Waves and Water Sangha Vancouver

Official Announcement

Plum Village, France
July 14, 2015

To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas worldwide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

Since our last update, Thay has been able to communicate more clearly a very strong wish to intensify his recovery program. Thay is very determined to do everything possible to recover both his physical movement and speech. After many options were presented to Thay, he made a clear decision to travel to the United States to receive a more intensive rehabilitation program that could be specifically adapted to his needs.

We are happy to report that Thay arrived safely on the West Coast of the United States on the afternoon of July 11. In order to make the flight as safe as possible for Thay, he was flown in a private jet, generously offered by a kind friend. He was accompanied by Sister Chan Khong and the team of attendants who will be continuing their round-the-clock care for him during this new stage of recovery. Thay’s rehabilitation will be guided by a team of distinguished neurologists specializing in stroke and cognitive rehabilitation at UCSF Medical Center.

We remain deeply grateful to all the bodhisattvas on the medical team in France, in particular the doctors and nurses at the University Hospital of Bordeaux. It is thanks to their loving care, professionalism, and kindness that Thay has made such remarkable progress. In preparation for Thay’s flight, they even set aside a whole day to conduct thorough medical tests to ensure he would be strong enough to make the journey.

With a new US team of doctors, we are confident Thay will continue to progress to his maximum capacity. It is a new chapter for our Teacher and our community. The doctors recommend that Thay follow an intensive program of therapy for five to six months, including hospital visits during which he will have access to the latest innovations in robotic rehabilitation techniques, as well as physical training with specialists. Thay will also have therapists visit and train with him at home during the other days of the week.

During the flight, Thay was relaxed and at ease, eager to practice walking meditation through the plane with the help of his attendants. He enjoyed looking out of the window and contemplating the icebergs passing beneath. When the flight finally touched down, Thay was determined to leave the plane on foot rather than in a wheelchair, and he smiled with the joy of arrival.

Thay’s diligence and determination are a powerful message for us all. Thay’s heart and mind will never abandon us or the practice. Although he cannot speak to us, he continues to transmit the essence of the practice. He continues to be with his beloved community, even in times of difficulty.

Let us renew our efforts to practice and connect with our Sangha, whether locally or at mindfulness retreats in practice centers around the world. Let us open our hearts and reach out to our loved ones and to those who are suffering and need a little kindness. We know that with every mindful step and breath, our collective energy of practice and togetherness is supporting our Teacher’s healing.

We have been able to assist Thay in realising his intention to come to the US thanks to the extraordinary generosity and support of a few friends. Now we would like to invite you all to participate in this new chapter of his journey. Thay has shown tremendous courage and determination in every moment since his stroke last November. Let us come together to do everything we can to support him. Many of us have expressed our appreciation to Thay by sending beautiful letters, cards, and well wishes over the past months. We are so grateful for this outpouring of love. And we invite you to express your gratitude for Thay in another concrete way, by helping us to take care of his medical costs at this pivotal time. Our wish is to raise the necessary funds as a collective manifestation of the love of the whole community – your contribution, no matter how small, will be an important support for Thay’s healing.  

The new team of specialists is preparing an estimate of overall costs for Thay’s rehabilitation program, and we expect it to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your gift will actively help give Thay the best possible chance of recovering his ability to walk and talk again.

We invite you to contribute at www.thichnhathanhfoundation.org/healingthay. We will keep this page updated with the latest information on Thay’s health care and our collective progress towards the fundraising goal. All gifts made through the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation are tax deductible for US donors.

We are deeply grateful for your generosity.

May you and your loved ones be peaceful, happy and light in body and spirit. May you experience your own deep healing and transformation on the beautiful path of practice that Thay has opened up for us all.

With love and trust

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

As Thay’s recovery is progressing well, we will offer updates only from time to time. We will keep our global community informed of any major developments, and provide information on how you can continue to support Thay’s healing. All official announcements will continue to appear at plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.

2015 07 08

Dear friends –

The sun setting in the west reflects on an open north-facing window. I cannot see the sun and yet I can see the sun! I am so fortunate to have such a lovely home. Sitting four stories up in an old and honourable house with good friends around me, it is often easy to feel that I have found a true home in the material world – a great support for the True Home in my heart.

For the next few months Waves and Water Sangha will be practicing with Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, “Finding our True Home: Living in the Pure Land Here and Now.” Tomorrow, Thursday, we will begin by learning something about the context for Thay’s commentary on the Amitabha Sutra and the practice of Pure Land Buddhism. We will listen to practitioners chanting Amitabha’s name and begin to learn the song, “Here is the Pure Land” based on a poem by Thay and found in the front of the book. We will discuss how we can, every day, find the Pure Land within us and around us.

