Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Monday, February 29, 2016

Pictures at CTA's Good Teaching Conference - Thuyết trình Mang Chánh Niệm vào Lớp Học

Pictures at CTA's Good Teaching Conference - Thuyết trình Mang Chánh Niệm vào Lớp Học

Sharing a few pictures of the Mindful Leadership - A Mindfulness-based workshop for all educators at the CTA's Good Teaching Conference South in Garden Grove, CA.
Vài hình ảnh trong buổi Thuyết trình Mang Chánh Niệm vào Lớp Học at CTA's Good Teaching Conference at Hyatt Regency in Orange County, CA.  

Teaching teachers on how to meditate! Hướng dẫn Giáo chức ngồi Thiền.
Chánh niệm cần thiết để chinh phục 'tâm vương ý mã' - Giáo viên đang dạo Internet for 2 mins để nhận ra 'tâm mình là khỉ!
To prove that our mind is like a monkey, thus we need to be Mindful even when we are online. It is what we feed to it.




Chia sẻ một vài hình ảnh đẹp của Việt Nam trước khi thuyết trình. Sharing a few pictures of Vietnam before the presentation. Photos: BXK

Some of the content can be found here in English
http://phebach.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-speech-for-california-teachers-summit.html

For Vietnamese version, please click here
http://phebach.blogspot.com/2015/10/phuong-phap-thuc-hanh-chanh-niem-trong.html

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

XIN HÃY CÙNG NHAU!

Lễ Khai Mạc Đại Hội Huỳnh Trưởng Miền Liễu Quán, nhiệm kỳ V (2016-2020). Photo - Tôn Thất Đông.

XIN HÃY CÙNG NHAU!

Đôi mắt ai cay cay
Chưa bao giờ buồn thế

Và những đều có thể
Ta nói không nên lời

Giữa những nỗi chơi vơi
Tìm về trong cõi vắng
Khi tâm ta tĩnh lặng
Sẽ nhận thấy chính mình

Có những buổi bình minh
Chim líu lo ca hát
Giữa cách đồng Bát ngát

Bao nguồn xanh nhiệm mầu

Ở tận cùng khổ đau
Cũng có mầm hạnh phúc
Người như sông có khúc
Thấy dòng chảy nhân sinh
 

Đời sống bao nghĩa tình
Có gì đâu còn mất?
Giữa cõi đời tất bật
Bi-Trí-Dũng đồng hành!


Cuộc sống quá mong manh
Tấm lòng ta dâng hết
Và nếu mai ta chết
Nụ cười mỉm trên môi!



Hình ảnh Đại hội Huynh trưởng GĐPT Miền Liễu Quán, nhiệm kỳ V (2016-2020) - Htr. Tôn Thất Đông.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

LÃNH ĐẠO TRONG CHÁNH NIỆM

Thư Pháp- Uyên Nguyên
Trại Dũng 2 của Miền Liễu Quán - photo BXK

LÃNH ĐẠO TRONG CHÁNH NIỆM

Biết lắng nghe, thông cảm
Bình tĩnh mọi vấn đề
Sống hoà hợp đề huề
Sáng suốt trong quyết định

Không sân si dua nịnh
Tứ Nhiếp Pháp luôn hành
Giữ tâm đẹp trong lành
Là lãnh đạo chánh niệm

Friday, January 8, 2016

Tiễn đưa Họa sĩ Đinh Cường - Farewell to Artist Dinh Cuong


Buddha pointing at the moon


Phật chỉ trăng
Oil on paper, 18”x18” - Photo from: www.dinhcuong.com
Tiễn đưa Họa sĩ Đinh Cường 


Người họa sĩ tài ba
Với tấm lòng vô hạn
Mạch nước ngầm trong sáng
Vẽ tranh vẽ cuộc đời

Giữa cuộc sống chơi vơi
Anh từ bi gieo hạt
Giữa đồng xanh bát ngát
Anh cò trắng thong dong

Giữa hội họa mênh mông
Anh thủy tinh trầm mặc
Giữa cuộc đời huyễn hoặc
Anh nhẹ gót ra đi

Tranh có phải xuân thì
Mà hương bay ngào ngạt
Đến và đi đâu khác
Sanh tử cũng không hai!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Some Resources for Mindfulness-based workshop for educators

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's calligraphy
Dear fellow educators,
  Here are the 10 video that you might find helpful in our mindfulness-based workshop. Please check it out.  I also include the music for meditation with beautiful picture of Vietnam, Meditation Music.
Have a great day.
Phe

1. MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATION - Jon Kabat-Zinn  

2. The Power of Mindfulness: Home Nguyen at TEDxTeachersCollege

3. Mindfulness in Education, Learning from the Inside Out: Amy Burke

4. The Practice of Mindfulness - Diana Winston, TEDxSunsetPark 

5. How mindfulness meditation redefines pain, happiness & satisfaction | Dr. Kasim Al-Mashat | TEDxSFU 

6. Mindfulness and Neural Integration: Daniel Siegel, MD at TEDxStudioCityED





Tuesday, December 8, 2015

THA THỨ BAO DUNG - TOLERANCE AND FORGIVENESS

Thơ Tâm Thường Định tiễn Thầy Phổ Hoà (anh Hồng Liên PTC). Thư pháp Uyên Nguyên


THA THỨ BAO DUNG

Có những lời nói làm ta nổi sân si
Có những điều nghi làm ta nổi điên và giận 
Có những cơn hận thiêu đốt rừng công phu
Có những ngục tù làm thân tâm đày đọa
Nhưng có những cái hoạ làm ta hiểu và thương
Y như những hạt sương mong manh hư ảo
Y như hoa thạch thảo sớm nở chiều tàn
Y như vô thường có gì đâu miên viễn
Y như đóa Hồng Liên Phổ Hòa buông hết
Làm sao khi ta chết thanh thản nhẹ nhàng
Tất cả đã lỡ làng làm sao ta níu lại
Nhưng nếu ta tự tại--nước chảy dưới cầu
Trong tận cùng khổ đau cũng có mầm hạnh phúc.


TOLERANCE AND FORGIVENESS


There are words that make us angry
There are suspicions that make us feel anger and even madness
There are bouts of hatred that burn forests of merits
There are poisons that imprison our hearts and minds

But it is from these unfortunate incidents that we harvest understanding and love 

Just as the mist is fragile and illusory 
Just as the flower blossoms in the morning and dies at sunset
Just like everything else, it is ephemeral
Just like Venerable Thich Pho Hoa, letting go once he returns to earth

It is through how we live that death becomes gentle and serene.
All our worries are not what we need to cling to
But if we are at peace – just like water flowing under the bridge

In the deepest form of suffering, happiness shall also sprout and flourish.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

SILENCE

For Paris and musician Anh Bang - Photo: BXK

SILENCE

The six sounds of the chime spread through the air
This world is real and unreal
This realm
Exists
and unexists

Comes and goes in this kingdom
Stop
Silence
Leisurely flow
As free as the limitless clouds!


For Vietnamese version, please click here: 

TĨNH LẶNG


Thursday, November 12, 2015

MOTHER LETTING GO OF HER HAIR -- LOVING HER FOREVER (Mẹ Xả Tóc )




MOTHER LETTING GO OF HER HAIR -- LOVING HER FOREVER

Mother always lives her life the way it should be:
Caring, loving, with devotion, and tolerance.
All mothers' love mortifies The Cradle by Berthe Morisot:
It is the embodiment of

Poetry,
Landscape,
Seascape,
Soundscape.
Mother's life is packed with compassionate heart and mind.

Today, letting go of her hair, she lets go of all negativities;
The seed of Bodhi sprouts awaken, in homage to Buddha.
Oh! Mother, may you live so our lives undergo less suffering.
Even though we understand impermanence,
mother's shore is beckoning
this human realm always, dreamable nonetheless unpredictable.

We wish to still have you,
Mother! Even so thin and skinny you have turned out to be,
We wish to still have you, Mother, 
in order for us to understand the ups and downs of this human realm.
Let go of this hair – let go of this realm

with love and peace.



 For Vietnamese version of this poem, please click here: MẸ XẢ TÓC--TRỌN ĐỜI THƯƠNG MẸ!

For Vietnamese song of this poem, please click below.
Music by Nguyên Quang, singer: Huy Hoàng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v693V6Sxk0w

Saturday, October 31, 2015

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF VENERABLE THÍCH HẠNH­ TUẤN

I had a privilege to work with Venerable Thich Hanh-Tuan on different occasions. From the last interview with him for my dissertation on Mindful Leadership and the contributions of Vietnamese Buddhism Monks in American, this is the summary of our interview. His brief Biography as a participant in the research was published in my dissertation. In honor of Venerable Thich-Hanh-Tuan and sending him our prayers, please join us for a moment of silence. May Thay rest in peace. May all be well.



BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF VENERABLE THÍCH HẠNH­ TUẤN

Venerable Thich­-Hanh­-Tuan or Thích Hạnh Tuấn. Venerable Thich­-Hanh­-Tuan is the Abbot of Truc Lam Temple in Chicago, Illinois. Venerable Hanh­Tuan was born in 1956 at Giáo Đông Village, Lộc Xuân, Đại Lộc district, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. Venerable Hanh­-Tuan became a novice monk in 1972 and was ordained in 1976. Venerable Hanh­-Tuan studied Buddhism at Quảng Hương Già Lam Monastery, Saigon from 1980­1984. Venerable Hanh­-Tuan escaped Vietnam as a boat person to Indonesia in 1984 and established Kim Quang Temple at Palau Galang Refugee camp.

Venerable Hanh­-Tuan came to the United States in 1985 and studied at the City College of San Francisco from 1987 to 1989. Venerable Thich­Hanh­Tuan received a Bachelor’s degree in the Chinese Language with a minor in Psychology at San Francisco State University in 1992. He earned a Master’s degree at Harvard University in Theology Studies and participated in a Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1996 to 2005. The title of his dissertation was Vietnamese Buddhist Xylography: Surviving Evidence of the True Nature of Vietnamese Buddhist Tripitaka or Kinh Khắc Bản Gỗ ­ Tinh Hoa của Tam Tạng Kinh Điển Phật Giáo Việt Nam.

Venerable Hanh­-Tuan was a Dharma teacher at Tu Quang Temple in San Francisco, California from 1985 to 2000 and at Kim Son Monastery from 2000 to 2005 and became the spiritual advisor of the Vietnamese Buddhist Unified Church of Illinois in October 2005. Venerable Hanh­-Tuan became the Abbot of Trúc Lâm Buddhist Temple in Chicago, Illinois on October 22, 2006 and is an extensive writer and researcher in the Vietnamese Buddhist community. His care, love, and nurture for the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association (GĐPT) are immense and invaluable. 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

THE ART OF LIVING ACCORDING TO SPIRITUAL LEADERS


Thank you to a very dedicated Buddhist scholar Dion Peoples, our paper with the Most Venerable Thich-Nguyen-Sieu and Dr. Bureau on The Art of Living according to Spiritual Leaders was published on the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities JIABU, Volume V, 2015: 90-94. To read the whole journal, please click here. Here are the words of the editor, Dr. Dion Peoples about our article.


THE ART OF LIVING ACCORDING TO SPIRITUAL LEADERS


Dr. Phe Bach
Kim Quang Buddhist Temple and Drexel University Sacramento.
The Most Venerable Thich-Nguyen-Sieu
Phật Đà Temple of San Diego, CA.
Dr. W. Edward Bureau
Drexel University.
Abstracts:

           Leaders, in any institution, may have many virtues and spirituality qualities. As spiritual leaders, one must live peaceful and harmonious live in accordance with our family, community, society, and homeland. They often have strong relationships with others and have strong inner values such as selflessness and harmony.  Spiritual leaders also must have a lofty spirit and morals.  Some of these moral values include compassion, diligence, determination, joy, gratitude, love, integrity, honesty, mindfulness, perseverance, responsibility, trustworthiness, understanding and wisdom. This paper, through examining our psychological experiences, as well as our personally lived experiences in our own lives, suggests the five arts of living. They are:

1) The First Art Of Living Is To Live As Bamboo Trees;

2) The Second Art Of Living Is To Live As A River;

3) The Third Art Of Living Is To Live As the Mai Tree;

4) The Fourth Art Of Living Is To Live As Earth; and

5) The Fifth Art Of Living Is To Live As The Clouds.  These five core principles frame specific practices and directions for everyone, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike—including spiritual leaders, laypersons, and the Sangha—who wish that individuals, families, and societies be more harmonious, more peaceful and more happy.

Leaders and spirituality

Boorom (2009) suggested that leadership has roots in religion, as there is a direct correlation between leadership and spiritual qualities. Marques (2010) suggests that “it is perfectly possible to be spiritual yet not religious. There are many spiritual people who are atheists, agnostics, or that embrace multiple religions at the same time” (p.13). For her, “a spiritual worker is a person who simply maintains good human values, such as respect, tolerance, goodwill, support, and an effort to establish more meaning in his or her workplace” (p. 13). DeVost (2010) emphasized that current research in organizations has found a relationship between the spirituality of the leaders and the spirituality in the workplace. In this study, Devost (2010) found that the practice of ‘encouraging the heart” – one of the five exemplified leadership values -- was significantly positive. According to Kouzes & Posner (1995), the five practices of good leadership are: “challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act, model the way, and encourage the heart” (p. 9).

