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who has written 202 posts for Help Bat Nha Monastery.

Letter from Thay, March 7, 2010: “Now We See Each Other’s Face Clearly”

Fragrant Source Hermitage
March 7th, 2010
Now We See Each Other’s Face Clearly
Letter to my Bat Nha children and others near and far
My dear children,
The seven-day monastic retreat in Plum Village has ended, but its reverberation and its energy of joy continue.  The monastic brothers and sisters from La Maison de L’Inspir’ in Paris and from [...]

Chan Hien Nghiem: Living my dream – a response to the Bat Nha Koan

31st January 2010
Dear Beloved, Respected Thay,
I ask permission to share my initial insights on Thay’s Bat Nha Koan.
In Thay’s room in Lower Hamlet, when Thay asked Hien Nghiem to ensure politicians, governments, journalists and human rights campaigners received the koan as something for their own hearts and aspiration – and not as work, or a [...]

Els Muys: A poem in response to the Bat Nha Koan

The insight of a Sangha that grew stronger through the catastrophic events
– by Els Muys, Belgium, Sangha of Brussels
Destination – Birds like you and me
Birds are flying in V,
side by side,
accompanied by the sun
that breaks through the clouds
Where are they flying to?
They don’t ask themselves
They only know
that they are flying together
And by the speed of [...]

Bart Driessens – Response to the Bat Nha Koan

“Re – member
Bat Nha”
In gratitude and utmost respect,
The arrow that was shot from Bat Nha was already in our body even before the event took place.
All societies are being poisoned.
The event gives the opportunity to recognize our hidden suffering.
The koan Thay gives is hanging on the door of our liberation.

A letter to the Buddhist Community – Responding to the Bat Nha Koan, by Chan Phap Lai

Dear Friends,
You are the ones who have stayed with us throughout the unfolding Bat
Nha Sangha crisis always willing to help us in any way you could. It
is wonderful to know we are part of a wider Buddhist / Spiritual
community. Whereas previous letters have often asked for your support
this letter is to simply share with you [...]

Joe Reilly – a response to the Bat Nha Koan

Dear Thay, Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. I am also a practitioner of the five mindfulness Trainings. I hope that if I were ever confronted with such a difficult situation as the Brothers and Sisters of Bat Nha, that I could respond in the solidly peaceful, compassionate, and upright [...]

Chan Phap Linh – a Letter to my Teacher

Dear Respected Teacher,
This is a moment of happiness.
I am sitting with a stick of incense, a pot of tea, sunlight, silence and ease. There are more than enough conditions for my happiness.
I have been through storms in the last few months; storms of doubt, fears, anxiety and despair, or rather disappointment. I think that [...]

Three poems – in response to the Bat Nha Koan

un puits

a well-spring

a riverbed that may and does change its course, and often

a long stone stairway down which newly ordained novices are descending slowly and gracefully with Thay

a grey robe draped over a young tea bush in full bloom, blowing gently in the warm breeze

a white boulder lying in a bed where a river of [...]

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh offers 12 Proposals for Celebrating 1000 Years of Hanoi

download pdf
THICH NHAT HANH
Lunar New Year’s Eve, 13 Feb. 2010

Celebrating 1,000 Years of Hanoi

INTRODUCTION
In the year 1010, one thousand years ago, the first king of the Ly dynasty founded Thang Long, the city now known as Hanoi. The Ly dynasty has been described as “the most compassionate, peaceful and harmonious in the [...]

Bat Nha: a Koan – an invitation to look deeply, from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

released Monday 25 January, 2010

Bat Nha: a Koan

Do not just look for what you want to see,
that would be futile.
Do not look for anything,
but allow the insight to have a chance to come by itself.
That insight will help liberate you.
– Nhat Hanh

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