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Newsletter by and for people of young spirit - practicing the way of love and understanding

TTT Spirit #3 January 2009

Finding Our True Home

Multi-Sharing: Where Is Your True Home?

Open Letter to Young People

Where Is Home?

True Self and The Miracle That Is You

Thanh Thủy’s Apple Juice

Baobabs

Buddha’s Traffic Signs

To Kill or not to Kill

Interview with Sư Cô Tôn Nghiêm

Về Giữa Gió Xuân

Vom Kräuter sammeln/ About Collecting Herbs

The Birth of The Buddha

Our True Home

Tiếng Chim Líu Lo

Don’t Hurry!

Living in The Present Moment

The Art of Giving

Youth & Action

Supporting Montagnard Children

European Buddhist Youth

For A Healthy & Compassionate Society

The Cave of The Yellow Dog

The Rain Falls on The Just and Unjust

Vegetarian Vietnamese Cookery

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Self-Free Day

DHARMA

MINDFULNESS TRAININGS

CULTURE

SOCIAL

NEWS

Lắng lòng nghe tiếng gọi quê hươngSông núi trong ra ñẹp lạ thườngVề tới quê xưa tìm gốc cũQua rồi cầu hiểu tới cầu thương

Listen to the voice of your true home with a calm mind The sea and mountains are extraordinarily beautiful Returning to your home, finding your ancient roots After having crossed the bridge of understanding, you will reach the bridge of love

-Sư Ông Thích Nhất Hạnh –

Listen to the voice of TTT Spiritwith a calm mind… Please follow Thầy’s advice and take three wonderful mindful breaths with us to return to your true home. Then with a calm mind, take time to read the wonderful contributions from our brothers and sisters.

We wish that you enjoy TTT Spirit #3and that you will be inspired to practice!

In gratitude to you all and with much love and affection,

Luận & Hân ( your editors)

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

CONTENTSear Sangha,

SANGHA ACTION

TTT Spirit January 2009Editorial

Install a Mindfulness Bell on your computer, which reminds you to go back to your home by going to: www.mindfulnessdc.org/ mindfulclock.html

DharmaTTT Spirit

Finding Our True Home

y True HomeMy true home is not in Francewhere Plum Village practice

center is located. My true home is not in the United States. My true home cannot be described in terms of geographic location or in terms of culture. It is toosimplistic to say I am Vietnamese. In terms of nationality and culture, I can see veryclearly a number of national and cultural elements in me -Indonesian, Malaysian, Mongolian, and others. There is no separatenationality called Vietnamese; the Vietnamese culture is made up of other cultu-ral elements. There are elements of Chinese, French, and Indian culture in me. You cannot take these out ofme. If you remove them, I will not be the person who is sitting here. In me there are also cultural elements from Africa, and beautiful elements of Native American culture in me. For example, in my room I hang a dream catcher so I can contemplate my dreams just for fun.

I have a home that no one can take away, and I feel very comfortable in that home. In my true home there is no discrimination, no hatred, because I have the desire and the

capacity to embraceeveryone of every race,and I have the aspiration,the dream to love andhelp all peoples and allspecies. I do not feelanyone is my enemy.Even if they are pirates,terrorists, Communists,or anti-Communists, theyare not my enemies. Thatis why I feel verycomfortable.

I heard the story of ayoung Japanese manwho went into a café.While he was drinkinghis coffee he heard twoyoung men talking inVietnamese and crying.The young Japaneseman asked them inEnglish: “Why are you

crying?” The Vietnamese men said: “We cannot go back to our country, our homeland. The government there will not allow us to go back.” The Japanese man got upset and said: “This is not worth crying over. Even though you are in exile and cannot go back to your

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comfortable in their own country and want to go elsewhere. Very few among us have found our true home. Even though we have nationality, we have citizenship, and a passport that allows us to go anywhere in the world, we still do not have a home.

ife Is Our True HomeIn the Colors of Compassion retreatwe have learned and practiced to be

in contact with our true home, the true home that cannot be described by geographical area, culture, or race.

Every time we listen to the sound of the bell in Deer Park or in Plum Village , we silently recite this poem: “I listen, I listen, this wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.” Where is our true home that we come back to? Our true home is life, our true home is the present moment, whatever is happening right here and right now. Our true home is the place without discrimination, the place without hatred. Our true home is the place where we no longer seek, no longer wish, no longer regret. Our true home is not the past; it is not the object of our regrets, our yearning, our longing, or remorse. Our true home is not the future; it is not the object of our worries or fear. Our true home lies right in the present moment. If we can practice according to the teaching of the Buddha and return to the here and now, then the energy of mindfulness will help us to establish our true home in the present moment.

Our true home lies right in the present moment.

Stop trying to find your home in space, time, culture,

territory, nationality, or race.

country, you still have a country, a place where you belong. But I do not have a country to go back to.

“I was born and raised in the United States, and culturally I am American. But I feel uncomfortable because Americans do not truly accept me; they see me as foreigner. So I went to Japan and tried to make it my home. But when I arrived the Japanese people told me that the way I speak and behave are not Japanese and I was not accepted as a Japanese person. So, even though I have an American passport and even though I can go to Japan, I do not have a home. But you do have a home.”

Like the Japanese-American in the story, there are many young Asian-Americans who have been born and raised in the United States, who are American in their way of thinking and acting, and they want to be seen as true Americans, immersed in this culture. But other Americans do not accept them as Americans because their skin color is yellow. So they feel sad and want to go back to Japan , Korea , or Vietnam to find their home. They think: if it’s not in America , my home has to be somewhere else. But they don’t fit in with the culture of their ancestral country either.

This is not to say that white people have found their home and feel comfortable in the United States . Just like Vietnamese people in Vietnam , many people do not feel

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According to the teaching of the Buddha, the Pure Land lies in the present moment; Nirvana and liberation lie in the present moment. All of our spiritual and blood ancestors are here if we know how to come back to the present moment. My true home is the Pure Land , my true home is true life, so I do not suffer or seek. I do not run after anything anymore. I very much want all of you who have come here for the retreat, whether your color is black, white, brown, or yellow, to also be able to practice the teaching of the Buddha in order to come back to the present moment, penetrate this moment and discover your true home. I have found my true home. I have happiness, and I want all of my friends, students, and disciples to be able to reach your true home and stop trying to find it in space, time, culture, territory, nationality, or race.

In my true home there is no discrimination, no hatred –

I have the desire to embrace and love all peoples and all species.

The Buddha offers us wonderful practices so we can end our worries, our suffering, our seeking, our regrets, and so we can be in contact with the wonders of life right in the present moment. When we have the mind of nondiscrimination, we can open our arms to

To be civilized means to be open-minded, to offer space

to others to live according to their views.

embrace all people and all species andeverybody can become the object of our love. When we can do this, we have a true home that no one can take away from us. Even if they occupy our country or put us in prison, our true home is still ours, and they can never take it away. I speak these words to the young people, to those of you who feel that you have never had a home. I speak these words to the parents who feel that the old country is no longer your home but that the new country is not yet your home. Perhaps you can grasp this practice so you can find your true home and help your children find their true home. This is what I wish for you....

peaking to Young People If you have a great aspiration to learnabout other cultures, to go to other

countries and to help people accept and understand each other, you have a very great ideal. With that ideal you will not get stuck in despair, blaming others for your difficulties; instead your life will be very meaningful. I am sharing these words with the young people.

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Many young people have no path and don’t know what to do with their life each day. So they turn to drugs or alcohol andwaste their lives. This is such a pity, because each young person canbecome a greatBodhisattva, agreat enlightened being whose deepest desire isto help people and bring together thosewho are separated by hatred or cultural difference.

If we have found our true home then we will have enough love and understanding

to help.

To be civilized means to be open-minded, to offer space to others to live according to their views. Civilization is opening our arms to embrace all races, all people, all species; it is not thinking that our race or our culture is superior to all others. If young people can open their hearts wide to learn about their own and other cultures, they will begin to have rich insights. They can help those who are still isolated and caught in their own

culture to come together with thosefrom other cultures. This will

allow understanding and acceptance to grow,

remove boundaries,and heal conflicts.

The Buddhateaches us not tobe foolish, not torun after theobjects of desire:

riches, fame,power, and

sensual pleasure.There are people,

who have a lot ofmoney, power, fame,

and sex, but they suffer endlessly; some even commit

suicide. When we come back to the present moment to be in touch with the wonders of life, we become rich, we become free from objects of craving, and we have the opportunity to recognize our wonderful true home. If we have found our true home then we will have enough love and understanding to help transform and heal the wounds caused by violence, hatred, and discrimination.

Sư Ông Thích Nhất HạnhSelected excerpt from the Dharma Talk on the 28th of March 2004, Colours of Compassion Retreat, Deer Park Monastery

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Where is your True Home ?

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Last year I returned to Australia to leadretreats and to visit my family after anabsence of three years. During the time Iwas in Brisbane I stayed with my youngerbrother Ben and his partner Jacqui. Onthe day that I was to fly back to PlumVillage, Jacqui wished me a safe triphome. At first I was a little taken aback,because here I was "visiting home", andyet at the same time being wished a safetrip to my other home. During the longflight back to France, I reflected on this

and realized that after living overseas for so long yes, Australia is home, but so is France, so is the US and so is Vietnam. All of these places have shaped and entered me and my heart belongs to each of them. I think at a certain point, we also begin to belong to the places that we have lived.

As monastics we are called "left home people" - in Vietnamese người xuấtgia. This means that we step out from a home in time and in space in order to be able to feel at ease and at home wherever we go. It also means that I belong to all places and to everybody. In an even deeper sense it means to look deeply and to see the places that I hide - to not allow myself to become too complacent, but to be willing to always be open and enthusiastic about the gift of life.

Thầy Pháp Hải – Deer Park Monastery

DharmaTTT Spirit

Home, Sweet Home

To me, home is where I like to feel at ease and peace. It's a place where we all live, play, work, practice, and hang out together under the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. It's where true love and mutual understanding naturally occur, and where squash and pumpkin can live happily together.

Sư Chú Pháp Nguyện – Plum Village

Home is a place where I could share my most embarrassing moments and have so much joy laughing about them. A place where I could sit quietly for hours and don't feel the need to say anything.

Sometime I found my home by sitting next to a friend. Sometime by laying down under a tree watching the clouds fly by. I noticed lately little things like that make me very happy. Thank you.

Hằng – Plum Village

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My “True Home” is there, where I feel well and safe, where there are people, who love me as I am and accept my mistakes. Being with my family makes me feel well, therefore my home is where my family is.

Liên Mai Nguyễn (17) - Rheine

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To me “True Home” is not only my homeland, but it is also the place at which and the people with whom I feel well, safe and secure.

Thanh Yến Nguyễn (15) - Rheine

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Home is where I have inner freedom.

Being free from regrets and worries - able to recognize the wonders of life in the present moment; the presence of my beloved ones, the smile of a child, the freshness of green leaves…Being free from anger and hatred – able to transform such states of mind and forgive the persons who made me suffer…Being free from judgment - able to accept myself and other people as they are….I feel at home when I do, say, think and consume something which nourishes the good seeds in me and other people, and have positive effects on animals, plants and minerals.

Home is also an environment with people sharing mutual aspirations and offering understanding, unconditional love, peace, joy - a place where we all can be who we really are!

Thùy-Hân Nguyễn-Chí (20) - Antwerp

Tiếng chuông gọi ta về một mái nhà, haicâu kệ, bụi tre xanh, ngồi trên phiến ñá thậtthảnh thơi, nhìn mọi người, ñể học yêuthương, niềm vui chợt tràn ñến, quê hươngthật ñơn sơ, nằm ngay trong tầm tay - Aha, hạnh phúc là bây giờ và ở ñây!

The sound of the bell calls me back to the one roof, the practice gathas, the green bamboo bush. Where I sit peacefully on a rock, looking deeply at everyone so I can practice love. Suddenly joy arises within me, my home is so simple, right here in my palms – Aha, happiness is right here and right now!

Hoa Thuyền - Hamburg

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Home is where I feel free. Home is a state of mind. When there is confusion, I am not at home. My mind is somewhere else, but not in my body. When body and mind are together peacefully, I am at home.

A home in the outer world is a place where people try to live in harmony. I hope that soon the whole world will try to live in harmony. May all beings be happy.

Matthias Grümayer (23) - Vienna

I'm at home when I stop, I look at the blue sky, the fluffy white clouds, and I see in the distance a flock of geese, travelling like a Sangha.

Ernesto Morales (27) - Valencia

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Simple as Home

February 1999. Landon Donovan, one of the mostpromising american soccer players, signed a bigcontract with Bayer Leverkusen, a prestigious soccerclub of the German Bundesliga. He's just 16 years old.For him, future looks bright. Far from home, in a newcountry. “I was off by myself. I was excited. At thatage, freedom is the coolest thing.” He played good

games with the U.S. election at Olympics in 2000 and all 5 games at the 2002 Soccer World Cup. All specialists see in him the future greatest American soccer player of all time.