The Plum Village Dharma Seal is “I have arrived, I am home.” The next Thursday, we will read together Brother Protection’s post on the Deer Park website: How can the practice of Arriving, Home, offer relief to the climate crisis and our collective suffering?” This will build on our practice last month of understanding how our body and the earth’s body are one.

We will then continue with the commentary in Finding our True Home, exploring the practice of Recollection and the levels of Pure Land practice. In our fourth week, we will engage with a Sutra Service that includes the Smaller Amitabha Sutra and ask ourselves “where do we find the precious jewels, the wonderful sounds in our own lives?”

Following our usual schedule, August 6 will be the full Ceremony for the Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and, as we move into August, we will continue our study and practice based Thay’s commentary – including “beyond the notion of within and without” and “how happiness and suffering inter-are.”

May we all smile in mindfulness and dwell in the present moment,

Bethan

p.s. We have posted “Here is the Pure Land” on our website at RESOURCES > PLUM VILLAGE PRACTICE SONGS: http://wavesandwater.org/site/resources/plum-village-practice-songs2/here-is-the-pure-land/

Dear friends –

When we receive a message from across the oceans like the one below it seems so clear how we inter-are. Below is an update on Thay’s health – a visible manifestation of the fruits of practice…. Please smile – and consider how we can encourage each other to practice, together, however we are able.

Official Announcement

Plum Village, France
June 28, 2015

To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

We are happy to report that Thay’s health has improved greatly since he returned to his Plum Village Hermitage in early April. Every day Thay has been out in nature, enjoying the blossoms, listening to the birds and resting at the foot of a tree. Thay enjoys lying in his hammock next to the running creek, in the fresh cool of the bamboo grove he planted more than thirty years ago.

Doctors and nurses continue to visit Thay, and he receives physiotherapy, massage and acupuncture daily. The team of attendants continue to care for Thay and support his needs around the clock.

Despite his advanced age, Thay has been making remarkable progress.

One day, Thay decided for himself that he was ready to start swallowing solid food, and directed his attendants to prepare an apple, then a lemon and then an avocado. Thay enjoyed each bite with great delight, chewing each mouthful at least forty times before swallowing. Everyone was very surprised. Thay’s mindfulness, concentration and joy to really savor the food was remarkable. Since that day, with great concentration and determination, Thay has been able to enjoy feeding himself. The sisters have been investing their love and creativity in preparing diverse nutritious healthy food for Thay, which he eats with delight. As soon as Thay was able to nourish himself with several wholesome meals a day, he surprised all the doctors by successfully removing his own feeding tube, without any complications. Thay smiled, and we all smiled.

More recently, Thay has begun to develop his vocalisation, joining the attendants when they hum or sing. The first time this happened, one of the sisters was chanting in Vietnamese the name of Avalokita, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion: Nam Mo Bo Tat Quan The Am. Thay suddenly pronounced the final sound “Âm” (pron. “um”) clearly and on cue. Miraculously, the word “Âm” actually means “sound”. Thay looked at those around him, his eyes gleaming, as if to say “everything is possible”. It was a very moving moment, and the attendants all gathered to continue to chant with Thay. Since that very first “um”, Thay now enjoys singing and humming every day, all the familiar Plum Village tunes in Vietnamese, English and French. At this point, Thay is able to voice the melody and, once in a while, he can form a word. He raises his arm in such a way as to express the meaning of each line, and has great joy and surprise every time he is able to produce a clear and accurate word.

Thay’s therapists have been struck by his extremely strong will to recover, and have pointed out to us that this is the most important factor in his rehabilitation. Thay has been very determined to train himself so he can recover his physical strength and regain his balance and posture. Thay is clear about what he wants to do, and what he does not want to do. He is now able to sit by himself, beautifully upright. In the last three weeks Thay has wanted to start walking, even though his right side remains paralysed. With the support of one attendant behind, and one at his right leg to help move it forward, Thay now practices walking meditation in the garden, several times a day. We can feel Thay’s delight and freedom at each step. Even though it takes great effort, we can see that, for Thay, each step is a step of victory, an affirmation of life and joy to be alive on this beautiful Mother Earth.

