Dear Friends,
As many of you know, MorningSun’s teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh (known to us as Thay), passed away on January 22 2022, while residing at the Tu Hieu Temple in Vietnam.
For many of us here at MorningSun this is a powerful moment of connection and gratitude to a teacher who has been a guide and inspiration for decades. For Michael and Fern, it is a deeply personal and reflective time, having lived very closely with Thay for nine years prior to establishing MorningSun. Several other MorningSun residents were also monastics, or lived as lay practitioners in various Plum Village communities for months and years. Although we have not had direct contact with him for some time, Thay has been breathing and walking and working with us in spirit through each day. His teachings in mindfulness and compassionate living are foundational to our programs and the way we live our lives.
You can visit the Plum Village website to find details about Thay’s story. Ceremonies led by monastics have been broadcast from Vietnam and Plum Village all week.
Here in MorningSun we have kept the Forest Hall warm through these very cold winter days as a kind of vigil, and also as a gathering place for community members to sit quietly and connect with Thay day or night.
Last Sunday January 23rd, we transformed our Day of Mindfulness into a day of remembrance and a Ceremony for the Deceased.
This coming Sunday, January 30th, we will do the same. We will also offer an online version of the ceremony later in the afternoon for those who cannot participate in-person. Details and registration for these events can be found on our Event Calendar.
Dear Friends, Thay encouraged us countless times to reach deep into the experience of each moment and Touch Life Deeply – using our eyes of Interbeing and Impermanence to see how life is ever transforming and continuing; how each one of us is like a River of Life, the continuation of all our ancestors, manifesting those who have gone before in new ways through our own lives. He does not want us to be caught in the dissolution of the form of his body, but instead to open our minds and hearts and bodies to become his True Continuation. Each mindful breath, peaceful step, kind smile and compassionate act allows us to be with Thay right here and now, and allows Thays understanding and love to continue to manifest in the world.
We have so much gratitude to our dearest Teacher, Spiritual Father, Brother and Friend!
Thank you Thay.