Coyote Tracks – Spring Equinox Edition
Happy Farm Updates + NYC Events to Commemorate Thich Nhat Hanh
Dear friends,
As we welcome spring, we embrace the season of renewal, growth, and transformation. Just as nature awakens, we too have the opportunity to cultivate fresh energy in our practice and our daily lives.
In this issue, we are honored to share that Thích Nhất Hạnh will be commemorated in New York City with the co-naming of West 109th Street as Thích Nhất Hạnh Way. We invite you to join monastics from Deer Park and Blue Cliff Monasteries for this historic moment.
We also celebrate a major milestone: breaking ground on the Happy Farm! Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, the soil is being nourished, and our vision of an organic, regenerative farm is coming to life. Rooted in mindfulness and agroecology, the Happy Farm is a way to care for Mother Earth and build a sustainable future for our community. Your support can help this initiative flourish for generations to come.
This edition also highlights a beautiful film featuring Deer Park Monastery as well as The Buddha The Scientist Symposiums at Dartmouth College and University of British Columbia.
Finally, we invite you to deepen your practice with Metta (Love) Meditation and read a touching reflection in our Love Letter section about how one practitioner found connection with Deer Park Monastery from afar.
May this season bring peace, renewal, and deep mindfulness to your path.
With gratitude,
The Monastics of Deer Park Monastery
Thích Nhất Hạnh To Be Honored in Co-Naming Ceremony in New York City
Join monastics from Blue Cliff and Deer Park Monasteries for a historic event as New York City officially co-names West 109th Street between Riverside and Broadway as “Thích Nhất Hạnh Way.” Read more here.
We Officially Broke Ground on Our Organic Happy Farm
Thanks to the loving work of our volunteers who came out to the inaugural “Nourish the Soil” events, we are closer to realizing our vision of having an organic, regenerative farm at Deer Park Monastery. The Happy Farm is a living expression of our love and respect for Mother Earth.
We need your support to establish a foundation that will make this vision possible. Your contribution will help to create a mindful farming community that will sustain and nourish many generations of people for years to come.
Deer Park Featured in Buddhism Film
We’re grateful to share a film recently published by a friend who visited Deer Park Monastery last December during the Rains Retreat. The film features Brother Phap Dung, Sister D, and Brother Phap Luu. The part with Deer Park and exploring the Plum Village Tradition starts at 1:31:00.
Zen and the Art of Mindful Living: Mindful Week at Dartmouth with The Buddha The Scientist Symposium
Join monastics from Deer Park Monastery and Magnolia Grove Monastery at Dartmouth College, April 1 - 7, 2025, for a week of mindfulness practice and the Buddha the Scientist Symposium.
“There were many memorable moments, but hearing the scientists share their research and how changing our diets could save the planet was very inspiring.” — The Buddha the Scientist Participant, 2023
The symposium will explore how scientific knowledge and Buddhist wisdom can be combined to create lasting solutions that impact the world. Registration closing soon.
Mindfulness As A Foundation For Health: The Buddha the Scientist Symposium & Retreat in Vancouver
The Mindfulness As A Foundation For Health Retreat offers a transformative opportunity to immerse yourself in the practice of mindfulness in the serene setting of UBC in Vancouver, Canada. From May 16-20, 2025, this retreat invites participants to cultivate presence, peace, and insight through guided meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating, and periods of noble silence, all under the guidance of Zen Buddhist monastics from Plum Village and Deer Park Monasteries. Registration is open for the retreat and symposium.
On May 20, the retreat will conclude with The Buddha the Scientist Symposium (hybrid in-person + livestream) which invites scientists from around North America to explore the intersection of Buddhism, psychology, and neuroscience through the embodied practice of mindfulness. Register to join us in person (Vancouver) here or to join virtually via livestream here.
Deepen Your Practice: Metta/Love Meditation
“To love is, first of all, to accept ourselves as we actually are. That is why in this Love Meditation, “Knowing Thyself” is the first practice of love. When we practice this, we see the conditions that have caused us to be the way we are. This makes it easy for us to accept ourselves, including our suffering and our happiness at the same time.”
— Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Learn the full Metta practice here.
Love Letter: A Stranger No More
“I have never been to a retreat at Deer Park Monastery. I have never met any of the monastics. I have never been to an event at any of the monasteries in the Plum Village tradition, although I did take the online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. You might say I am a stranger to Deer Park Monastery; yet, the spiritual community, rooted in the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, in Escondido has become a part of my life. Let me tell you how I fell in love with Deer Park Monastery…”
Read the full Love Letter here.
My First Tết at Deer Park Monastery
Our Communications Coordinator, Sarah, recounts her first experience of Tết.
“My favorite part of the day was having the opportunity to visit the new Monks’ Residence, which has been under construction over the past year, and see not only the new building but also the way the monks lived and slept inside…”
Looking Ahead:
March 29 – Happy Farm Community Work Day
April 1 – 7 – Zen and the Art of Mindful Living: Mindful Week at Dartmouth
April 11 - Thích Nhất Hạnh Way Co-Naming Ceremony in New York City
April 13 - Mindful Walking in NYC
April 24 - Meeting Today's World with the Bodhisattva's Eyes and Hands
April 27 - May 3 – Wake Up Retreat
May 8 - June 1 — Viet Wake Up Tour
May 11 - Vesak
May 20 - The Buddha the Scientist at University of British Columbia (Virtual Symposium)
June 6 - 8 - Mexico City Retreat: “Raíces Profundas, Corazones Sin Miedo”
June 17 - 21 - Family Retreat
July 8 - 12 - Teen Camp
July 20 - 25 - Riding the Waves of Life at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY