Dear Sangha, a Poem
This poem, inspired by Thay's work, is a gift of thanks to the Sangha from a friend of Deer Park, Erika V. Brown.
On this holy land
Thay’s words vibrate through me in reverence
of my impermanence
In this silent walk
I feel the earth beneath me
Yet, my past and my future
at times
show up alongside me
nudging me for attention
I breathe in
and
breathe out
Thay’s calm is the squeeze in my hand that reminds me
to feel the compacted layered earth to its core
to stay tuned
to the ground under my carrying feet
feeling
the lifting and setting down each step
with the same purpose
not to carry me away
but to keep bringing me back to the here
and to the now
I breathe in and breathe out
- Erika Brown
In harmony with Thay’s practice of writing love letters to share gratitude, love, and peace with those around him, we asked practitioners to submit love letters to Deer Park describing what it means to them.
If you would like to submit your own Love Letter to Deer Park, please email us at loveletters@deerparkmonastery.org. We love receiving your writings, poetry, and photos. Please include your name and Dharma name if you have one.
