{"id":160244,"date":"2008-12-16T16:40:15","date_gmt":"2008-12-16T15:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plumvillage.org\/about\/thich-nhat-hanh\/letters\/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend\/"},"modified":"2008-12-16T16:40:15","modified_gmt":"2008-12-16T15:40:15","slug":"the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend","status":"publish","type":"letter","link":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/about\/thich-nhat-hanh\/letters\/the-toadskin-hut-and-paths-of-legend","title":{"rendered":"The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-8012\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Son Ha pine forest path 1\" width=\"605\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-499x333.jpg 499w, https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/Son-Ha-pine-forest-path-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/>Thay wrote this\u00a0end-of-year letter addressed to all of his students about the Toadskin Hut, the hermit of Still Sitting Hut, walking meditation paths that have become legendary, and the new young Dharma Teachers in Plum Village.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Still\u00a0Sitting\u00a0Hut,<br \/>\nPlum Village Upper Hamlet,<br \/>\nFrance<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">December\u00a05,\u00a02008<\/p>\n<p>There is sunshine in Upper Hamlet today. I went for walking meditation down to the Lower Mountain Temple, along the pathway of pines. From the Still Sitting Hut to the pathway of pines, I passed by fields of grass that were covered with oak leaves, especially around Th\u1ea7y Gi\u00e1c Thanh\u2019s Floating Cloud hut. The carpet of oak leaves was very thick. There were leaves that are still fresh, the color of the robes of the Theravada monks. The trees shed their leaves, making the earth richer; the earth and the tree nurture each other \u2013 I saw this very clearly. I walked very slowly, so that I could be in touch with the ultimate dimension with every step, which means to be in touch with time outside of time and space outside of space.<\/p>\n<p>I was walking for myself, but I was also walking for my father and mother, for my teacher, my ancestors, the Buddha, and for you. I see no separation between myself and my parents, my ancestors, the Buddha, and you. Everything is present in each mindful step. The gatha \u201cLet the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha walk\u201d is very good. The more I practice, the more effective it is; that\u2019s why I practice it very regularly. This gatha can also be practiced in other positions, like \u201clet the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha sit;\u201d \u201clet the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha work;\u201d or \u201clet the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha brush these teeth.\u201d This practice is just like the practice of recollecting the Buddha\u2019s name. \u201cBuddha\u201d here is not a title; Buddha is a real human being that is breathing, walking, washing dishes, mopping the floor\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>I remembered how recently on the India tour, I practiced \u201cHere is \u1ea4n \u0110\u1ed9 (India), \u1ea4n \u0110\u1ed9 (India) is here\u201d instead of \u201chere is T\u1ecbnh \u0110\u1ed9 (the Pure Land), T\u1ecbnh \u0110\u1ed9 (the Pure Land) is here.\u201d When we did walking meditation on Rajpath Street in New Delhi, I practiced this gatha; and at the same time I practiced walking for my father, mother, spiritual ancestors, and for you. I practiced: \u201cThe Buddha is going for a walk; the Buddha is enjoying; the Buddha is happy; the Buddha is free. I am going for a walk; I am enjoying\u2026\u201d Then, \u201cmy father is going for a walk; my father is enjoying\u2026.\u201d When I practiced for you, I invited you to walk with my feet: \u201cI am going for a walk, I am enjoying\u2026.\u201d Each and every one of you was present with me during the whole trip in India.<\/p>\n<p>My children, you are monastics (xu\u1ea5t s\u0129) and lay\u00a0practitioners\u00a0(c\u01b0 s\u0129). \u201cXu\u1ea5t\u201d means to go forth or go out of; not to have a high social position, but to assimilate into the community of monastics. If the sangha needs you to go somewhere then you go; you don\u2019t only have one dwelling place. \u201cC\u01b0\u201d means to dwell; \u201cc\u01b0 s\u0129\u201d also means \u201cx\u1ee9 s\u0129\u201d, those who have not \u201cgone forth\u201d or ordained as monastics, who still have responsibilities towards their parents but also have the opportunity to take part in the practice and be part of the fourfold community. The monastic and lay communities rely on each other, support each other, practice transformation and help living beings. The sangha body is a beautiful community of four integral parts \u2013 monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen \u2013 \u201crealizing harmony, awareness and liberation\u2026\u201d The civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had hoped to build a community like that: a community that has happiness, brotherhood, and also the capacity to fight for the good of society. He called it the \u201cbeloved community.