Join us for an evening of poetry, spiritual practice, and remembrance. Hosted by Deer Park and The Lotus Institute, this online event is open to all and celebrates the life and poetry of Dr. Larry Ward.
Thursday / 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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DonateJoin Peggy Ward, co-founder of The Lotus Institute and beloved partner of the late Dr. Larry Ward, a cherished Dharma Teacher and member of our sangha.
Dr. Larry Ward was the co-founder of The Lotus Institute and a beloved senior Dharma teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village tradition of socially engaged Buddhism.
A renowned voice on healing and transformation, Dr. Ward’s teachings live on through his books, including Love’s Garden, co-authored with his wife, Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward, the critically acclaimed America's Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal, and his most recent work, Morning Night, a powerful book of poetry exploring themes of race, spirit, and nature.
Dr. Ward held a PhD in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation. As a teacher, he interwove profound insights with personal stories and resounding clarity that perfectly expressed his Dharma name, “True Great Sound.”
This virtual event will feature a guided meditation and poetry readings by Peggy Ward.
This event will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 3:00pm- 4:00pm PST. Alternative time zones below:
6:00pm EST - 7:00pm EST
5:00pm CST - 6:00pm CST
4:00pm MST - 5:00pm MST
Morning Night is Dr. Larry Ward’s self-published collection of poems—explorations of race, nature, and spirit woven with messages of hope, justice, and belonging...
Buy Now
Dr. Larry Ward’s latest book, Morning Night, is a radiant collection of poetry released after Dr. Ward’s passing as a tender gift of love and presence, carrying forward the wisdom and compassion that touched countless lives.
Morning Night explores the themes that shaped Dr. Ward’s teaching and life: race, spirit, and nature. Through these poems, readers are invited to return to the stillness of each dawn and the quiet reflection of each night, discovering once more that peace is always within reach.
Dr. Ward, whose Dharma name was True Great Sound, was co-founder of The Lotus Institute and a senior Dharma teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village tradition. His life’s work was a call to collective healing, expressed through his teachings and his acclaimed book, America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal.
To read Morning Night now is to sit directly with Larry’s clarity, compassion, and humor, his presence alive on every page, offering insight, reflection, and care for the world we share.
The Lotus Institute warmly invites the community to receive this offering with open hearts. As we step into this new chapter together, Dr. Ward’s poetry remains a wellspring of healing and reflection, ensuring that his voice and vision continue to echo through space and time.
About The Lotus Institute
The Lotus Institute, co-founded by Dr. Larry Ward and Peggy Ward in 1996, is an educational non-profit that offers practical tools and transformative experiences designed to heal trauma and inspire co-imagination to create the world we want.
On August 19, our beloved teacher, co-founder, dear friend, and wise elder made his peaceful transition. With hearts as one, we carry his radiant Dharma light into the path ahead.
Read the Tribute
From time to time we offer multi-week courses related to mindfulness, the teachings and life of Thich Nhat Hanh, and a variety of similar subjects. Please see our schedule of upcoming courses.
Take the Deer Park Monastery and Plum Village community with you wherever you go. The Plum Village app is designed to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and joy through guided meditations, deep relaxations, practice poems, bells of mindfulness, and other practices — all through a mobile device.