Despite this bright starting career, he missed something : “Home”. He missed his family, his friends, his life in his house, a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean. He even missed his favorite Cold Stone Ice-cream. “I was out of it mentally, I wasn't inspired to play anymore.” “For me, it's all about being happy,” Donovan says. “For me, soccer is fun; it's happy. If I don't have that, I'm useless.“ He wasn't happy anymore, 6000 miles away from home, in of the best German football clubs. So he took a decision in 2005 : going back home to San Jose soccer club, in California. For him, it's the best decision. Not for everybody. Most of people criticized him. Why did he leave the lucrative Bundesliga for the less competitive U.S. Major League Soccer? “The problem is that people have expectations of who you are, what you're supposed to be, how your career is supposed to progress. Fans do, even friends and family do sometimes. But I have to make the decisions. Soccer is important to me, but at the end of the day, it's just a game.“

After years miles away from home, Landon realized that he didn't need to go far to be happy. He's just happy as a normal football player. At home. No need to be the best American player ever. He is not the same person that wanted to go far away to play in the best clubs in Europe. His life is much better now: He and his girlfriend finally decorated their new house, walking on the beach…and he doesn't miss his Cold Stone ice-cream anymore. “I've never really been home. I've been moving around the world for six years. Finally all my stuff is in one place. It's almost overwhelming. I keep thinking, ‘This isn't really my life; somebody's going to take it back.’ “

Sometimes, Happiness is as simple as “Home”.

Khương Lân Cao Thái (25) – Paris Quotes taken from "ESPN Magazine“ and "Sports Illustrated“ 10

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hen Hân asked me to write an articlefor the young people so that shecould incorporate it in TTT Spirit

newsletter, I answered her with a smile and a little embarrassed: “But I don't know what to say... What can I write?” She replied simply: “You can write what you would like to tell to the young people”. Her answer helped make the approach easy for me.

I would like to start by saying that I am a monk and I am young (at least I feel young!), I am French, and I became a monk here in Plum Village about seven years ago. I am very happy to live this life because I feel very free. I am free to love and contemplate, free to listen and remain silent; I am free to speak frankly and with gentleness, free to understand and forgive others; I am free to be attentive, take time and appreciate life deeply. I am free and happy because I can finally live up to the values which are so dear to me, and that it was so difficult to express naturally before, even (or especially) among the ones who were so close to me like my family and friends. Today, I consider that I am here where I am in order to love. Life is wonderful and uncertain: we don't know how long each of us still has tolive, that is why I want to use each day in a meaningful way. I want to offer my presence, my care and my attention to every situation, to my brothers with whom I live, to all my friends, even to our companions the animals, the insects, the trees and the plants, the earth, the wind and the water.

Most of us as young people we have an ideal

Open Letter to Young People

W of life that reflects our deep thirst for connection with the Universe and its infinite ways of expression. It may be about finding true Love in our relationship with Mother Earth and with Nature through all beings; or it may be about expressing Beauty as an art through our own personality or through any different skills such as writing, painting, playing music, acting, and so on. One way or another, it is all about being true to ourselves and going back to the Source of life within us and around us. It has always been about finding our identity, our true self. Soon after we awaken to the Source of love inherent in life, and to the universal Truth of the Oneness of all life, we come to face the contradiction of a social, educational, and cultural world that seems to be only good at denying our discovery of love and our sensitivity to the Beauty of humanity.

It is all about beingtrue to ourselves and

going back to the Source of life within us and around us.

Soon, contradictions and conflicts arise between the growing new man or woman in us and the outside world, which will eventually lead us to confronting authority in all its forms, including and starting with that of our parents, and extending to any kind of institutional authority. As a consequence, there is a kind of resistance, which can take one of two forms: the first is to fight against

Plum Village, 4th January 2008

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the injustice and false hope fostered by society and its rulers, the second is to undergo the tension within and silently struggle with it. One way is manifesting violence outwardly, while the other way is directing it inward. At this point most of us will feel misunderstood and trapped, very angry and rebellious while trying to keep balanced and cope with the play of the everyday life.

Dear friends, we find ourselves here with areserve of energy that is coming both from asense of true belonging to life and from itsconfrontation between that feeling and the reality of our society. It is time to use that resource as a beneficial, common spiritual good. As all connections always end up evolving in relationships, communication becomes the main vehicle for experiencing harmony, mutual understanding, and for self-realization to be possible in our daily interactions with others.

Dwelling in the present moment as much as we can,

we soon master the art of looking deeply into life.

Here in Plum Village, at every moment of our life, we learn and develop the art of deep listening and skillful, loving speech. We always begin by stopping in some way and coming back to ourselves. This enables us to reconnect with the breath of life in us right away, thus allowing distractions of all kinds to calm down and stop taking us away from our true self, our true home. Dwelling in thepresent moment as much as we can, we soonmaster the art of looking deeply into life. Weunderstand more and more about the path thatwe have always wanted to walk, and we see

more and more clearly into the direction we want to take as well as how to take it. Mindfully taking care of our breathing, we reunite mind and body, and feel solid and free at the same time. Attentive to our thinking patterns, to our emotions, our speech and our actions, we learn to be more happy, solid and peaceful, and we can begin to smile. At thatpoint, the rebellion is almost no longer there. It is changing into a celebration of life that is reconciling us with others and with ourselves. A new flow of energy is now running in our veins. From sunrise till sunset, the events of the day come to us as opportunities to learn. We can't help but cultivate joy and love through thousands of smiles that ever remind us of the nature of our discovery, of our understanding of the fact that everything is one, everyone is impermanent and precious, and that there is only one thing to do in this lifetime, that is to be there for others.

We live here as a family with big brothers and younger brothers, big sisters and younger sisters. We have a spiritual father who is also our grandfather monk and he is great. We have a big sister; she is like a mother and a grandmother nun for many of us, and she is very active, too. Our family is very diverse in age and cultural background: most of my brothers and sisters are Vietnamese or American, but there are also many from other countries; to the point that I sometimes feel like I don't know for sure what I am myself, and I like it that way. In fact, I believe that I am a mixture of all these different cultures. I feel quite rich at times. Yet, I realize every day that the true richness is others!

Two years ago, we organized for the first time a retreat for young people. It was a real success because we experienced brotherhood and sisterhood in a way that was deeply fulfilling. There was a spirit of community

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living with a sense of communication and connection that bonded us tightly, thus making us feel very close to one another, experiencing trust and joy. From this was born “the Community of the Heart”.

Everything is one, everyone is impermanent and precious –there is only one thing to do

in this lifetime, that is to be there for others.

After that successful adventure, we organized a second gathering with the initiative of a group of young people from the first retreat. Our second meeting took place last summer and was very cozy, warm and uplifting both for the group and for everyone. We are planning a third retreat for the month of June 2008, again for ten days, and for people between 16 and 25 years old who can speak at least English or French.

For me, these times of sharing life together formore than a week are occasions for us to learn to be there for one another, present and attentive so that feelings of real unity can develop.

We truly become brothers and sisters for each other. It is at the same time a rediscovery of my own youth, where I can learn through others to recognize the many joys and difficulties I myself experienced as a teenager or a young adult: struggles and doubts, fears, despairs, as well as hopes, thirsts and pulls for life, moments of overwhelming optimism and uplifting visions.I discover everyday how much to be young is not limited to physical age. A few days ago,

Hân invited me to take part in a tea party for young people. I told her, again with a smile and yet a little hesitant: “But I am not that young anymore, you know”. She replied quite naturally, and sincerely: “This is also for those who are young in spirit!” I enjoyed her answer very much.

I can see youth in the freshness of a face, in the luminosity of a smile, in the brightness of a look, and all of that is seen in someone's availability to life in the present moment. I think that's what it means to be young. It is to be fully alive. Therefore, I believe that is exactly what we are learning to do, to live, and to share together here all day long. We learn, or we relearn, to live in an atmosphere of peace, of stillness and of shared joy, with harmony and confidence, with respect and acceptance for one another, for what we are now and for who we are truly.

I invite you all to come join us and experience smiling and making friends in an authentic way. We begin by putting down tensions and worries, and by relaxing and resting from the dust and the weariness of ourexistences. Then, we learn to smile, to receive, to share and to give. We taste the freedom and the joy that are accessible in this very life through new, fresh, spacious relationships, full of hope.With all my heart, I wish you a good journey and a good trip both to here and to the place within you where you acknowledge yourself fully in an authentic relationship with life.

Be at peace! Be free!

On behalf of theCommunity of the Heart,

Thầy Pháp Khí

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Where Is Home?

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Where is home when the place that I was born is far away?

Where is home when the land in which I played does not exist?

Where is home when the folk that I so loved no longer are here?

Where is home when the leaders who had our trust destroyed it?

Where is home when the body longs for a resting-place beside its soul?

Where is home when its memories linger on as a silent cry?

Where is home when the cry sounds endlessly recalling hope?

Where is home when the hope becomes a reality to come home?

Where is home when the reality materializes from a longing dream?

Where is home for those who suffer still?

Come, brothers, come sisters, share my home

his is a poem written by my grandfatherbefore his death, answering the big

question that we ask ourselves everyday, where is home?

We live in a world full of technology, full of distractions, difficult situations and people that take our mind away from the most important thing, being with ourselves, knowing what’s best for us. We spend our lives looking for happiness in exterior things, fancy cars, money, fancy clothes etc…, but we forget to enjoy what is. We’re always thinking hypothetical, “if I had lots of money, I would buy myself a house in the Caribbean Islands”,

“if I had this, if I had that,”, but we forget to be in the present moment, we forget what really is, what’s true here and now.

Going for a walk in the park, one may spend their time talking on their mobile phone, thinking of the person that they’re talking with, thinking what he’s doing, where, and why. But if he thinks like this, he does not pay attention to the beautiful nature around him. He doesn’t see the trees, the water in the pond, the green grass on the lawn, the sun, the rain, the clouds, all the wonders of life that are around him. He looks for happiness in his computer, his ipod, his mobile phone. He

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thinks that if he has all the latest technology, he’s happy. Just the other day, a friend of mine asked me if I had this or that, he named all the latest technology invented, which he has at home, and I could only say yes to one out of about 10. “You’re so behind,” he said, and this may be the case, but I also look at him, and I see that he isn’t really happy. He thinks he’s happy because he can spend his day with the most fancy technology available, but I see that he has all these things, but I have happiness. I am happy. I see joy in what is,in what is real, what’s alive, not in a computer screen.

This is what the poem is about, findinghappiness in what is. It starts with the lines “Where is home When the place thatI was born in is far

away?” “Where is home when the landin which I played does not exist?” We could rephrase it. “Where can I find happiness when the place that I so loved no longer is. How do I find happiness when the people around me are suffering so deeply?” This is the way I see the poem. The answer to the question is found through practice. My grandfather was not a practitioner, he had never been in touch with Buddhism or any other type of practice, but this poem shows his Zen nature, his Dharma. In the end of the poem, he invites friends to come and share the home he has found. We could look at this home, as Thầy would call it, as “the island within ourselves”. Going deep, finding true peace within us, that is true home. We have

truly arrived, we are truly home where we belong. And if we take the example of happiness again, it is the same. Deep happiness, joy is found when being present. Being present with ourselves and with others, we can be happy together. That is the practice of “being together in joy”, also called “Be-in”.

We could change the last line of the poem too.“Dear brothers, dear sisters, come and share

my joy with me.”Being together injoy is the best partof a friendship. Wecan really bepresent with eachother, and enjoyeach others com-pany, and we are athome, we havefound home andhappiness in thesame moment. It’sWonderful.

I have mygrandfather tothank for thislovely reminder.

It’s helping me everyday, and will continue to do so for many, many years.

Kasper Stevenson (16) – Lestang

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True Self and

The Miracle That Is You

was in the fitting rooms at theCalvin Klein outlet store in Las Vegas, trying on a pair of jeans.They didn't fit, and not in the usual

way. I wasn't concerned with the sagging butt and thighs, and the fact that the color made me look like a skeleton. I was concerned more with the health of my mind. It seemed my ten years of mindfulness practice finally caughtup with me. How many times must I put on this false sense of self? Howmany times must I delude my body into thinking it has an image to portray, a personality, a look, a reason to fit in? Do I really want to do this again? I began to cry, sobbing really, looking into the mirror, “What Have I done? What am I doing here? I just don't belong.”

I put the pants back on the shelf and hurriedly left the building. I sped quickly to the car, got in, closed the door, and let it all go. That self I'd been clinging to had brought me wonderfulthings...a dream of becoming a huge star,

I friends, money in the bank and trips around the world. And here, now, all of it has passed. Him, my person, that thing I was holding so dear to. The thing I suffered with, thinking that it would make me happy. In the end, it never could. With it, I never could fulfill my

mission on earthcompletely -- to love,unconditionally, toremove the barrierbetween me, mine and theother, to finally live atpeace.

I had the honor of beingpart of the Plum VillageDelegation to Vietnamlast year in springwith our teacher, topray for the lost soulswho died because of war.I wrote a song calledSoldier, when I wasnineteen, and took a newversion of the song withme for the people onthe trip to listen to.Soldier was my

declaration to my family, to the world, that I didn't want to build another wall between me and them, and that I wanted to live embracing others with compassion, that I wanted to develop compassion.

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S O L D I E R

I don’t want to be a soldier And feed the bleeding wounds of war I don’t want to be The recklessness of hearts The laughter, joy, compassion torn

I don’t want to leave our hunger The last remaining toils of peace I don’t want to be a hero I want to be your brother

I don’t want to build a fortress To take the freedom from my heart I don’t want to see the cause of painThen lead us all away from home

I don’t want to be a prisoner And lock these worries in my womb I don’t want to be a savior I want to be your brother

Oh...Ahh...

I want to tell my sister My mother father too The gifts in life are plenty The choice to grow and change

I want our generation To heal the wounds of war I want to be your freedom I want to be your brother

Oh...Ahh...

I want to be your brother I want to be your brother I want to be your brother I want to be your brother

Oh...Ahh...

Music and Lyrics by Brian Kimmel ©1999 Brian Kimmel. All rights reserved.

On the trip, I looked into the eyes of the elder Vietnamese men and women who had seen it all, had seen the bombs, and felt the explosions in their heart. How to describe the way I felt holding on desperately to my American Body drenched in their tears, my own tears. “How can I help?” I thought, “How can I tear down the walls that separate us?”

It takes courage to see another person’s suffering, and to bare witness to our own suffering as we are with that person. Mindfulness can bring to us the energy we need to help ourselves and others. If we want to do something totally different, totally extreme from our peers, from the majority, it must be love. The work of opening our hearts is truly unique. No one else can love the same. No one else can express their mindfulness exactly alike. Imagine if the youth of the world, devoted their lives to awakening. It is a beautiful gift to offer, and it is totally distinct amongst any other vocation or hobby.

My mission on earth isto love, unconditionally,

to remove the barrier between me, mine and the other, to finally live at peace.

The most important mantra of all is, “I am doing the best I can.” It means no matter if I am doing something my parents, or teachers might disapprove of, it is my True Self I need to listen to the most. True Self has my very best interests at heart, and wants me to be safe, mindful, and attentive to life. True Self is the person I live with everyday, the

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person I grow old with, and whose face I see in the mirror. I want to live the aspiration: “I am doing my best.” I want to make my best, the gift I offer others -- my True Action of the heart.

Watching the news, overhearing from friends, or even just checking my e-mail I see the terrors that befall our country, and other countries: War, Famine, Fighting, Scandals. It's all too much to bare sometimes, and I feel powerless, a victim to my anger and despair.

Sometimes my best just isn't enough. I feel in my body, that what I've done, and what I'm doing, whether it is writing and performing music, or leading meditation groups is not enough. But I know this way of thinking comes from a limited view. Even if it were me alone in my living room, watching a DVD talk of my teacher’s, or doing walking meditation to the grocery store, that is enough...it has to be, if it is the only thing I am doing. If perhaps the feeling arises, and I want to do more...that can be a blessing too...it can be my motivation to practice, and to serve.

Returning to a place of honesty and integrity

within myself is important. This is my True Self,

my True Home, my True Nature.

Returning to a place of honesty and integrity within myself is important. This is my True Self, my True Home, my True Nature -- where I feel safe, loved, and protected. True Self can't be lied to, and I can't lie to it. It has a way of being that is sometimes apart from the majority. It is not afraid to say, "Listen, what's good for everyone else may not necessarily be good for me."

Imagine if the youthof the world, devoted their lives

to awakening.

When you hear the voice of True Self, pay head! There isn't always action involved, it may be just awareness -- just listening while you are eating a meal, looking in the mirror before going on a date, or crossing the street to go to school. There isn't anything wrong with the things you are doing -- maybe more attention needs to be brought to how they are being done, if your heart remains open, embracing the preciousness of life. Your life is precious!

Mindfulness is a miracle -- and is a True way of living. We all have that rebel in us, that person that calls us to do things out of the norm. But the true rebel is our mindfulness. Mindfulness keeps us living with the whole, it is inclusive, and opens us to many parts of ourselves including others and the world around us. Rebellion for the sake of being a rebel may not have the kind of effect you desire. If you are mindful you have listened deeply to yourself. You have listened to that call within you to stop, to breathe, to nourish the Buddha that is in you, and in everyone.

Imagine if all of us who seek peace, who seek transformation and healing, had the support we needed to meet our aspirations. We can offer ourselves that support, right now, in this very moment. It takes only a few seconds to wake up! To witness the miracle that is

YOU

Brian Kimmel (27) - Las Vegas

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oday three children, two girls and alittle boy, came from the village to play

with Thanh Thủy (a child of boat people whom I took care of for several months). The four of them ran off to play on the hillside behind our house and were gone for about an hour when they returned to ask something to drink. I took the last bottle of homemade apple juice and gave them each a full glass, serving Thủy last. Since her juice was from the bottom of the bottle, it had some pulp in it. When she noticed the particles, she pouted and refused to drink it. So the four children went back to their games on the hillside and Thủy had not drunk anything.

Was the apple juice meditating like you,

Uncle Monk?

Half an hour later, while I was meditating in my room, I heard her calling. Thủy wanted to get herself a glass of cold water, but even on tiptoes she couldn’t reach the faucet. I reminded her of the glass of juice on the table and asked her to drink that first. Turning to look at it, she saw that the pulp had settled and the juice looked clear and delicious. She went to the table and took the glass with both hands. After drinking half of it, she put it down and asked, “Is this a different glass, Uncle Monk?”“No,“ I answered. “It’s the same one as before. It sat quietly for a bit, and now it’s clear and delicious.” Thủy looked at the glass again. “It really is good. Was it meditating

Thanh Thủy’s Apple Juice

T like you, Uncle Monk?” I laughed and patted her head. “Let’s say that I imitate the apple juice when I sit; that is closer to the truth.”

This clarity refreshes us and gives us

strength and serenity.

Every night Thanh Thủy sees me sit. I told her that I am “sitting in meditation” without explaining what it means or why I do it. Every night when she sees me wash my face, put on my robes, and light a stick of incense to make the room fragrant, she knows soon I will begin “meditating”. She also knows that it is time for her to brush her teeth, change into pyjamas, and go quietly to bed. I have never had to remind her. Without a doubt, Thủy thought that the apple juice was sitting for a while to clear itself, just like her Uncle Monk. “Was it meditating like you?” I think that Thanh Thủy, not yet four and a half, understands the meaning of meditation without any explanation. The apple juice became clear after resting a while. In the same way, if we rest in meditation a while, we too become clear. This clarity refreshes us and gives us strength and serenity. As we feel ourselves refreshed, our surrounding also becomes refreshed. Children like to be near us, not just to get candy and hear stories. They like to be near us because they can feel this “freshness”.

Sư Ông Thích Nhất HạnhExcerpt from The Sun, My Heart

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Illustrations by Thầy Pháp Tự - Plum Village

Calming the Apple Juice

You cannot see clearly…

…Don’t do anything…

…Wait…

…and you can see clearly

Everythingends

as

it

settles

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A

Stranding in the Sahara Desert, thousands of kilometers away from inhabited places, the French aviator Saint-Exupéry meets the little prince, who asks him to draw a sheep.

Baobabss each day passed I would learn, in ourtalk, something about the little prince's

planet, his departure from it, his journey. The information would come very slowly, as it might chance to fall from his thoughts. It was in this way that I heard, on the third day, about the catastrophe of the baobabs.

Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.

This time, once more, I had the sheep to thank for it. For the little prince asked me abruptly –as if seized by a grave doubt:“It is true, isn't it, that sheep eat little bushes?”“Yes, that is true.”“Ah! I am glad!”I did not understand why it was so important that sheep should eat little bushes. But the little prince added: “Then it follows that they also eat baobabs?”I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs were not little bushes, but, on the contrary, trees as big as castles; and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants away with him, the herd would not eat up one single baobab. The idea of the herd of elephants made the little prince laugh. “We would have to put them one on top of the other,” he said. But he made a wise comment: “Before they grow so big, the baobabs start out by being little.”“That is strictly correct,” I said. “But why do you want the sheep to eat the little baobabs?”He answered me at once, “Oh, come, come!”,

as if he were speaking of something that was self-evident. And I was obliged to make a great mental effort to solve this problem, without any assistance.

Indeed, as I learned, there were on the planet where the little prince lived - as on all planets - good plants and bad plants. In consequence, there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep deep in the heart of the earth's darkness, until some one among them is seized with the desire to awaken. Then this little seed will stretch itself and begin -timidly at first - to push a charming little sprig inoffensively upward toward the sun. If it is only a sprout of radish or the sprig of a rose-bush, one would let it grow wherever it might wish. But when it is a bad plant, one must destroy it as soon as possible, the very first instant that one recognizes it.

There were good seeds from good plants, and

bad seeds from bad plants.

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Now there were some terrible seedson the planet that was the homeof the little prince; and these were the seeds of the bao-bab. The soil of that planet was infested with them. A baobabis something you willnever, never be able to get rid of if you attend to it too late. Itspreads over the entire planet. It bores clear through it with its roots. And if the planet is too small, and the baobabs are too many, they split it in pieces . . .

“It is a question of discipline,” the little princesaid to me later on. “When you've finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care. You must see to it that you pull up regularly all the baobabs, at the very first moment when they can be distinguished from the rosebushes which they resemble so closely in their earliest youth. It is very tedious work,” the little prince added, “but very easy.”

A baobab is something you will never, never be able to get rid of,

if you attend to it too late.

And one day he said to me: “You ought to make a beautiful drawing, so that the children where you live can see exactly how all this is. That would be very useful to them if they were to travel some day. Sometimes,” he added, “there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day. But when it is a

matter of baobabs, that alwaysmeans a catastrophe. I knew

a planet that was inhabited by a lazy man. He

neglected threelittle bushes.”

Attend to the toilet

of your planetwith the

greatest care.

So, as the little prince describedit to me, I have made a drawing of that

planet. I do not much like to take the tone of a moralist. But the danger of the baobabs is so little understood, and such considerable risks would be run by anyone who might get lost on an asteroid, that for once I am breaking through my reserve. “Children,” I say plainly, “watch out for the baobabs!”

My friends, like myself, have been skirting this danger for a long time, without ever knowing it; and so it is for them that I have worked so hard over this drawing. The lesson which I pass on by this means is worth all the trouble it has cost me. Perhaps you will ask me, “Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?” The reply is simple. I have tried. But with the others I have not been successful. When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity.

Antoine de Saint-ExupéryExcerpt from The Little Prince

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Buddha’s Traffic Signs

In our daily life, to avoid traffic accident, we have to learn hundreds and hundreds of traffic signs:

We have learnt that:

� At red lights, we have to stop and we can only move ahead when the lights change from red to green.

� Some traffic signs, like the red triangles, mean potential dangers. By encountering them, we have to slow down and to become more vigilant.

� Sometimes, when there are risks of death, some signs forbid us to do something, like not to drive in (one way), not to make U-turn or even not to stop.

In general, everyone accepts these rules without complaining. Weknow that if do not respect these rules, the traffic will not flow well and in the worst case, we can be involved in a fatal accident.

In a similar way, to avoid life accidents, the Buddha proposed to us 5 traffic signs (only 5 !), that he called “the 5 Mindfulness Trainings”.

This is what I would like to share with you today.

The 1st Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.

Living beings crossing ahead !

My personal understandingWe all have relatives or friends that we love and with whom we would like to live always together. Every time that our cherished ones die for any reason (accident, illness, old age, etc…), we suffer a lot, because we simply miss them.

Knowing that human being is just an evolved animal among others, we realize that animals would also suffer like us, if their relatives or friends had to die.

Through our empathy and compassion for others, the Buddha taught us not to kill and not to let others kill.

Daily concernIn our daily life, we rarely kill (I hope so ;). But, we are used to letting others kill for us: by eating meats, fish and seafood, by wearing fur coat, silk shirt and leather shoes, or by using some cosmetic products...

Despite the fact that we are aware of all the related sufferings, it’s however really not easy to stop letting others kill for us. Particularly for those who are still eating meats, fishes or seafood, we know how difficult it is to become vegetarian.

� Practical tips The Buddha, who had a deep understanding of human being’s nature, knew how difficult it is for us to change our habits. Instead of blaming on us, he encouraged each of us to define our own objectives of improvement and to achieve them day after day at our own rhythm. That’s why these 5 recommendations are called the “5 Mindfulness Trainings”.

Returning to the case of being a vegetarian, we could fix as objectives for improvement: “to be vegetarian one day per week” or “to be vegetarian at home”.... Then, day after day, when we feel ready, we can increase, at our rhythm, the frequency.

Let’s try to do it now ! What is your objective of improvement for this week ?

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The 2nd Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice,stealing and oppression, I vow to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well being of people, animals, plantsand minerals. I vow to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy and material resources with those who are in real need. Iam determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or thesuffering of other species on Earth.

