The Deer Park Dharmacast (question and answer)

Dear Friends,

Today's sharing is from a Question and Response session earlier this summer at Deer Park Monastery.  Sister Hang Nghiem responds to a short, yet profound, question, "What is important?"  She shows us that with mindfulness, we can see that this present moment is important, especially if a difficult emotion is arising.  Then, Sister Hang Nghiem and Brother Phap De share on the roots of frustration and resentment and how we can begin to better understand ourselves and others.  

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 return to sharing question and response sessions from recent retreats at Deer Park Monastery.  Today we combine related questions from two different sessions to help us understand, "How do we forgive others and how do we forgive ourselves?"  Sister Hang Nghiem shares her experience of forgiveness and invites us to continue to practice with her every day.

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 continue to offer excerpts of recent Question and Response sessions from this year's retreats to help us bring the practice into our daily lives.  This week, we present questions and responses on practicing mindfulness at home with our families.  How do we best guide our children?  And how can we practice when our family is not practicing?  Brother Phap Ho and Brother Phap Tuyen share from their experiences before and after becoming monks and give real examples of how to approach specific situations.

As always, 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,

Recently on the Dharmacast, we've heard our monastic brothers encourage us to bring the practice into our daily lives.  But the question arises: How do we *actually* do that?  So for the next few weeks, we'll offer segments from recent Question and Response sessions at Deer Park to answer that question.

This week, our focus is work.  How do we apply the practice at work?  Brother Phap Ho and Sister Karen, a lay dharma teacher, offer practical examples of mindful work and share how to achieve a healthy work and home life balance.

On the topic of work, The Deer Park Dharmacast team has a great time putting together the podcasts for you each week.  Thank you for listening.  If you love our podcasts and want to get involved, please join our small team of volunteers!  Whether it's selecting content, editing audio, or managing our social media, we need more help to keep the Dharmacast going.  All of our work is virtual, over the internet, so wherever you are in the world, and whatever your skills are, you can help!  Send us an email at dpcastlove(at)gmail.com; we'd love to hear from you.

As always, 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,

Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast -- the podcast that puts the Dharma in your pocket.

Deer Park recently hosted a People of Color retreat.  Part of the retreat was a question and answer session where retreatants were invited to ask questions from the heart to a panel of laywomen, laymen, monks and nuns.  Today, we offer you an excerpt of the question and answer session.

Perhaps you have asked yourself these questions at one point in time?

-- How can we share the importance and need for dedicated People of Color or Wake Up (young adult) retreats?

-- How do we practice when the people around us are not practicing?

-- What can we do to stop ourselves from speaking out of anger?

We hope you enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at DPcast.net, on iTunes, Twitter, or Facebook

Dear Friends,

Often at the end of retreats at Deer Park, a panel of Monks and Nuns will offer a question and answer session with the retreat’s participants. These sessions are always a precious opportunity for the retreat participants to seek guidance in their practice, and for our monastic brothers and sisters to share their unique insights.  This question and answer session was offered on the last day of Deer Park’s recent Mindfulness and Education retreat. The panel of monks and nuns answer questions from the college students and other visitors at the retreat on loneliness and connection, monastic life and values, and mindfulness of habit energies, cravings and addictions.

Please enjoy these offerings, and may the support of our monastic brothers and sisters be felt deeply in our practice.

Dear Friends

We hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring.  Here is Part 2 of the 2007 Question and Answer from our College Retreat at Deer Park Monastery.  Dharma teachers offer their insights on many subjects including the impacts of society on our consciousness and how to stay calm and happy.  Br. Phap Ho moderates.

Our next college retreat offers students the opportunity to have a different kind of ‘spring break’ by learning the nourishing practices of mindfulness, meditation, and deep relaxation.  EAT:  Mindful Consumption for the Body and Mind for college students of all ages will be held from April 18-20 at Deer Park Monastery.  You can find more information here.  http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/activities/Retreat%20Schedule/2008_Retreat_Schedule.html

 Until then, please enjoy the spring flowers and your peaceful breath.

Dear Friends,

This month we offer the first of a two part Question and Answer session held during our most recent College Retreat.  Several monastic Dharma Teachers share their insights in response to questions from our college students.  Sr. Viet Nghiem shares why she was so happy to say goodbye to her camera. Br. Phap Luu discusses life before and after death.  Brother Phap Ho leads the question and answer session.   

If you are able, attending a retreat is a very wonderful way to grow solidity and joy in your practice.  All three of our practice centers offer retreats.  If you are interested, please visit the web sites of Deer Park Monastery in Southern California, Blue Cliff Monastery in New York, or Plum Village in France to see when the retreats are offered.  At Deer Park, our next retreats for young people are our Mindful Consumption for the Body and Mind retreat for College students from April 18-20 and our Be True, Be Beautiful retreat for teens from June 18-22.   

Please be well and enjoy your peaceful step on the Earth.

Greetings from Bat Nha (Prajna) Temple near Bao Loc in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Thay and the Sangha arrived here over a week ago and, after a three day trip to Da Lat where Thay lived and taught as a young Dharma Teacher, offered a retreat for lay pracitioners which is finishing today. We will now have a retreat for monastics, followed by the Precepts and Lamp Transmission Ceremonies.

This talk is from the lay retreat and is the third talk Thay gave during the retreat. Questions include: How can we continue the practice after Thay and the Sangha leave? What can we do about capital punishment? Can we ordain as monastics, and how do we convince our parents to let us ordain?