From time to time the whole monastic community of 150 monks and nuns has come to practice walking meditation with Thay. Last week we could feel Thay’s joy to see his disciples, and his happiness to lead the sangha in walking meditation. Thay pointed to the blue sky, the swaying bamboo, the smile of a brother, directing us to enjoy the present moment. Thay’s courage, determination and joy, despite his physical limitations, was a clear teaching for all those present as we walked behind Thay with our two healthy feet. With every step, Thay demonstrated that he will continue to practice no matter what the conditions. Thay was affirming that he would never desert the Path. He was encouraging us to stay on the path, and enjoy the wonders of life.

We would like to thank everyone for offering your loving support to Thay and the sangha through the past months. We are deeply grateful for your energy of compassion and prayers, and for your commitment to continue to practice mindfully and deeply for Thay. A special thank you to those who have sent us beautiful children’s drawings for Thay’s room and those who have sent us heartfelt donations to support Thay’s care.

The lotuses are blooming in our ponds, the plums are ripening in our orchards, and we are preparing our hamlets to welcome our guests for the Summer Retreat, around 800 people each week, for a whole month. The Summer Retreat is one of Thay’s favorite times of year. We will welcome families and children, and the Dharma Talks will be given by Thay’s continuation in the form of his Senior Dharma Teachers. Under the shade of the oak trees, bamboo groves and verandas in the late afternoon sun, we will see many circles of friends sharing deeply with one another. Hearts will be open, tears will be shed, as the sound of the bell reverberates.

Nine years ago Thay was asked,
“You will be 80 this year. Do you plan to retire as a spiritual teacher at any point?”

This is the answer he gave:

In Buddhism we see that teaching is done not only by talking, but also by living your own life. Your life is the teaching, is the message. And since I continue to sit, to walk, to eat, to interact with the Sangha and people, I continue to teach, even if I have already encouraged my senior students to begin to replace me in giving Dharma talks. In the last two years, I have asked Dharma teachers, not only in the monastic circle but also in the lay circle, to come up and give Dharma talks. Many of them have given wonderful Dharma talks. Some Dharma talks have been better than mine. I see myself in my continuation, and I will not retire. I’ll continue to teach, if not by Dharma talks then in my way of sitting, eating, smiling, and interacting with the Sangha. I like to be with the Sangha. Even if I don’t give a Dharma talk, I like to join walking meditation, sitting meditation, eating in mindfulness and so on. So don’t worry. When people are exposed to the practice, they are inspired. You don’t need to talk in order to teach. You need to live your life mindfully and deeply. Thank you.

These inspiring words are our compass as we prepare to lead retreats for thousands of people in the coming months: here in Plum Village this Summer, at the EIAB in Germany in August, and on the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour of the United States this fall. Please join us.

May you cherish the presence of those you love, and enjoy each step together.

With love and trust,

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

As Thay’s condition is now stable, and his path of recovery is long, we will post updates only occasionally. We will keep our global community informed of any major developments in Thay’s recovery. All official updates will continue to appear at plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.

Dear Friends,

Waves and Water Sangha will be holding a Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, June 13 from 9:45 am- 3:15 pm at Mountain Rain Zen Centre  (2016 Wall Street, Vancouver). Looking deeply into how we keep our bodies healthy, we will consider how our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence – supports this practice. We will also consider how keeping our bodies healthy also supports our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence! The day will consist of sitting and walking meditation, sutra service, mindful eating, deep relaxation after lunch, a panel of sangha members sharing their insights around keeping our individual and collective bodies healthy and Dharma discussion. All are welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. Tea will be provided.

Suggested donation is $10-$25 and everyone is welcome – your presence is a gift. Please do not let financial issues determine your decision to attend!

For more information, please email us at [wwsangha@gmail.com].

Dear Friends —

In May we have been practicing with a phrase from the Refuge Chant: “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions.” In June, we will finish the sentence: “keeping my body healthy.” We will begin the month with the Ceremony to Recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. During the rest of the month, we will explore the Dharma teachings and our everyday practice of eating mindfully, taking care of our bodies by taking care of the Earth, and taking refuge in silence and our bodies through the practice of Mindful Movement.

Our Day of Mindfulness will be held on Saturday, June 13 from 9:45 am- 3:15 pm at Mountain Rain Zen Centre . Looking deeply into how we keep our bodies healthy, we will consider how our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence – supports this practice. We will also consider how keeping our bodies healthy also supports our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence! The day will consist of sitting and walking meditation, sutra service, mindful eating, deep relaxation after lunch, a panel of sangha members sharing their insights around keeping our individual and collective bodies healthy and Dharma discussion. All are welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. Tea will be provided.

