The Deer Park Dharmacast

Enjoy 30 minutes silent sitting meditation with the Sangha of Solidity Hamlet. Br Phap Ho offers some introduction to sitting: following our breathing, as well as the Evening Chant.

Talk from Winter 2016-2017 Retreat Opening Day. Translated by Sister Kinh Nghiem.

Br. Phap Vu reflects on the 2016 US election, shares how to practice with its results and ends with a short question and answer session. A short biography of Br. Phap Vu: http://www.tnhtour.org/2015/09/03/meet-the-monastics-chan-phap-vu/

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color   Dear Friends,   This is the  Question & Answer Session (and final recording) from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves mindfulness retreat for People of Color. We are deeply grateful to our teachers Br. Larry Ward, Rev. angel Kyodo williams and Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Br. Man Tue, Sister Hang Nghiem for all the shining wisdom, compassion, joy and skillfulness they offered nourishing our healing and inspiring wise action. Some of the questions posed: 1.     What do we do about our public schools? 2.     How do we handle our anger? i.e. police violence 3.     How do we help others when we are being triggered? 4.     How do we continue our meditation when anxiety comes up? 5.     How do we partner in activism for collective liberation? 6.     How have you strived to perfect love in this practice? ...and others   Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective healing and grea

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color Dear Friends, We are happy to continue sharing the Dharma talks from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves, our recent mindfulness retreat for People of Color. Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel begins her talk by reflecting on her early encounter with Zen as a person of color. Rev. Zenju refers to people of color meditation groups as "cultural sanctuaries" and responds to the perceptions of these spaces as "exclusionary" and counter to "oneness."  Rev. Zenju also presents the teachings on store consciousness and the direct experience of transformation when seeds arise. Rev. Zenju also reads selections from her latest work, The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality, and Gender. A few excerpts Rev. Zenju's talk: We as people of color have specific spiritual work to contend with, and the term "people of color" suggests that work rather than the idea of separation based on skin color for the sake of harming those who are white---that is not the intenti

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color Dear Friends, We are happy to continue sharing the Dharma talks from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves, our recent mindfulness retreat for People of Color. Today, Rev. angel Kyodo williams offers a presentation and reading based on the newly published book, Radical Dharma.  In this sharing, Rev. angel invites us into a long overdue conversation about race alongside love and liberation.  As part of this conversation, Rev. angel speaks about the social construct of whiteness, while calling us back into our humanity and to be in touch with the "thing underneath the thing." A few excerpts: "...we have the greatest potential to actually pull it up at its roots.  Interestingly enough, we have that opportunity through this gift of the Dharma that actually invites us to be able to look with clear seeing eyes at things that are not real...that are figments of our imagination and figments of other people's imaginations...Race is a grand social figment."   "As Dha

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color Dear Friends, We are happy to continue sharing the Dharma talks from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves, our recent mindfulness retreat for People of Color. Today’s Dharma talk, entitled “Engaging the Five Mindfulness Trainings" was offered by Br. Larry Ward on the second morning of our retreat.  You can read more about The Five Mindfulness Trainings: The Path of Happiness here. Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective healing and great aspiration to strengthen the Beloved Community. To stay connected with Brother Larry Ward, visit The Lotus Institute http://www.thelotusinstitute.org/. "The calling of the Lotus Institute is to offer mindfulness teachings, principles and practices that encourage individual healing and transformation, professional growth, and development in ways that enhance planetary, social evolution."

