Under the Light of the Silvery Moon
"If you take a few moments, following your breath while looking at the moon, you become present and the moon will be more beautiful and brighter in your eyes.
Mindfulness energy is like the gentle moonlight shining on everything without discrimination, and all beings can be embraced and healed. In the same way, when you are mindful and fully present to your loved ones, they can feel recognized and embraced by your love.
Let us live in mindfulness and see the beautiful qualities in our loved ones, and recognize the wonders in the universe."
- "The Song of The Moon" by Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022).
This week saw the passing of a giant. A human being so compassionate, so peaceful, so humble, and so utterly undogmatic that his death almost passed without notice in the world's media. I dedicate this picture to the beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/
Now before you respond and say that such an irreverent piece of photo art is not worthy of the beloved Thay (as he was known to his millions of friends), I would invite you to take a look at any one of his 100 books and tell me why this monk could not smile. But smile Thay did, and he encouraged everyone to do it.
Two years ago this humble and tired old man, who trod lightly upon this earth, made the decision to return to his homeland after 35 years at Plum Village, the community he founded in France. He had left an exile for his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War. And I believe that until the day he died, the Vietnamese communist government kept close watch on this dangerous subversive.
But Thay was also considered subversive in America too. In 1967 the peace-loving Dr Martin Luther King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize (it was worth more then than it is now having been tainted by some of its more recent recipients). An argument could be made that this decision by King to oppose the Vietnam War is what got him killed. One thing is certain, supporting civil rights was okay, but opposing America's involvement in the "sacred" war on communism was not. But Thay survived and thank God he did.
The community he built around the world, not just at his monasteries in Europe and in Asia, consists of people of all faiths who seek Awakening. He was Buddhist by conviction and calling, but he would rather we didn't think of this in religious terms. Oh the ritual is there, and it's all important to a point, but what is most important of all is discovering the wisdom on the path of life. A Wisdom that is truly Eternal (and Thay would not shirk from this word in the midst of a Materialistic onslaught in the contemporary world).
His beautiful Song of the Moon, which I've quoted above, is as good as any of his statements about life. Because in essence, the Wisdom of the Path is quite simple, though the practice is arduous.
I received word of Thay's death almost the moment it happened, as I have been a recipient of his wonderful newsletters that would come to my email every few weeks. It was not unexpected, but I still felt a deep sense of what the world has lost by this unique man's testimony. Thay's borrowed body was cremated yesterday in Vietnam, but his spirit lives forever in everyone who takes his words to heart.
PHOTONOTE:
Needless to say this is not an actual photograph, but it consists of real photographs taken by me. That giant moon you see is in fact the very same moon you saw in my previous few shots. With a little resizing and cloning I was able to create an image more expressive of the importance of the moon. Oh, and for the groups that reject my photo montages as "not real photographs", I just assure you this is neither a second life screenshot nor AI.
Under the Light of the Silvery Moon
"If you take a few moments, following your breath while looking at the moon, you become present and the moon will be more beautiful and brighter in your eyes.
Mindfulness energy is like the gentle moonlight shining on everything without discrimination, and all beings can be embraced and healed. In the same way, when you are mindful and fully present to your loved ones, they can feel recognized and embraced by your love.
Let us live in mindfulness and see the beautiful qualities in our loved ones, and recognize the wonders in the universe."
- "The Song of The Moon" by Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022).
This week saw the passing of a giant. A human being so compassionate, so peaceful, so humble, and so utterly undogmatic that his death almost passed without notice in the world's media. I dedicate this picture to the beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/
Now before you respond and say that such an irreverent piece of photo art is not worthy of the beloved Thay (as he was known to his millions of friends), I would invite you to take a look at any one of his 100 books and tell me why this monk could not smile. But smile Thay did, and he encouraged everyone to do it.
Two years ago this humble and tired old man, who trod lightly upon this earth, made the decision to return to his homeland after 35 years at Plum Village, the community he founded in France. He had left an exile for his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War. And I believe that until the day he died, the Vietnamese communist government kept close watch on this dangerous subversive.
But Thay was also considered subversive in America too. In 1967 the peace-loving Dr Martin Luther King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize (it was worth more then than it is now having been tainted by some of its more recent recipients). An argument could be made that this decision by King to oppose the Vietnam War is what got him killed. One thing is certain, supporting civil rights was okay, but opposing America's involvement in the "sacred" war on communism was not. But Thay survived and thank God he did.
The community he built around the world, not just at his monasteries in Europe and in Asia, consists of people of all faiths who seek Awakening. He was Buddhist by conviction and calling, but he would rather we didn't think of this in religious terms. Oh the ritual is there, and it's all important to a point, but what is most important of all is discovering the wisdom on the path of life. A Wisdom that is truly Eternal (and Thay would not shirk from this word in the midst of a Materialistic onslaught in the contemporary world).
His beautiful Song of the Moon, which I've quoted above, is as good as any of his statements about life. Because in essence, the Wisdom of the Path is quite simple, though the practice is arduous.
I received word of Thay's death almost the moment it happened, as I have been a recipient of his wonderful newsletters that would come to my email every few weeks. It was not unexpected, but I still felt a deep sense of what the world has lost by this unique man's testimony. Thay's borrowed body was cremated yesterday in Vietnam, but his spirit lives forever in everyone who takes his words to heart.
PHOTONOTE:
Needless to say this is not an actual photograph, but it consists of real photographs taken by me. That giant moon you see is in fact the very same moon you saw in my previous few shots. With a little resizing and cloning I was able to create an image more expressive of the importance of the moon. Oh, and for the groups that reject my photo montages as "not real photographs", I just assure you this is neither a second life screenshot nor AI.