Deer Park Monastery 2

Tanya pats monastic dog at Deer Park Monastery. (Tomasito photo, 2009)

~Click on photo to enlarge~

This smiling old dog is everybody's friend at Deer Park Monastery--just as he should be.

The lovely monastery is lying gently on the landscape--hand made paths and gardens abound--and everywhere plants and birds thrive.

It is hard to believe that just a few minutes drive back down the narrow but paved access road the confusion of present-day California runs amok.

Tomasito, 2009


...

Deer Park Monastery

Man and Monk at Deer Park Monastery. (Tomasito photo 2009)

Deer Park Monastery

Today we drove over to Deer Park Monastery--which is located in a mountain valley just outside of Escondido, California.

A branch of Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village in France, Deer Park Monastery is quiet, peaceful and beautiful--just as you would wish it to be.

Mindfulness is the watchword of the order--even the speed bump which slows visitor's cars at the entrance is labeled "Mindful Speed Bump".

It is a very good place to be.

Tomasito, 2009


...

Rain Puddles

Be as Calm as a Rock

A rock in a rain puddle--Michelangelo's David.

Tomasito photo, 2009



...

Agave Plant

Agave plant, Asistencia Santa Ysabel, CA. Tanya photo 2009

My second cousin, Chad, dropped by on his way to work on an island farm in Tennesee last evening. He recently spent some time at Plum Village, the meditation center and farm in France where Vietnamese Buddist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh lives and works.

He was carrying a lap-top with his photos of Plum Village--a nice selection of pictures which made the farm and the international group working there live for us.

It is good to see that a new generation of dedicated people are arriving--and especially good to see them from my own family!

I own one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books in paperback and I like to re-read it now and then. It is simple, direct and helpful. "Being Peace" is the title of the book. It is published by Parallax Press in Berkeley, CA.

Smile, Hanh says--it helps us all.

Tomasito, 2009


...

Bea's Hands

Bea's Hands, Tomasito photo 2009

Doing Good Work.

Being creative.

Learning something new--or renewing old skills.

All these things are always important.

...

g