Category Archives: Uncategorized

Good morning dear friends –

This evening we will receive some teachings on anger since it has arisen recently as a topic for Sangha! And this will be our final gathering for the summer. We will not meet in August – beginning again on Sunday September 4th on Zoom with a Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

Sunday, August 21st, we will gather at 11:00 in southeast Vancouver for some social time together. We will enjoy seeing each other in person, having a mindful lunch, walking in the woods, singing practice songs and having some quiet time. Friends and families are welcome. There will be washrooms available as well as space for us to retreat to if the weather is too hot or rainy. Please let us know ASAP if you intend to join us. Once we have heard from you, we will send the location details. Our apologies to all our non-Vancouver practitioners – how we would love to practice with you in person as well.

In September, we will be offering in-person and Zoom Sangha gatherings on the second and fourth Sundays. The first and third we will be Zoom only. If you are interested in in-person practice with the Sangha, please let us know so we can begin to visualize the space and get the best possible set up for Zoom and in-person. Go to http://wavesandwater.org/site/contact/ for directions on how to arrive at Mountain Rain Zen Centre where we have been practicing for 10 years now!

May you and all beings be well….

DAY OF MINDFULNESS JUNE 25, 2022
10:00-3:00 – MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY

On Saturday, June 25, we will have an in-person Day of Mindfulness in Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues. This includes sitting, walking, chanting, practicing with the Five Remembrances and Dharma discussion.

[We will be scheduling a July ZOOM Day of Mindfulness!]

Please bring a bag lunch! Also, most of us bring a cushion to sit on and a shawl or blanket for warmth or the grass!

And you may also want to invite family members or friends who may be interested in experiencing our practice. We would appreciate knowing who plans to attend so we can keep an eye out for you! (wwsangha@gmail.com)

Please check the Waves and Water Sangha website (wavesandwater.org) Saturday morning for a front page notice should we need to make changes due to the weather…. It looks like it will be warm/hot so you may want to bring a sun umbrella!

The two main entrances are from 41^st Avenue at St George Street and Fraser Street at 39^th Avenue. Please come to the Main Building (straight in from 39^th) where we will meet. We will walk to the fountain (south and west from the Main Building) to begin our practice. Someone will stay at the Main Building until 10:10 – if you arrive later you will see us in the area around the fountain or down at the pond.

Good afternoon dear friends –

So many warm breezes, heavy rains, blue skies, and deck plants! The tulip tree flowers are dropping away while the bee blossom and day lilies begin to show pink and orange. The presence of avian flu requires taking down the bird feeders – instead begonia are hanging from the feeder hooks. So much impermanence – and wonderful for this month’s practice theme of “Cutting off and letting go” – the third Power.

After a most wonderful Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings last Sunday, we are beginning our study and practice based on Br Phap Dung’s dharma talk “Cutting off and letting go.” This Sunday (tomorrow), Susu will introduce the talk and play an excerpt that brings into focus the importance of recognizing and then addressing the three afflictions of attachment, aversion and ignorance.

On the 19^th Bethan will present another segment of the talk. We can learn to identify our “cows” – our attachment to possessions, positions, and addictions that arise from habit energy watered and watered by our actions over time. We can identify our “brand” and the ways in which our sense of identity can cost us our freedom. We will continue on the 26^th with a final segment of the talk (for now), addressing fearlessness in the face of habit energies.

DAY OF MINDFULNESS JUNE 25, 2022
10:00-3:00 – MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY

On Saturday, June 25, we will have an in-person Day of Mindfulness in Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery located west of Fraser Street between 31st and 43rd Avenues. This includes sitting, walking, chanting, practicing with the Five Remembrances and Dharma discussion.

[We will be scheduling a July ZOOM Day of Mindfulness!]

Please bring a bag lunch! And you may also want to invite family members or friends who may be interested in experiencing our practice. We would appreciate knowing who plans to attend so we can keep an eye out for you! (wwsangha@gmail.com)

Please check the Waves and Water Sangha website (wavesandwater.org) Saturday morning for a front page notice should we need to make changes due to the weather….

The two main entrances are from 41^st Avenue at St George Street and Fraser Street at 39^th Avenue. Please come to the Main Building (straight in from 39^th) where we will meet. We will walk to the fountain (south and west from the Main Building) to begin our practice. Someone will stay at the Main Building until 10:10 – if you arrive later you will see us in the area around the fountain or down at the pond.

