The Deer Park Dharmacast

Breathe with me as Sister Kinh Nghiem shares her story mixed in with a Buddhist story.  Self-described as a city girl, she scatters the seeds we need to grasp the true nature of the practice. Preview: "100%, this is your ticket!" This time the artwork was submitted by none other than myself, Michael Nguyen.  I'd like to ask for experienced audio editors to join our team.  Please get in touch because we have many dharmacasts which needs tender love and care.

Stay seated as Thay Phap Khoi shares about the good sight meditation, the 8 fold path and a rewritten song that by coincidence shares the same name as the retreat he is speaking at.Preview: "Be here now, be here now, savor your tea and drink your cloud.  Sit with ease, walk in peace the path will turn to joy you'll see." Enjoy the artwork submitted by Jeffery Levan, 12 years old of Houston.  He says he will learn how to meditate.  Let's support young Jeffrey by supporting ourselves.

Come a bit closer as Thay Phap Ho shares from his life experience and a well of knowledge at the 2012 Family Retreat.  The winter winds may be sneaking up on us but rays of light continue to be transmitted around us.   Preview: "Full blown anger will take us away." If you use Twitter, follow us @dpcast to get the dharma instantly in your pocket. 

This is the opening Dharma Talk with two special guest dharma teachers:  the most Venerable Suhita Dharma, the first ordained African American Buddhist monk, and the Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, founder of the Center for Transformative Change in Berkeley.  The teachers share about the retreat theme, Transforming Suffering: Touching Peace & Freedom. If you would like to attend a retreat to practice in the Plum Village tradition, please check the following websites for retreat information in your area.   www.deerparkmonastery.org  www.bluecliffmonastery.org  www.magnoliagrovemonastery.org  www.plumvillage.org  Peace

Dear Friends Here is part two of this wonderful talk from the People of Color retreat at Deer Park.  Our guest teachers are joined by Sister Huong Nghiem to respond to written questions from retreatants.  The topics cover how we might approach reconnection with those we may be separated from, compassionate eating, addressing grief and how to avoide being an 'angry activist'. Please accept this offering for the benefit of all beings.

Dear Friends On July 27-29, 2012, Deer Park Monastery hosted its first People of Color Retreat in five years.  The retreat weekend came together with two special guest dharma teachers:  the most Venerable Suhita Dharma, the first ordained African American Buddhist monk, and the Rev. Angel Kyodo William, founder of the Center for Transformative Change in Berkeley.  This first podcast is the first dharma talk session given Saturday, July 27, by both Rev. Angel and the Venerable inspired by the retreat theme, Transforming Suffering: Touching Peace & Freedom. The next 3 podcasts are comprised of the closing dharma talks(part 1) and Question & Answer session of the 2012 People of Color Retreat Weekend (Part 2), Transforming Suffering: Touching Peace & Freedom.  The Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams and the Most Venerable Suhita Dharma speak of our responsibility to transform our anger and suffering, as well as our call to bear witness. The closing talks are followed by a Q/A panel session where they are joined

Today we learn about the 5 Hindrances and their antidotes from our wonderful teacher, Thich Chan Phap Ho--Protector of the Dharma.  Phap Ho encourges us to have the courage to do the things in life that we want to do and reminds us that living our life mindful of interdependence and interbeing will bring us to the right path.  We also learn how to turn neutral feelings into happiness.  For example, if you have ever experienced anger, you can see that the state of not being angry is always a great happiness!   Please enjoy this wonderful talk

Dear Friends We had a special session during the family retreat on mindful parenting.   Our sister Nomi Green shares her insights as a parent and as a professional about children and our relationship with them--and ourselves. Please enjoy! With this podcast, we also welcome a new editor to our Podcast Family--welcome Genevieve!

