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,

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.

Welcome to this month's question and answer session on the Deer Park Dharmacast. Sister Dang Nghiem (photo) and Sister Hanh Nghiem answer questions that have been sent in over the past few weeks. How do we practice with jealousy? What distinguishes Thay's tradition from Zen and Vipassana?

Brother Phap Luu hosts.

This week we invite you to listen to an evening of sharing which took place during the second night of the Order of Interbeing Retreat this past week at Deer Park Monastery. Monastics and lay friends share about the current situation of energy consumption in relation to our practice and global warming. Also included is a new chant for the Gatha for Inviting the Bell offered by Sisters Mai Nghiem and Thai Nghiem, which you may download separately here.

Dear Friends,

This week we have our monthly question and answer session with two monks recently arrived from Plum Village, Thay Phap Lai and Thay Phap Thanh (right.) Sister Susan also joins us to answer a number of questions sent to us via e-mail in the past few weeks. Brother Stream moderates.

Enjoy.

Dear Friends,

This week we are happy to share with you a question and answer session that we participated in this past Thursday afternoon in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall here at Deer Park. Brother Stream hosts, and Thay Abbot Brother Phap Dung (see photo), Brother Phap Ho, Sisters Chau Nghiem and Viet Nghiem answer questions posed over e-mail to the monks and nuns. We ended spontaneously with the song, The Island Within.

If you would like to send in a question for an upcoming Q&A session, feel free to write us at dpcast@gmail.com. All names are kept confidential.

Enjoy the brisk autumn air.