The Deer Park Dharmacast

Dear Friends

In this out-of-the-ordinary edition of the Deer Park dharmacast, we would like to share two songs by singer/songwriter Joe Reilly.  Joe, a practitioner in the Plum village tradition, is a face commonly seen visiting Deer Park when his touring takes him through the region.  But his music can be heard at the monastery much more often, as his light-hearted, meaningful songs have become regular staples at any programs and retreats involving children and families. To learn more about his music please head to www.joereilly.org . The songs shared here are I Love Nature, and Peace Love and Unity, from his cd Children of the Earth.

We present these playful songs to celebrate the family retreat at Deer Park.  Relax, and enjoy.

Dear Friends,

The 21-Day Retreat is now underway in Plum Village. Thay offered this talk to the newly arrived retreatants, beginning with a sharing on his meetings with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and continuing on to discuss how we can support President Obama in his practice of using loving speech and deep listening.

"When Barack Obama manifested, I regretted a little bit, because Martin Luther King, Jr. was not there to witness the fruit of our efforts. ... But finally, I saw that we are the continuation of Martin Luther King. He is happy to know that everything he has done has borne fruit.

Obama is not an individual, Obama represents a Sangha. So our work is to keep the Sangha close to Obama, to offer our support. I offer this for you to reflect on it. There must be a way. Wherever there is a will there is a way."

Dear Friends, We often experience our emotions like waves, crashing on the shore.  But a wave’s beginning can be miles away, or thousands of feet underwater.  The same is true for our emotions.  In this talk, Sister Dang Nghiem shows us that while we may not notice emotions until they crash upon us, looking deeply we can see that their origin is far below the surface.  In this way we can be mindful of our habitual reactions and responses, recognizing them before we are swept away with them.    Please enjoy these offerings, and may they inspire the depth of your practice.

Dear Friends, 

This Dharma talk is the final talk of Deer Park’s Heart of the Winter Retreat, a time of intensive study and practice for the monastics.

To bring this three-month time of retreat to a close, Sister Huong Nghiem, or Sister True Fragrance, here offers an insightful and very pragmatic talk on looking deeply and skillfully into our practice and our lives. She offers many insights on how we can fine-tune our practice to best serve us, to identify what the root of our suffering is on a very personal level and so transform our lives at the base. The talk ends with a question and answer session with the community.

Please enjoy these offerings, and may they be nourishing to your practice.

Dear Friends

Thích Phước Tịnh, known to the Sangha as the Venerable, here offers a wonderful and direct talk on living deeply as a human being, going inward to find deep meaning in your life, and so transcending happiness and suffering, fortune and misfortune. This dharma talk was offered for Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year, and leads us toward renewal in our life and in our practice.  We offer a deep bow of gratitude to Sister Dang Nghiem for offering a wonderful translation of this talk. 

We are delighted to announce that for the first time the Venerable’s dharma talks are available in a book. Be Like a Tree, Zen Talks by Thích Phước Tịnh is a collection of the Venerable’s uniquely practical and inspiring talks, helping us in our practice with non-fear, recognizing our thoughts and feelings, creating space in our lives, loving and being loved, cultivating our spirituality, and tasting the enjoyment of our own lives. The talks were compiled by Order if Interbeing member Karen Hilsberg, and the book is available at lulu.com and amazon.com.  

Please enjoy these offerings, and may there be renewal in your every mindful breath.

Dear Friends,

Deer Park has been alive with energy these past weeks with the monks, nuns, and visitors joyfully celebrating Tet, the lunar New Year. Celebrations included thrilling dragon dances, and the making of hundreds of traditional earth-cakes. This dharma talk was given by Thay Phap Hai just before Tet at a Day of Mindfulness.  It was offered as the monthly talk for Order of Interbeing Members and Aspirants but all of us can also find great benefits for our practice.  It is on the topic of Appropriateness: appropriateness in a practitioner’s actions, and in the Bodhisattva vow.

Remember that the public is encouraged to attend these regular Days of Mindfulness at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido California, Blue Cliff Monastery in New York, and at Plum Village in the south of France. There is information at the end of the podcast on how you can attend.

Happy New Year!

Today’s podcast was the result of a wonderful experiment at Deer Park.  Zen Teacher Thay Phap Hai and two Order of Interbeing members, Karen Hilsberg and Kenley Neufeld, shared a dharma talk on self-renewal.  These wonderful teachers offer insights into how we can begin anew with ourselves and practice right away by watering our own flower.  We can also reflect on our relationships and our lives and find new places to be open to experience and to life.  With these insights we can set our intentions for the new year.   We hope you enjoy your flowering watering and have a joyous and happy new year.  

Dear Friends

The annual Winter Retreat opened very joyfully at Deer Park on November 15.  From requests in past year's Winter Retreats for more structured study during these three months, the community has planned a number of courses for monastic and lay practitioners this winter.   The Deer Park Podcast will offer the once a month special teachings on the 14 Mindfulness Trainings by senior Dharma teachers in Deer Park. The talks are planned to form one coherent in-depth look into the nature of the trainings of the Order of Interbeing. In this way, as a Sangha, we may enrich our practice and more directly see ways to engage with the practice in ourselves, in our families, and in society.  This podcast is a wonderful offering from Thay Phap Dung on Openness.

Hello everyone

Dharma teachers Thay Phap Ho and Sister Dang Nghiem offer a recitation of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing.  Thich Nhat Hanh says in this book, Interbeing, “If we practice these trainings deeply enough, we will recognize that each training contains every other training. Studying and practicing them can help us understand the true nature of interbeing-we cannot just be by ourselves alone; we can only inter-be with everyone and everything else. To practice these mindfulness trainings is to become aware of what is going on in our bodies, our minds, and the world. With awareness, we can live our lives happily, fully present in each moment we are alive, intelligently seeking solutions to the problems we face, and working for peace in small and large ways. I hope you will join me in practicing these mindfulness trainings or the equivalent from your own tradition. It is crucial for our own well-being and the well-being of the world.” 

You may like to recite these once a month to help nourish your practice. Please enjoy!

If you would like to read the text of the trainings please visit http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/mindfulness-practice/the-fourteen-mindfulness-trainings

 

Dear Young Friends

On September 19, 2008, the Wake Up movement for young Buddhists and non-Buddhists for a healthy and compassionate society was announced.  Wake Up is a community of young Dharma practitioners who want to help their society which is overloaded with intolerance, discrimination, craving, anger and despair.  They practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings, ethical guidelines offered by the Buddha; the most concrete practice of true love and compassion, clearly showing the way towards a life in harmony with each other and with the Earth. If you are a young practitioner we encourage you to learn about the Wake Up movement in your country.  You can learn more at http://wkup.org.  Today’s podcast is dedicated to young people and is taken from our 2008 Teen Retreat- Be True, Be Beautiful.  Let us know if you would like to hear more podcasts for youth.