Dear Friends —

In May, we will explore a line from the Refuge Chant: “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions.” We will begin with a recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and a panel of Sangha members who will talk about mindful consumption and how the Five Mindfulness Trainings support their intention to live simply. In the weeks to follow, we will deepen our connection to the Refuge Chant and notice how it feels in the body to live simply and sanely, with few possessions. We will continue by looking with curiosity at our daily lives, noticing what it means to take refuge in the Dharma – particularly the practice of letting go. What happens when we consider our possessions – material, emotional, ideological, intellectual? We will end this study period with the Sutra Service on Taking Refuge.

The Refuge Chant, words and MP3, can be found at : wavesandwater.org, under Resources–Plum Village Chants.
OR Click here for a direct link

Good evening dear friends –

As we have mentioned in recent blog posts, three Sisters from Deer Park Monastery are visiting Vancouver in conjunction with events organized through Hollyhock Centre. As well as offering an evening of practice this evening at the Peace Centre and a retreat on Cortes Island beginning Friday, they have joined the regular gatherings of the  Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver (Sunday) and North Shore Mindfulness Community (Tuesday).

Tomorrow, Thursday, we have invited them to practice with us at Waves and Water Sangha. This is a reminder that all of us are welcome to attend.

Smiling with the fourfold Sangha

Good afternoon dear friends.

As mentioned in our last blogpost, Hollyhock – a non-profit learning centre on Cortes Island – is bringing two Sisters from Deer Park Monastery to British Columbia for an evening program (April 22) in Vancouver and a four-day program at their centre (April 24-29).

http://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/the-only-way-out-is-in-vancouver/

The Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver is offering Sangha members   subsidized tickets for the Vancouver evening and invitesWaves and Water Sangha members to also contact them.

The tickets cost $38.09 and MPC is offering them for $17.50 in order to allow as many Sangha members as possible the opportunity to attend – as well as to offer the Sisters an experience of our Sanghas!

If you are interested, please email Harreson at harreson@mindfulnessvancouver.org

Good afternoon dear friends –

We would like to let you know about several things – a Day of Mindfulness April 11; our practice plans for the next few months; practice and retreat possibilities in other locations; and an update on Thay’s health sent from Plum Village. Before the message is a link to a joyful minute of shared time with Thay: Please enjoy your laughter

APRIL 11, 2015  DAY OF MINDFULNESS

Please join us on Saturday, April 11, for a Day of Mindfulness: This is a Ceremony! We will gather at 9:45 and complete our practice by 3:15. The morning includes three periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Sutra Service. We each bring a bag lunch and practice eating meditation together. Tea is provided.

In the afternoon, we begin with a guided relaxation – you are invited to bring a blanket or shawl. Then we will explore what it means that we have a “form” for our practice. How can we skilfully include “Ceremony” in our daily lives, in a way that supports our well-being and the well-being of others. There will be a talk and then some discussion in small groups. We will have a period of sitting meditation before completing the day.

Suggested donation is $10-$25 and everyone is welcome – your presence is a gift. Please do not let financial issues determine your decision to attend!

Our next Day of Mindfulness will be June 13: DILIGENTLY KEEPING OUR BODIES HEALTHY

SPRING PRACTICE

In April, we will continue to explore socially engaged practice by exploring a line from the Discourse on Happiness: “To live in the world, with your heart undisturbed by the world – This is the greatest happiness.” We will begin this Thursday with Thay’s poem and the song “Please call me by my true names” as a basis for considering, over the next weeks, how we might respond to our strong emotions of confusion, fear, and anger – emotions that often lead to righteousness and a sense of urgency.

In May we will explore a line from the Refuge Chant, “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions” beginning with a panel on mindful consumption. In June we will continue with that verse from the Reguge Chant: “And to keep my body healthy.” How can mindful eating and mindful movement support our practice.

RETREATS

Hollyhock – a non-profit learning centre on Cortes Island – is bringing two Sisters from Deer Park Monastery to British Columbia for an evening program (April 22) in Vancouver and a four-day program at their centre (April 24-29). You may find our more information through their website: https://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/the-only-way-out-is-in-vancouver/ AND https://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/be-beautiful-be-yourself/

Deer Park Monastery near San Diego offers retreats throughout the year with a major gathering of monastics and lay practitioners October 27-November, 2015You may find our more information through their website: http://deerparkmonastery.org/join-a-retreat/

Mountain Lamp Community in Washington State is also offering retreats through the spring and summer. You may find our more information through their website: http://mountainlamp.org/

SMILING

A joyful – and surprising – moment with Thay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSkR4TjvJnY

A MESSAGE FROM PLUM VILLAGE

April 6, 2015
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

We are happy to report that Thay’s health has continued to improve at the specialist stroke rehabilitation clinic in Bordeaux, where he has been steadily recovering his strength.