Meanwhile, leaders often put their spiritual lives into practice, as well as their moral beliefs and ethical values. As Northouse (2004) has argued, ethics and leadership are “concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or society finds desirable or appropriate” (p. 342). Furthermore, he pointed out that an ethical model of leadership consists of five components: a) showing respect, b) serving others, c) showing justice, d) manifesting honesty and e) building community. In another study, Zhu, May, & Avolio (2004) define ethical leadership as “doing what is right, just and good” (p. 16). Zhu et al. (2004) added that leaders exhibit ethical behaviors when they are doing what is morally right, just, and good, and when they help to elevate followers' moral awareness and moral self-actualization. Bass and Steidlmeier (1998) suggest that a truly transformational and effective leadership must be based upon: a) the moral character of the leader and his or her concern for oneself and others, b) the ethical values embedded in the leader’s vision, and c) the morality of the processes and social ethical choices and actions in which the leaders and followers engage.

The art of living life is about how we live peacefully with ourselves in accordance with our family, community, society, and homeland.  As men and women laity (laypersons), we must live to obtain harmony, peace and happiness for ourselves. Reading from the classic Sutras (teachings of the Buddha) and through examining our psychological experiences, as well as our personally lived experiences in our own lives, we can see the virtues of the bamboo, the rivers, the apricot (mai) trees, the earth, and the clouds. From there, we can extract the art of living a Buddhist life.

The First Art Of Living Is To Live As Bamboo Trees

We can see and understand the humble beauty and flexibility of the bamboo trees—when a gust of wind blows through the bamboo, it, being flexible, will be swept with the direction of the wind. This phenomenon illustrates how life moves and bends under different conditions, and how we need to live responding according to the elements for things to coexist.  We ought to understand ourselves as well as others around us. We must nurture our true self—the core values within—therefore, when we make contact with difficult real life situations we are not broken, nor do we feel like we have lost a part of ourselves. Flexibility is a characteristic of the bamboo trees: they never fall apart within the storm. They move within the storm, yielding to that which will leave them standing, without breaking. As laypeople, when we are faced with problems in life, we need to be flexible like the bamboo.  We need to build within ourselves the art of living with others in different situations and circumstances.

The Second Art Of Living Is To Live As A River

The spirit of Buddhism is both formlessness and Tùy Duyên (Sanskrit: Pratitysamutpad--dependent arising). The spirit of Buddhism is not a fixed character nor a phenomenon which is subjective and always a rigid status quo. The spirit of Buddhism depends on conditions. So the spirit of the Buddhist precepts (or spiritual discipline) is not rigid. It depends on conditions and circumstances; it is not fixed.  Therefore, in the path of propagating Dharma transmission in a new land, to a different ethnicity or culture, Buddhism always flows as is appropriate and its transmission is dissolved into the new ethnic culture.

For over 2600 years, the presence of Buddhism in this world has eased pain and suffering. There is no trace of blood or tears in the name of "Dharma Transmission" in Buddhism.  That is because of the spirit of Tùy Duyên (dependent arising) in Buddhism. Therefore, we need to adopt the art of living as a river: water flows from upstream to downstream and out to sea. If a river lies on a high plateau, the water flows quickly downstream, but when the river is down below the plateau, the water flows gently, slowly, more poetically, and then the river merges and integrates into the sea without holding a fixed nature.

       In life, too, living in our environment or facing certain circumstances, we have to apply the art of dissolving (in life with everyone, with other sentient beings, and with the social environment) without holding on to our self-centered egos. The reason that we have to suffer or face dissatisfaction is because of our egos. We refuse to let it go; we want to cling to our ego or we are simply not willing to dissolve it with the masses of people. We identify with our ego and superego as our beings; and when we pay attention to our ego, it gets bigger. Thus, we think that we are the most important individuals and that others must listen to us. We tend to forget that in this life, all sentient beings have Buddha Nature. We all have access to the knowledge and the practices, as well as the potential to be awakened.  So, we have to respect each other. From an old man to a child, we must always remain in harmony, courteous, humble, and compassionate towards each other, according to the precepts. If our ego is too big, it will create a big wobble and topple our life. The ego will never put our life at ease or make it peaceful. As laypersons, we need to eliminate or let go of our dogmatic views and ego. Everyday we need to work at reducing our egos; the more we let go, the more harmony we will have with others. In the language of the Sutras, the art of living as a river is the ability to dissolve into the ocean. River water cannot retain its personal, or ego-identified, identity of the river, but has to merge and integrate into the vast ocean. Both the river and the ocean are referred to as water. Water dissolves in water and so ought our own selves with others.



