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”
