35 Love letter on my 35th birthday and 36th year of life To the lovely fairy gardener, whose patch of earth faces the pacific ocean and soaks in the morning fog,
Crossing the threshold On the occasion of the New Year 2025 Dear Melanie, dear True Light of Aspiration, Peaceful Embracing of the Heart, and all other names you call yourself — Would you like
A love letter to Thay On the day of ceremonies honoring Thay’s transition January 29, 2024 Dear Thay, Today, the sangha celebrated the two-year anniversary of your transition to a cloud. I imagine you
Journaling in Vietnam - Day 1 Flowers for today I stumbled upon a marvelous vegetarian restaurant (Tinh Garden) not far from my hostel, with exquisite decor and very kind staff. I ordered a special platter of
Life is precious An annual love letter to self 1/2/24 To a body in transition, a womb in flow, a being of the gingko trees, Here you are. You are in
receiving my true name at age 33 Dearest Melanie, On the eve of 33, take heart in your true name given in the stillness of morning by a woman who practices freedom, who carries her stories lightly
Letter to Thay requesting lay ordination to the Order of Interbeing January - February 2023 Dear respected Thay, Dear respected Sister Chan Khong, Dear respected ancestors and teachers, A few days ago, I celebrated the lunar new year at a tea
beloved community in 2023 January 4, 2023 Dearest Melanie, On New Year’s Eve, I began drafting this love letter in the hills near Deer Park Monastery. Birds were cawing and somber clouds would
I imagine a sangha... Dear ones, I write from the vast ocean of my heart, thoughts arising and falling like waves. * I am growing older, my body more fragile. In a few years, I
A gathering of trees Draft imagining of an engaged Plum Village sangha blending "Beloved Community Circles", Wake Up, and BIPOC sangha aspirations
Building MLK's beloved community The draft of my talk for the Engaged Buddhism panel at "The Future of American Buddhism" conference June 2-5
A letter to the white man at the hot springs To the overly friendly white man who spoke to me on five separate occasions in five hours at a clothing-optional hot springs resort on the morning of my birthday, You
Full moon, blood moon birthday Happy birthday, dear Melanie. In the waning hours of your birthday, soak in the healing red glow of the full blood moon.
An ocean of belonging Step into this ocean of belonging. Around you there are beings who accept and love themselves. They float, welcoming the rising tide, accepting the ebb and flow of water with
There is no wasted time This morning I found myself in a familiar loop, worrying about whether the grey weather would limit my enjoyment of the regional botanic gardens, whether I’d be cold and miserable.
Creating cultures of liberation Reflections from second web3 dialogue How does enlightenment arise in the body? For a moment, I return to the meditation cushion past midnight, the singing of the frogs accompanying me.
Naming our ancestral stories Reflections from first web3 dialogue The stories of our ancestors are at the root of our suffering and provide us a path forward into the light of liberation. Where do
on thay's passing My teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, has died. In the Plum Village tradition we say “continued in new form” or “transitioned” to avoid the delusion of “life and death”.
Returning to wholeness in 2022 Sink into the spring of healing. Slowly bathe this human body in attention, soft fingertips caressing scalp so tenderly we weep.
A wedding blessing (for Ellen and Earl) Ellen is the sister in my chosen family The one I turn to when I forget who I am In her face I see the fullness of our collective journey,
Let’s be human together. As the holidays approach, I'm celebrating all of the little things that have gone well for me this week. Doing my best to offer grace when it’s
sand towers I stand on the beach watching a child kneel down building with their hands mounds of sand like towers overlooking the ocean. They build, she builds three, four piles of
spoken word at 31 I want to speak in poetry, where the silence means as much as the sound — where silence is sound. Let this silence be stillness, the listening of this body to the creek passing through worn rocks on a journey downstream.
celebrating the harvest I want to learn to take up space that arises out of confidence and faith in my own song, a space that is expansive and immediate, grounded in the present moment, alive.
Stilling the ocean Meeting sorrow and disappointment in the midst of ongoing acts of violence against Asian people, particularly Asian women I touch into my anguish and fear of inhabiting this Asian body