The Third Art Of Living Is To Live As the Mai Tree

The mai is a unique tree in Vietnam. It is known as a great tree for its longevity. With its bulky and rough bark, at first sight, we understand at once it must be able undergo many hardships: rain or shine, season to season. The roots of the mai tree are firmly grounded in the hillside supporting the tree to stand on its own and exist in this universe. All kinds of weather conditions have coated its stems and roots, yet the mai tree still reaches out and progresses with endurance through time—rain or shine—until a day in springtime, when mai flowers bloom with beauty and fragrance. The mai is the symbol for patience and optimism. It faces weather and obstacles and yet it will blooms and displays its beauty, although time may wreak havoc.  People, too, are always changing and aging—we are born, grow up and pass away. From observing and understanding the mai tree, the layperson can cultivate Buddha-hood. This does not happen within a short period of time, but through many rebirths, many lives crossing the rapid currents of suffering, life and death. Thus we have to train our mind with determination to attain Buddha-hood. We can practice the teachings of the Buddha and affirm our mind and heart in the Dharma Realm, similar to how the mai tree patiently endures the rain, the sun, or the storm. Thus, when we are facing challenges, difficulties or hardships in life, we must overcome them, careful to keep our mindfulness, and not flinch, nor break our will in order to achieve success on the path to enlightenment through our own practices.

The Fourth Art Of Living Is To Live As Earth

Being patient, enduring, robust and forgiving, the earth produces and raises all things in the world. Humans live well on this planet because of the earth.  We live and pass on this land and so does everything else. Therefore, the earth symbolizes the virtue of fortitude and endurance. When we irrigate the earth with polluted waters, it does not reject or complain; likewise when we irrigate it with clean water, the earth does not rejoice or become excited. On the path of our own practice, we need to learn from the earth: that is an art of living. By doing so, we will have peace and equanimity in this chaos of life. If we become unbalanced in our lives, unlike the earth, we are dependent on the sound of praise and criticism, and thus we suffer dis-ease or experience dissatisfaction. If we are pleased with praise or displeased with criticism, then we are living by others’ desires and that means that we have not mastered ourselves. So we have to live patiently and endure as does the earth.



The Fifth Art Of Living Is To Live As The Clouds

Clouds are floating. The art of living here is to be free and not encumbered. The clouds do not stay still, they travel and dispatch in all directions. They are neither stuck in one place nor contaminated by other factors. Buddhists should keep their hearts and minds free, open and unattached to phenomena. If our heart and mind are attached and not open, this causes hindrances and obstacles to appear, which make it hard to reach enlightenment. When our minds are filled with greed, hatred, and ignorance or stuck by praise-criticism, love-hate, satisfaction-dissatisfaction, then our mind are not as free-floating as the clouds. So, we need to live like the clouds, which is the fifth art of living. Be free--selfless and at ease, floating freely without attachment.

The above is a quick summary of the five arts of living. As spiritual leaders, one must have strong relationships with others and have strong inner values such as selflessness and harmony.  Spiritual leaders also must have a lofty spirit and morals.  Some of these moral values include compassion, diligence, determination, joy, gratitude, love, integrity, honesty, mindfulness, perseverance, responsibility, trustworthiness, understanding and wisdom (Bach, 2014). We pray for and encourage all of us to know how to live an artful life: to be as flexible and humble as the bamboo trees, as integrating and dissolving as the river, as enduring and optimistic as the mai tree, as patient and forgiving as the earth, and as selfless and free as clouds. These five core principles frame specific practices and directions for everyone (including spiritual leaders, laypersons, and the Sangha) who wishes that individuals, families, and societies be more harmonious, more peaceful and more happy.



References: 
Bach, P. X. (2014). Mindful Leadership–A Phenomenological Study of Vietnamese Buddhist Monks in America with Respect to their Spiritual Leadership Roles and Contributions to Society (Doctoral dissertation, Drexel University).
Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1998). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership. http://cls.binghamton.edu/bassSteid.html 
Boorom, R. (2009). “Spiritual leadership: A study of the relationship between spiritual leadership theory and transformational leadership”. Regent University. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses,175-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305133283?accountid=10559. (305133283).
DeVost, R. (2010). Correlation between the leadership practices of lead ministers and the workplace spirituality of their churches as reported by church members. Andrews University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/871103857?accountid=10559        
Kouzes, J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The leadership change: How to keep getting extraordinary things done in organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Marques, J. (2010). Spirituality, meaning, interbeing, leadership, and empathy: SMILE. Interbeing, 4(2), 7.
Northouse, P. (2004). Leadership theory and practice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication 
Zhu, W., May, D.R., & Avolio, B.J. (2004). “The impact of ethical leadership behavior on employee outcomes: The roles of psychological empowerment and authenticity.” Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 11(1), 16.