In the warm spring weather in the last few weeks, Thay has been able to enjoy going outside, sitting under a tree and listening to birdsong, drinking a cup of tea and enjoying the sound of the bell.

This week the medical team have given their approval for Thay to leave the rehabilitation clinic and return to his Hermitage at Plum Village. We are deeply grateful to the entire medical team at the University Hospital in Bordeaux for their professionalism and wholehearted care to support Thay’s healing over the past four and half months.

Thay expressed his clear wish to return home, and arrived on Friday April 3, in time to enjoy the beautiful magnolia blossoms and the first spring leaves as they unfurl. We are all very glad that Thay can come back to his spiritual home, where his devoted team of monastic attendants are continuing to support him and care for him 24 hours a day, under the guidance of visiting doctors and nurses.

We hope that in the nourishing and peaceful environment of Plum Village, and with the support of on-site physical therapy and speech therapy, Thay will have favourable conditions to treat his hemiparesis and make progress in swallowing and recovering his speech.

We would like to thank our global spiritual family for your loving energy and support. Thay’s journey of recovery will be long, and we thank you for continuing to send him your prayers and energy of compassion and healing.

It has been a pleasure to welcome so many of you at our monastic practice centers in America, Europe and Asia in the past few months as we walk, hand in hand, the beautiful path of awakening that Thay has opened up for us all.

With love and trust,

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

Plum Village, France
February 19, 2015

To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

As we enter the Lunar New Year, and our practice centers conclude our annual 90-day Winter Retreat, we are very happy to report that our dear Teacher continues to steadily make extraordinary progress.

Thay has now moved to a specialist stroke rehabilitation clinic, where he is receiving the best possible professional care. The team of monastic attendants work closely with doctors, nurses and professional therapists, and accompany Thay twenty-four hours a day, offering massage, acupuncture and comfort care, and helping Thay with his physical training.

Thay is steadily recovering his strength and rebuilding his muscles day by day. We have been struck by Thay’s great determination, motivation, courage and concentration as he sets his own program to train himself to learn anew how to sit upright, stand, and move his limbs.

The medical team is also helping Thay learn to swallow again, and last week Thay was able to drink his first cup of tea since November. The attendants prepared Thay’s favorite tea in his cup, and Thay even signalled to invite everyone to drink a cup of tea with him. Contemplating the tea, Thay smiled, put his hand on his heart, and looked up. All could clearly see that Thay was reminding everyone to bring our mind back to our body and to look deeply into the tea, really enjoying the tea and the presence of those around us.

During the last full moon of the lunar year, Thay enjoyed watching the moon rise from his bed, and invited the attendants to enjoy it silently with him. In the peace and joy with which he enjoyed the moon, we can see Thay’s love for the wonders of life and his generosity in teaching us to cherish these wonders at every moment.

With each week that passes Thay is becoming increasingly alert and engaged. Although Thay is not yet able to speak, he has begun to vocalize, and is developing a means of communicating silently with his attendants and physicians. Thay’s path of healing is still long, yet we know that every moment can be a moment to deeply touch the wonders and miracles of life.

We are very grateful for the great compassion and support that Thay has received from his global Sangha Body, creating wonderful conditions for his recovery and healing. We are thankful for your practice of mindfulness and prayers sending positive energy to Thay, and for your letters, donations, and the many beautiful children’s drawings.

Here in France the cold winter is beginning to give way to beautiful blossoms, in time to decorate the hamlets for the Lunar New Year, Thay’s favorite festival. Last week the community prepared hundreds of traditional “Earth Cakes”, and stayed up all night with music and song to cook them over open fires. Each New Year Thay offers us a compact “parallel verse,” to guide our practice in the year to come. For this New Year of the Goat the Plum Village elders have chosen an excerpt of a poem written by Thay, which hangs at the altar of the Still Water Meditation Hall in Upper Hamlet:

Look deeply to understand clearly
Listen deeply to truly love

These phrases have been written in calligraphy and prepared in “diamonds” that can be printed and posted around your home or workplace, as gentle reminders to practice. (You may download the print-friendly pdf here >>>)

Wishing you health, happiness and many fruits of the practice,

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

Future reports on Thay’s recovery will be posted officially at plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.