Authorized persons only !

My personal understanding:For those who are reading these lines, this 2nd training is really not a big deal. Indeed, who from us is a pickpocket ?None of us of course (I hope so ;). However, it doesn’t mean that we don’t steal anything at all. Indeed, who from us has ever:

�Downloaded music from the internet ?�Watched copied movies on DVD ?�Wore clothes manufactured from a sweatshop ?�Eaten an exotic fruit ?�Forgotten to switch off the lights when leaving room ?�etc... etc...

As you can see, stealing can appear under various forms, and allof them cause directly or indirectly suffering to others:

�By downloading music from the internet or by watching copied movies on DVD, we indirectly steal jobs from people working in these industries.�By wearing sweatshop’s clothes, we indirectly contribute to the exploitation of children and youth work force.�By eating exotic fruit or by forgetting to switch off the lightswhen leaving room, we increase our overall consumption of energy and contribute to the general pollution of our planet. Bydoing that, we steal the natural resources and the fresh air from our future generations.

� Practical tips�Challenge the above examples to see if they make sense� Assess your daily life with the examples above�Visit some interesting websites as:

www.wearewhatwedo.orgwww.wwf.org

�Find out other examples and share them with us !

The 3rd Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I vow to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

No entry !

My personal understanding:As the Buddha had to condense hundreds trainings into 5, that’s why all of them are important. However, for me, this 3rd one has its particular importance, because the consequences of its non-respect are catastrophic. Usually, when we don’t practice one training, we suffer a short moment, then we engage to do better for the next time and everything would be ok. However, if we don’t practice this 3rd training, we could be seriously injured and at the same time, we could wound several generations: I know a father who had once an extra-marital child. He feels so guilty that he would like to include this child into his family. But, the presence of this child causes so much sufferings to the mother that brothers and sisters separate into 2 camps. As you can see,the non-respect of this 3rd training could negatively impact over 2 generations...

� Practical tips for non-long term engaged peopleWhen you are in a relationship, your partner may push you to have a sexual relationship. Your partner may argue that if you really love them, then this is the perfect proof. But is it really the perfect proof? And why is the burden to prove it on you and not them?In my opinion, this is an excellent opportunity for you to know if your partner is the right person for you. Indeed, if your partner can’t wait for 1, 2 or 3 years (before a long term engagement), how can they be sufficiently patient with you for the rest of your life ? Is 1, 2 or 3 years really too long a time to wait compared to the 60 remaining ones? If your partner is able to pass this test, you will know that this person is the right person to spend the rest of your life with.

� Practical tips for long term engaged peopleNever underestimate this 3rd training. I know people who still be injured at more than 60 years old.

� Practical tips for both groupsIf you didn’t previously practice the 3rd training and were lucky enough not to be injured. Practice it now ! It’s not too late !

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The 4th Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others andrelieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can createhappiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, withwords that inspire self-confidence, joy and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. Iwill refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

Potential dangers ahead – Slow down !

My personal understanding:We know that our speech is like a double-edged knife. It can be a source of joy, when it is positive and encouraging, but it canbe also a source of suffering, when it is negative and wounding.

We also know that the biggest challenge in communication is to ensure the quality of the message. Indeed, it’s very common that the received message could be perceived differently from the sent one. Sometimes, a positive message could be received negatively, just because the receiver didn’t feel good or he/she was not ready to receive it.

Knowing that we can control only at maximum 50% of the quality of our message, the Buddha recommended to us to slow down (if necessary to stop) to allow us sufficiently time to observe ourselves and to observe others before sending any message.

� Practical tipsBefore sending a message (saying something), answer first to yourself to the following questions:• How do I (the transmitter) feel today ?• How does my receiver look like today ?

If none of the answers is good or positive, then stop sending orsaying anything today. If both are good or positive, then answerto yourself to the following question:• Is my message positive or encouraging ?

If the answer is no, then stop sending or saying anything today. In contrary, if the answer is yes, then send or say it immediately. Your message will be certainly well received and perceived.

The 5th Mindfulness TrainingAware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I amdetermined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

Slippery quayside !

My personal understanding:We live in a society of consumption which push us to consume everything and as much as possible. The marketing professionals know exactly how to incite us to consume. They submerge us with advertising that excite our 6 senses (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body and mind) by using all existing means like television, radio, books, newspapers, magazines, movies, party, concert, internet, blogs, buzz, fragrances, flavours, etc...

The worst thing that happens when we are immersed in this environment, is that we forget that some of these products can be harmful to our body and our mind, like alcohol, drugs, but also sad movies, violent video games, gossip magazines, unproductive conversations, etc…

I really like this traffic sign, because it describes exactly the risk related to the lack of training. When I discuss this 5th training with other people, I often hear that I am being too extremist, because one glass of wine, one occasional cigarette, a short sadmovie and some minutes with a violent video game cannot be harmful. I disagree with this point of view, because maybe they seem harmless for a short period of time, but they can actually gradually intoxicate our body and mind. It is like a car that slips on a quayside, it doesn’t fall immediately down, it slides at first, then it falls, but once it has fallen, it would be very difficult to pull it back onto the quay.

� Practical tipsWrite down on a paper the top 10 products that could be harmful for your body and mind and share it with us !

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Dear friends,

I have just shared with you the 5 traffic signs that Buddha had transmitted to us. I have shared them with you because I think they can be useful in our daily life. Just take a look around you and see how ma ny people are suffering just because they neglect these 5 recommendations.

I have also shared with you my personal understanding that you may or may not agree with. Let’s discuss!

I would really appreciate to receive your comments, feedback and also your personal experiences to help me widen my understanding. Please feel free to send them to me!

Before closing this sharing, I would like to summarize here below the 5 Buddha’s traffic signs and....

... to invite you to take part to the following riddle game: “What is the meaning of each traffic sign below ?”

Clue n°1: They are all related to the practice of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings!

If you have the answer, please send it to the following email address: TTTproject@gmail.com

The best answer will be published in the next TTT Spirit Newsletter and the winner will receive a book on the 5 Mindfulness Trainings. Good luck and enjoy!

Sâm Bùi (36) - Geneva

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(Turn on your lights)

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ntroductionAll living creatures –with the exception

of primary producers like plants which take their energy from the sun and their materials from the soil—rely on the death of other creatures. Small herbivores eat plants and are hunted by small carnivores, which are themselves preyed upon by the larger carnivores crowning the food pyramid. These top predators are then “recycled” after their death by scavengers and decomposers. In this endless flow of resources and energy, life and death are inextricably intertwined.

Siddhartha, who would later in his life become the Buddha, understood this reality more than 2500 years ago. Sitting under a tree, he saw a bird digging up a worm from the soil and tearing it apart with its sharp beak. However, another predator suddenly appeared and captured the bird to eat it. Shocked by the brutality of this scene, Siddhartha pondered: “Do all living beings kill each other?”

There is no way to live without taking life. Boiling water eliminates millions of bacteria. We grow vegetables in gardens and fields only to have them lying dead on our plates. Each step we take is a life threat to the various ants, worms, and caterpillars creeping or crawling across our path. So what is the problem with killing cows and chickens for food? Does it make any sense to be vegetarian?

To Kill or not to Kill

I

ealth Impact of Meat-EatingAlthough killing is a part of life, not

all kinds of killing are necessary. The bird needs to kill the worm in order to sustain itself, and the bird’s predator needs to capture the bird to survive. But the survival of humans does not require the slaughter of livestock animals like cows or chickens. Indeed, vegetarian diets can provide for all basic nutritional needs. Contrary to a commonly held belief, for example, vegetarians do not systematically lack iron or proteins in their

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The Buddha teaching compassion for animals to his disciples. According to the Buddhist teachings, animals as well as humans possess the Buddha nature, or nature of awakening.

A Buddhist-Environmentalist Perspective on Vegetarianism

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diets. Iron can be found in beans and dark green vegetables like broccoli, while tofu, soybeans and wheat gluten are examples of protein-rich vegetarian foods. In fact, a vegetarian diet low in fat and cholesterol can help avoid health conditions common among meat-eaters like obesity and high blood pressure, while actively favoring health due (among other things) to the various anti-oxidants present in many fruits and vegetables. In countries where vegetarian food is abundant and easily accessible, meat-eating is not only unnecessary, it is potentially harmful to humans.

eat-eating and Animal RightsEating meat is also obviously

harmful, and often extremely cruel, to animals. In a recent letter to the CEO and president of Yum! Brands, Inc. of which the chain of fast-food restaurants “KFC” is part, Zen teacherThích Nhất Hạnh (Thầy) wrote:

“I have heard reports that KFC’s suppliers cut the throats of conscious chickens, that many birds are still conscious when they are sent through scalding water, and that KFC refuses to persuade its suppliers to use methods that are more humane both for the chickens and for the humans who handle them”

In most so-called developed countries like the U.S., where the average citizen consumes 227lbs of meat each year, high demand has led to an increasingly dehumanized production network, in which living beings are manipulated as raw material destined to be wrapped in cellophane, stored in our freezers, and dropped onto our plates.

eat-eating and World HungerSince large amounts of grains are

needed to feed livestock, much of the world’s grain production is directed to industrial farms. This is a fundamentally inefficient system, because much of the energy and nutrients contained in grains is lost as the livestock feed. In addition, the bulk of global meat production is destined to high-income countries like the U.S., Canada, and European countries. At the same time, it is estimated that one in every six people on earth goes hungry each day. In other words, although it is possible to alleviate world hunger, our greed for meat prevents us from achieving this goal.

eat-eating and the EnvironmentClearly, eating meat is neither

beneficial to humans –pleasant taste for the privileged aside—nor to cows, chickens, or other animals that are sent by the thousands in crowded trucks to factory-like slaughterhouses. But livestock production and consumption also seriously affect our environment. At the local scale, for example, industrial animal farming pollutes rivers, ponds, lakes, and coastal waters. Manure contains large amounts of nutrients, which favor abnormal population growth of pests like green algae, leading to reduced availability of oxygen for other species in streams or still-water environments. This phenomenon called eutrophication is a serious threat to the well-being of local ecosystems. At the global scale, livestock production accelerates global warming. During digestion, farm animals like cows emit large amounts of powerful greenhouse gases, like nitrogendioxide (NO2), methane (CH4) and

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carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. This process, termed enteric fermentation, is the single most important cause of climate change, even before fossil-fuel-powered transportation.

onclusionTo abstain from eating meat is to refuse to

participate in a profit-driven market that uselessly destroys the lives of millions of animals daily, threatens human health in a significant way, monopolizes precious grains in a hungry world, and puts the fragile balance of ecosystems and the atmosphere in jeopardy. It is urgent that we look further than our own plates and consider the implications of food consumption for all forms of life. As the first Contemplation says[i], everymorsel of food “is the gift of the whole universe.”Let us enjoy this gift wisely!

Eric Bolo (19), McGill University, EnvironmentalSciences - Montréal

[1] The “five contemplations” are observed before each meal in many Zen monasteries across Asia. They are recited to foster mindful, grateful, and responsible eating. Zen teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh’s version is available at: http://www.capesangha.org/contemplations.html

INTERESTING RESOURCES• World Watch Institute (WWI) article on global meat

consumption: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1626

• Thầy’s letter to KFC:•http://www.plumvillage.org/HTML/news/Thay%20letter. JPG• Nutritional tips for vegetarians: http://www.essortment.com/family/healthtipsvege_snsk.htm• A little more on meat consumption and climate change

(go veggie, go green!): http://www.goveg.com/environment.asp• On eutrophication caused by industrial animal farming: http://www.grida.no/boing/drivingforces/index.cfm?page=i_livestock.htm

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What is it that made you want to become a nun? After spending a week in Plum Village, I wanted to ordain right away because I felt that everything we were doing was a lot truer than outside. We could take our time to do the things we like to do, or even not do anything. We could give meaning to everything we said, we did; truly be together, truly meeting people. That is what I liked; to truly do everything, even if it is a small thing to be completely there while doing it. It gave a lot of meaning to things. Before, I never knew what job to do; I didn’t want to do something I would forget about everything once at home, to just go work to get a salary at the end of the month. That wasn’t something that was pushing me out of bed in the morning! But, as a nun, even though we don’t have a job, all we do, we do wholeheartedly. So that makes you want to get up in the morning? Yes, that makes me want to live!

What does your monastic life bring you?Well, basically I am more happy! I don’t live wondering what I am going to do later. Before everything I was doing was to prepare a good future. I was going to school to have good grades, I was studying to do this or that job, I was working to get some money so that I could do this or that in the future. I always had the future in mind; so what I was doing was not necessary what I really wanted to do. Now, everything I do, I do it because I like to, I live the life I really want to live, without having to sacrifice myself for later.

As you say, there are a lot of good things about monastic life; but there are also things that aren’t so easy, like having to renounce to material possessions, to being a mother, having a family…. For material things, I am very happy like this; I don’t need to worry about getting fashionable clothes (I always hated shopping anyways!). For now, not having children is not a problem, but I might miss it sometimes in the future. I have the feeling that I can be more happy as a nun than as a lay person. And if I am not happy, I don’t think I can be in a relationship or have a family. So I rather be a nun and live the life I want to live, if not it is too bad!

