View full issue in PDF - The Mindfulness Bell

From the Editors
f1we are peaceful, ifwe are happy, we can blossom like a
flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society will
benefit from our peace ....-from Being Peace
In this Mindfulness Bell, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us
how to cultivate love, compassion, joy, and equanimity in
ourselves and others. Maxine Hong Kingston-calling joy
an advanced state of human evolution-encourages us to
develop an art and literature of joy. Other Sangha members
share their insights into the Vietnamese roots of Thich Nhat
Hanh's teachings, the second international Order of
Interbeing conference, and family practice.
This issue marks the first time The Mindfulness Bell
includes advertising. We hope you appreciate the chance to
learn about the work and products of others in our extended
community, and we also hope this will help us in the
direction of breaking even. As always, we look forward to
hearing from you about your successes and difficulties of
practicing mindfulness in daily life.
Arnie Kotler, Therese Fitzgerald, and Maria Duerr
tIfze Mintffulness f}Jef{
Journal of the Order of Interbeing
Contents
Issue 18
January-April 1997
The Four Immeasurable Minds ............................... 1
Daily Practice ........................................................... 6
Sangha News ......................................................... 25
Retreat Schedules .................................................. 37
Announcements and Letters ................................. 44
Editors: Arnie Kotler, Therese Fitzgerald, Maria Duerr
Proofreader: Mushim Ikeda-Nash
Staff: Michelle Bernard, Trena Cleland, Barbara Machtinger, Travis
Masch, Ellen Peskin, Katy Zandvakili
Photos: Robert La Mar pp. 1,5,44; Beverly Alexander pp. 6, 29, 33;
courtesy of Plum Village p. 8,42; Ngoc Yen Nguyen p. 12; Barbara
DiPietro pp. 14, 19, 25; courtesy of Irene Keryk p. 16; Meridel
Rubenstein p. 24; John Gilardi p. 30; Tan Trinh p. 36
Drawings: Franc;:oise Pottier pp. 9, 23; Anneke Brinkerink p. 10,
13; Nanda Currant p. 17
Order of Interbeing Administrative Council:
Co-Directors: Thich Nguyen Hai, Jack Lawlor, Therese Fitzgerald,
Franc;:oise Pottier
Co-Secretaries: Thich Phap An, Karl Riedl, Fred Eppsteiner
Co-Treasurers: Sister Huong Nghiem, Lyn Fine, Andrew Weiss
Published by the Community of Mindful Living
P.O. Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707
Tel: (510)525-3751 Fax: (510)525-7129 Email: parapress@aol.com
3
Retreat Center Update
I
n September, a breakthrough occurred in our search
for a property to begin a rural retreat center and community.
Real estate developer Pritam Singh, who developed the
award-winning and environmentally sound Truman Annex
community in Key West, Florida, as well as many other
properties, has offered to help in our efforts. After practicing
in another spiritual tradition for more than twenty years,
Pritam came upon Peace Is Every Step and Thich Nhat
Hanh's other books and felt a deep conviction to practice
and to help share the practice of mindful living widely. To
our great joy, Pritam has offered his time and the resources
of The Singh Companies as a gift to work with us establishing
and developing this center.
On December I, at Alrlie Conference Center in
Warrenton, Virginia, Sangha members from Washington
D.C., Charlottesville, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and
even Paris, joined Pritam, architect Guy Grassie, and
Pritam's assistant, Ken Braverman, to discuss the functions
such a center might serve, the forms it might take, and the
process for accomplishing this. We began with sitting
meditation. Anh Huong Nguyen then read a statement by
Thfty about starting a retreat center. Therese Fitzgerald,
Pritam, and I shared introductory thoughts, and then we met
for the rest of the morning in small groups to set our visions
down on easel paper and in discussion. We concluded the
morning with walking meditation (indoors-it was a cold
December rain outside). After a beautiful lunch, begun in
silence, followed by mindful conversation, we spent the
entire afternoon as a large group continuing the discussion
on where we go from here. We finished with a short period
of sitting. All of us had the sense that our dream was getting
closer to reality, in terms of property and in terms of
community building.
A similar meeting was held in Mill Valley, California,
on December 15. In addition to talking about a national
retreat center in Virginia, we also talked about the possibility
of finding a small house and beginning a practice
"corner" in the Bay Area. This seems to be a topic all over
the world. Sangha members in Germany, Australia, New
Zealand, Montana, and several other places have recently
shared with us their thoughts about starting a small center,
or as Thfty has said, "Zen corner."
A full report on our plans and our progress to date will
be available soon. If you would like a copy, please send a
9x12 self-addressed, stamped envelope. Then do let us hear
your comments. We very much look forward to proceeding
together with you.
Arnie Kotler, for the Community of Mindful Living