Dreaming of Thầy Dreaming

Dear Friends,

The Snow Moon—the first full moon after the Lunar New Year—is upon us, and the monastics are enjoying two weeks of rest—and the practice of laziness—after the Tết celebration. We hope you were able to join us for the in-house flower market, for singing while cooking earth cakes, for the lion dance, and for the deep questions and responses of the poet in the Kiều Oracles online. All of these are still available for your enjoyment at the links from our last issue.

This week we offer you a short teaching from Thầy given in 2004, when all the monastics in the Plum Village tradition gathered here in Deer Park for an unprecedented (and yet-to-be-repeated) winter retreat with the entire community. Can you discover and cultivate your true powers (+1)?

At the end of a lunar year in which we have experienced fear and anxiety just walking outside of our house, and about the future of our planet, Br. Phap Dung has a dream vision in which he recalls Thầy’s story of a dream: how Thầy embraced his fear by taking refuge in his capacity to invite a sound of the bell.

For 2600 years the monastic sangha has continued to grow by training the new generations who feel called to monastic life. It has been a joy this past rains retreat to welcome three new brothers into Solidity Hamlet. Read more about them below.

May these weeks bring you peace and joy as we move quietly into our Spring Retreat season. We will keep you posted with dates for upcoming retreats with the three US centers as they become available. We know you are there and we are so happy. Stay safe.

With love,