American teachers and Buddhist masters together to teach in a natural power spot facing the dramatically sculpted Topa Topa mountains.

From the moment that I laid eyes on Thich Nhat Hanh (known to students as “Thay,” meaning “teacher” in Vietnamese), I was struck by how quietly impassioned he was. I will always remember how he began the talk: “Dear brothers and sisters—our appointment with life is only available in the present moment.” One had the sense that this gentle yet vehement monk was offering himself as a living example of a Buddha for us to scrutinize.

Read the full article here

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 09/03/2015

"Rezar para que todos os seres sejam felizes é algo realmente significativo. Mas, até que você possa manifestar esse amor por todos os seres (até que possa se tornar essa oração), será preciso aprender a amar quem está perto de você; aquele a quem você está vinculado emocionalmente. Para que possa em algum momento amar a grande família, você precisará amar a sua pequena família. Às vezes os obstáculos para amar a pequena família são tão grandes que você primeiro tem um vislumbre do amor pela grande família – mas, somente um vislumbre, pois não é possível sustentar essa abertura sem ter purificado o núcleo do amor. E você só completa essa purificação quando aprende determinadas lições que dizem respeito à pequena família.”

“Rezar para que todos sean felices es algo realmente significativo. Pero hasta que puedas manifestar ese amor por todos los seres (hasta que puedas volverte esa oración), será necesario aprender a amar a quien está cerca tuyo, aquel con quien estás vinculado emocionalmente. Para que puedas en algún momento amar a la gran familia, necesitarás amar a tu pequeña familia. A veces los obstáculos para amar a la pequeña familia son tan grandes que primero tienes un vislumbre del amor por la gran familia – pero solamente un vislumbre, porque no es posible sustentar esa apertura sin haber purificado el núcleo de amor. Y solo completas esa purificación cuando aprendes determinadas lecciones que dicen respecto a la pequeña familia.”

“Praying for all beings to be happy is a truly significant thing. For you to be able to manifest this love for all beings, and to become this prayer, you will first have to learn to love those near you who you are linked to emotionally. In order for you to love the big family, you have to love your small family. Sometimes, the obstacles to loving your immediate family are so great that you get a glimpse of love for the global family first – but only a glimpse, as it’s impossible to sustain this opening if you have not purified the nucleus of love first. You only complete this purification process when you learn certain lessons related to your direct family.”

Via Daily Dharma

Here to Awaken | March 9, 2015 We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness. - Thich Nhat Hanh, "A Floating Sangha Takes Root." Read More →