How is community life? In Plum Village there is a lot of different cultures, ages, personalities; and in the west we are more use to having our apartment, to be individualistic…Community life is different. It is true. There are times when I’ d like to be a catholic nun and to have my own little cell, not having to share my room. But when I think like that, I have to look at why I have this need; and sometimes it is simply that I am not feeling so well and that I want to redraw; but I am not sure this is the aim of the cells in Christian monastery! So, it helps me to be closer to what is wrong inside and not to hide myself. But in general I really love community life and it is one of the reason why I became a nun. When I was a student, the first year, I wanted to have my own apartment

NView

Sư Cô NghiêmTInter

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to be able to listen to music as loud as I wished etc.. but actually, I wasn’t happy at all! So the next year I moved in with other people and I had a great time. I told myself I didn’t want to live as a couple with children but that I wanted to live with other young people the whole of my life. That’s a bit what I am doing now! At that time there were also times when it wasn’t easy because we didn’t have the same way oflooking at things, of living, the same values…In the monastery we all have the same rules and more or less the same direction so it makes it a lot easier to live together.

What do you feel is the most important or the most useful thing for young people in our society today? There are a lot of useful things to do!! But one I find very useful is to take our time, take the time to do what we want to do, to stop, to simply listen to our breathing. Sometimes when I work in the office and I am exited or caught in a conversation or a project and if I remember to come back to my breathing or if I see a very calm sister it helps me to come back to the here. It is hard to explain. Sometimes I feel that the life people have outside is not real and that here, we live more, we really live and we don’t need to have wonderful project or to do things to prove we are able to do them. But to simply walk, sit or even to wait in line in the dining hall, if we can do that in silence and be truly present, then it can become a great moment! That is what I missed when I was a lay person. I always had to do things, to do, to do, to do to prove to myself that I was doing something with my life. And the opposite was happening; I was losing the meaning of what I was doing and was doing it only for the future or for other people. Now I am more able to live and to benefit from the present moment.

Would you like to share something else? Yes. We really have to do the things we like without thinking that it is not paying, profitable. I

was always thinking like that in the past; everything I was doing had to be profitable for the future, for money, for my career, or to look good in front of my friends. It had to serve those kinds of purposes. Being here, it is easier for me to do what I like to do, to live how I want to live, to live what I was dreaming about before, without having to limit myself. Well, this is in theory; in practice, I still have my ways of thinking!

What really helped me and continue to help me, is to pay attention to my emotions and ideas; to know that they are only emotions and ideas and not to identify myself with them, not to become a victim but to see in a broader way. For instance, if I am sad, angry or desperate, to see that it is only a transient state I already went through, only an emotion and that I am much more than that. The tools we have here, like to breathe, to stop thinking for a while helps me. At the beginning I didn’t really believe in it and kind of didn’t want to do that, to stop thinking, it was as if I had to become stupid! I wanted to keep on thinking to try to understand where this emotions was coming from, how I could transform it… so that stopping my thoughts and coming back to the breath was almost dangerous. I didn’t see the importance of it.But I remember one day, I told myself “Ok, I am going to stop thinking just for today. I am going to follow my breathing, to walk in mindfulness and tomorrow I will go on thinking about this problem.” By the end of the day, I had totally forgotten about my problem and I was very happy! I remembered my state of mind in the morning, sad, depressed, and by the evening; I was cheerful and present to people around me. Then I believed in the practice, in what Thầy teaches us. Now, it helps me a lot and every time I have an emotion come up, I remember this and so I can do it more easily.

Sư Cô Tôn Nghiêm – Plum Village 31

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Về Giữa Gió XuânMột khóa tu hiện ñại cho người trẻ

rước ñây, một khóa tu trong suynghĩ của mình là nơi của các ônggià, bà lão về hưu, rảnh rỗi, muốn ñi

tìm sự thanh tịnh, vào ñấy ñể ñọc kinh niệmPhật, ngồi thiền... Nhưng sau khi ñi dự khóa tuở Tu Viện Bát Nhã về, mình ñã có một gócnhìn khác về khóa tu, nhất là khóa tu cho ngườitrẻ. ðó là nơi có sự hòa hợp của ñạo Phật, hướng về tổ tiên, cội nguồn và sự trẻ trung, sôinổi của bạn trẻ. Thời khóa tu của "Về giữa gióxuân" có rất nhiều hoạt ñộng trẻ trung, sôi nổinhư thế! Bài viết này ñiểm sơ một số hoạt ñộngsôi ñộng trong khóa tu nhằm chia sẽ thêm mộtgóc nhìn khác về khóa tu cho bạn bè.

Bát Nhã là nơi cósự hòa hợp, hướng về tổ tiên,

cội nguồn và sự trẻ trung.

ðầu tiên là cuộc thi "Gói bánh chưng, bánhTét" giữa các gia ñình Pháp ðàm. Nói ra thìxấu hổ, chứ ñối với JK, gói bánh chưng là chỉcó trong từ ñiển chứ chưa ñộng tay vào bao giờ. Giờ thì nhìn các sư thầy sư cô thoăn thoắt góiñủ kiểu thật là vui. Nào là bánh Tét mẹ bồngcon (một bánh to gói chung với một bánh nhỏ), bánh chưng gói-nhanh-nhất-và-xấu-nhất, rồi lễ"rước bánh tét" trên một cái ñòn gánh... Nhữngbạn còn lại thì hò hét, la lối om sòm, chỉ này, chỏ nọ. Một không khí náo nhiệt chưa từngthấy trong tu viện. Cũng không vừa, ban giámkhảo cũng chia nhau

T

gói bánh tét như thách thức tất cả các ñộitham gia. Nhìn các sư thầy, sư cô khéo léo góibánh tét mà thêm ngưỡng mộ những người áonâu. Không khí náo nhiệt cứ thế lan truyền mãicho ñến khi những ñòn bánh tét lần lượt ñượcnộp cho ban giám khảo. Các thầy cô tuy khôngquá hò hét nhưng cũng rất hòa ñồng, cười nóivui vẻ với gia ñình Pháp ñàm của mình. Nóingười tu không có tính ganh ñua cũng khôngñúng, nhưng không ganh ñua cũng không ñúng, nói chung là “sắc sắc, không không”.

Sau màn gói bánh chưng, toàn thể thiền sinhñược thưởng thức màn cồng chiêng ñộc ñáo củañoàn nghệ thuật người Mạ. Mỗi anh vác mộtcái cồng hoặc chiêng, ñi thành một ñoàn. Mỗingười chỉ phụ trách ñúng một nốt trong ñiệunhạc, nhưng khi nghe, bạn mới thấy sự phốihợp nhịp nhàng, có vần ñiệu, mới thấy nhạccồng chiêng có nhiều màu sắc lắm, vui

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tươi lắm. Khi âm hưởng núi rừng của ñiệu cồngchiêng vừa tạm ngưng, không khí lại náo nhiệtvới trò chơi nhảy sạp. Nếu chứng kiến mộtphần thời khóa tu này, bạn ñừng ngạc nhiên làtại sao sư thầy, sư cô còn ham chơi thế. Ngườitrẻ có nhiều năng lượng hơn. Và rất nhiều sưthầy, sư cô cũng là những người trẻ! Những tròchơi dân gian có ñịnh hướng cho người trẻ tìmvề với nét văn hóa ngày xưa của tổ tiên. Chonên, các hoạt ñộng này rất có tính giáo dục, phùhợp với bạn trẻ và vẫn ñảm bảo tinh thần “sốngtrong hiện tại”. Cứ lâu lâu, chiếc chuông lớn lạiñược thỉnh lên, toàn bộ ñại chúng lại ngồi yên, hít thở, chỉ có tiếng thông reo xào xạt, mát rượi.

Các hoạt ñộng này rất cótính giáo dục, phù hợp với bạn trẻ

và vẫn ñảm bảo tinh thần“sống trong hiện tại”.

ðêm ñến, Bát Nhã rộn ràng với chương trình“Bát Nhã by night”. Sân khấu ñược thiết kếngay trong thiền ñường, ñầy ñủ cả âm thanh, ánh sáng, mic không dây, cả màn chiếu truyềnhình trực tiếp ñể khán giả dễ theo dõi. Bát Nhãgiờ hiện ñại thật, thường xuyên cập nhật thiếtbị, công nghệ ñể theo kịp thời ñại. Các tiết mụcvăn nghệ chỉ có chừng 2-3 tiếng ñể chuẩn bị màai cũng nhiệt tình, náo nức tham gia, từ các em

mầm non U15 ñến các bác “mầm non nghĩañịa”. Ở BN, Pháo tay ñược thay bằng “pháohoa” (hai bàn tay xòe như 2 ñóa hoa, xoay liêntục ñể cổ vũ). Những tràng pháo hoa cứ thế rộlên sau mỗi tiết mục văn nghệ của các gia ñìnhPháp ñàm. Và các tiết mục cứ thế nối nhau, cho người tham gia một cảm giác vui vẻ, hòañồng và nhiều ý nghĩa giáo dục. Vui một cáilà cứ sau mỗi tiết mục, ñại chúng lại quay lạivới hiện tại sau khi tiếng chuông ñược thỉnhlên, trả sự yên lặng lại cho thiền ñường.

Những thời khóa sôi nổi như thế là dành riêngcho người trẻ. Tu sỹ và cư sỹ cùng tham giavào các hoạt ñộng một cách nhiệt tình, hếtmình, ñể thấy trong sự sôi ñộng mà lòng vẫntĩnh, vẫn có chánh niệm. ðó là cái khó, nhưngcũng là cái ñáng ñể rèn luyện! Khóa tu “Vềgiữa gió xuân” sẽ là dịp cho rất nhiều ngườitrẻ thay ñổi cái nhìn về một khóa tu, ñể có cơhội tìm hiểu về ñạo Bụt, hay chỉ ñơn giản làmột phương pháp ñể lấy lại cân bằng cho cuộcsống, và thấy cuộc ñời có nhiều ý nghĩa hơn. Mỗi người sẽ tự rút ra cho mình một bài học, một con ñường ñể ñi, nhưng phương pháp sẽlà người thầy lớn nhất cho bạn nương tựa vào. Vậy nhé, lên BN chơi nhé!

Duy Khiêm Trần (26) – Hồ Chí Minh City

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34

Vom Kräuter sammeln

Die Kinder verlassen die Meditationshalle Lasst uns mit den morgendlichen Aufgaben beginnen! Staub auf dem Buddhaaltar entfernen Die Tassen mit frischem Tee füllen Räucherstäbchen anzünden Tische säubern Abfall aufsammeln Den Boden kehren Ihre kleinen Hände sind zarte Lotusblüten Jede Bewegung bringt einen wundervollen Duft hervor Der Duft der Achtsamkeit Der Duft des Seins Der Duft der Freude

Der Duft von frisch gekochtem Reis steigt auf und ruft die Kinder zum Frühstück Reis mit Kürbisblumen gibt es heute Die Farbe des Mondes verbindet sich mit der Farbe der Sonne zu einer harmonischen Komposition Alle Schalen sind nun gefüllt Gefüllt mit Dankbarkeit, erblüht eine Blume in unserem Geist in unseren Händen Gemeinsam mit dem ganzen Kosmos genießen wir das Mahl in Stille

Es ist Zeit, um sich auf den Weg zur Schule zu machen „Singt ein Lied vor, bevor ihr geht“, bittet Thầy*Die Kinder kichern verlegen Tausend Sprößlinge sprießen aus der Erde empor „Xin nguyện làm dòng sôôông, không làm hạt nước nhỏỏỏ...“**Blätter wachsen Blumen erblühen Ich lächle Lächle Lächle

* Thầy = Abt des Klosters, in dem die Monatgnardkinder leben** „Ich gelobe zu einem Fluuuß zu werden und nicht ein kleeeiner Wassertropfen zu bleiben...“

January 2009

Warme Glockenklänge laden den Morgen zum Fest des Lebens ein Aus der Ferne ertönt der Sutra-Gesang Die pure Stimme der Montagnardkinder Süßer Rohrzucker Frisches QuellwasserAufsteigende Welle

Ich öffne meine Augen und lächle Die Tür öffnend, atme ich die frische Morgenluft ein Das Kloster schwebt auf dem ruhigen Nebelmeer Wie süß der duftende Morgentau schmeckt! Die Wolken sind erwacht Ein Kunstwerk enthüllt sich vor mir Um den Beginn des neuen Tages zu feiern, manifestieren sich Farbflächen am Himmel Strahlendes Orange auf tiefdunklem Blau Überwältigende Stille Überwältigende Schönheit Überwältigenden Frieden