2016 Mindfulness Retreat for People of Color Dear Friends, We are happy to begin sharing the Dharma talks from The Path of True Love: Healing Ourselves, from our recent mindfulness retreat for People of Color.  Today’s Dharma talk, entitled “The Alchemy of Grief: Turning Suffering into Light" was offered by Br. Larry Ward on the first morning of our retreat.  Br. Larry provided a general outline of his talk: Poem Why I Practice It’s About Love (verb) Yoniso and Ayoniso Nutriments and De-Nutriments Poem Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective healing and great aspiration to strengthen the Beloved Community. To stay connected with Brother Larry Ward, visit The Lotus Institute http://www.thelotusinstitute.org/. "The calling of the Lotus Institute is to offer mindfulness teachings, principles and practices that encourage individual healing and transformation, professional growth, and development in ways that enhance planetary, soci

Dear Friends, Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast - Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace. Today, we bring you Thich Nhat Hanh's new translation of the Heart Sutra as chanted by monastics at Deer Park Monastery. To read about the Heart Sutra and Thich Nhat Hanh's reasons for the new translation, head to the article at plumvillage.org.  May this new translation bring us closer to clear understanding and may everything be illuminated. Now,  enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends, Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast -- Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace. Before the talks of the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour, the monastics offered chanting in both English and Vietnamese. Today, we offer those to you. May they fill your heart with joy and peace. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   Today we offer a deep sharing from Brother Phap Ho as he sits with a flowing creek under swaying bamboo at Deer Park Monastery.    The Earth Holder Sangha has been forming in North America in 2015 and is sprouting in other parts of the world. This is an outgrowth of the Earth Holding Here and Now Blog and the Theme Weekend on Earth Holding at Deer Park in 2013. We are thrilled to announce that Deer Park will host the first Earth Holder Retreat: For a Future to Be Possible, April 28 - May 1, 2016.    Our brother invites us to awaken the Earth Holderbodhisattvas in our hearts -- seeing our connection with nature and the path of our planet with love and peace. Breathing joyfully with our surroundings, we can see truth more clearly.   Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   In the last podcast of the series on Full Awareness of Breathing, Brother Phap Dang shares the final three exercises.  Our brother gently walks us into the deep teachings of non-self, non-duality, and letting go. We hope you have benefited greatly from the monastics that shared during the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour.   Now enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast -- Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace.   This week we share the continuation of Brother Phap Dang's sharing on the thirteenth exercise of Full Awareness of Breathing.  From his personal experiences with impermanence, our brother shows us clearly the value of letting go of our ideas and perceptions.  May this sharing move us to recognize our clinging and suffering.    Now enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends, This week we continue our series on Full Awareness of Breathing with Brother Phap Dang's final talk of the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour.  Before delving into the last four exercises, he shares on both the deception of our perceptions and the bright light of insight. May this sharing lead you to the path of clarity.   Now enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.  

Dear friends,   Today we continue Sister Tue Nghiem's talk on the mind and the exercises of Full Awareness of Breathing. She shares the next four exercises and the benefits of being aware of our mental formations.  May this dharma rain water the seeds of confidence, strength and liberation for you and all those around you.   Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,   Today we continue to share talks from the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour.  Sister Tue Nghiem shares the Buddhist framework of the mind and mental formations. She invites to let go of our rigid perceptions of truth and embrace the mantra given to us by Thay, "Are you sure?"   Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   Today, we continue Brother Phap Khoi's talk from the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour.  He shares the seventh and eighth exercises from the Full Awareness of Breathing: awareness of mental formations and calming our mental formations. In addition, our brother speaks about practicing in sanghas and how we can foster harmony.   Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   Continuing our sharing from the Miracle of Mindfulness Tour, today's dharmacast is from Brother Phap Khoi. Our brother shares the fifth and sixth exercises of Full Awareness of Breathing: cultivating joy and cultivating happiness. May this Dharma taught by the Buddha and our teacher, Thay, water the beautiful flowers in your heart.     Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,  This week we continue with Sister Dang Nghiem's sharing on the first four exercises in the Buddha's teaching on mindful breathing. Dwelling in the body grounds us. With our breath, solid concentration and kind relaxation, we can begin to walk towards freedom and begin deep healing.   Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

Dear friends,  This week we share with you the first part of Sister Dang Nghiem's talk from the Miracle of Mindfulness retreat. For the children, our sister gives a teaching on patterns in nature and in our families. Then with the adults, she illuminates the ordinary nature of mindfulness in our everyday lives. The interbeing of all things comes to light as she prepares to discuss the Buddha's teaching on awareness of breath. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.