Dear friends

Mindfulness Training Transmission

On Sunday June 5^th we have the great good fortune to have Dharma Teacher Joann Rosen join us for Ceremony to Transmit the Five Mindfulness Trainings. I encourage everyone who has not yet received the Trainings to consider participating. Please contact us at wwsangha@gmail.com to let us know if you have any questions or interest!

Please know you do not need to be a long-term or consistent practitioner to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings. You do not need to currently attend a Sangha in the Tiep Hien/ Interbeing tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. You simply have, in your heart, an aspiration to do your best in your daily life to increase happiness and decrease suffering in yourself, your family, your community and the world. You understand that the Five Mindfulness Trainings may help you on that path.

In this way, coming forward to take Refuge and receive the Mindfulness Trainings is an act of generosity. You are expressing generosity not only to yourself, your family and friends but also to all beings – animal, vegetable, and mineral. As we are taught, none of us are separate-self entities. All our actions of body, speech and mind are interconnected.

Basic Practices throughout May

We will begin our Sunday gatherings in May with a Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and a panel of Waves and Water Sangha practitioners who have experienced the Transmission and continued practicing. For the rest of the month, we will explore “practice basics.”

On May 8, Bethan will offer some guidance concerning incense offering, sounding bells and sitting meditation. We will practice the incense offering chant, learn the Plum Village gatha (short verse) and form for sounding bells, and have a Question and Answer on the (potentially) daily practicing of sitting meditation.

On May 15, Louise will present Pablo Narudo’s practice of Keeping Quiet. She will present her experience of practicing off-the-cushion and out-of-doors, honouring Mothe Earth. On May 22, Susu will guide us through the Sutra Service on Love and Compassion. She will explain the structure and discuss how you might explore the Plum Village chantbook and find ways to develop your own Sutra Services.

Finally, on May 29 we will talk about ways to arrange your space – and energy – so you have a Zoom Zendo for Sunday nights and perhaps for regular practice. There will be another opportunity for Questions and Answers about the practice, the form, the teachings…. Whatever arises for you!

The Earth Holder Community

The Earth Holder Community (EHC) brings the teachings and practices of Thay to bear on some of the greatest challenges facing humanity today: Earth justice and racial justice, which are intimately linked. Its aim is to “bring mindfulness, compassion, healing, and non-violence to protecting ourselves, each other, all beings, and the Earth.”

The EHC provides encouragement, materials, and support to practitioners individually engaged in working on behalf of Mother Earth. It also sponsors a collective group called the EH Regional Community-Builders Sangha, with members from North America, Europe, and Peru who connect with Thay’s practices, one another, and climate justice organizations to bring about positive change.

For more information contact follow this link: https://earthholder.training/online-earth-holder-sangha/ . You will find online Sangha gatherings twice a month and the emerging network of Beloved Community Circles.

Good afternoon dear friends

Warm and sunny. Cold and rainy. Stillness, breezes and strong wind. We are living a season of rapid transitions. There is war. There is greed, hatred and ignorance. There is a also peace and happiness, love and compassion. This month we will practice with all that is in our hearts, in our families, our communities and the world.

This evening we will have a Ceremony for the Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We will include an additional Mindfulness Training for Peace on Earth sent to us from Plum Village by Elder Nun Thich Nu Chan Khong and Elder Monk Thich Chan Phap An.

Next week, we will read together their open letter calling for peace and watch A Cloud Never Dies, a biographical documentary of our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. The documentary, released this week, focuses on Thay’s spiritual development in the context of war and his courageous path of engaged action.

In our third week, we will explore the Discourse on Happiness and engage in Dharma discussion concerning the tensions that may arise when we cannot touch deep happiness at this time of turmoil. In our fourth week, we will read together a Mindfulness Training developed by a senior Dharma Teacher for April Fool’s day. We will take that Training seriously and look deeply into the small and sometimes silly things that bring us joy in our daily lives.

Five Mindfulness Training Transmission
We will be offering a Five Mindfulness Training Transmission over Zoom within the next four months. If you are interested in receiving – or renewing – the Trainings, please let us know as soon as possible. (wwsangha@gmail.com) We will also offer a Zoom session for those who have questions about receiving the Trainings. This will include an outline of the Ceremony itself. If you do not regularly attend monthly recitations with Waves and Water Sangha or another Plum Village Sangha it is recommended that you attend this meeting.

