<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear Friends,</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It is not too difficult to imagine the immense pain and the suffering that our Japanese brothers and sisters are enduring. It is not too difficult, for example, to imagine the fear, the loss, the devastation: our daughter or son, husband or wife, parents, loved ones swallowed up by the earth.<span> </span>All our belongings swept away by a wave.<span> </span>The destruction of what we know and love: our home, our city, our means of transportation, the parks and the beaches around us, the trees, the birds, the gardens, the Temples, Universities and Hospitals... The death and maiming of pets, friends, and family, the sudden disappearance of neighbors and loved ones. </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">So this Sunday, and all Sundays, we can sit together as a Sangha to generate and send the energy of healing, love, and compassion to all beings, particularly those in need. We can sit and practice for those who cannot practice. We can sit and open our hearts.<span> </span>We can sit and open our minds. <span> </span>For example, during our daily practice we can sit and open our hearts and minds to the immense pain and suffering being generated in Japan right now.<span> </span>We can sit and open our hearts and minds to impermanence.<span> </span>We can sit and open our hearts and minds to the wonder of it all.<span> </span>And we can mindfully hug our loved ones, warmly look around our life circumstances, and be grateful for what we have. We can express our joy and sorrow, we can love openly and live deeply knowing that every moment we have is precious, and that our time on this Earth is brief.</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing in, I know that I am Alive; </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing out, I smile to Life. </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing in, I know that many people are suffering at this very moment; </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing out, I send the energy of peace, healing and compassion to those who suffer. </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing in, I am truly in the Present Moment; </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Breathing out, I treasure this Precious Moment.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">And if we feel that we are in need for some inspiration, we can read the letters that appear below and some heart-warming stories from Japan at <b>Daily Good: News That Inspire</b> by following this link to <i>Human Spirit Rises to Meet Japan's Tsunami</i> <a href="http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4496" target="_blank">http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4496</a></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">To take further action to help those touched by Japan's earthquake and tsunami, follow these links: </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><a href="http://mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate/" target="_blank">http://mashable.com/2011/03/13/japan-earthquake-tsunami-help-donate/</a></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0315/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-How-to-help" target="_blank">http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0315/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-How-to-help</a></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><a href="https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan" target="_blank">https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan</a></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Also, as some of you know, our Teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh together with the Plum Village and International Sanghas are scheduled to tour Japan this year from April 23 to May 7.<span> </span>We know that this journey will water many positive seeds and generate the energies of love and understanding, compassion and healing, and peace and protection for all.<span> </span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here is Thay 's Message to Friends in Japan: </span></u></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear friends in Japan,</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As we contemplate the great number of people who have died in this tragedy, we may feel very strongly that we ourselves, in some part or </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">manner, also have died.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. And the human species and the planet Earth are one body. What happens to one part of the body happens to the whole body.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives. It helps us remember that what's most important is to love each </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive. This is the best that we can do for those who have </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">died: we can live in such a way that they continue, beautifully, in us.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here in France and at our practice centers all over the world, our brothers and sisters will continue to chant for you, sending you the energy of peace, healing and protection. Our prayers are with you.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Thich Nhat Hanh</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here is a letter sent by Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi of Great Vow Monastery in Oregon to her teacher, Shodo Harada Roshi, in Japan</span></u></b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">:</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear Roshi and Chi-san,</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As the unbelievable pictures come in on our computer screens, our </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">hearts are filled with sadness and prayers for those tens of thousands who have died, those who are injured and those who grieve. </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">An entire nation turned upside down. What can we say?</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In ancient times, entire villages were wiped out by earthquake and tsunami. Maybe only the few people who survived could tell about it and remember it. But now we all can see it, the ferocious power of nature, of the sea. Those huge waves carrying away a vast jumble of tens of thousands of cars, houses, trucks, boats, greenhouses, human bodies, buses, all the accumulated human junk and treasures, grandmothers, babies, even an entire University. We will never forget it.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">And then, for the only nation on the earth that has suffered attacks by nuclear weapons, to be under the threat of a nuclear disaster. </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It is unbelievable.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As Buddhists we cannot take refuge in this being part of God's inscrutable plan, or even in the notion of God's wrath for a planet not cared for. We take refuge in something that is hard for many to understand. We take refuge in the truth of impermanence. As the Buddha said to his weeping disciples as he lay dying, " All compounded things will fall apart and be gone." Over centuries, or in a flash. When our lives rest on that foundation, on the strange and strong foundation of constant change, then our lives are anchored in truth.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">"Vast ocean of dazzling light, marked by the waves of coming and going, being born and dying. " We chant this at our memorial services. </span></i><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This week we have all seen it in action. We practice to be able to balance wisdom and compassion. The wisdom eye sees constant change, even tsunami, as normal, as expected, as part of how IT IS. At the same time our tender hearts feel acutely the pain of human suffering on an unimaginable scale, and we are moved to do what little we can to help. The small blessing of a natural disaster is that there is no one to blame. The earth shrugged, a huge amount of water was displaced, and it flowed where it could. With no energy wasted on blame, everyone can work together to help.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Please know that we are chanting every day for those who have died and are suffering. We will also donate through various organizations including Red Cross and Soto Shu, to help in any small way.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We had a young monk visiting here for a month at the monastery. He flew home last week, arriving on the day of the earthquake. His home temple is in Fukushima. We have no news about him or his family. We have no news of Abe-san and his temple members, who worked with us on the Jizos for Peace Project.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Our thoughts are constantly with everyone in Japan.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In love and sadness,</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Chozen</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here is a letter to Japan from H.E. Garchen Rinpoche who practices in the Tibetan tradition:</span></u></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I am deeply sad to hear about the earthquake disaster in Japan, and also in New Zealand, Tibet, and other places last year. Although many beings have lost their lives, their minds really can never die. And as our minds are connected, we can benefit them by cultivating love and compassion and reciting the Mani mantra (OM MANI PADME HUNG). If we are able to pervade their minds with love, they will awaken from the dream of self-grasping and suffering.</span></i></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">May the collective and individual energy generated by our practice benefit all beings and bring peace, wisdom, compassion, and loving-kindness to those who suffer the most.</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">With a smile and loving-kindness,</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Martha</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">For the Broward Lotus Sangha</span></p>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><br>Broward Lotus Sangha<br>P.O. Box 245124 <br>Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 <br><br>COME MEDITATE WITH US!<br><a href="http://www.browardlotussangha.org/" target="_blank">www.BrowardLotusSangha.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.meetup.com/Broward-Lotus-Sangha/calendar/" target="_blank">http://www.meetup.com/Broward-Lotus-Sangha/calendar/</a><br>In the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><font size="4">To subscribe or unsubscribe to our mailing lists, please visit </font><a href="http://www.browardlotussangha.org/mailinglists/"><font size="4">http://www.browardlotussangha.org/mailinglists/</font></a><br>
<font size="4"> <br> Please forward this invitation to others who you think may wish to participate. Thank you.<br></font> </div>