Scattered Memories

Mind Seal

“Stepping on the land of reality,

Beautiful flowers bloom everywhere.

Only deep mindfulness shines through

And the three realms have been surpassed.

In this land,

Where the moon shines brilliantly

On the glorious Dharma Body Ocean,

The world of Heaven disappears

And the world of Hell dusts off.

Why let birth and death bind us?

We can freely and joyfully travel,

Praising the melody of peace

And playing the music of non-birth

On a holeless flute,

Heading home on the buffalo’s back,

The golden moon arising at the gate top.”

1997

Thich Giac Thanh

This collection of poems by Thay Giac Thanh the much loved senior disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh, explore his journey from young boy in Vietnam to Buddhist monk, to immigrant,  and monastic abbot of Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California. While the early poems are full of romantic and poetic imagery, the subsequent ones convey a profound wisdom and spaciousness of heart. As both disciple and Zen master, he was committed to cultivating great compassion and liberation through inner discovery. Light in spirit, loving and wise, sometimes strict, often humorous — his poetry perfectly capture Thay Giac Thanh’s clarity, wisdom, and heart. With beautiful original ink drawings by Orlin Mantchev.

Thay Giac Thanh was born in 1947 in Vietnam and passed away October 2001 at Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA. Ordained as a monk at age 20, he received the Dharma name Giac Thanh (Awakening Sound). In 1971 he went to Van Hanh University to further his studies in Buddhism. He left Vietnam as a boat person in 1981 and came to the US in 1982. In 1999 he became the first abbot of Deer Park Monastery, and continued writing under his pen name Da Hac.

ISBN:978-1-937006-31-0, Paperback, 144 pages.

A Moment for the Mind

“Poonam’s book is about how life centered present moment awareness brings us close to the sacred mystery of our existence.

I hope you read it and get in touch with your true self.”

–Deepak Chopra

“These are poems of Mindfulness.
They are clear as crystals.
They show us what is happening now.
That is already insight…
…This is good practice.”

–Thich Nhat Hanh

“Sometimes my mind is driven into stillness, when a quiet moment tiptoes and captures my attention, with a giant thought that just pulls the brake, stumping me. And in the stillness of that moment there is no going further, as the mind unravels mysteries of the manifesting moment.”
–From the Introduction

Poonam Srivastava lives in Delhi, India. Srivastava writes on personal and community wellness for English language Indian newspapers. This is her first book.

Robert Aitken Roshi

Aitken Rōshi was co-founder of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and an active leader in a number of peace, social justice, and ecological movements. Born in 1917, he was introduced to Zen study in 1944 while a civilian internee in Japan. His writing reflects his concern that Buddhists be engaged in social applications of their experience. As a retired master, he worked with a few long-time students, and continued to study and write until two days before his death. Robert Aitken died August 5th, 2010, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Dragon Who Never Sleeps is a collection of gathas, vows for daily living in verse form that serve as gentle reminders to live in the present, accepting ourselves and offering joy to others.

Dragon Who Never Sleeps

What? 108 Zen Poems

Ko Un

ISBN: 978-1-888375-65-7

Ko Un was born in 1933, experienced to the full the horrors of the Korean War (1950-3), and became a Buddhist monk. After ten years of Zen practice, he came back into the world, joined the struggle for democracy, and is now Korea’s most renowned poet and writer with over 130 books published so far.

Ko Un is affectionately called “the great mountain peak” by his friends and has seen an eventful life as a monk, poet, novelist, political dissident, husband, and father. In these poems, Ko Un asks us to participate in the festivities of our lives.