Wake Up Sangha
A new member of Waves and Water Sangha is interested in developing a local Wake Up Sangha for practitioners 18-35 years of age. A description of Wake Up is below. Please respond with interest to the following Discord link: https://discord.gg/PJB3gVfYUU ”

Wake Up is an active global community of young mindfulness practitioners, aged 18-35, inspired by the teachings of Zen Master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. We come together to practice mindfulness in order to take care of ourselves, nourish happiness and contribute to building a healthier and a more compassionate society. (https://plumvillage.org/about/wake-up-young-practitioners/)

Mindful Climbing Retreat – Bainbridge Island – May 24-29
When our body and mind are one we develop concentration and the capacity to heal and transform ourselves. Rock climbing encourages our mind to be fully present in our body—our muscles, tendons, and movement. In this six-day retreat, from May 24—29, 2022, led by Brother Phap Luu, a monastic Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition from Deer Park Monastery, and Michele Lang of Insight Climbing & Movement, we will enjoy sessions of mindful climbing indoors, mindful walking in the beautiful temperate rain forests of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and mindfulness of breathing, eating, resting along with Dharma talks and circle sharing. In this way, uniting body and mind through awareness of physical movement, our physiological state, and our thinking and intentionality, we develop our capacity to be aware of our suffering and transform it into happiness and joy. https://deerparkmonastery.org/event/mindful-climbing-retreat/

Readings suggested for International Women’s Day – March 8th
Female Buddhas: A Revolution for Nuns in the Plum Village https://plumvillage.org/articles/female-buddhas-a-revolution-for-nuns-in-the-plum-village-tradition/
The Life and Teachings of Sister Chan Khong https://www.lionsroar.com/path-of-peace-the-life-and-teachings-of-sister-chan-khong-may-2012/

Good afternoon dear friends

It is March and the earth is offering green shoots of flowers, bird song and sunshine. We are offering the earth our joy and our pain. We remember: “The Earth is always patient and open-hearted. She is waiting for you. She has been waiting for you for the last trillion lifetimes. She can wait for any length of time. She knows you will come back to her one day. Fresh and green, she will welcome you exactly like the first time,because love never says, “This is the last time”; because Earth is a loving mother. She will never stop waiting for you.” (from Earth Touching by Thich Nhat Hanh https://plumvillage.org/poems/)

Last Sunday we joined with North Shore Mindfulness and Vancouver Mindfulness Practice Community to discuss the new book: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. In March, we will continue to explore deep ecology as offered by Thich Nhat Hanh. We will begin this evening by reciting an Ecosattva version of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

There is also deep sorrow and suffering around the world. We hold Ukraine fiercely in our hearts. Brother Phap Huu, Abbot of Upper Hamlet in Plum Village has written about his conversation with Thay at the root temple in Hue. This reminds us that we can always talk with Thay – and anyone else we hold in our heart. They need not be present in bodily form. Also included below is a poem written March 4 from a Christian practitioner.

I would like to let you know that I will be taking a sabbatical from Sangha for the rest of March. I look forward to practicing with you again in April. Resting in sunshine, Bethan

Brother Phap Huu – Abbot Upper Hamlet, Plum Village
I came to Thay’s altar in the Deep Listening Hut at the root temple in Hue and shared with Thay about the war that has manifested. I told Thay that the suffering can be heard, felt and seen. Our hearts are all aching.

I can hear Thay inside of me telling me: wherever there is darkness, light is also there. If there is despair, hope can be found. Where there is turbulence, awaken the calm inside by the practice of deep mindful breathing and touch the nectar of compassion in our heart. Compassion is the energy to embrace the pain and sorrow. Do not give in to darkness.

When I walk I have been using this phrase Thay has transmitted to us: breathing in: Peace in oneself, breathing out: peace in the World.

Thay knows what war is and the suffering that comes with it. Thay went through two wars and faced the beast of war: hatred, discrimination, violence, greed, anger, and death. This suffering taught Thay the preciousness of life.

Be the peace you want to see. Speak the voice that needs to be heard. Help the helpless. See the seed of awakening even within the “enemy” because the Buddha has taught us that everyone has Buddha nature; we can reach across chasms to recognize our interbeing and to see that we are all suffering.

By practicing like this you will not be a victim of the feelings and thoughts that come with the reality we are facing. Take care of your tender heart and be mindful of how much you are consuming with your senses during this time.

