Thich Nhat Hahn Room

Thich Nhat Hahn Room

Weekly gathering time:Saturday, noon Pacific time

Very seldom as a media artist do I have the opportunity to be so moved by the material that I am composing with that tears are streaming down my face. But the sheer poignance of the music and spoken word of this room's soundtrack: "The End of Suffering" from emmy award-winning composer and IONS luminary Gary Malkin and his partner Michael Stillwater, are enough to do just that.

The Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hahn, invites the bell to sound with these words:

May the sound of the bell penetrate deep into the cosmos.
Even in the darkest spots living beings are able to hear it clearly.
So that all suffering in them cease. Understanding comes to their heart, and they transcend the path of sorrow and death.

The universal dharma door is already open; the sound of the rising tide is already heard clearly. The miracle happens.

A beautiful child appears in the heart of the lotus flower.
One single drop of this compassionate water is enough to bring back the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers.

Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me dissolve.
My mind is calm, my body relaxed. A smile is born on my lips.

Following the sound of the bell, my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness. In the garden of my heart, the flowers of peace bloom beautifully.

Graceful Passages is a compilation of music paired with spoken messages about loss and dying from 12 of the world’s most profound wisdom keepers-- Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Thich Nhat Hanh, The Rev. Alan Jones, Elisabeth Kubler- Ross, and Ram Dass, among others.

You can read more about Graceful Passages at http://www.wisdomoftheworld.com