Paul Thomas Richards 
Big Nose Karma
Tools for Maintaining a Rural Zen Practice
By Paul Richards
Boulder Valley, Montana
Introduction:
Montana and the Northern Rockies Ecosystem are lands of many spaces. That’s good!
My home is 167 miles away from my “Sangha,” or organized spiritual community. How to maintain a rural Zen practice, in the absence of frequent in-person visits to a Sangha gathering?
It’s easy! I’ve got a dog, Karma (see picture), who takes me for walks. A mile down the road is a river I can listen to. I watch the clouds and the sunsets. I love wildlife viewing. And, gradually, I am learning how to occasionally do nothing.
There is much support available to rural people like me. It really helps to have an Internet connection, although it is not essential. Here are some of my favorite sources, with contact information for those with or without ready access to the Internet and the World-Wide Web.
Is Zen Complicated?
No.
In both East and West, intellectuals try their utmost to make Zen unnecessarily complicated, inaccessible, and even masochistic.
In stark contrast, this article highlights media that provide easy to understand, loving, and fun approaches to Zen and Buddhism .
This article also focuses on Vietnamese Zen master Thích Nhất Hanh , also called “Thây” (pronounced “Tie”) – an affectionate Vietnamese term meaning “teacher.”
By teaching directly from the heart, Thích Nhất Hanh avoids the cerebral traps common to many Buddhist experts, scholars, interpreters, teachers, and practitioners. Thây’s writings and spoken words are refreshingly simple, forthright, and honest.
Even though it is his third language after Vietnamese and French, (Thây is also fluent in Chinese, Sanskrit, Pāli, and Japanese), Thích Nhất Hạnh has mastered writing and speaking in English. His words, written and spoken, are wonderfully comprehensible for readers, viewers, and listeners of all ages, educations, cultures, and persuasions.
Tricycle:
Every day, I look forward to the “Daily Dharma,” concise and cogent quotes about Zen and Buddhism from the fine folks at Tricycle Magazine. Here is one of my favorites:
Watermelons and Zen Students
grow pretty much the same way.
Long periods of sitting
till they ripen and grow
all juicy inside, but
when you knock them on the head—
to see if they’re ready—
sounds like nothing’s going on.
Essential Zen (Harper Collins)
You can sign up for your free “Daily Dharma” at: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001uxu9h741ik0LIOgRSyiOAQ%3D%3D . Each “Daily Dharma” contains a hyperlink, if you want to learn more about the author or book quoted.
Tricycle Magazine bills itself as “the independent voice of Buddhism.” The home page of its Web site, located at: http://www.tricycle.com/ , is full of incredibly compelling and educational articles, audios, videos, and on-line discussions.
You can join the Tricycle on-line community for free at: http://community.tricycle.com/ .
A subscription to this excellent magazine is $24 a year at: https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/magazine/Trym/subscribeFormPD3.asp?track=JC49&pub=TRYM&term=4 .
For $30 a year, you can become a “Sustaining Member” and receive the print edition of Tricycle, Tricycle’s digital edition, unlimited access to the Tricycle archives (two decades of Buddhist wisdom), and free access to paid on-line programs and teachings. Just go to: https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/magazine/Trym/subscribeFormD.asp?track=JCOM30&pub=TRYM&term=4 .
Those who lack ready Internet access, can contact Tricycle: The Buddhist Review at 92 Vandam Street, New York, NY, 10013. For subscriptions, call: 800-873-9871. For other inquiries, call: 212-645-1143.
Why “Tricycle?” Buddhism itself is often referred to as the “vehicle to enlightenment,” and the tricycle’s three wheels allude to the three treasures: 1. The Buddha, 2.The Dharma, and 3. The Sangha; or: 1. The enlightened teacher, 2. The teachings, and 3. The community. The wheels also relate to the turning of the wheel of Dharma, or skillfully using the teachings of the Buddha to face the challenges that the circle of life presents.
Shambhala Sun:
Another amazing resource is the Shambhala Sun, whose home page is located at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/ . It, too, is very rich with incredible articles, audios, videos, and on-line discussions.
You can sign up for the Shambhala Sun newsletter for free at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Ite&Itemid=341 .
Subscribing to this exceptional publication costs $19.95 for one year or $34.00 for two years at: https://subscribe.pcspublink.com/magazine/Ssun/subscribeForm.asp?track=JECOMM&pub=SSUN&term=6 .
If want to save money and/or trees, you can browse much of the most current issue on-line at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=114 .
Ample free on-line archives are available at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2837&Itemid=260 .
Dozens of audio clips featuring teachers and practitioners from around the world are available at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?tag=audio . These clips are usually from five to ten minutes long.
For the latest in Buddhist videos, go to: http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=11402 . If you have a sense of humor about your practice, check out Arj Barker’s Buddhist rap video, about what it means to be the “sickest” Buddhist, kicking Buddha-Butt.
A special “Spotlight Section” on Thích Nhất Hạnh is located at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=226 .
And, for the latest Buddhist news, go to: http://www.shambhalasun.com/news/ .
Those without ready Internet access can subscribe by calling the Shambhala Sun, toll-free, at: 877-786-1950. For general inquires, call: 902-422-8404. The Editorial and Business Offices of the Shambhala Sun are located at: 1660 Hollis Street, Suite 701, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 1V7. The U.S. subscriptions mailing address is: P.O. Box 469095 Escondido, CA 92046-9095 USA.
The Mindfulness Bell:
Another outstanding magazine is The Mindfulness Bell, located at: http://www.mindfulnessbell.org/ . The Mindfulness Bell is an inspiring resource for those practicing mindfulness in daily life. Each issue features Vietnamese teacher Thích Nhất Hanh, whose teachings about “engaged Buddhism” and Zen are particularly accessible.
The Mindfulness Bell Web site has easy access to Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings at: http://www.mindfulnessbell.org/5mt.htm and his Fourteen “InterBeing” Mindfulness Trainings, located at: http://www.mindfulnessbell.org/14trainings.htm .
Subscriptions to The Mindfulness Bell can be ordered on-line at: http://www.smartcart.com/ubcgateway/cgi/search.cgi?terms=Mindfulness_Bell::&category=Mindfulness_Bell . It costs $24 for one year, $45 for two years, $63 for three years, or $18 for a one-year low income subscription.
If you lack ready Internet access, you can subscribe by contacting: The Mindfulness Bell, c/o David Percival, 745 Cagua SE, Albuquerque NM 87108-3717, or by calling: 505-266-9042.
Thích Nhất Hạnh:
Thích Nhất Hạnh – Poet, writer, “Dharma” teacher, “Sangha” builder, speaker, peace advocate, and human rights activist – is one of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today.
Nhất Hạnh was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Thừa Thiên (Central Vietnam) in 1926. At the age of 16, he entered the monastery at Từ Hiếu Temple near Huế, where his primary teacher was Master Thanh Quý Chân Thật.
The Vietnam War confronted Buddhists with questions of whether to adhere to contemplative lives and remain meditating in the monasteries, or to offer help to farmers and villagers suffering from the targeted destruction of their agricultural and community infrastructures, invasions and massacres, strafings and bombings, aerial spraying of Agent Orange and other toxins, conscriptions, rapes, religious oppressions, forced relocations to “strategic hamlets,” diseases, and malnutrition and starvation.
By emerging from the cloistered confines of monasteries and committing themselves to social activism in defense of the Vietnamese people, Nhất Hạnh and a handful of others founded the “engaged Buddhism” movement.
Nhất Hạnh and his “Sangha,” or spiritual community, responded to and addressed the suffering they saw around them, seeing this work as part of their meditation and mindfulness practices, not apart from it.
Since then, the term “engaged Buddhism” continues to apply to Buddhists who seek to apply insights from meditation practice and Dharma teachings to situations of social, political, and economic injustice.
Because he helped all those in need regardless of ideologies, Nhất Hạnh was condemned by the United States, its South Vietnamese puppet government, indigenous Viet Cong guerillas in South Vietnam, and the Communist governments of North Vietnam, Soviet Union, and China.
After visiting the United States and Europe on peace missions, he was banned from returning to Vietnam in 1966. Nhất Hạnh changed the course of history when he helped the noted African-American civil rights leader and practitioner of non-violent civil disobedience, Dr. Martin Luther King, understand the immorality of the Vietnam War.
As a result, Dr. King’s courageous public opposition to the Vietnam War was one of the most important factors reversing domestic pro-War sentiment and turning American public opinion towards the peace movement.
In a January 25, 1967, letter to the Nobel Institute in Norway, Dr. King nominated Nhất Hạnh for the Nobel Peace Prize. “I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of this prize than this gentle monk from Vietnam,” King wrote. “His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh is pronounced “Tick N’yat Hawn.” His name is sometimes misspelled as Thich Nhat Hahn, Thich Nhat Han, and Thich Nat Han.
For more information about Thích Nhất Hạnh, go to: http://www.parallax.org/about_tnh.html or: http://buddhistlinks.org/ThichWorks.htm ; or: http://www.plumvillage.org/thay.html .
Engaged Buddhism has grown worldwide, with prominent figures including: Robert Aitken Roshi, Joanna Macy, Gary Snyder, Alan Senauke, Sulak Sivaraksa, Maha Ghosananda, Sylvia Wetzel, Anthony Stultz, Diana Winston, Fleet Maull, Joan Halifax, Tara Brach, Natalie Goldberg, Stephanie Kaza, Sister Chan Khong, Noah Levine, Albert Low, Caitriona Reed, and Leila Seth.
Parallax Press:
Thích Nhất Hạnh has written more than 100 books, with about 40 currently available in English. Parallax Press is the outfit that publishes most of his books. Parallax Press has a dynamite Web site, located at: http://www.parallax.org/ .
