The Deer Park Dharmacast (dharma talks)

Dear friends,

This week, we return to talks by Thich Nhat Hanh, given this October at the Deer Park retreat.   Thay shares on many interconnected topics:  the workings of our conciousness, the transformative power of volition, the importance of sangha, and how our suffering and happiness are truly inseparable. May we all recognize our mud, and the lotuses that grow from our mud. 

We so appreciate you, our dear listeners. Thank you for your love and support over the course of this year. During the month of December, we invite you to donate to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation. They are urgently needing support to break ground to build a safe, warm nunnery for our sisters at Deer Park Monastery. For more information and to donate, visit deerparknunnery.org. 

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

Dear friends,

This week, we take a break from Thich Nhat Hanh's talks to bring you another great teacher, the Venerable of Deer Park Monastery, Thich Phuoc Tinh.  Here in California, it's fall and the Venerable begins by sharing a folk song in Vietnamese and French about autumn leaves falling.  He shares that we can choose the way that we are in touch with the things inside of us and around us.  The emotions and mental formations that arise in our heads are like the seasons of the year, rising and falling.   As practitioners, we can become observers, whether of the changing leaves of fall or changing feelings in our hearts, rather than being defined or overwhelmed by them.  We are not these emotions, we are the energy of mindfulness that peacefully watches them float by on the stream of our lives.

We're grateful to have Sister Mat Nghiem translate the Venerable's talk into English for us.  Our monastic brothers and sisters do so much at Deer Park Monastery to create a peaceful refuge for us where we can share from our heart and listen deeply to their teachings.  Right now, the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation is urgently raising funds to build new living quarters for the nuns.  Currently, the sisters' living quarters are not winterized and unsafe to the point that some sisters are living outside in tents.  The foundation has raised only $400,000 of the $1.7 million needed to build environmentally-sensitive straw-bale buildings for the nuns and a new hut for Thay. Over 40% of the estimated cost is for basic infrastructure needed even before building the nunnery.  

If you are able to donate this holiday season, please go to deerparknunnery.org.  Even the smallest amount will help them to have enough funds to break ground this winter.  The Dharmacast team is made completely of volunteers and in place of asking for donations for the podcast, this holiday season please consider donating so that the Deer Park sisters have a warm and safe place to lay their heads.  For more information and to help, go to deerparknunnery.org.

The Dharmacast team wishes you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and holiday season.  We are always here for you at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, the Dharmacast team is on retreat with Thay at Deer Park Monastery.  We're looking forward to bringing the energy of peace and mindfulness back with us next week.

While we're gone, we wanted to offer you the second half of the dharma talk given by Sister Kingh Nghiem at this year's Wake Up retreat.  With Thay touring this year, many of us may have gone on a retreat or heard him speak at a public talk.  We're often deeply moved by experiences at mindfulness practice centers, but how do we take that energy home with us to sustain our practice?  Sister Kinh Nghiem offers us loving advice and many practical ideas for continuing and deepening our practice at home.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week we have the first half of a dharma talk given by Sister Kinh Nghiem at this year's Wake Up Retreat.  She tells a light-hearted story about traveling with Thay and then shares the four mantras we can use in order to be truly present.  She encourages us to use these mantras with the people in our lives, the animals and plants around us and with the earth.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

The end of summer is officially here and seasons are beginning to change.  Let us bring our attention to the Earth, as Sister Mat Nghiem begins her sharing with the story of The Lorax.  She goes on to look deeply into our interconnectedness with Mother Earth, both as children and as adults.  When was the last time you were in touch with nature as your five year-old child? 

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

This week we're happy to share the closing talk of the recent Deer Park retreat for couples.  Three dharma teachers, Jerry Braza from Oregon, Tony Sylvester from Pennsylvania and Peggy Rowe from California, led couples in a weekend of developing mindfulness in their relationships.  They share their reflections on their experience at the retreat and reflect on the nurturing effect that the practice has had on their own relationships.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on Twitter, Facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today we have a dharma talk given by Sister Quynh Nghiem.  Before the dharma talk, Brother Man Tue leads us in some mindful songs and a short guided meditation.  Then, our sister shares with us the wonderful basics of the connection between our mind, mindful breathing.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today we share the first half of a talk given a few weeks ago by Brother Phap Hai at Deer Park Monastery.  Having recently returned from Korea and Hong Kong, he shares the importance of putting the Dharma into practice. What is preventing our life from becoming our practice?  Brother Phap Hai likens three pots of kim chi to the three qualities that hinder our ability to truly practice.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

In this week's segment, we continue with Brother Phap Ho's dharma talk from the 2012 Mindfulness Retreat.  He shares why mindfulness by itself is not enough; we need to discover a spiritual path and a community to walk with to transform our suffering.  He also delves into how to understand our mind consciousness and nurture our well-being.

After hearing the Dharma, we invite you to share your experience with other listeners online at dpcast.net or on our Facebook page.  Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes.