Last week I spent time at Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA, with 24 lay dharma teachers and some monastics. One morning I sat outside of the dining room, and looked down to the main meditation hall. (If you have been to Deer Park, you know which spot I’m talking about.)

I sat, breathing and enjoying the tranquility of the monastery. After a few minutes, I thought of my teacher (Thay), the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. I thought to myself: Thay was here 2.5 years ago. Now Thay is older & sick and he probably cannot come here anymore. I consciously breathed in and out with awareness, feeling my teacher’s presence. Then, I heard my teacher’s words: ‘I am here.’ Suddenly the wind picked up and blew into the bodhi tree that is on the left side of the meditation hall from where I was sitting. The leaves of the bodhi tree rattled together and made the most beautiful musical sound, like bdrrrrr bdrrrrrr bdrrrrrr …..for about 1 to 2 minutes at a time, multiple times. I have seen and heard other trees making beautiful sounds, like the leaves of the aspen trees in Grand Canyon. But this bodhi tree made a wonderful louder rattling sound that gave me much more joy in this moment; a joy in my body, mind and spirit that I had never witnessed before.
My teacher will not be with us forever, and this saddens me.  But in this moment, I was able to connect to his teachings and his eternal spirit.

I breathed & said to myself: ‘Dear Thay, I hear you. I see you. I am your continuation. We, your students, are here; we are your continuation, just as you are the continuation of those before you; and those we teach and nurture will continue after us.’

I sat there, continued breathing with awareness and felt my teacher’s presence with joy and love. Then the morning breakfast bell was sounded. I joined my friends for breakfast.
‘Peace in oneself, Peace in the world’ -TNH.

May we all be peaceful.

May we all be happy.

May we all be free to give & receive love.