Deer Park Dharmacast

The Dharma talk offered here by Thay Phap Luu took place on Sunday, January 2, 2023 on the last day of our annual Holiday Retreat. The theme for our holiday retreat this year is "The Path is Our Home" and over 300 people gather here at Deer Park Monastery from December 29th to January 2nd, 2023. Our talk theme is Confidence in the Dharma

During our 5-day Holiday Retreat with several hundred guests, the first Dharma talk of the retreat is offered by Sr. Dang Nghiem. The talk begins with an introduction to listening, followed by chanting the name of Avaloketeshvara, and then the dharma talk. We touch on neuroplasity, going home, four kinds of people, and the three refuges. 

For our Day of Mindfulness today (Sunday November 27, 2022) the Dharma talk is offered by Sr. Thần Nghiêm. The talk is in English.

Awareness of mind. Distraction. Mindfulness. Concentration.

On our Day of Mindfulness on November 20, 2022 Sr. Tuyết Nghiêm offered a talk with the theme "Open the Source of Love". This is the English translation of the talk originally given in Vietnamese. 

A Dharma talk offered in Vietnamese with English translation provided here by Sister Dang Nghiem. The talk is offered by Sister Trúc Nghiêm with the theme Be An Observer, Not a Victim. 

A Dharma talk offered by The Venerable Hòa Thượng Thích Phước Tịnh during our weekly Day of Mindfulness on November 6, 2022 in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall. The sangha is practicing in the 90-Day Rains Retreat. The translation is offered by Sister Kinh Nghiem. 

Today is Formal Lunch day and Thay Phap Hoi spends time sharing about this practice and uses as a lens to look into the spirit of our practice. Why do we practice the way we do? What is the role of formality? Can we practice in a way that makes sense and is understandable for this day and the next generation? For example, for millennia we have been a “four-fold” sangha and today we are beginning to use “multi-fold” sangha to better reflect our growing sangha.

Our tradition is always changing and being updated and can also keep the spirit of Buddhism.

For our Day of Mindfulness on October 9, 2022, the Dharma talk was offered by Sr. Kính Nghiêm. The talk will be offered in English. 

Today is the opening of the annual Rains Retreat and our Dharma talk is offered by the Most Venerable Thích Phước Tịnh. He speaks in Vietnamese and Sr. Kinh Nghiem offers the English translation in this recording. Our theme is the Four Establishments of Mindfulness and preparing for the Rains Retreat.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Deer Park Monastery, Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall

The talk is offered in English on September 11, 2022 in the Ocean of Peace Meditation Hall. Sister Dang Nghiem speaks of the Seven Factors of Awakening in the context of war and peace.

You can reference the following book regarding the discourse she taught today. The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha)

Here we offer the third Dharma talk for "The Buddha, The Scientist" Retreat at Deer Park from August 31-September 4, 2022. Exploring the Intersection of Buddhism, Psychology and Neuroscience through the Embodied Practice of Mindfulness.

The talk is offered in English by Br. Pháp Dung

Here we offer a session of Questions and Answers during "The Buddha, The Scientist" Retreat at Deer Park from August 31-September 4, 2022. Exploring the Intersection of Buddhism, Psychology and Neuroscience through the Embodied Practice of Mindfulness.

The panel includes Sr.Đẳng Nghiêm, Br. Pháp Dung, and Br.Phap Lưu

Here we offer the first Dharma talk for "The Buddha, The Scientist" Retreat at Deer Park from August 31-September 4, 2022. Exploring the Intersection of Buddhism, Psychology and Neuroscience through the Embodied Practice of Mindfulness.

In this talk we continue exploring Buddhist psychology and the 51 mental formations.

The talk is offered in English by Br. Phap Lưu

Here we offer the first Dharma talk for "The Buddha, The Scientist" Retreat at Deer Park from August 31-September 4, 2022. Exploring the Intersection of Buddhism, Psychology and Neuroscience through the Embodied Practice of Mindfulness.

The talk is offered in English by Sr. Hương Nghiêm

Here we offer the orientation for "The Buddha, The Scientist" Retreat at Deer Park from August 31-September 4, 2022. Exploring the Intersection of Buddhism, Psychology and Neuroscience through the Embodied Practice of Mindfulness.

The introduction is offered in English by Br. Mãn Tuệ & Sr. Thần Nghiêm

Today we offer a translated Dharma talk by Thay Phap Hoi, one of the elders in our community. 

Today we have a translated Dharma talk with Brother Phap Ao and Sister Uyen Nghiem. The theme for the talk is froglessness. How do we practice when our mind when it sometimes behaves like a frog? 

In our episode today we enjoyed our talk from Thầy Phap Luu and learn the joys of a hammock meditation

This is our third day and this is the second Dharma talk. Included in this talk is a teaching on the Five Mindfulness Trainings and teaching for the children. Our teacher today is Thay Phap Dung. 

This is a happy moment. It’s been 3-years since our last Family Retreat and we are happy for its return. We hope you are too! Our theme this year is Harmony at Home, Peace all Around.

We welcome 160 people to our "annual" Family Retreat this year. The theme of the retreat is Harmony at Home, Peace all Around. This is our second day and the first Dharma talk. The talk is offered by Sister Thoại Nghiêm, an elder in our community. 

This is a happy moment. It’s been 3-years since our last Family Retreat and we are happy for its return. We hope you are too! Our theme this year is Harmony at Home, Peace all Around. This is arrival day and we begin with an orientation to the practice with Sr. Ân Nghiem and Br. Pháp Áo. 

As part of our in-person Day of Mindfulness, we will hear a Dharma talk from Su Co Hương Nghiêm in English.

The Three Learnings

1. Listen 2. Reflect 3. Practice

And Dwelling Happily in the Present moment

During our recent Teen Camp, Sr. Dang Nghiem offered a Dharma talk to the 100 teens in attendance. The theme of the retreat is Enough! Enough! You Are Enough! and she builds on this during her talk. 

We learn about the Power of Understanding, the Power of Love, and the Power of Freedom. 

The date of the recording is Thursday, June 16, 2022

For our episode this week, we offer the Dharma talk given by Thầy Pháp Nhỉ on Sunday, June 12, 2022; a Day of Mindfulness. Translation is provided by Sr. Phu Nghiem. 

• Hiking/Camping trip the monastics recently took to Utah
• Revision to the Third Mindfulness Training
• Four ways to support others in the practice

We hope you enjoy this episode. 

This is the English translation of the talk given in Vietnamese on Mothers Day. Our special teacher today is Su Co Chan Vi who is visiting Deer Park for a few weeks. Su Co is one our eldest monastic sisters in our tradition and we're very happy to have her talk of mothers, Thay, and also sing a few songs. 

At the recent Wake Up Retreat, 10% identified as neither male or female. Attendees self-identified as non-binary, fluid, queer, trans, and gender non-conforming.

Thay Phap Dung explores his experiences and feelings of this reality. He relates it to Buddhist concepts of non-dualism and notions. The Buddha said 100% of our perception is wrong. From here we learn about suchness, representation and mere images

Our retreat theme is Beginning Now and this is the Second Dharma Talk for the retreat. Thay Phap Luu offers the Dharma talk. 

Store consciousness. Mindfulness. Interbeing. The last portion of the talk, we learn more about the Five Mindfulness Trainings with three lay practitioners sharing their experience.

We have 115 young adults (18-35) in attendance for this 5-day retreat.

This is the English translation of the dharma talk offered by Su Co Dang Nghiem on Saturday, March 12, 2022 during our Memorial Weekend Retreat: We Have a Path Retreat. The original teaching was offered in Vietnamese. 

This is the English translation, by Sr. Dang Nghiem, of the dharma talk offered on a Day of Mindfulness at Deer Park Monastery. March 6, 2022

This vulnerable and touching dharma talk about "Continuing Thay's Aspiration" by Brother Phap Dung, a senior Plum Village Dharma Teacher was offered during Memorial week for Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It began 11am Friday, January 28, 2022. The talk will be streamed live from Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California.

The Venerable offers a lovely dharma talk for the community as we close the 90-Day Rains Retreat at Deer Park. This is a dubbed translation. Editor's Note: The English translation isn't perfectly aligned with the Vietnamese, but the language is present and pretty close

Today we offer a dharma talk from Su Co Dang Nghiem (Sr. D) based on Thich Nhat Hanh's book "How To Live When a Loved One Dies" - the dharma talk is in English. 

During the annual Rains Retreat at Deer Park, we have been hosting a weekly Day of Mindfulness. The overall theme for our 90-Day Retreat is Non-Fear and Non-Anxiety. Each week a dharma teacher uses one of Thay's books as the jumping off place for the teaching. This week is Thay's book Being Peace. 

Translated by Sister Dang Nghiem

Translated by Brother Troi Minh Dia

Translated by Brother Troi Minh Dia

Translated by Sister Dang Nghiem

Translated by Br.Troi Minh Dia

Translated by Br.Troi Minh Dia

Translated by Sister Kinh Nghiem

In Praise of Mother Earth (PDF)

Holiday Retreat 2019 Orientation given by Sister Le Nghiem and Brother Pham Hanh

Sister Dang Nghiem shares on right view

Sister Man Nghiem shares about consciousness and right livelihood.

Thay Phap Tuyen talks about the "Discourse on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone"

Translation by Sister Dang Nghiem

Thay Phap Luu shares about sense impression and selective watering.

Translation by Sister Kinh Nghiem

Translation by Sister Dang Nghiem

Translation by sister Kinh Nghiem

Sister abbess share about cultivating happiness.

Translated by Sister Huong Nghiem

Sister Kinh Nghiem shares insights on practicing with the body and interbeing with edible food.

This talk was given on the opening day of the 90 Day Fall Retreat.

Translated by Sister Man Nghiem (Sister Brightness)

Thay Phap Ho shares about his pilgrimage to India, practicing for the Earth, and the 16 breathing exercises.

From the second session of Family Retreat 2019.

From the second session of Family Retreat 2019.

Facilitated by Thay Phap Hai during the second session of Family Retreat 2019

From the second session of Family Retreat 2019.

From the second session of Family Retreat 2019.

Brother Phap Ho (Brother Protection) and Sister Truc Nghiem (Sister Bamboo) gives orientation for the second session of Family Retreat 2019.

Sister Dang Nghiem's sharing with a group of physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, etc. at Kaiser Permanente.

Facilitated by Thay Phap Hai

Brother Phap Ho and Sister Truc Nghiem (Sister Bamboo) gives orientation for the first session of Family Retreat 2019.

Sister Dang Nghiem commentaries on the Tale of Kiều.

Translated from Vietnamese by Sister Huong Nghiem.

Talk in Vietnamese: https://youtu.be/xkG8cQZ_Irw

Thay Phap Dang offers guidance to to help us slow down, calm down and flush out unhelpful perceptions in order to wake up to happiness and a clear mind.

Thay Phap Hai offers guidance reflecting personal experiences, current events, dharma teachings & beautiful poetry. We are welcomed to give ourselves permission to be fully present to what is happening, experience ease and also explore any reactivity to situations. There's an invitation to look at darkness' we face individually and as a nation with curiosity & openness, to see what is actually happening in order to wake up to kindness & live fully in the present moment.

Sr. Dang Nghiem reflects on her own transforming suffering, heartbreak, letting go and realizing better health & relationship to oneself & others.

Sr Kinh Nghiem shares her own questions and answers about true love for ourselves and the other. Her reflections come from personal experience and current events.

Translation by Sr Kinh Nghiem

Brother Kai Ly shares about Bodhicitta, the mind of love. There are also several wonderful stories about how he met with Thay and the valuable lessons that he learned from these encounters.

Translation by Sr Man Nghiem

Dharma talk from Venerable Phuoc Tinh on the opening day of the Winter 2017-2018 Retreat.

Translation by Sister Kinh Nghiem.

Dear Beloved Listeners , Brother Phap Dung started with a talk for the children, please excuse us for not having the complete recording of this portion. Following this portion, Brother Phap Dung shares his experience of returning to the US during the 2017 US tour.

This is the Third Dharma talk of the retreat offered by Brother Phap Luu at Deer Park Monastery on September 17, 2017. The retreat theme is Awakening the Source of Understanding. The retreat is part of the larger US Tour with the theme Awakening Together.

During this question and answer session with Brother Phap Dung, Sister Huong Nghiem, Lyn Fine, and John Salerno-White we listen to seven questions. The date is September 16, 2017 at Deer Park Monastery. The retreat theme is Awakening the Source of Understanding. The retreat is part of the larger US Tour with the theme Awakening Together.

1. What are the forms/practices in our community that exists for shining eyes on something we witness? 2. Being angry/negative and the use of products like Nestle (which is used at the monastery). 3. How do we honor the tradition of our lineage and recognize and support multiple genders? 4. How do I better recognize and water the seeds of determination and practice? 5. What is the equality complex? 6. Story of suffering. 7. Needing support in finding my tribe, my sangha. How do I heal this sense of not belonging?

This is the Second Dharma talk of the retreat offered by Sr. Thệ Nghiêm at Deer Park Monastery on September 15, 2017. Topics include Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight and the Four Kinds of Nutriments. The retreat theme is Awakening the Source of Understanding. The retreat is part of the larger US Tour with the theme Awakening Together.

Video: https://youtu.be/2AvpHoBHPIg

This is the First Dharma talk of the retreat offered by Sister Dang Nghiem at Deer Park Monastery on September 13, 2017. The retreat theme is Awakening the Source of Understanding. The retreat is part of the larger US Tour with the theme Awakening Together.

Video: https://youtu.be/mrThKTx-A9M

Translation by Sr Bach Nghiem

The Venerable shares his personal experience along with ancient Buddhist practice methods of successfully handling life’s changes and impermanence. Key components of this talk are creating harmony in relationships by first caring for our own body, mind and feelings. In described marriage ceremony, “mixing earth and lighting a candle” becomes a valuable metaphor of individuals coming together, transcending such differences as cultural backgrounds and race with right effort for a successful union. We are taught to live with greater happiness by having: faith, precepts/trainings, generosity and insight. The art of happiness is a skill that takes effort; much more effort than the art of fear, despair and anger. We are encouraged to begin practicing when we’re young, to learn and mature the practice of true love, known as the 4 immeasurable minds; cultivating love for ourselves and others. By learning to love ourselves when young, we can avoid the complex of inferiority and take better care of our body, and other 4 skandhas. We learn that deep feelings of self-care are developed during childhood with parental acts of unconditional love. Our self-care and happiness are gifts for those around us.

From Wake Up 2017 Retreat

Sister Kinh Nghiem offers meditation of the body.

In this talk, Brother Phap Ho shares on the theme of this year's Wake Up Retreat, Loving Yourself, Healing the World. He talks about his personal experience with mindfulness, concentration and insight emerging in the light of the four elements of love. With our daily practice guided by the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we can create healing for ourselves, for those around us, and for the wider world. Enjoy.

Sister Kinh Nghiem offers insights on cultivating true love using the Buddha's discourse on love, and including her personal experience. She offers guidance on being at peace by utilizing loving speech and having relationships with qualities of being upright, honest, just, and humble. Weaved within the talk are practices of having reverence for the other, watering each other's positive seeds, and letting go of pride. Practical ways of applying true love are offered by using the 6 mantras.

Thay Phap Dang shares about the thresholds into our personal practice for joy, happiness and compassion.

The flowers are blooming in the hidden mountains of Deer Park. Much freshness and aliveness flows through the valley and this sharing. This is the second talk of the Spring Season offered by Sister Man Nghiem (Sr Brightness).

Brother Phap Ho continues to share about the practice of meditation through the Discourse on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness. This is the second half from the Dharma Talk on 2017-03-19 and focuses on the practice of the Objects of Mind in the Objects of Mind, in regard to the 5 Hindrances: sensual desire, anger/ill-will, dullness/drowsiness, agitation/restlessness, and doubt.

This is a translation of Most Venerable Phuoc Tinh's talk on the last day of Winter Retreat. This is an English translation of the talk.

Sister Mai Nghiem shares her practice of recognizing, embracing and transforming suffering. She also shares the teaching of the noble eight fold path, the four nutriments, including how different types of relationship are nutriments.

Sister's Mai Nghiem poem: ☀ Why i don t want to be call an ally, ☀                                                Ally From the moment  i first heard the word, i got allergic to it...an ally allergy. Why? Well, the first thing is that in my french brain, "les alliés", as we call them,  are the good Americans and British soldiers coming to save us from the evil Germans. Word of war, violence, and partisan conflicts. But deeper than that, my brother, if you call me an ally, i'll get offended. Why? 'cause i expect you, to have a higher expectation of me. I expect you to expect me to fully embrace who i am. I expect you to expect me to break open, I expect you to expect me to show my shit with no shame This is why i do not want to be an ally 'cause i don t wanna help I don t wanna be the "good intentionned white folk" feeling so bad about it all ...and yet so disconnected... For as long as i don't understand how ignorant i am There is no hope As long as i don't see myself as a slave merchant, a fanatic missionary or a murderer There is no hope As long as i refuse to understand how an entire society can see going on a "picnic" as being a pleasant family outing There is no hope As long as i shut my body and mind to the unspoken, unknown, unfelt yet raging pain of a human whipping an other human to death There is no hope  For as long as i keep greed, money, power, fame and sex as the only gods in my life There is no hope No hope for any of the  rainbow children on our beautiful Blue Mother I heard the Earth whisper one day, that "Fearlessness is not the absence of fear but the willingness to walk into it". This is what my white ancestors are asking me to do: "Walk right into the darkness, Right into the thick mist of whiteness And free us from our ignorance Heal our ancestral wounds.... Centuries of hatred, pride, discrimination, fear and violence. Who will hear our cries for help if not you? Who will quench our thirst for true amendment if not you? Who will deliver our souls from the chains of guilt if not you? For as long as true healing isn't taking place, Suffering will remain the world's pace". This is the voice of the ancestors begging for our courage and love, Echoing the Angel's song "It is the willingness to offer our best, claim responsibility for our worst and fold it all into the continuous moment to moment practice of simply being present to what is, that promises to deliver our future". That's why i don't wanna be an ally ...I wanna a be a healer

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the sixth class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice and some questions and responses at the end. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

In the third to last Dharma Talk for the Winter Retreat series, Thay Phap Dang shares about how we can return to the present moment, how to relax and encourages us to walk on the Earth. Thay also share about the realm of perception and how to practice to love and accept. How can we look at a person with clear awareness, without judgement, just as when we look at a flower? 

Find a calm place to listen to this talk, enjoy your breathing and the Dharma rain.

May this sharing be of benefit.

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the forth class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

In this talk Sr Hang Nghiem shows a clip from one of Thay's talk in 2004, invites us to be light and playful in our practice. Our sister offers a song and commentary. Translation by Sister Bach Nghiem.

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the forth class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice and questions at the end. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

In this talk Thay Phap Hai shares with us how to enter through the door of signlessness in order to practice with perceptions and preconceived notions. 

Thay Phap Dang offers a beautiful and insightful talk with Emptiness (Sunyata) as main theme.

As you listen to the Dharma Talk, allow it to wash over your like a sprinkling rain. Allow yourself to sit comfortably and follow your breathing, relaxing your body.

May this talk and your practice bring about great benefit.

Nurturing our Roots, Strengthening our Branches, this months focus is the present moment.

In this talk Sr Kinh Nghiem (Sr Reverence) shares about the monastic practice of sharing a room, changing room and hamlets. Our sister use a Russian doll to help us go deeper into ourselves, to embrace our sorrow and to nurture our joy.

As you listen to this talk you can enjoy the natural flow of your breathing in and out of your body. May this sharing and your practice be of benefit you in your daily life.

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the third class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice and questions at the end. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

Here is the image, drawn on the board, regarding our consciousness and sense doors:

This talk was offered by Most Venerable Phuoc Tinh during our New Years Day of Mindfulness. The Venerable's teaching invites us to experience life deeply and enjoy the wonders of spring every day. 

The poem in Vietnamese is:

Sister Kinh Nghiem helped translate this talk.

Brother Phap Don offers a peaceful and joyful setting for this talk. He shares his experience in arriving and enjoying each step as well as how to connect with nature for nourishment and healing.

This talk is based in continuous practice, present moment, peaceful and happy dwelling. May this sharing be of benefit.

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the second class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice and questions at the end. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

This talk was offered in Vietnamese by Sr Truc Nghiem (Sr Bamboo) during our weekend with Order of Interbeing members of Southern California. It was translated by Sr Bach Nghiem (Sr Clarity).

Our sister shares about how we can practice mindful breathing and stopping with the sound on the bell in order to nurture our calm and capacity to dwell in the present. She also shares how this ongoing practice can help us come in contact with and transform suffering deep in our consciousness. 

This Dharma Talk is the second for our Winter Retreat. The theme for the Sunday Dharma Talks this winter is: Nurturing our Roots, Strengthening our Branches - essentials of Plum Village Practice.

Thay Phap Dang recently moved to Deer Park Monastery from Plum Village in France.

Brother Phap Ho is offering 6 classes during this winter retreat 2016-2017, on the first three foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind. Below is a summary of the first class. The recording includes sharing and instructions, as well as practice and a question a the end. We hope you enjoy listening and practicing with us.

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 great aspiration to strengthen the Beloved Community. You can also listen to these talks on the Deer Park Dharmacast Soundcloud page https://soundcloud.com/deerparkdharmacast/

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 intention. *** The civil rights movement...it wasn't about us being able to sit at the counter in Newberry's to eat hamburgers...it wasn't just  that. It was about love, creating love and seeing people as people and creating love and to rid ourselves of a consciousness of hatred.  That's what that movement was about. Of course, we took some of the gifts that came out of that movement, the civil rights movement, but at the same time, it was still misunderstood that it was for one particular group of people when it was for the entire humanity. *** My embodiment was exactly where the awakening was going to happen. Where else was it going to happen? It wasn't going to drop from the sky. I've been given a gift about who I am, all that I have experienced so that I can awaken to something much larger than that, much further than that---and still have that...When I began to see this is my gateway...I felt I needed to share with people that we already have what we need to head toward enlightenment or to engage it, to engage oneness.  I can engage oneness because I am here, the oneness that is right here...When I began to see this embodiment was the gateway to boundlessness, I began to walk it differently--not where it was something that burdened me, but something that could be used... --Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective healing and awakening. To stay connected with Rev. Zenju, visit http://zenju.org/.

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 Dharma teachers, the way we survived the aggression and violence of a white dominant form of Dharma that was coming to us---is that we got underneath the thing. We got to the thing underneath the thing. We had to get down to who we really were. And simultaneously appreciate our teachers, our lineages, the texts as they were given but also have a fundamental trust in who we were in our basic humanity." "What does Dharma become when it's expressed through the experience of someone who lives in a Black body." --Rev. angel Kyodo williams Let us now stop, listen deeply and contemplate these teachings and sharings to cultivate our individual and collective liberation and great aspiration to strengthen the Beloved Community. To stay connected with Rev. angel, visit http://angelkyodowilliams.com.

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, social evolution."

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,

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. 

Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

Today we continue a talk given by Sister Hang Nghiem. She offers The Four Diligences as a way to practice taking care of the seeds in garden of our mind. So often we are concerned with the seeds and gardens of others; our sister reminds us to take time to recognize and tend to our own seeds. 

Dear friends,

In addition to the podcasts, which are usually offered as 30 minute sections of talks, we wanted to offer full length talks as requested by some Dharmacast listeners.

This is the second talk in a series of talks on the Eight Verses of Mind Training by Brother Phap Hai. This is the full talk for those who would prefer to listen to talks in their entirety.

The second talk on the Eight Verses is available here. To stream, click the link.  To download, right-click and select 'Save as.'

Enjoy!

Dear friends,

In addition to the podcasts, which are usually offered as 30 minute sections of talks, we wanted to offer full length talks as requested by some Dharmacast listeners.

Brother Phap Hai is offering a series of talks on the Eight Verses of Mind Training and we felt it was a good place to start offering the full talks for those who would prefer to listen to talks in their entirety.

The first talk on the Eight Verses is available here. To stream, click the link.  To download, right-click and select 'Save as.'

Enjoy!

Today we share a talk by Brother Phap Hai, shortly after his return to Deer Park from Europe. Our brother reminds us of the the meaning of the word: gratitude. To feel gratitude is to know what has been done for us. May we look back and look inside to remember. 

Dear friends,

We're taking a break this week! Our staff is going sailing/opening a new theater show/etc. What are you doing? Let's all take a break together!

Every year on Lunar New Year's eve, Thay recites a poem and gives a dharma talk with insights into Vietnamese poetry, culture, and tradition. This year, as our teacher receives treatment in the hospital, Venerable Thich Phuoc Tinh continues the tradition. He recites a poem of Thay's and gives us a rare glimpse into the life of our teacher. 

Dear friends,

Today we continue to explore the Five Mindfulness Trainings with the second half of sharings by lay friends at Deer Park during the Holiday Retreat. Our friends share their experience with the two trainings on Loving Speech and Deep Listening, and Nourishment and Healing. May these sharings fill your heart and nourish your practice.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

The Dharmacast is taking a day off!  Enjoy this archived talk from Fall 2014, where Sister Kinh Nghiem connects the Four Immeasurable Minds and the Four Mantras. http://deerpark.libsyn.com/the-four-immeasurable-minds

Dear friends,

Happy Friday to you! Another week for exploring our podcast archives.http://deerpark.libsyn.com/healing-in-our-relationshipsWe can learn so much from our lay teachers and fellow practitioners. In this Q&A session from a couples retreat last year, three lay teachers help us understand how to heal ourselves and our relationships. I've been going through some transitions (moving and new job) but our team will have a new podcast out to you next Friday. Stay tuned!

This week, we invite you to enjoy our archives of talks. One such lovely talk is one given by Thay last year at Deer Park. Our teacher shares on The Better Way to Live Alone. Enjoy!  http://deerpark.libsyn.com/arriving-and-being-alive

Dear friends,

Dear friends,

Dear friends,

We are happy to offer the full talks from the People of Color Retreat at Deer Park in 2014.  The orientation, dharma talk, and question and response session are available for download at the links below. 

POC Retreat 2014 Orientation

POC Retreat 2014 Dharma Talk

POC Retreat 2014 Question and Response

Enjoy.

Dear friends,

Dear friends,

 Dear friends,

The Dharmacast is taking a breather this week -- our coordinator, Cathy, is celebrating her continuation day!

Enjoy a talk from the archives; Br Phap Hai's Dharma in the Kitchen talk is one of Cathy's favorites!

Dear Friends,

When did you last listen to the children in your life?  Today we have a chance to listen to the children at Deer Park's New Years Retreat ask questions to the monastics.  Their questions about meditation practice, family life and school show us how perceptive and sensitive they are to the messages in the world around them.  We invite you to approach this podcast with an open heart, listening to hear the voices of the child in you and the children in your life.  May we embrace all our children to heal the generations before us and the generations to come.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply

Dear Friends,

Today we're happy to share a talk from Brother Phap Nha, translated by Sister Quynh Nghiem.  Our brother has a clear and direct style of teaching that we hope you enjoy. 

In this talk, he speaks to the three difficulties we may encounter while sitting: sleepiness, restlessness, and dreaminess.  He also shares with us how best to read the sutras.  He recommends that we start with two basic sutras and, most importantly, that we apply the teachings to our practice and our lives.  

May your practice be ever-changing and ever-growing.  No mud, no lotus.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply

Dear friends, 

This week, we continue with talks given by Thich Nhat Hanh at Deer Park Monastery in October.  In this talk, Thay delves deeply into conciousness, both individual and collective.  As individuals, we can selectively water our positive seeds and take good care of our negative seeds. Thay invites us to also be selective in our relationships and the community that we live in, as they contribute to the collective conciousness that we consume every day. With this care, we can create a foundation where transformation of our suffering is possible.

