Happy Continuation Day Thay!!

James: Thanks to Natasha for reminding us of Thich Nhat Hanh's birthday (or continuation day as he reminds us). He is 80 years old today!! He is quite the patriarch but then again he is also a lovely, innocent child. He is all beings yet none at the same time as are we all.

He is as a lotus in full bloom. Shining with the radiance of pure, peaceful, mindful Oneness. His Buddha-nature has brought so much to so many people.

I thank him deeply for bringing the Dharma torch to a new generation and for passing a part of that fire to me so that it lit a fire in my heart. He set me on my path and continues to hold my hand as I move along it. Offering words of comfort and guidance as I stumble. May he feel all of our gratitude on this great day that we celebrate his presence.

In closing I would like to quote Thay (pronounced tie) on celebrating one's "continuation day:"

On your birthday, it is advisable that you don't sing, 'Happy Birthday,' but instead you sing, "Happy Continuation Day." You have been here, you don't know since when. You have never been born and you are not going to die, because to die means from someone you suddenly became no one. From something, you suddenly became nothing. Nothing is like that. Even when you burn a piece of cloth, it will not become nothing. It will become the heat that penetrates into the cosmos. It will become smoke that rises into the sky to become part of a cloud. it will become some ash that falls to the ground that may manifest tomorrow as a leaf, a blade of grass, or a flower. So there is only continuation. (From his book, "Going Home")

James: As Thay says, we are the continuation of the Buddha.

~Peace to all beings~