\u201d It\u2019s a pity that he was assassinated in Memphis when he was 39 years old, and that particular beautiful dream of his was never realized. We are more fortunate: we are able to build sanghas everywhere, so that every place will become our homeland. (\u201cThe Sangha body is everywhere; my true home is right here.\u201d) We have been able to continue, and to realize, the aspiration of Martin Luther King: cultivating brotherhood in our daily practice, living joyfully and helping others.<\/p>\n<p>I remember the last time I met Dr. King, in Switzerland, at the \u201cPacem In Terris\u201d conference organized by the World Council of Churches in 1968. Dr. King stayed with his assistant on the 11th\u00a0floor in the big hotel where the conference was taking place. I stayed on the ground floor with just one lay assistant. Dr. King invited me to have breakfast with him so we could talk. Because I was busy with a press conference, I was half an hour late, but Dr. King had kept my breakfast warm. In that meeting, I had the opportunity to tell him: \u201cThe friends in Vietnam really support you, and they see you as a living bodhisattva.\u201d He was very happy to hear that. Every time I think back on that meeting, I feel glad I was able to tell him that, because a few months later he was assassinated.<\/p>\n<p>The pine pathway leading to S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 temple is one of the most beautiful paths in Plum Village. Have you ever walked on that path with me? The pines were planted to become a forest, in rows, standing next to each other as a sangha body&#8211;fresh and green all through the year. There are about 8,000 pine trees in that forest. In the dry season, I usually stop in the middle of the path and sit down on the carpet of pine needles. If there is an attendant with me, then teacher and student have tea together before standing up and continuing the walk.<\/p>\n<p>The hut at S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 Temple, where I usually make a fire to receive venerable monks and nuns who come to participate in the Great Ordination Ceremony during the Winter Retreat, used to be a farmer\u2019s family home. Outside it looks very ugly; but the inside has been remodeled in a lovely way and is quite comfortable, especially around the fireplace in the living room. On the mantel above the fireplace there is a calligraphy that says \u201cbois ton th\u00e9\u201d \u2013 which means, \u201cdrink your tea.\u201d On cold and snowy days we have gathered, sometimes 20-30 of us, around that fireplace to drink tea and to tell stories from all over, because everybody has come from different places. \u201cWe are birds, flown here from four directions\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I had to give that hut in S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 a name. It\u2019s ugly on the outside, but inside it is very beautiful. I called it \u201cToadskin Hut.\u201d That\u2019s right! The skin of a toad,\u00a0peau de crapon\u00a0in French. A toad\u2019s skin is bumpy and not beautiful at all on the outside, but on the inside it can be very beautiful. When Dung, Brother Ph\u00e1p \u0110\u00f4n\u2019s father, first came inside the hut he said: \u201cOutside it looks like toad skin, but inside it looks like yellow jewels.\u201d Do you know that sentence? It\u2019s the first line of a riddle. \u201cOutside toad skin, inside yellow jewels. Even from a distance, you\u2019ll smell my fragrance. What am I?\u201d The answer is: a ripe jackfruit. On the outside, the skin of a jackfruit is bumpy like the skin of the toad; but inside, the ripe fruit is yellow and fragrant, and it looks like gold and jewels. And when you walk near a ripe jackfruit, you will smell its fragrance. That riddle may be from around Hue, because it has the three words \u201cth\u01a1m l\u1eebng l\u1ef1ng\u201d (fragrant from afar). So my hut in S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 is toad skin on the outside, but if on the inside it looks like jewels and gold, that is thanks to the hard work of Hieu, the blood brother of Brother Ph\u00e1p Quan. He has done a lot of work redecorating this place that used to be the home of a poor farmer. I\u2019ve started to like the \u201cToadskin\u201d name already \u2013 don\u2019t you think it\u2019s funny?<\/p>\n<p>In one of the old myths, a young man was walking along some rice fields, saw a toad, and stepped over it. As he stepped down, he heard from behind him the sound of a young woman clearing her throat. Turning around to look, he was surprised to see a beautiful princess. Naturally this young man and the princess started to converse, and at the end he invited her home to introduce her to his parents. He didn\u2019t forget to pick up the toadskin, take it home with him and tear it apart, so this stunningly beautiful princess couldn\u2019t crawl back into her bumpy toad skin. I feel I am as fortunate as that young man. I have met many bumpy toads on my journey; but those toads, after shedding their skins, have become charming princes and drop-dead gorgeous princesses. Every time your bodhicitta manifests, you\u2019ll be as beautiful as princes and princesses. And the image of the sangha climbing the hill of the century is truly a wonderful image.