Berit Talan

@bberit.bsky.social

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Plum Village practitioner 🧘🏻🪷 Dharma Name: Spacious Sanctuary of the Heart BWCA lover 🛶🏕️🐻🐺 native plants gardener 🧑🏻‍🌾🌱🌻🌷🐝🦋🐦 mom 🚸 🇩🇪 in MN 🇺🇸 she/they 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh on rice paper in traditional Chinese black ink mixed with some of his tea. A zen circle and in the circle the writing: Love like a Buddha and Thay's red seal, which bears his lineage name and Dharma title, Trung Quang Nhat Hanh
Photo of the grounds of Magnolia Grove Monastery, a retreat center in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. A pond with a foot bridge across it leading to a white statue of the Boddhisatva Avalokiteshvara, the bell tower behind the pond and the meditation hall in the background.
Calligraphy in black traditional ink on rice paper. A Zen circle with Breathe you are alive written inside
Calligraphy in black ink on rice paper by Thich Nhat Hanh. Zen circle with the writing Breathe inside it
Gatha to readjust the posture while meditating Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Mindful breathing is my anchor. breathe A Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation Journal
Thich Nhat Hanh in a brown robe sitting in deep concentration his hand in a mudra after inviting the bell.
Burned out ruins of the Purple Cloud building in Plum Village. The oldest and most cherished building in Lower Hamlet, it contained Thich Nhat Hanh's room - a sacred space where he spent his time when in Lower Hamlet.
Video of the Purple Cloud building in Plum Village in flames. The building contained Thich Nhat Hanh' room and was the heart of Lower Hamlet in Plum Village.
Photo of a large still lake or the ocean, no land to be seen, the blue sky above with some white clouds. In white writing: Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. Thich Nhat Hanh
Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh in black ink mixed with a little bit of his tea on rice paper. The writing inside the zen circle reads "there is a cloud in your tea"
Photo of lotus leaves in the background with the opening gatha for The Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma: Universal Door Chapter in white text: Chanting the Lotus Sutra by night, the sound shook the galaxies. The next morning when planet Earth woke up, her lap was full of flowers.
Framed calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh: For Warmth I hold my face in my two hands. No, I am not crying. I hold my face in my two hands to keep the loneliness warm— two hands protecting, two hands nourishing, two hands preventing my soul from leaving me in anger.
Artwork by Healing with Art by Gloria Keh. Abstract artwork featuring a red face symbolizing the sun above a stylized landscape in black and white with a few red flowers. Text reads: "This plate of food, so fragrant and appetizing, also contains suffering." - Thich Nhat Hanh.
Lunch served on four plates on a white table. Plates contain quesadilla, and various vegetable, fruits and tofu.
A gatha for Entering the Meditation Room Entering the meditation room, I see my true self. As I sit down, I vow to cut off all disturbances. Thich Nhat Hanh Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living
Thich Nhat Hanh holding the hands of two children is leading a public walking meditation in a French city
Postcard with a calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh that says "enjoy sitting"
Photo of snow covered pine trees with a starry sky above and the first light on the horizon. A poem: How the Light Comes I cannot tell you how the light comes. What I know is that it is more ancient than imagining. That it travels across an astounding expanse to reach us. That it loves searching out what is hidden, what is lost, what is forgotten or in peril or in pain. That it has a fondness for the body, for finding its way toward flesh, for tracing the edges of form, for shining forth through the eye, the hand, the heart. I cannot tell you how the light comes, but that it does. That it will. That it works its way into the deepest dark that enfolds you, though it may seem long ages in coming or arrive in a shape you did not foresee. And so may we this day turn ourselves toward it. May we lift our faces to let it find us. May we bend our bodies to follow the arc it makes. May we open and open more and open still to the blessed light that comes. by Jan Richardson
Photo of Thich Nhat Hanh's simple tea pot and glass tea cup on a wooden tray.
Photo of Thich Nhat Hanh in his brown robes standing at a wooden table chopping carrots. He looks with full concentration at the vegetables and chopping board.
Book cover: The chaos machine by Max Fisher. The inside story of how social media rewired our minds and our world.
Daily These shriveled seeds we plant, corn kernel, dried bean, poke into loosened soil, cover over with measured fingertips These T-shirts we fold into perfect white squares These tortillas we slice and fry to crisp strips This rich egg scrambled in a gray clay bowl This bed whose covers I straighten smoothing edges till blue quilt fits brown blanket and nothing hangs out This envelope I address so the name balances like a cloud in the center of sky This page I type and retype This table I dust till the scarred wood shines This bundle of clothes I wash and hang and wash again like flags we share, a country so close no one needs to name it The days are nouns: touch them The hands are churches that worship the world Naomi Shihab Nye
Brother Phap Huu in the dark brown robes of Plum Village monastic is pictured from the back in the Still Water Meditation Hall practicing slow walking meditation.
“The Buddha’s Last Instruction” by Mary Oliver “Make of yourself a light,” said the Buddha, before he died. I think of this every morning as the east begins to tear off its many clouds of darkness, to send up the first signal — a white fan streaked with pink and violet, even green. An old man, he lay down between two sala trees, and he might have said anything, knowing it was his final hour. The light burns upward, it thickens and settles over the fields. Around him, the villagers gathered and stretched forward to listen. Even before the sun itself hangs, disattached, in the blue air, I am touched everywhere by its ocean of yellow waves. No doubt he thought of everything that had happened in his difficult life. And then I feel the sun itself as it blazes over the hills, like a million flowers on fire — clearly I’m not needed, yet I feel myself turning into something of inexplicable value. Slowly, beneath the branches, he raised his head. He looked into the faces of that frightened crowd.