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Mit hüpfenden Schritten tanzen die Montagnardkinder auf der braunroten Erde und weisen uns den Weg zum Wasserfall Muttererde nährt unsere Füße mit ihrer FestigkeitWir gehen an kleine, einfache Hütten vorbei Wessen Hände haben diese Bananenblätter so kunstvoll zusammengewoben? Grüne Teehügeln schreiben Kalligraphien voller Poesie in die Landschaft Hat der Künstler, der diesen Pinsel in seiner Hand hielt, dabei nicht einen lebhaften Tanz vollführt? Der Himmel ist so klar Ich blicke in die friedlichen, blauen Augen dieses Kindes Ist es möglich in diese Augen zu blicken ohne von ganzem Herzen zu lächeln? Ein sanfter Wind streichelt meinen Kopf Wie frisch die Luft ist! „Alles wird gut“, flüstern die Grillen uns zirpend zu Wir sind angekommen Am Tor zum Dschungel winken Bambusblätter uns fröhlich zu

Während ich die Brücke überquere, höre ich den Bach seine ewige Sonate spielen Ich bleibe stehen und lausche Hörst du das klare Lachen tausender Stern erklingen? Die Waldmusik fließt durch meinen Geist und Körper, lässt den Frühling in mir erwachen Beim Einatmen füllt ein himmlisch süßer Duft meine Lungen Oh, wie viel Freude eine Blume dem Leben doch mit ihrem bloßen Sein darbieten kann! Am anderen Ufer angelangt begrüsst mich eine violette Wildblume mit einem strahlenden Lächeln „Heute ist ein Festtag!“, verkündet sie Ich lächle zurück und singe: „Ja!“

January 2009

Lasst uns auf Bäume klettern und den Himmel berühren! Siehst du diese Pflanze dort? Sie hat schöne rote Wurzeln Er gräbt sie aus Betrachtet sie Das Lächeln eines Menschen, der einen wertvollen Schatz entdeckt hat, erblüht auf seinen Lippen Siehe, dort am Wegesrand wächst ein Pilz! Er pflückt ihn Lichtstrahlen berühren den Pilz, verwandeln ihn in einen Juwel Meine Bewunderung sehend, gibt er mir diesen seltenen Pilz Ohne zu Zögern Geben Besitzen Siehe, dort sind köstliche Kräuter! Er sammelt die Kräuter legt sie sorgfältig aufeinander rollt sie in ein großes Blatt ein bindet sie mit einem langen Grashalm an seinen Bauch „Nun haben wir genug Zutaten für ‘s Mittagessen!“, sagt er lächelnd Einfach Überwältigend

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Gegenwärtiger Moment, wundervoller Moment! Die Kinder springen von einem Felsen zum anderen Fächerartige Blätter halten sie als Schirme in ihren Händen Immer mehr Wasserperlen schmücken ihre Schirme Ein Kind bleibt stehen und stützt beide Hände auf seinen Kopf Er betrachtet den Wasserfall Der Wasserfall betrachtet ihn Sind er und der Wasserfall noch zwei verschiedene Realitäten? Gab es für ihn jemals etwas Wichtigeres zu tun? Ziellosigkeit Freiheit Wahrheit Kunst

Lebe tief im gegenwärtigen Moment, und du wirst sehen Der Wasserfall ist der Buddhaist das Dharmaist deine Sangha “, sagt der Mönch zu mir Ich lächle Das Rauschen des Wasserfalls Das Rauschen des WasserfallsDer mächtige Ruf, den wir schon immer kannten All meine Wünsche sind bereits erfüllt Das Leben!

Danke, dass ihr uns zum Wasserfall geführt habt. Wir werden den Weg zurück finden. Geht jetzt zur Schule, ihr verspätet euch.“Sie lächeln und gehen

Ich sitze auf einem Felsen Einfach nur sitzen Atmen Sein Warme Sonnenstrahlen umarmen mich Warum müssen wir etwas erreichen, um jemand zu werden? Warum? „Komm‘, lasst uns zurückkehren. Es ist Zeit fürs Mittagessen, Thầy wartet schon.“Ich suche nach einem scharfen Stein und graviere Worte in den Felsen ein, auf dem ich saßKennst du diese Worte? Ich nehme den Stein mit

„ Auf dem Rückweg begegnen wir den Kindern Sie wollten noch nicht gehen Auf einem hohen Baum sitzen sie Sie warten auf uns Um uns den Weg nach Hause zu zeigen Was bedeutet es sich zu verspäten? Was ist die wichtigste Aufgabe in diesem Moment? Bedingungslose Liebe

Nichts besitzen! Alles besitzen! Was bedeutet es zivilisiert zu sein? Was bedeutet es nicht zivilisiert zu sein? Geht es letztendlich nicht einfach darum zu wissen, wie man Kräuter sammelt?

Thùy-Hân Nguyễn-Chí (20) - Antwerp

Diese Gedanken schrieb ich nieder, nachdem ich einen Tag mit einem Mönch, seinem Freund und den Montagnardkindern, die zu einer ethnischen Minderheit gehoeren, im Dschungel des zentralen Hochgebirges Vietnams (Bảo Lộc) verbracht habe. Ihr natürlicher Charakter, ihre einfache Lebensweise und enge Verbundenheit zur Natur haben mich zutiefst berührt. Montagnards werden oftmals verachtet und ihre Lebensweise als primitiv bezeichnet. Aber was bedeutet denn primitiv, was bedeutet denn zivilisiert sein?Ich bin diesen Kindern zutiefst dankbar dafür, dass sie mir den Weg zu diesem Wasserfall gezeigt und mir diese immergrünen Kräuter geschenkt haben.

January 2009

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CultureTTT Spirit

The Birth of The Buddha

A six tusked elephantA blossom in the wombShades of the Sala treeA baby was born

The queen was overjoyedThe heavens rejoicedThe king was so happyThat a prince was born

As the years passedThe flowers blossomedAnd as the child grewHis heart became large

With sickness and old ageWith birth and deathThe world of sufferingWas a shock to the prince

His heart was in painHe had to find a wayTo relieve this sufferingTo bring great happiness

So he abandoned the richesAnd cut his hair shortSaid goodbye to loved onesSo he can help all beings

For years he tried hardFor years he struggledThings that did not bear fruitsHappiness was not born

Happiness comes home

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But today is todayAnd the Buddha is still aliveIt is really up to usTo help him be born

Each time we step with peaceEach time we smile with joyEach time we offer kind wordsEach time we are mindful of breathing

That is where the Buddha is being bornThat is where the Buddha is livingThat is where he has not diedThat is where he is still alive

This is where his great heart livesWithin our own heartsThis is his great wayWithin our own lives

So now can you seeThe Buddha is being bornHe is being born within youHe is being born within me

Written by Luận ðinh (31) - Londonfor Vesakh day (“Buddhamas”)

Illustrated by Thầy Pháp Tự

Then one clear morningSitting beneath a great treeWith mighty roots and shady leavesHe realized great awakening

Things became so clearEveryone is so wonderfulWe are all so beautifulYet we can not see this

So the Buddha came to beHe became our teacherTeaching us the way of loveTeaching us the way of understanding

Many seasons then passedMany people found happinessA great family was bornAll brothers and sisters

Then one fine dayBeneath the cool shadesOf the great Sala treeThe Buddha passed away

Into Nirvana some sayInto great extinctionInto great emptinessInto the thusness of things

And here on this dayWe celebrate the Buddha's BirthdayHis wonderful lifeHis wonderful teaching

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Calligraphy by Thầy Chỉnh ðừc - Plum Village 39

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TTT Spirit

TTiếng chim líu lo

ðắn ño làm gìDừng lai vui chơiChào ñón nụ cười

Tâm lành phát sinhHạnh phúc ñã về

Nắm ñược trong tayChìa khoá sự sống

Nu cười bất tậnAn lạc muôn nơi

Tiếng chim líu loLo nghĩ làm chiTâm trí rộn ràngBụi ñời mờ mịt

Nhìn cũng như khôngðông người qua lại

Vắng bóng tình thươngÝ nghĩa cuộc sống

Tỏ lu ẩn hiệnDừng lại ñi thôi

Tiếng chim líu loNiềm vui chan chứaðong ñầy yêu thươngBừng tỉnh giấc mộngNghe nhiều âm thanhNhìn ñời muôn sắcNét nào cũng hayMầu nào cũng ñẹpNhận thức ô hayCuộc sống nhiệm mầu

Tiếng chim líu loVô tư ñùa giỡnNiềm lo biến mấtCơn giận tiêu tanThấy ñời muôn lốiChẳng ñi cũng tớiBến ñỗ an lànhTìm ñâu chi nữaTa về bên nhauAn nhiên muôn thưở

Tâm ðức Hành - Hamburg

Culture

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January 2009

TTT Spirit

Mindful Cartoon by Thầy Pháp Tự - Plum Village

Culture

Don’t Hurry !

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CultureTTT Spirit

Living in the present moment

We’re living in the present momentWe don’t live in the pastWe can’t live in the futureIt’s only the present momentThat lasts

We may be moving very fastWe may be walking slowIt doesn’t really matterIt’s only the present momentWe know

Looking at the brown earthSprouting plants of green Vast sky of empty blueMoon shines a silver sheen

We better make the most of itThis present that we liveLearning to be happySo we can receive and giveEncouragement and joyfulnessFresh breeze and gentle rainCommunity and friendshipHelp relieve the world of pain

Breathing in and breathing outTransforming our mindsClearing away all obstaclesLet the true love light shineWalking down the sidewalk Black crow caws flying pastI marvel in the momentWhat more can we ask

Words & Music by Gary Palen - Canada

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SocialTTT Spirit

The Art of GivingLove without boundaries

More than three decades after the end of the war, Vietnam has gradually evolved into a free economy. Many people became very rich, but the economic boom did not benefit everybody. For each newly rich person, there are thousands more who are excluded. Two groups of excluded people are particularly vulnerable, because they don’t even have the ability to take care of themselves: 1. Either orphans or abandoned by their parents, these children, most of them illiterate, are forced to survive by themselves on the street. There are as many as 20,000 to 40,000 of them, aged from 4 and up, living in the streets of Saigon. 2. Handicapped people, either through birth defect, mostly due to the Dioxin or Agent Orange from the war, or accidents at work. There is no infrastructure to accommodate or to care for disabled people in Vietnam. Becoming a burden because of their disability, they are often abandoned by their own family and many of them choose suicide as the way out.

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hirteen years ago, at the age of 20,Aline Rebaud travelled manycountries over the world and she

came to Vietnam to look for inspiration for her paintings. She learned Vietnamese and began researching and exploring Vietnam with great passion. Then, she had an accidental situation that keeps her staying in this country and gives her a mission that is different from her initial intention.One evening Aline met a 10-year old child crying because of hunger and fright in a dark corner of the street. She bought food for the child and tried to feed him, but he was too weak to be able to eat. Taking him to the hospital, heart and lung problems were diagnosed and the boy was about to die with open sores all over his body. Doctors gave up on saving him, but Aline did not have the heart to leave this child alone and stayed at his bedside, washing and feeding him. After nursing him back to life, she decided to rent a house to continue taking care of this child and other homeless children, who call her lovingly mother “Tim” meaning heart since then.

Taking care of these children, the dream to help unfortunate people was nourished deeply within her. Trained as an artist during her years in Geneva and Paris, she sold all of her paintings and with the support from her friends, she bought a two-bedroom house in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Saigon, and started to gather the orphans, children and heavily disabled persons she found in the streets. A family composed of adults and children was founded, who live harmoniously together based on true solidarity.

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In order to help more people, she returned to Switzerland and called for the establishment of Maison Chance Organization with hundreds of members in Switzerland and France. They raised funds for building Maison Chanceestablishment. During the early days of its operation, Tim did everything she could, going to market to buy foods, playing the role of a teacher, tending the sick like an orderly, nursing the babies like a mother, and raising money to feed the family like a father. The children have also been taught by Tim how to

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January 2009

live together peacefully, emphasizing listening, respecting each others' spaces, participating in the tasks of the house, sharing, smiling, forgiving and solidarity. Sometimes, she could not help preventing tears from her eyes, but she has never become discouraged in face of numerous difficulties. Tim said she was deeply influenced by her mother who always wishes to do many jobs for charity. Moreover, as her only younger brother has been deaf since his childhood, she has loved and felt forthe disadvantaged.

Now things gowell in MaisonChance, which hasbecome a shelter for about 300children and adults.With thesupport of aidorganizations andvolunteer doctors, nurses and teachers a health clinic, a primary school, which is also open to poor children, and a school for vocational training, has been built up.Integration is the most important outcome for Tim and by giving basic education and vocational training she has helped many unfortunate people in Vietnam to regain self-confidence and independence. “Despite their disabilities, they still have a mind to think and the will to live. So my target is to encourage them to stand on their own as much as possible.” Members of the Maison Chance can attend general education, music, painting, foreign language, informatics, tailoring and fashion designing courses. Those who acquire good skills after such vocational training and have good health are recommended to

production or business establishments to find jobs and integrate themselves into community. In 2006 the disabled workers at MaisonChance collectively generated $26,000 worth of revenue (the average wage in Vietnam is less than $1,000/ year). Everyone here has their own bank account and receives 10 per cent of their salary for spending every month, while the rest is saved.