Please take a moment this week to visit deerparknunnery.org and donate to the building of a place where the Deer Park sisters can live. The volunteers at the Deer Park Dharmacast thank you.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, Facebook, iTunes and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, we return to talks by Thich Nhat Hanh, given this October at the Deer Park retreat.   Thay shares on many interconnected topics:  the workings of our conciousness, the transformative power of volition, the importance of sangha, and how our suffering and happiness are truly inseparable. May we all recognize our mud, and the lotuses that grow from our mud. 

We so appreciate you, our dear listeners. Thank you for your love and support over the course of this year. During the month of December, we invite you to donate to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation. They are urgently needing support to break ground to build a safe, warm nunnery for our sisters at Deer Park Monastery. For more information and to donate, visit deerparknunnery.org. 

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

Dear friends,

This week, we take a break from Thich Nhat Hanh's talks to bring you another great teacher, the Venerable of Deer Park Monastery, Thich Phuoc Tinh.  Here in California, it's fall and the Venerable begins by sharing a folk song in Vietnamese and French about autumn leaves falling.  He shares that we can choose the way that we are in touch with the things inside of us and around us.  The emotions and mental formations that arise in our heads are like the seasons of the year, rising and falling.   As practitioners, we can become observers, whether of the changing leaves of fall or changing feelings in our hearts, rather than being defined or overwhelmed by them.  We are not these emotions, we are the energy of mindfulness that peacefully watches them float by on the stream of our lives.

We're grateful to have Sister Mat Nghiem translate the Venerable's talk into English for us.  Our monastic brothers and sisters do so much at Deer Park Monastery to create a peaceful refuge for us where we can share from our heart and listen deeply to their teachings.  Right now, the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation is urgently raising funds to build new living quarters for the nuns.  Currently, the sisters' living quarters are not winterized and unsafe to the point that some sisters are living outside in tents.  The foundation has raised only $400,000 of the $1.7 million needed to build environmentally-sensitive straw-bale buildings for the nuns and a new hut for Thay. Over 40% of the estimated cost is for basic infrastructure needed even before building the nunnery.  

If you are able to donate this holiday season, please go to deerparknunnery.org.  Even the smallest amount will help them to have enough funds to break ground this winter.  The Dharmacast team is made completely of volunteers and in place of asking for donations for the podcast, this holiday season please consider donating so that the Deer Park sisters have a warm and safe place to lay their heads.  For more information and to help, go to deerparknunnery.org.

The Dharmacast team wishes you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and holiday season.  We are always here for you at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, we continue to share Thay's teachings from the recent Deer Park retreat. He speaks to a number of important questions that apply to our daily lives: How do we come back to ourselves?  How does that effect others around us? And how do we reconcile difficult relationships through compassion and deep listening?  With mindfulness, what was previously impossible can become possible. 

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes, and Twitter. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply. 

Dear friends,

This week, we continue to share the talks given by Thich Nhat Hanh at Deer Park Monastery in October.  Thay reviews the second and third of the Four Nutriments taught by the Buddha, Sense Impressions and Volition.  Volition has always surprised me on the list of nutriments. How is volition something we consume? Thay explains it very well.  

He shares that we often use mindless consumption and production as a way of running away from ourselves.  When will we start to come back to ourselves?  The time is now.  It is always: now.

A big thanks this week to our newest audio editor, David Nelson!  Enjoy his skillful work on this podcast!

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Monastery at dpcast.net, on Facebook, iTunes and Twitter.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, we continue with Thay's dharma talk on the Four Nutriments taught by the Buddha.  Our teacher shares about the third nutriment: volition, or our deepest desire for what we want to accomplish in our lives.  It is a kind of nutriment that gives us energy to take action in our lives.  He applies this teaching to our modern world of business and corporations.  Whether we are a corporate leader or a busy employee, we need to examine the volition that directs our lives and ensure that it creates true happiness for ourselves, our families and our society.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, we continue to share from the dharma talks given by Thich Nhat Hanh at Deer Park Monastery.  In this segment, our teacher shares the first eight exercises of mindful breathing taught by the Buddha.  These exercises are key to helping us us to learn the art of suffering, enabling us to suffer less and to transform our suffering.  Then, Thay shares the first two of the Four Nutriments taught by the Buddha: edible food and sense impression.  He encourages us to consume edible foods in a way that preserves our compassion and to consume media, conversations and other sense impressions carefully to protect ourselves and our families.

We’ve noticed the Dharmacast’s listenership has jumped quite a bit in recent weeks. If you’re a new listener, welcome. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. They can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week, we continue to share Thay's first dharma talk at the recent Deer Park Monastery retreat.  Our teacher shares with us his practice, particularly how he walks and breathes, to connect each one of his steps to the here and now. He invites us to practice with him to touch the Pure Land and Kingdom of God with awareness of the miracles of life -- the beautiful flower, the connection of our bodies to Mother Earth, and the presence of our ancestors in and around us.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

For the past week, the Ocean of Peace meditation hall at Deer Park Monastery was filled to the brim with over one thousand members of the sangha: monks, nuns, lay practitioners and our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, who we affectionately call Thay. Over the next several weeks, we will offer his talks divided into our usual thirty minute segments.  If you heard about the Dharmacast at the retreat and are just tuning in: welcome. We hope you enjoy this chance to hear the Dharma from Thay a second time.

In this first segment, Thay looks deeply into the Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone.  He shows us that to live alone is to be free of the past and the future and to arrive in the present moment.  He continues on to share that by practicing mindful breathing and walking meditation, we can awaken to the miracle and joy of being alive.

Remember that you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

For reference, the essence of the Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone is below.  The complete text can be found here.

Do not pursue the past.Do not lose yourself in the future.The past no longer is.The future has not yet come.

Looking deeply at life as it isin the very here and now,the practitioner dwellsin stability and freedom.