Dear Friends This wonderful talk is by our beloved Phap De, Younger Brother.  Phap De offers many deep insights about the nature of suffering and offers practical methods to transform it.  He reminds us that our perceptions are mostly wrong and mostly made up of our past.  He shares deeply about the nature of judgement and forgiveness reminding us that the more we can forgive, the more we can feel forgiven. Enjoy this deep talk. 

Dear Friends As summer begins, we thought we would offer a musical treat from Joe Reilly's new CD--Hello Ocean.  This CD is dedicated to the True Ocean Family who ordained as order of Interbeing Members in September of 2011.  The CD also includes a wonderful song called 'Monkey Mind' that might help you change your relationship with your own monkey mind too.   If you would like more info on how to purchase a copy of the CD, you can email Joe at joereillymusic@gmail.com.  Smiling to the Sun and the Ocean, within us and outside of us

Dear Friends, welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast. Today we offer a dharma talk from Brother Phap De on Mother Earth, given here at Dear Park with the approach of the Christmas holiday.  Brother Phap De is an American born monk, to whom Thich Nhat Hahn gave a monastic name meaning “Young Monk.” Here Thay Phap De speaks about his Christian upbringing and beliefs, and describes how Thich Nhat Hahn taught him to bring his heavenward attentions down to a loving and peaceful Mother Earth. Please find a solid, upright, and relaxed position to enjoy today’s dharma talk.

Dear Friends Deer Park is offering a series of theme weekends during the year.  The first weekend was a wonderful offering from Dharma Teacher Eileen Kiera.  Eileen is a resident Dharma teacher at Mountain Lamp near Bellingham Washington.  http://mountainlamp.org/  Eileen Kiera is an ecologist by training and a vegetable gardener by passion, but the practice and support of the Dharma has been her primary focus for the past 24 years. She's a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and Robert Aitken, Roshi. Thich Nhat Hahn acknowledged her as a dharma teacher in 1990, and since then she's led retreats in many places in the U.S., Europe and Australia.  This wonderful weekend Alive as a Bodhisattva Eileen shared about the practice and the path of a Bodhisattva.  This talk was the opening orientation.   If you would like more information on the theme weekends at Deer Park, please visit http://deerparkmonastery.org/events/theme-weekends  Please find an relaxed, upright, and stable position and enjoy this beautiful offering.

On the second talk of the weekend, Dharma Teacher Eileen Kiera shares about the practice, presence, body, and  great vows of three powerful bodhisattvas-- Avalokiteshvara, Manjusri, and  Samanthabhadra.  We learn that if we can cultivate the energy and practice of compassionate listening, looking deeply, and responding with appropriate action we can embody these bodhisattvas in our lives.  When they are embodied in us, it can be said that they live in the world. We hope you enjoy these talks.  Please explore other talks by Dharma teacher Eileen Kiera at the Mountain Lamp website at http://mountainlamp.org/audio/eenkiera.html                                                         

Dear Thay, Dear Sangha, Dear Virtual Community Today, we close our Three Month Winter Retreat and our Moment by moment class.  The Third Noble Truth--the end of suffering is discussed by our teachers.  We are encouraged to look into our suffering and to be aware of what is real and how much we create in our own mind.  What is our real experience and what is suffering because that is what we label it?  We are reminded that the path is not a straight line and our view of our suffering can change depending where we are on the path. We are reminded that we are not just one thing, we are many things.  We can look deeply to see where we have a skillful relationship with our suffering and where we have a not-yet-skillful relationship. As our monastics recite, 'when a monk goes into the world, he looks straight ahead and walks mindfullly'.  May we all cultivate the ability to stay compassionately on the path--walking with mindfulness and concentration.  In this way, we offer our beauty, presence, and practice each ot

Last week, we learned about the first turning of the wheel-the recognition of our suffering and our situation.  With the second turning of the wheel, Thich Chan Phap Hai encourages us to explores the causes of our suffering.  We learn more deeply about the three poisons-- Greed (or 'ever-seeking' or 'always wanting'), Hatred (or ill-will or 'closed-down heart') and ignorance or delusion (not ignorance as in lack of learning but in the inability to see things as they really are).  These are the three roots of suffering that the 4 noble truths offered by the Buddha will transform leading to liberation. The weekly practices focus on 'bare recognition' or 'bare experience' and handout includes many important readings. Tonight's talk is a beautiful offering of the dharma that is practical for us to use.  It offers guideposts that help us on the journey in the Dharma that each of us must experience for ourselves.  We hope you will find it immediately useful and effective.

