Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and peacemaker, and one of the Living Spiritual Teachers profiled on Spirituality & Practice. This beautifully designed paperback has been released to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Plum Village, his meditation center in France. In the opening piece, Thich Nhat Hanh reflects on this Buddhist community where retreats are held on mindfulness and other practices, where attention is paid to the suffering of others, where East meets West, where a fourfold sangha is developed, where love and trust between teacher and disciple is emphasized, and where everyone transforms and every moment is harvested.
The teachings, stories, poems and images in this paperback are delivered into four sections:
• Taking Root includes stories of Plum Village in its early days and selections on the student-teacher relationship.
• Blossoming of Community includes the personal story of Sister Chan Khong, Thich Nhat Hanh's student and closest assistant for over more than 30 years, and sharings of family practice and community life.
• Stories of Transformation features reflections by Sister Annabel Laity on the path of practice and the challenges of dealing with self-criticism, grief, and the wounds of war.
• Seeds of the Future includes inspiration from Sangha members in Maple Forest Monastery and Green Mountain Dharma Center in Vermont and Deer Park Monastery in California.