Dear friends,

This week, the Dharmacast team is on retreat with Thay at Deer Park Monastery.  We're looking forward to bringing the energy of peace and mindfulness back with us next week.

While we're gone, we wanted to offer you the second half of the dharma talk given by Sister Kingh Nghiem at this year's Wake Up retreat.  With Thay touring this year, many of us may have gone on a retreat or heard him speak at a public talk.  We're often deeply moved by experiences at mindfulness practice centers, but how do we take that energy home with us to sustain our practice?  Sister Kinh Nghiem offers us loving advice and many practical ideas for continuing and deepening our practice at home.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

This week we have the first half of a dharma talk given by Sister Kinh Nghiem at this year's Wake Up Retreat.  She tells a light-hearted story about traveling with Thay and then shares the four mantras we can use in order to be truly present.  She encourages us to use these mantras with the people in our lives, the animals and plants around us and with the earth.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.  Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear friends,

Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast.  This week we have two wonderful surprises for you.  

First, we're excited to present to you a fresh new logo. Our team is feeling a lot of gratitude to our wonderful Dharmacast sister, Joan Wong, all the way in Singapore, for her graphic design.  It represents all our Dharmacast listeners, hearing the Dharma and opening peacefully as a lotus.  If you look carefully, you'll see the beautiful shape of the meditation hall at Deer Park monastery, which Thay named the Ocean of Peace.  Since almost all our talks are recorded in this hall, we truly feel that the Deer Park Dharmacast is Dharma flowing from the Ocean of Peace.

Secondly, this week's podcast is a special feature from Brother Phap Ho's blog, Earth Protection Here and Now.  This week, he shares about edible foods, the first of the four nutriments.  He shines the light of awareness on his experience with food and shares how it affects his practice, his community, and our Earth.  Where are you in your journey and relationship to edible foods? 

For more insights, visit his blog at earthprotectionhereandnow.wordpress.com. 

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast at dpcast.net, on Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes. Now, enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.  

Dear Friends,

The end of summer is officially here and seasons are beginning to change.  Let us bring our attention to the Earth, as Sister Mat Nghiem begins her sharing with the story of The Lorax.  She goes on to look deeply into our interconnectedness with Mother Earth, both as children and as adults.  When was the last time you were in touch with nature as your five year-old child? 

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

This week we're happy to share the closing talk of the recent Deer Park retreat for couples.  Three dharma teachers, Jerry Braza from Oregon, Tony Sylvester from Pennsylvania and Peggy Rowe from California, led couples in a weekend of developing mindfulness in their relationships.  They share their reflections on their experience at the retreat and reflect on the nurturing effect that the practice has had on their own relationships.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on Twitter, Facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today's sharing is from a Question and Response session earlier this summer at Deer Park Monastery.  Sister Hang Nghiem responds to a short, yet profound, question, "What is important?"  She shows us that with mindfulness, we can see that this present moment is important, especially if a difficult emotion is arising.  Then, Sister Hang Nghiem and Brother Phap De share on the roots of frustration and resentment and how we can begin to better understand ourselves and others.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today we have a dharma talk given by Sister Quynh Nghiem.  Before the dharma talk, Brother Man Tue leads us in some mindful songs and a short guided meditation.  Then, our sister shares with us the wonderful basics of the connection between our mind, mindful breathing.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today we return to sharing question and response sessions from recent retreats at Deer Park Monastery.  Today we combine related questions from two different sessions to help us understand, "How do we forgive others and how do we forgive ourselves?"  Sister Hang Nghiem shares her experience of forgiveness and invites us to continue to practice with her every day.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Recently, a listener emailed us to ask the question, "As an engaged Buddhist, how can I stop the destruction of Mother Earth and leave my children a clean planet?" In the very same week, Brother Phap Ho offered for us to feature the first recording of his blog, Earth Protection Here and Now.  We hope that you find today's podcast a wonderful response to our listener's question.  Sometimes we want to know what to do, but Brother Phap Ho shares that the very first step to environmental conservation is to look deeply and reframe our perspective on this planet and our relationship to it.  

For more insights, visit his blog at earthprotectionhereandnow.wordpress.com.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on Twitter, Facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today, we continue to offer excerpts of recent Question and Response sessions from this year's retreats to help us bring the practice into our daily lives.  This week, we present questions and responses on practicing mindfulness at home with our families.  How do we best guide our children?  And how can we practice when our family is not practicing?  Brother Phap Ho and Brother Phap Tuyen share from their experiences before and after becoming monks and give real examples of how to approach specific situations.

As always, you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on Twitter, Facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Recently on the Dharmacast, we've heard our monastic brothers encourage us to bring the practice into our daily lives.  But the question arises: How do we *actually* do that?  So for the next few weeks, we'll offer segments from recent Question and Response sessions at Deer Park to answer that question.

This week, our focus is work.  How do we apply the practice at work?  Brother Phap Ho and Sister Karen, a lay dharma teacher, offer practical examples of mindful work and share how to achieve a healthy work and home life balance.

On the topic of work, The Deer Park Dharmacast team has a great time putting together the podcasts for you each week.  Thank you for listening.  If you love our podcasts and want to get involved, please join our small team of volunteers!  Whether it's selecting content, editing audio, or managing our social media, we need more help to keep the Dharmacast going.  All of our work is virtual, over the internet, so wherever you are in the world, and whatever your skills are, you can help!  Send us an email at dpcastlove(at)gmail.com; we'd love to hear from you.