In the computer class, Duy looks very confidentas he controlsthe computer’smouse andkeyboard withhis deformedhands. Duy hasbeen learningcomputer for six years. Heusually typesdocuments, re-stores oldphotos anddesign cards forcustomers. Another com-puter enthusiast

is Hạnh, who was born into a poor family in Bến Tre Province and got paralysedat four. She likes learning computer very much and dreams to become a computer expert.

I am far luckier,so I must help them.

No other work brings meas much happiness as this.

In garment-making room, we are amazed at various pretty teddy bears and other animals which were made skillfully by the disabled people to the orders of foreign customers.

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January 2009

in Maison Chance since his two sons died in 1996. His children were affected by Agent Orange and had been treated in Saigon with the assistance of Tim.

When asked why she decided to build the Maison Chance rather than find other easier work, Tim smiled and said: “I had no decision in it, but felt that the work chose me.” She says that raising other people’s spirits lifts her own. “I am far luckier, so I must help them. No other work brings me as much happiness as this.”Today her full schedule leaves her with little

time to follow her passion for art. “But my work is still like that of an artist, adding sparkling spots of colour to grey, unfortunate lives. I have no regrets about choosing this path, and I’ll never stop!”

If you are interested in receiving more information about this wonderful project, supporting Maison Chance by donating money/ buying products, or volunteering, please visit: www.maison-chance.org (source for this article)

And in the painting room, there are many water-colour paintings with beautiful rural landscapes by Tài and patterns printed on the clothes by Nhi, the head of the painting group. Nhi usually creates designs for print on fabric for French customers and designs greeting cards. Tài, Nhi and two other young adults were recently sent to France to study designing.

My work is still like that of an artist,

adding sparkling spots of colourto grey, unfortunate lives.

I have no regrets about choosing this path, and I’ll never stop!

Entering the 4th grade class, Tùng is teaching pupils about the climate in Vietnam. It is one of the free-of-charge classes for poor children. The class consists of 14 pupils of different ages. Tùng has volunteered to teach

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SocialTTT Spirit

Youth & ActionAfter watching a documentary about Sister Tim and the Maison Chance

during the Spring Retreat in Stuttgart, the children and young people asked themselves:

“What can we do for the children and young people in Vietnam?”

Love Walk

This group of children had the idea to raise funds for hungry children in Vietnam by practicing walking meditation, which was financially sponsored by adults – 1 Euro for 30 minutes walking meditation. Both these children and the ones in Vietnam benefited from this practice – they raised a total amount of 107 Euros.

Bathing The “Baby Buddha”

This group of children had a fabulous “business idea” to raise funds for hungry children in Vietnam: Cleaning the dishes. Bowl/ Plate/ Cup - 20 Cents Chopsticks/ Spoon/ Fork/ Knife - 10 Cents Cleaning the dishes was a practice of joy and nourished their sisterhood and brotherhood – they worked together so harmoniously and with so much enthusiasm! An amount of 107 Euros was raised.

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Let’s Be Friends!

Team’s name: Compass.ion (Compassion is our Compass!)

Description: Building up friendships with children of the Maison Chance in Vietnam by writing letters.

Objectives: Supporting social projects, which improve the living conditions of children in Vietnam by donating money or raising funds is a good practice to nourish our compassion, but it is not enough. With this project we aspire to develop true compassion by being in touch with the children, learning about the things which make them happy, understanding their life situation and difficulties. It also involves the practice of equanimity by transforming the "You-are-unfortunate-and-I-am-the-hero-who-is-helping-you" – attitude. You are my friend, you are in need and it is natural to try our best to help our friend, isn’t it? So…let’s be friends, huh?! ☺

Project coordinator: Hân – tamducbao@gmail.com

If you are interested in participating in or make further suggestions for these projects, please contact the global coordinator: Sâm – sam.bui@hotmail.com or the project coordinators.

Interactive Package

Team’s name: The Buffalos

Description: Our packages aims to introduce and talk about different themes that are related to the practice of Buddhism (5 Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings, ecology, positive music etc.) thanks to different original presentations : Quizz, videos, music, etc. This package will be free to be downloaded on a website ( problably TTT website but yet to determine with the team).

Objectives: We want to make the package reachable to young people in Europe and young people in Vietnam, and to give them the curiosity to know more about it. We would like to introduce them to different topics that interest us and are linked to the spirit of some of our activities. Every member of the team has total freedom to realize his topic. We hope to enjoy doing it and the same for people playing it! ☺

Project coordinator: Khương Lân - khuonglan@gmail.com

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SocialTTT Spirit

Thầy ðòng Châu playing with a Montagnard child

Doing maths homework joyfully

Eating breakfast mindfully

I’m haaappy to share with you about TTT´s new social project! We have decided to donate the amount of 1500 Euros from Dr. Eisenlauer, which was originally planned to invest in building up a small class in Vietnam (s. TTT Spirit # 2), to the A Di ðà Pagoda.

The A Di ðà Pagoda was founded by Thầy ðòng Châu, a Buddhist monk, about 3 years ago and is situated in Vietnam´s Central Highlands, Bảo Lọc, near Thầy´s Prajñā Monastery. Thầy ðCfounded this institution with the intention to provide Montagnardchildren, who belong to an ethnic minority, with support which has an educational as well as a spiritual and cultural dimension.

Montagnards are not supported by the government and face many various difficulties in their daily lives. Most of the Montagnards in Bảo Lọc make their living by working as peasants on coffee and tea plantations from foreign planters, i.e. they are extremely exploited. The money they earn is just barely sufficient to cover their livingneeds, not to mention to finance school education for their children. While their parents work on the plantations all day long, the children are on their own and spend their time wandering around aimlessly.

Responding to that need Thầy ðC built up this institution to offer these children a long-term place to stay where they have the opportunity to play, go to school and at the same time nourish and maintain their cultural roots. Going to a Vietnamese school helps them to integrate into the Vietnamese society, and by practicing and receiving regular lessons in their mother language, they can continue to enjoy andpreserve their beautiful culture.

There are weekly exchanges between the Prajñā Monastery and this pagoda, i.e. monastics come to teach and play with the children or the children come to the PM to participate in Mindfulness Days with Vietnamese children. Parents and family members often visit them to take part in their activities and are very happy to see their children living in this way. The seeds of practice in the children are watered at a young age.

The money will be spent on food, medicine, clothes, school fees and materials for 24 children, who are currently living there.This donation will be greatly appreciated in the current climate of the financial crisis and rising food prices in Vietnam.

Thank you all for making this possible, in a direct or indirect way!Special thanks to our “Crispy ðạt”, who put so much love and energy into the presentation movie for the sponsor!

A morning dewdrop to you, Hân ☺☺☺☺

Dear beloved Sisters and Brothers,

Simple block of wood as a bed

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TTT Spirit

European Buddhist Youth for a Healthy &

Compassionate Society

News

Recently we organized a Mindfulness Day for young people in Napoli, Italy. It took place at a cinema and 500 students from the age of 16 to 19 years and also some of their teachers came in order to practice with the Plum Village Sangha. This Mindfulness Day was very joyful and nourishing. Practicing with the young people in Napoli was very inspiring for the monastic sisters and brothers, as they felt that the young people responded to the Dharma and the practice very wholeheartedly.

At the beginning of the Dharma Talk I talked about the presence of both the seeds of anger, suffering, violence and the seeds of love, hope, happiness in our minds. If we live in an environment - the environment in the family, school and society - which is not nourishing, then the negative seeds in us are watered and the positive seeds are not. Our happiness depends very much on the environment we are living in. We learn a lot in school, i.e. geography, mathematics, history, literature, etc. but the teachers don’t teach the students how to deal

with and transform the suffering, anger and violence in their minds. Therefore it is necessary to teach students how to deal with strong emotions such as anger, violence, depression, desire etc. in school in the future, and at the same time the method how to cultivate the seeds of love, understanding and joy. The ministry of education needs to train teachers in the art of love and transformation -these two subjects don’t exist yet.

On the flight back to France I had the idea to build up a youth group, which applies the teaching and the practice of the Buddha into their daily life in order to cultivate the beauty and virtue of human beings and build up a healthy society with love and compassion. Nowadays there are so many youth groups who are active in helping the society, i.e. reducing famine and poverty, fighting for social justice, social revolution, etc., but there is not a youth group yet who make life more beautiful through an ethical and spiritual aspiration. We already have many young people in different countries, who have this aspiration. With a good organization we will be able to build up such a youth group - parallel to the building up of the European Institute for Applied Buddhism in Germany - and create a movement in Europe. There are already conditions, we only have to unite them in order to realize this.

Sitting in the plane, I have also thought about a name for this group which fits to our time. In 1964 I have also founded a youth group – it was called “The Youth for Social Service”

Dear friends,

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(Thanh Niên Phụng Sự Xã Hội). I have suggested the following name: Buddhist Youth for A Healthy and Compassionate Society. Thismeans we need a direction, a direction of building up a healthy society because there is so much confusion, illness and violence in our society and lack of love; but the word “love” is not precise enough, compassion is more suitable, very Buddhistic and precise - we need to treat each other with compassion. The word “healthy” is nice, as this word contains the word “heal” and “health”. There is also the word “sane” - this has nothing to do with “insane”, hehehe - and “stubborn”, hehehe. We need to discuss, look up the dictionary and find words which are suitable for the name.

The reason why we use the word “European” is because the European Union - originated in a conference in Rome with the intention to build up an economical and political union - is in the beginning of its development; it’s still a dream that is now slowly being realized. The people still love Europe. In the past the United States was a very beautiful dream and many people trusted in them. But now the image of the USA is not as beautiful as it was before – now many people hate the USA, but they don’t hate Europe yet. That is why we use the word “European” instead of “International”, as Europe is still a beautiful dream which we can lean on. When the people begin to hate Europe, we will change the name, hehehe. The name I suggested is too complicated and long though. So I am asking you, young monastics and lay friends, to help me finding a short and suitable name the sooner the better.

To my mind young people need an ideal in life, an ideal of love and compassion – we have to live in such a way to maintain our physical and mental health, transform our suffering and cultivate joy and happiness in order to build up

a society. Therefore the foundation of this youth group’s practice is The Five Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings – a concrete expression and practice of love and compassion. If everyone in the world would practice the 5 WMTs, the suffering could be relieved and there would be peace and happiness in this world. If young people practice like that they will be able to bring happiness to themselves and their families, and with this ability they will be able to build up a healthy society. We have to find a way to pass on such an ideal to young people. I always have to laugh when I am thinking about how the members of this youth group will greet each other - holding up our five fingers (according to the 5 WMTs)? hehehe

Everyone who has listened to this Dharma Talk today should please think about the basic conditions and a way to create such Youth Sanghas in many countries.

[Sound of the bell]

Today the Dharma Talk has been a bit short….hehehe.

Sư Ông Thích Nhất HạnhSelected excerpt from the Dharma Talk on the 3rd of April 2008, Plum Village, translated from the Vietnamese by Hân

For further information about the Buddhist & Non-Buddhist Youth for a Healthy and Compassionate Society aka the Wake Up!Movement, please visit the new website www.wkup.org and blog ww.wkup.org/blog(Thầy reads it regularly! If you feel inspired, please don’t hesitate to contribute! ).

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Leuven - 20-21.09 Harwich – 17.-19.10

Cambridge – 17.-19.10

European Days 2008

January 2009

Antwerp – 24.-26.10

News

TTT SpiritNews

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Brussels – 30.11Waldbröl – 15.-16.11

Antwerp – 13.12

2009…? Let’s altogether continue making this vision come true

and build up a healthy and compassionate society! Long live Sisterhood and Brotherhood!

January 2009

Paris – 28.12-02.01

NewsTTT Spirit

Film Recommendation

The five members of a nomad family lead a life far removed from modern civilisation in the endless expanse of the Mongolian steppe. As in ancient times they make their living as sheep herders – and in accord with nature. While taking a walk six-year-old Nansaa finds a little black-and-white spotted dog in a cave along the cliffs. She names him “Zochor”, the colourful one, and takes him home with her. But her father tells her to get rid of him, for wild dogs have interbred with the wolves and could attack the sheep. When her father goes on a long trip to the city to sell sheepskins, Nansaa keeps the little dog, who becomes her trusted companion. One day she loses track of him in the tundra – and while searching for him encounters an old nomad woman, who tells her the legend of the cave of the yellow dog…The Cave of The Yellow Dog portrays the everyday life of a traditional family of Mongolian nomads, a life hat will possibly soon no longer exist in this form. “I’ve been

interested in the transformation that Mongoliais going through, the urbanisation and the essential question it poses for the nomads,”says Davaa, the director. But she also shows an overriding spiritual level in which the spectators are introduced to the Mongolian view of the world with their belief in reincarnation and close ties with nature -“What I tried to do was to fit myself in with their lives. The nomads respect nature and they subordinate themselves to nature. They don’t just sort of go out and say, ‘oh, horrible weather today, it’s too hot or it’s too cold.’Instead, they fit in with the weather as it is and similarly what I wanted to do when I made the film was to fit in with their rhythm, with the way that they lead their lives.“ Davaa thus weaves tradition and modernity, fact and fiction into a moving story of the age-old bond between man and dog.