Dear Virtual Family: For the past 8 weeks, we have studied the Noble 8-fold path, the 4th of the 4 Noble truths.  In a kind of Zen order, we have studied the last, first.  Tonight, we look into the first of the Four Noble Truths- The Existence of Suffering/Stress.  Thich Chan Phap Ho (Protection of the Dharma) guides us to look deeply into the fact that we have suffering, what it is, and how to handle it.  We can bring our awarness to the reality of our suffering and bring our courageous Buddha nature in us to face it and not run away any more. If we can cultivate the courage and stability in ourselves necessary to turn toward our suffering, we are closer to the peace and freedom offered by our practice.  We aren't afraid and we don't need to run away any more.  We can look at the base situation and see what is the real suffering and what is our mind adding to the situation.  Our teacher discusses the three poisons and the things that our suffering is often attached to.  Remembering the original fear and the

Today's talk is a talk and a practice.  A chance to come back and touch the moment.  A chance to cultivate the evenness and concentration of our mind and to connect our body and our mind.  We learn new ways to enjoy being ourselves and nourish ourselves with right concentration.   Concentration also means 'to dwell with'.   We learn how to keep the weather within the same, no matter what the weather outside is. Please enjoy this wonderful practice.

Tonight we learn about another step on the Noble Eight Fold Path- Right Livelihood. The way we make a living has an impact on our world and society, but also on us.  As we make a living, we are also making ourselves.  Tonight's class discusses the many ways the practice can nourish our work life and allows up to help ourselves, our co-workers and the people we serve all at once. Phap Ho is joined by two panelists from the Order of Interbeing who share about their path of practice and livelihood.  We are also reminded that whereever we work, we can aspire to bring kindness to our workplace.  As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, may we all reflect on the work we are doing and how if is serving the Beloved Community and a more compassionate society.  The study materials can be found here  http://deerparkmonastery.org/teachings/moment-by-moment/course-material-week-7/view  

Dear Friends Tonight we are offered a very inspiring and empowering teaching on Right Effort.  Right Effort is the first in the Concentration Triad of steps on the 8-fold path, the place where we are able and ready to collect our mind.  At this point in our training, our mind begins to calm down.  Right effort in Buddhist teaching is not hard labor.  It is appropriate attention or appropriate effort.  We will learn how to examine what we are being fed by others and what we are feeding ourselves.   We are offered a clear, basic definition of mindfulness and you will share in the creation of helpful new acronyms-- THNYA and THAA.  There is also a pop-quiz on the Prajana Dyad so be mindful!  Best of all, you will be given the best homework in the world history of teaching-- the requirement to be lazy. The handout is here http://deerparkmonastery.org/teachings/moment-by-moment/course-material-week-6/view  Enjoy 

Welcome Back and Happy New Year to our virtual Dharma classmates! We hope you enjoyed your holiday and were offered many beautiful opportunities to cultivate, enjoy, and share your practice. Tonight's class is on Right Action.  Sr. Bich Nghiem shares that the practice of Right Action can help us be happier.  Right action means right action of the body, the practice of being in touch with love and preventing harm,  non-violence, and doing everything in mindfulness. She shares that our actions need to be good for ourselves and for others to be right action.  If it is good for others and not good for ourselves or good for ourselves and not good for others, then it is not right action yet.  We review the 1,2,3, and 5th mindfulness trainings.  You will also learn how to share the  dharma with snakes and our other animal friends. Enjoy your practice and see you next week.