As always, you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on Twitter, Facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

Today we share the first half of a talk given a few weeks ago by Brother Phap Hai at Deer Park Monastery.  Having recently returned from Korea and Hong Kong, he shares the importance of putting the Dharma into practice. What is preventing our life from becoming our practice?  Brother Phap Hai likens three pots of kim chi to the three qualities that hinder our ability to truly practice.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

In this week's segment, we continue with Brother Phap Ho's dharma talk from the 2012 Mindfulness Retreat.  He shares why mindfulness by itself is not enough; we need to discover a spiritual path and a community to walk with to transform our suffering.  He also delves into how to understand our mind consciousness and nurture our well-being.

After hearing the Dharma, we invite you to share your experience with other listeners online at dpcast.net or on our Facebook page.  Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes. 

Dear Friends,

This week we offer the first half of a dharma talk given by Brother Phap Ho at the 2012 Mindfulness Retreat.  He explores the questions, "What is suffering?" and "How do we transform ill-being and nourish well-being?" from his own perspective, but also from the perspective of three great teachers and role models for him, the Buddha, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thich Nhat Hanh.  

Remember you can find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at dpcast.net, on twitter, facebook, and iTunes.

We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences of hearing the dharma with other listeners this week online at dpcast.net or on our facebook page.  

Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

This week we have a continuation from last week's podcast, as we listen to the second half of Brother Phap Hai's talk from Deer Park's 2012 Mindfulness Retreat.

Brother Phap Hai shares lessons from Master Dogen's 13th century Zen text, "Instructions for the Cook".  Furthermore, he shares that to go with the three roots of suffering, three different minds can be cultivated: joyful mind, magnanimous mind, and parental mind.

Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

This week's dharma talk was given by Brother Phap Hai at the 2012 Mindfulness Retreat at Deer Park Monastery.  

Known for his poetic and engaging dharma talks, he shares the Buddha's teachings about the three roots of our suffering; greed, ill-will, and delusion; and the eight winds or worldly dharmas; gain, loss, status, disgrace, praise, blame, pleasure and pain.  

Brother Phap Hai challenges us to look critically at our lives and ask two questions: what is practice? and are we sure?

You will notice the sound of the wind and a lovely baby during the talk.  Enjoy the imperfectness of the recording.  =)

Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,   

This week's dharma talk was given by Brother Phap Don at the recent People of Color retreat at Deer Park Monastery on the concept: "I have arrived, I am home."  

How can we arrive and find our true home?  Brother Phap Don first offers us the repetition and mindfulness of the daily mundane activities and then describes the Buddha's 12 mindfulness exercises. 

Join the DP Dharmacast team in welcoming (back) Soren Kisiel, who is kindly recording the introductions for the weekly podcasts.

Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Dear Friends,

During the New Year's retreat, Brother Phap De gave a wonderful dharma talk on gratitude.  Although it's the middle of the year, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the message.  Brother Phap De delves deeply into gratitude to our parents.  With Mother's Day having just passed and Father's Day coming up, I thought we might have our parents on our minds.

Enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

"When we're addicted to our own thinking, it is the cause of almost all of our suffering. And that experience kills the possibility of gratitude."

"A quote from the Buddha: I tell you, there are two people that are not easy to repay. Which two?  Your mother and father." 

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Deer Park Dharmacast -- the podcast that puts the Dharma in your pocket.

Deer Park recently hosted a People of Color retreat.  Part of the retreat was a question and answer session where retreatants were invited to ask questions from the heart to a panel of laywomen, laymen, monks and nuns.  Today, we offer you an excerpt of the question and answer session.

Perhaps you have asked yourself these questions at one point in time?

-- How can we share the importance and need for dedicated People of Color or Wake Up (young adult) retreats?

-- How do we practice when the people around us are not practicing?

-- What can we do to stop ourselves from speaking out of anger?

We hope you enjoy this moment to stop and look deeply.

Remember, you can always find the Deer Park Dharmacast online at DPcast.net, on iTunes, Twitter, or Facebook

Dear Friends,

Thank you for listening to the Deer Park Dharmacast.  We hope it has brought you much peace and understanding whether you have been listening for years or for a few days.

It is with great joy that I share that I am joining the DPcast team as the new coordinator for the podcast.  I have much to learn, so please do provide feedback on the podcasts during this transition time either through the individual podcast comment feature on dpcast.net or by email at: [email protected].

May you be happy and well,

Cathy

Dear Friends,

When our sangha brother Washuntara visits Deer Park, we often sing this beautiful song together.  Here is a lovely video of Can't Stop Love.  Please enjoy this beautiful musical offering.

If you want to hear more of Washuntara, please visit http://www.washuntara.com.

Thay Phai Hai explains the meaning behind the Chinese characters for mindfulness.

Preview: "A new understanding can emerge..."

Michael provides the listeners with a visual for their reference.  

Kiss the ground with your feet as Thay Phap Hai takes us on a journey to meet a gentleman of the past.

Preview: "Allow your path to be an expression of who you are."

Make sure to download the bonus content "Discourse on Love," contact the Deer Park bookstore if you are interested in the full album in addition to similar works.  

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 by Sr. Huong Nghiem of Deer Park Monastery.   Please enjoy these insightful and healing sharings.  

Bowing in gratitude to wonderful teachings.

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 [email protected]. 

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 other.  Our practice is not a conceptual exercise, it is one to be lived in real life, moment by moment, each and every day. 

Our teachers ask, does anything really end?  With Right View we see there is no beginning and no end.  Our course has ended, but it has also just begun as the 3,000 practitioners in 40 countries who are following the course walk mindfully into the world.  We bow in gratittude to all of you and to our wonderful teachers who show us the way in this life. 

Find your path. Enjoy your step. Enjoy your breath. Treasure your life. 

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 original desire, we can liberate ourselves in this life.  Together, we can reflect on how transformation happens within us, and how we can be as alive and transformative as  the beautiful Deer Park compost pile! 

Please, sit with stability, breathe deeply, and enjoy this talk.  It can bring a lot of healing to ourselves, our families, and our world.

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