All of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s books are delightful and well worth reading. Although you will find certain themes repeated, “Thầy” is never boring or dogmatic.
You can view Thích Nhất Hạnh’s many books at: http://www.parallax.org/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?search=action&category=BOOK&keywords=hanh .
For audio resources, go to: http://www.parallax.org/audio.html .
For videos, go to: http://www.parallax.org/video.html .
For contact information for Parallax Press, go to: http://www.parallax.org/contact_staff.html . For additional inquiries, you can e-mail Parallax at: info@parallax.org .
You can subscribe to Parallax Press’s free monthly newsletter at: http://www.parallax.org/about_news.html .
For a free Parallax Press catalog, go to: http://www.parallax.org/catalog.html .
Those lacking ready Internet access can order the Parallax Press catalog or books by calling, toll-free: 800-863-5290, or by writing: Parallax Press, P.O. Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707. For inquiries, call: 510-525-0101.
Amazon:
For more about Thích Nhất Hạnh books, kindles, audio books, calendars, CDs, and DVDs, and MP3s, go to: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Thich+Nhat+Hanh&x=20&y=17/buddhistlinks-20 . Those lacking Internet access, can utilize Amazon’s toll-free customer service by calling: 866-216-1072. Amazon will call you right back.
Powell’s:
If you prefer independent book stores, Powell’s in Portland, Oregon is hard to beat! Their Thích Nhất Hạnh materials are located at: http://www.powells.com/s?header=Search+Form&kw=Thich+Nhat+Hanh . Those without Internet access can call Powell’s, toll-free, at: 800-878-7323.
Other Special Sites (North America, Alphabetical):
Blue Cliff Monastery
The home page of the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, is: http://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/ .
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is located at: http://www.bpf.org/ . This Web site contains an Action Center, links to Turning Wheel Magazine, and a sign up form for free Buddhist Peace Fellowship newsletters.
To view Thích Nhất Hạnh’s “What Is Engaged Buddhism?” go to: http://www.bpf.org/socially-engaged/what-is-socially-engaged-buddhism .
Deer Park Monastery
The home page of Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California, is: http://dpweb.org/ .
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey talks with Thích Nhất Hạnh at: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprah-Talks-to-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/2 .
Other Special Sites (International, Alphabetical):
European Institute of Applied Buddhism
The home page of the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbröl, Germany is located at: http://eiab-maincampus.org/EIAB_Germany/Home.html . You can sign up for e-mailings from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism and the Unified Buddhist Church on this Web page.
International Network of Engaged Buddhists
The International Network of Engaged Buddhists includes individuals and organizations from more than 20 countries. Out of this diversity, an understanding of engaged Buddhism has emerged which integrates the practice of Buddhism with social action for a healthy, just, and peaceful world.
This network trusts compassion, non-violence, and co-existence as revealed by the Buddha. Patrons include the Venerable Thích Nhất Hạnh of Plum Village, France, and Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, temporarily living in exile from Chinese-occupied Tibet in Dharamsala, a city in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.
Contact the International Network of Engaged Buddhists at: http://www.inebnetwork.org/web/ .
Kids’ Web Sites in Four Languages
Children and parents are encouraged to visit: http://mindfulkids.wordpress.com/ .
Plum Village, France
The home page of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Sangha in France is located at: http://www.plumvillage.org/ .
Vietnamese Religious Freedom
To support religious freedom in Vietnam, you can sign the petition located at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/religious-freedom-in-viet-nam .
Young People’s Network
Wake Up, located at: http://www.wkup.org/ , is a world-wide networking Web site for young Buddhists and non-Buddhists practicing the living art of mindfulness. There are plenty of links to writings, audio, and video.
Even More Information!
The above is just a start.
To explore other Zen and Buddhist teachers and philosophies, go to: http://buddhistlinks.org/ .
This Web site has more than 7,000 links!
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Editor’s Notes:
1. This article utilizes colored underlined “hyperlinks” known as “Uniform Resource Locators” or “URLs.” A URL is also known as a “domain name” or an “Internet address.” To fully activate and utilize these URLs, just go to the hyperlink and push down on your “Ctrl” or “Control” button on our keyboard and left click your mouse.
2. This article is written by Paul Richards, a professional editor, researcher, writer, and the owner of PR Media Consultants®; Public Interest Media Since 1968; 30 Brown’s Gulch Road; Boulder, MT 59632; www.PRMediaConsultants.com and www.Richards2006.us . A former newsman with The Associated Press, Mr. Richards is a specialist in resource issues and politics of the western United States.
3. For reprint permission, to commission other projects relating to this subject matter, or for additional researching, writing, or editing assignments, please e-mail Mr. Richards at: Paul@PRMediaConsultants.com .
Karma in the Sunset
Dispatches from the Wildlands™ ©2010, Paul Richards
