Everett Jenkins Birthday Blog

After walking down from the mountain top, the attendees quietly convened in the Big Hall.  The Big Hall is the size of a high school gymnasium.  It had an arched semi-circular ceiling supported by eight foot tall walls.  The side walls had extensive glass panels and the doors were left open to accommodate the overflow crowd.  The floor of the Big Hall was a hardwood floor.  However, while one might expect the floor to have chairs.  The only chairs were the ones lining the walls and located outside on the surrounding sidewalks.  As for the center of the Big Hall, the floor was covered by hundreds of individual brown mats with individual pillows on each one.  Each of these mats and pillows were labeled with the phrase "Ocean of Peace". As the crowd came in, these individual brown mats were soon occupied first by the brown clothed monks and nuns and then by the more limber attendees.  Soon all were seated on these mats, most assuming the lotus p...

There is more to report concerning the Thich Nhat Hanh Memorial Service that was held at the Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California, on January 8, 2023.  However, yesterday was Martin Luther King's actual birthday, and today is the day that the nation pauses to remember. On this day of service, I bring attention to the connection between Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Please read the blog post set forth in the link below https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/fierce-urgency/2021/10/12/thich-nhat-hanh-and-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-spiritual-brothers-partners-in-nonviolence/ and wonder what both would say about the events that dominate the world today. Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins Fairfield, California  January 16, 2023 -----Original Message----- From:  skipjen2865@aol.com To:  Sent: Thu, Jan 12, 2023 4:53 am Subject: Thich Nhat Hanh Memorial: Walking Meditation and the Miracle of the Now Walking Meditation "We have to awaken ourselves to the truth that we...

  Walking Meditation "We have to awaken ourselves to the truth that we are here, alive.  We are here making steps on this beautiful planet.  This is already performing a miracle.  But we have to be here in order for the miracle to be possible.  We have to bring ourselves back to the here and the now.  Therefore, each step we take becomes a miracle.  If you are able to walk like that, each step will be very nourishing and healing.  You walk, as if you kiss the earth with your feet, as if you massage the earth with your feet.  There is a lot of love in that practice of walking meditation."   Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh,  Lesson 5. *****  Just as the walk up the mountain was done in silence so too was the descent. I suspect that those most familiar with the lessons taught by Thich Nhat Hanh were abiding by his lesson concerning a walking meditation. I noticed that the nuns and the monks were all dre...

   88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 Alphabetical Index 2022 9/11 Remembrance Day  A00067 A Day with Bernadette, A Few Moments with Moses the Ethiopian A00063 A Most Profound Thich Nhat Hanh Memorial  A00113 Abdul Qadeer Khan, Father of Pakistan's Nuclear Program  A00003 April 2022 Must Watch TV: Benjamin Franklin: A Film by Ken Burns  A00036 Art Laboe, R. I. P.  A00078 Barrett Strong, R. I. P.  A00117 Bill Russell, High Jumper  A00062 Black Savants: The Remarkable Stories of Willard Wigan and Stephen Wiltshire  A00009 Book of the Month for February 2022: Your Blues Ain't Like Mine: A Conversation with Bebe Moore Campbell  A00022 Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda  A00115 Book of the Month for February 2023: Autobiography of a Yogi: The Levitating Saint - Saint Teresa of Avila  A00118 Book of the Month for November 2022: Tr...

  "People have a hard time letting go of their suffering.  Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." Thich Nhat Hanh A Year of Zen (Page A Day Calendar) Sunday, April 10, 2022 ******* For over a decade now, I have begun the new year by buying A Year of Zen Page A Day Calendar.  In the course of reading the daily sayings, parables, meditations, and haiku, invariably, over the year, there will be a number of sayings by Thich Nhat Hanh that are included in the calendar.   Over the course of ten years or more, I have been blessed with reading dozens of Thich Nhat Hanh's meditative sayings. I suppose one might say that he is now part of my meditative history.  Given this connection, when I learned that The Deer Park Monastery -- a monastery which Thich Nhat Hanh founded -- was holding a memorial service for him on Sunday, January 8, 2023, I felt that I had a spiritual obligation to attend.  Indeed, I did attend the Thich Nhat Ha...

I will be heading down south this weekend and next weekend as well.  While I am down south in the Los Angeles area during the MLK week, I plan on finding one of the arthouse cinemas where the potential Academy Award nominee for best documentary "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" is playing on the giant screen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Beauty_and_the_Bloodshed All the Beauty and the Bloodshed  is a 2022 documentary film which explores the career of  Nan Goldin  and the fall of the  Sackler family . The film was directed by  Laura Poitras . [4] [5]  Poitras said, "Nan's art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers." [6]  The film premiered on September 3, 2022, at the  79th Venice International Film Festival , [1]  where it was awarded the  Golden Lion , making it the second documentary (following  Sacro GRA  in 2013) to win the top prize at Venice. It also screened...

Last night I watched  Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong'o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrior_Women_with_Lupita_Nyong%27o Instead of  The Woman King , I would encourage everyone to watch this documentary.  The journey taken by Lupita Nyong'o took an all too evident toll on her soul.  I encourage everyone to watch and see why. Ultimately, the journey that Lupita Nyong'o took is a journey which, I believe, we all should take.  If we did, then perhaps, we too could come to the same destination where Lupita Nyong'o now appears to reside. Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins Fairfield, California January 6, 2023 -----Original Message----- From:  skipjen2865@aol.com To:  Sent: Wed, Jan 4, 2023 2:46 am Subject: The Woman King Happy New Year, Everyone! Over the weekend, I watched  The Woman King .  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_King The Woman King  is a rousing movie with a stand out performance by Viola Davis as the woman warrior who would...