So enjoy this breathtakingly unique record of a simple and mindful way of life, and spend a magical hour out on the windy plains of Mongolia. You'll never forget it...

The Cave of The Yellow Dog

Director Byambasuren DavaaActors The Batchuluun FamilyGenre Documentary/ DramaDuration 93 minutes Date of Release 2006

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TTT Spirit

The little girl nibbled her dessert quietly, watching and listening to the wonder of rain. Her eyes were like two jewels that sparkled and burned with effortlessness. Mrs. Leenaively believed her daughter was abnormal because each time it would rain or snow, Celine grabbed a snack and went by the window. There she would perch herself comfortably with a straight back as if she were watching a suspenseful movie. For Celine, the rain was alive. It danced without any music, making different tunes, depending on where it had landed—on the hard road, metal cars, or delicate leaves. She laughed and giggled with nature’s concert.

He had the courage to wash both just and unjust away

and start anew.

Watching Celine, Rice Boy felt a sadness that came with age. He saw how easily people, including himself, were caught in a messy network of their own thoughts and desires. They accumulated layers of painful and happy memories, and as the years rushed by, their minds became crammed with fragmented images and false concepts of reality. But that little girl knew nothing about grudges, revenge, or hatred. The more she observed, the more her eyes grew with beauty and innocence. It seemed as though she had become one with the rain. She was the mist that caressed his skin, waking him up from his

Rain Falls on The Just and Unjusthe morning announced itself likean unanswered prayer. A light mistfell upon the earth. Birds chantedthrough the silence and space, and

the traffic had not yet begun. As the sun rose, the day gained momentum, rain continued falling and cars started running. Small puddles gathered by the hundreds on the sidewalk and roads.

The Lees opened their store along with young Celine. Rice Boy was already unloading out of a small truck. Thursday was when all the weekly produce arrived. Cartons of fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables, such as manioc, durian, mango, coconut, parsley, thyme, coriander, and chili pepper, perfumed the air. Rice Boy especially took pleasure appreciating the durians, for they had a strong and enticing smell.He relished the outdoors and wet weather, tilting his head up in the sky to greet a soft blanket of rain. The fresh air sweetened his lungs. Rain sat like dewdrops on young green leaves, soaked in branches, or absorbed in tree roots. Celine had planted herself on the store steps, eating a sticky rice cake. He envied her innocent spontaneity, and a phrase came to his mind: Rain falls on the just and unjust. He saw that he was the just. There were many times in his life where he had done the right thing and tasted the wholesome fruit of his actions. He also was the unjust. He had lied and hurt people without any sympathy or awareness. But most importantly, he understood that he was the rain. He had the courage to wash both just and unjust away and start anew.

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News

Book Recommendations

January 2009

TTT Spirit January 2009

anger. “You want me to slap you again with the chopstick?” Threat and force were the mother’s first reaction to her child’s state of disobedience. Sadly, Mrs. Lee only knew this one method to educate Celine. There were moments when she deemed it necessary. But most of the time, this habitual treatment was her easiest and only way to show authority, and the fastest way for Celine to revolt. “I don’t want to,” Celine said. “You leave without me.” “You’re going home whether you like it or not,” Mrs. Lee said, dragging her out. The little girl didn’t resist. She looked at Rice Boy with a sad face, so he smiled sympathetically at her.

ðạt Phan - La BâtieExcerpt from The Changing River For further information about the author and this book please visit www.changingriver.com

long and dull slumber. She was the drop that fell and merged with the ocean.

Mr. Lee projected his voice from inside, disturbing Rice Boy’s introspection. “Doc, I need you to go in and watch the store for a minute. I’m gonna run some errands.” He took his bag and walked outside toward the truck. “That’s good for now. You’ve got all the fresh products in. Unload the rest this afternoon,” he added. Rice Boy nodded, “All right, whatever you want, boss.” “And make sure nobody steals anything,” Mr. Lee ordered as he walked away.

The rain died down and the trees sparkled as if they had been adorned with diamonds. The sky cleared into a cerulean blue and the sun shone again with heat and intensity. Rice Boytook a last glimpse at a rainbow, looked down at the puddles by his feet, and saw perfectly his own reflection.

The more she observed, the more her eyes grew

with beauty and innocence. She had become one with the rain.

Mrs. Lee was idle at the cash register and screamed for Rice Boy’s attention. “Doc, weneed more fresh tofu and spring rolls in the fridge up front. Oh! And don’t forget to stacksome more rice bags also. It should always be full so customers will see that we have plenty in the store.”Mrs. Lee grabbed Celine by the wrist. “Watch the register for a moment, will you? I’m gonna take Meimei home.” The girl squirmed. “No, I wanna stay and play with Tonton Doc.”Mrs. Lee raised her voice and bit her lips in

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TTT Spirit

The book contains numerous colourphotographs to illustrate the recipe and demonstrate the techniques used to prepare the dishes.

Your joy and mindfulness should be the most important ingredients for the preparation

of the dish.

Available from the Community of Interbeingbookshop: bookshop@interbeing.org.ukFor Belgium/ Germany please contact Hân(tamducbao@gmail.com). All profits will go to the Being Peace Centre in Dorset, UK.

Vegetarian Vietnamese Cookery

his book includes a variety ofdelicious recipes, from easy-to-prepare every day dishes to morecomplicated dishes. It introduces

the Vietnamese Buddhist approach to preparing and cooking food with awareness and joy, with a preface by Thầy:

“The joy begins with the intention to make a dish. While gathering ingredients, enjoy your breathing and look at each ingredient to see where and how it has come to you. And while peeling, cutting and washing, treasure them as gifts of the whole universe. Take time to cook. Enjoy the time of cooking. Think of the enjoyment of the people who are going to taste it. The time devoted to make the dish is the time for practicing mindfulness. Never lose your mindful breathing, and your mindful steps while moving back and forth in the kitchen. The dish you are making is not only a piece of art, it is a fruit of practice. Your joy and mindfulness should be the most important ingredients for the preparation of the dish. And arrange it so that while enjoying the dish everyone around the table is capable of being truly present. Cook and eat in such a way that can help us preserve the planet and nourish your love and compassion.Happy cooking, bon appetit!”

Dr. Thị Phụng Lý combines her nutritional knowledge as a medical doctor with the wisdom brought down to her through her mother and grandmother in Vietnam, in order to adapt these recipes for vegetarians and vegans with ingredients available in Europe.

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NewsJanuary 2009

by Dr. Phụng Thị Lý

NewsTTT Spirit

State of mindMindfulness & Joy

Cake1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup soy milk 2 ounces firm tofu -- mashed with a fork 3 cups unbleached flour

Frosting 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 stick soy margarine - softened

Vegan

Chocolate

Cake

WHAT YOU WILL NEED WHAT TO ENJOY DOING

YUMMY, YUMMY…ENJOOOY!!!

Cake Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.In large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add oil, water, soy milk, and tofu and beat until mixture is creamy. Fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

FrostingIn a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and margarine. Mix until creamy. Frost cooled cake.

NotesMakes 1 two-layer cake. This cake tastes just like "regular" chocolate cake!

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Sangha ActionTTT Spirit

The Sangha Action we propose to you is to

Be mindful !

Be concentrated !

Be creative !

Please share your experience of a self-free day with your brothers and sisters in the next TTT Spirit issue by sending your contribution to TTTproject@gmail.com .

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Breathing in,

we are aware of your precious presence, which made this newsletter possible.

Breathing out,

we smile to you in gratitude.

TTT SpiritThe End

TTT Spirit newsletter can be freely distributed for non-commercial purposes. Dec 2008 ©

- Appendices follows (translations) -

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About Collecting Herbs

The children leave the meditation hall Let us begin with the morning tasks! Removing dust from the Buddha altar Filling the cups with fresh tea Lighting incense Cleaning the tables Gathering garbage Sweeping the floor Their small palms are tender lotus blossoms Each movement creates a wonderful fragrance The fragrance of mindfulness The fragrance of being The fragrance of joy

The fragrance of freshly cooked rice arises, calling the children to come to breakfast Today we have rice with pumpkin flowers The colour of the moon interconnects with the colour of the sun in a harmonious composition Now all bowls are filled Filled with gratitude, a flower blooms in our mind in our palms Together with the whole cosmos we enjoy the meal in silence

It is time to go to school “Sing a song, before you leave“, Thầy* requests The children giggle, embarassed One thousand shoots sprout upwards from the earth “Xin nguyện làm dòng sôôông, không làm hạt nước nhỏỏỏ...“**Leaves grow Flowers bloom I smile Smile Smile

* Thầy = Abbot of the pagoda, in which the Montagnard children live** „I vow to become a river, not to stay a small drop of water...“

January 2009

Warm sounds of the bell invite the morning to the festival of life From far away chanting recoundsThe pure voice of the Montagnard children Sweet sugar caneFresh spring water Rising wave

I open my eyes and smile Opening the door, I breathe in the fresh morning air The monastery is floating on the calm sea of fog How sweet the fragrant morning dew tastes! The clouds have awakened An artwork reveals itself in front of me Celebrating the beginning of the day, colour fields manifest in the sky Vibrant orange on deep blue Overwhelming silence Overwhelming beauty Overwhelming peace

Appendices

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With jigging steps the children dance on the brown-red earth and show us the way to the waterfall Mother Earth noursihes us with her solidity We pass small, simple huts Whose hands have woven these banana leaves so artfully? Green tea hills inscribe calligraphies full of poetry into the landscape Didn‘t the artist, who held this brush in his hands, thereby performed a lively dance? The sky is so clear I look into the peaceful, blue eyes of this child Is it possible to look into these eyes without smiling wholeheartedly? A gentle wind caresses my head How fresh the air is! „Everything will be alright“, the crickets whispers to us chirping We have arrived At the gate to the jungle Bamboo leaves lightheartedly wave to us

While crossing the bridge, I hear the stream playing her eternal sonata I stop and listen Do you hear the clear laughter of a thousand stars? The music of the forest flows through my mind and body, awakening spring within me Breathing in, a celestially sweet fragrance fills my lungs Oh, how much joy a flower can offer to life with its pure being!Reaching the other shore, a violet wild flower greets me with a shining smile “Today is a festival day!“, she declares I smile back and sing: “Yes!“

January 2009

Let us climb trees and touch the sky! Do you see the plant overthere? She has beautiful red roots He digs her out He looks at her The smile of someone, who has discovered a precious treasure, blooms on his lips Look, there by the wayside a mushroom grows! He picks it Rays of light touch the mushroom, transforming it into a jewel Seeing my admiration, he gives the rare mushroom to me Without hesitation Giving Owning Look, there are delicious herbs! He collects the herbs lays one on the top of the other carefully furls them in a big leave leaf binds them with a long culm on his abdomen“Now we have enough ingredients for lunch!“, he says smiling Simple Overwhelming

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TTT Spirit

62

Present moment, wonderful moment! The children jump from one rock to another Fan-shaped leaves they hold as umbrellas in their hands More and more water pearls form ornaments on their umbrellas A child stops and rests both hands on his head He looks at the waterfall The waterfall looks at him Are he and the waterfall still two different realities? Has there ever been something more important for him to do? Aimlessness Freedom Truth Art

Live deeply in the present moment, and you will see The waterfall is the Buddhais the Dharmais your Sangha“, the monk tells me I smile The rushing of the waterfall The rushing of the waterfallThe powerful call that we have always known All my wishes are already fulfilled Life!

Thank you for leading us to the waterfall. We will find the path of return. Now go to school, you will be late.“They smile and leave

I am sitting on a rock Simply sitting Breathing Being Warm sun rays embrace me Why do we have to achieve something to become somebody? Why? “Come, let us return. It is time for lunch, Thầy is waiting.“I am looking for a sharp stone and inscribe words into the rock I sat on Do you know these words? The stone I take with me

“ On the return path we encounter the children They did not want to leave yet Sitting on a high tree they wait for us To show us the way home What does it mean to be late? What is the most important thing to do in this moment? Unconditional love

Owning nothing! Owning everything! What does it mean to be civilized? What does it mean to be non-civilized? At the end of the day, isn‘t it all simply about knowing how to collect herbs?

I wrote down these thoughts, after having spent a day in the jungle of Vietnam‘s central highlands (Bảo Lọc) with a monk, his friend and the Monatgnard children, who belong to an ethnic minority. Their natural character, their simple way of living and close bond to nature have touched me deeply. Montagnards are often despised and their way of living is regarded as primitive. But what does being primitive, what does being civilized mean?I am deeply grateful towards these children for showing me the way to the waterfall and giving me these evergreen herbs.

Thùy-Hân Nguyễn-Chí (20) – Antwerp; translated by Hân, revised by Thầy Pháp ðiền & Anh Luận

January 2009

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