The Deer Park Dharmacast

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,

Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast.  This week we have two wonderful surprises for you.  

First, we're excited to present to you a fresh new logo. Our team is feeling a lot of gratitude to our wonderful Dharmacast sister, Joan Wong, all the way in Singapore, for her graphic design.  It represents all our Dharmacast listeners, hearing the Dharma and opening peacefully as a lotus.  If you look carefully, you'll see the beautiful shape of the meditation hall at Deer Park monastery, which Thay named the Ocean of Peace.  Since almost all our talks are recorded in this hall, we truly feel that the Deer Park Dharmacast is Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace.

Secondly, this week's podcast is a special feature from Brother Phap Ho's blog, Earth Protection Here and Now.  This week, he shares about edible foods, the first of the four nutriments.  He shines the light of awareness on his experience with food and shares how it affects his practice, his community, and our Earth.  Where are you in your journey and relationship to edible foods? 

For more insights, visit his blog at earthprotectionhereandnow.wordpress.com. 

Remember you can 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'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 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 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,

Recently, a listener emailed us to ask the question, "As an engaged Buddhist, how can I stop the destruction of Mother Earth and leave my children a clean planet?" In the very same week, Brother Phap Ho offered for us to feature the first recording of his blog, Earth Protection Here and Now.  We hope that you find today's podcast a wonderful response to our listener's question.  Sometimes we want to know what to do, but Brother Phap Ho shares that the very first step to environmental conservation is to look deeply and reframe our perspective on this planet and our relationship to it.  

For more insights, visit his blog at earthprotectionhereandnow.wordpress.com.

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.