I touch the earth to Thay and pray for Peace. Even if no one hears my prayer, in my heart there is hope for a path forward, a path of peace, healing, and trust.

If there is darkness – Light is also there.

A PRAYER
Unclear if author is Laura Bachynski or John Rodel

I can’t make the world be peaceful
I can’t stall tanks from roaring down roads
I can’t prevent children from having to hide in bunkers
I can’t convince the news to stop turning war into a video game
I can’t silence the sound of bombs tearing neighborhoods apart
I can’t turn a guided missile into a bouquet of flowers
I can’t make a warmonger have an ounce of empathy
I can’t convince ambassadors to quit playing truth or dare
I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet from turning a wife into a widow
I can’t stave off a country being reduced to ash and rubble

I can’t do any of that
the only thing I can do
is love the next person I encounter
without any conditions or strings
to love my neighbor
so fearlessly that
it starts a ripple
that stretches from
one horizon to the next

I can’t force peace on the world
but I can become a force of peace in the world
because sometimes all it takes
is a single lit candle in the darkness
to start a movement

“Lord, make me a candle
of comfort in this world
let me burn with peace”

Dear friends –

On Sunday, February 27, three Vancouver Sanghas will gather for a panel presentation and both small and larger group discussion of Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. This book presents an edited compilation of Thay’s teachings on deep ecology, with most wonderful commentaries by Sister Hien Nghiem (True Dedication)

The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81134301915
(Passcode: 649338)

(NOTE, this is NOT the recurring Waves and Water Sangha link.)

Our gathering is co-hosted by the Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver, North Shore Mindfulness, and Waves and Water Sangha. The Zoom room will open at 6:20 (link below) and after a Welcome at 6:30 we will begin a joint period of silent meditation. There will be a second Zoom room opening at 6:55. If you have not attended the meditation, you may enter then. Please enter with your audio off and video on! We have a chance to practice mindfully until we move to the panel presentations at 7:00.

Three Sangha members will offer 8-minute presentations highlighting their personal insights from the three sections of the book. There will then be small break out rooms for Dharma discussion based on these presentations – or your experience of the book – followed by a full group discussion of insights presented in the break-out rooms. There will be a short period of meditation before the closing of our gathering.

It would be wonderful if you have a chance to read the book in advance – but please do not let that stop you from attending. We look forward to practicing with you soon.

Dear friends

As we move toward the middle of February we can see so many signs of spring! Bright green shoots pushing up from the dirt and plump buds on trees. The cool nights follow warmer days – even sunshine from time to time. Breathing in, we can see there is nothing we can do to hurry up or delay seasonal change. Breathing out, no matter our inner turmoil in the midst of outer turmoil, the days will get longer, the temperature will rise, the quality of the rain will change. What does it mean to accept that change is inevitable? What does it mean to surrender to the cycle of life?

In February we have already recited the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Tomorrow we will discuss the use of Practice Songs in our tradition. We will have a chance to listen to – and practice The Song of the Rising Tide and Watering Seeds of Joy. We can also share which of the many practice songs are our favourites.

On February 27, during our regular Sangha gathering, three Vancouver Sanghas will gather for a panel discussion as well as question and answer and small group discussion of Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. This book presents an edited compilation of Thay’s teachings on deep ecology, with commentaries by Sister Hien Nghiem. As mentioned in earlier blogposts, it would be wonderful if you have a chance to read the book in advance – but do not let that stop you from attending! Co-hosted by: Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver, North Shore Mindfulness, and Waves and Water Sangha we will start as usual with a 6:30 joint sitting, followed at 7:00 by the program for the evening.

We continue to water honouring and remembering our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. The Ceremonies for the 49^th Day following death will be held across the world and you may want to watch for streaming events. A very useful “bookmark” for your internet is the live blog from Plum Village https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/ (As an example of inevitable change we can see the title of this link refers to Thay’s health.) This site guides us to many events such as the formal Ashes Ceremony to bring back Thay’s ashes from the Cremation Park to T? Hi?u Temple that took place Sunday, January 30th.

Sangha members have also noted an episode of On Being with Krista Tippett from NPR: Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Thay https://onbeing.org/series/podcast/ If you missed the eulogy for Thay offered by Sr True Dedication on behalf of the monastic sangha you may want to watch it as part of an Upper Hamlet Plum Village Intimate Tribute with Music, Poetry + Readings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINKCPWpgds

May all beings be well – Bethan