A short video in which Thay explains the Buddha's teaching of changing the peg. If a negative mental formation comes up, invite a positive formation up. It's like changing the CD. If you don't like the music that is playing, stop the CD and choose another one to play.
Quote by Thich Nhat Hanh: It's like a mother, when the baby is crying, she picks up the baby and she holds the baby tenderly in her arms. Your pain, your anxiety is your baby. You have to take care of it. You have to go back to yourself, to recognize the suffering in you, embrace the suffering, and you get a relief.
Thich Nhat Hanh is sharing a meal with his monastic disciples, sitting at a long table, on which vegan food and flowers are beautifully arranged. Everyone has their palms together in gratitude for this food.
Book cover of The Light Eaters. How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth
A tied up Oryoki set. Oryoki is a highly choreographed ritual of serving and eating food in Japanese Zen.
Finishing Your Meal My bowl is empty. My hunger is satisfied. I vow to live for the benefit of all beings. Thich Nhat Hanh Present Moment Wonderful Moment Mindful Verses for Daily Living
Gatha for Mindful Eating by Thich Nhat Hanh: In the dimension of space and time We chew in rhythm with our breath Maintaining the life of all our ancestors Opening an upward path for descendants.
A poem The Most Important Thing Julia Fehrenbacher I am making a home inside myself. A shelter of kindness where everything is forgiven, everything allowed—a quiet patch of sunlight to stretch out without hurry, where all that has been banished and buried is welcomed, spoken, listened to—released. A fiercely friendly place I can claim as my very own. I am throwing arms open to the whole of myself—especially the fearful, fault-finding, falling apart, unfinished parts, knowing every seed and weed, every drop of rain, has made the soil richer. I will light a candle, pour a hot cup of tea, gather around the warmth of my own blazing fire. I will howl if I want to, knowing this flame can burn through any perceived problem, any prescribed perfectionism, any lying limitation, every heavy thing. I am making a home inside myself where grace blooms in grand and glorious abundance, a shelter of kindness that grows all the truest things. I whisper hallelujah to the friendly sky. Watch now as I burst into blossom.
A calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh in black Chinese ink on rice paper. the bread in your hand is the body of the cosmos At the right bottom his red seal, which bears his lineage name and Dharma title, Trung Quang Nhat Hanh.
A bowl of white rice beside text on mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, explaining the practice of mindful eating through four mouthfuls. 4 Mindful Mouthfuls With the first mouthful, I practice the the love that brings joy. With the second mouthful, I practice the love that relieves suffering. With the third mouthful, I practice the joy of being alive. With the fourth mouthful, I practice equal love for all beings.
On a light green background: Five contemplations before eating: This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food. May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation. May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet. We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.
Close up photo of rust colored lacquered alms bowl as used by monastics of the Plum Village tradition sitting inside an upside down Vietnamese conical bamboo hat that lies on grass covered with brown fallen leaves.
Photo collage with three book covers. Thich Nhat Hanh - At Home in the World - Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk's Life, Love Letter to the Earth by Thich Nhat Hanh, Black Buddhist Teachings of Ancestors, Joy and Liberation - Healing Our Way Home - by Valerie Brown, Marisela B Gomez, MD, Kaira Jewel Lingo
A watercolor painting with the moon in a dark blue sky with a flock of geese flying and the black outlines of leafless trees against the sky. In the middle in white writing "Turning on the light - Forgetfulness is the darkness, mindfulness is the light. I bring awareness to shine upon all life." In the lower right corner in white calligraphy writing "Plum Village".
A calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh. A Zen circle in black Chinese ink on rice paper. Inside the circle the "a cloud never dies". At the right bottom his red seal, which bears his lineage name and Dharma title, Trung Quang Nhat Hanh.
Photo of the Buddha Field in Plum. Village - Upper Hamlet. 15 black Buddha statues are sitting on a green slope under small oak trees, facing a meadow
On the left, a picture of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh sitting on a cushion with his monastic disciples in the background. On the right The Five Remembrances. 1. I am of the nature to grow old, I cannot escape old age. 2. I am of the nature to get sick, I cannot escape sickness.3. I am of the nature to die, I cannot escape death. 4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. 5. I inherit the results of my actions of body, speech, and mind. My actions are my continuation.
Picture of a dark blue sky with white clouds. Branches with golden fall leaves reach into the picture at the top. Some leaves are falling through the sky. In the middle of the picture a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer Placing Attention As the weather is changing and the light is changing and the birds at the feeder in the yard are changing, as the leaders are changing and the feelings are changing and the way that we see each other is changing, I notice the invitation to turn toward the truth of what does not change— something so vast, so unnamable, so unable to be grasped and held, something so present there is no life without it, that knows itself through you, through me, through clover and tree and cloud and goes on and on and on forever. That. I turn again and again toward that.
A framed picture with a gatha. "Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with the eyes of compassion" - Thich Nhat Hanh