<\/p>\n<p>There are familiar walking meditation paths that have appeared in my dreams. Paths at the root temple, Tu Hieu, that Thay had trodden when he was still a novice have become legendary paths, and occasionally they appear in my dreams of finding a true home. My children at Praj\u00f1a have created similar paths, and the stones on those paths have become familiar through the mindful steps of each prince and princess. Fragrant Palm Leaves had paths like that. The Hermitage Among the Clouds also had paths like that. Deer Park has paths like that; and presently at Blue Cliff my spiritual children are using mindful steps to cultivate their own paths like that. The old walking meditation paths at Green Mountain Dharma Center and Maple Forest Monastery are no less beautiful. They made a song: \u201cTogether we shall go to visit Green Mountain, climb the immense sky, we shall go the tea house, walk around the pond\u2026\u201d For sure the Pure Land has paths like that, that always help us remember it when we go away. Do you remember the walking meditation path along the creek and through the bamboo forest at the hermitage?<\/p>\n<p>This afternoon, sitting in Still Water Meditation Hall, I invited the Buddha to breathe with my lungs. I said: \u201cThese are my lungs, but they are also your lungs. Please breathe at your ease. My lungs are still healthy, don\u2019t worry\u201d \u2013 and the Buddha breathes happily; both of us breathe happily together.<\/p>\n<p>S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 temple is surrounded by forest, mostly pine trees. It has a stream and a pond. \u201cS\u01a1n H\u1ea1 h\u1eefu tuy\u1ec1n, tr\u1ea1c chi t\u1eafc d\u0169\u201d is a verse taken from the Kinh Th\u1ee7y S\u00e1m (Healing Water Discourse); it means, \u201cat the foot of the mountain, there is a stream; take the water and wash yourself, and your wounds will heal.\u201d S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 temple is at the foot of a great hill. There is a bridge crossing over the stream, at the end of the bridge is a stone engraved with the words \u201cS\u01a1n H\u1ea1 h\u1eefu tuy\u1ec1n&#8230;.\u201d in classical Chinese. This great hill is the Th\u1ec7 Nh\u1eadt hill; on top of it is Dharma Cloud temple, the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village. Brother Nguy\u1ec7n H\u1ea3i is the abbot of Dharma Cloud temple, but because he is teaching in Vietnam, Brother Ph\u00e1p \u0110\u00f4n is presently serving in his place. Brother Ph\u00e1p S\u01a1n is the abbot of S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 temple. He is from Spain and he also has English citizenship, and in addition to Spanish he also speaks English, German and French very well. The layfriends really like the setting of S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 temple. This winter there are eighteen lay practitioners praticing there alongside the monks.<\/p>\n<p>One time last year during the winter retreat, I played \u201ctour guide\u201d and brought some people up from S\u01a1n H\u1ea1 to Dharma Cloud temple via the pine pathway. These \u201ctourists\u201d weren\u2019t any strangers, though. They were professor Ho\u00e0ng Kh\u00f4i \u2013 Ch\u00e2n \u0110\u1ea1o H\u00e0nh and his wife Ch\u00e2n Tu\u1ec7 H\u01b0\u01a1ng, both of whom are very good students of Th\u1ea7y. Last winter the two of them came from Sydney to participate in the Winter Retreat in Plum Village, and they stayed in Upper Hamlet. These two lay friends are very good Dharma Teachers. They have transcribed and edited many of Thay\u2019s books in Vietnamese, like\u00a0Illusionary and Real Happiness,\u00a0The Liveliness of\u00a0Meditation Practice, etc.<\/p>\n<p>After having them for tea at my Toadskin hut in S\u01a1n H\u1ea1, I led them along the pine pathway up to Upper Hamlet. I said to them: \u201cImagine you are going to Dharma Cloud for the first time. I am taking you to see a Zen master in a thatched hut, the Sitting Still Hut on the eastern side of the Th\u1ec7 Nh\u1eadt hill, close to Dharma Cloud Temple. If you know how to take each step up this hill with mindfulness, then you will have more opportunities to meet this teacher, because he usually pratices walking meditation by himself in the hills, sometimes picking wild greens, sometimes gathering medicine (S\u01b0 th\u00ea d\u01b0\u1ee3c kh\u1ee9). There are times when he spends the whole day in the forest and no one knows where he sits, not even his novice attendants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That day the rain had just stopped. The sun was shining beautifully on the leaves still glistening with raindrops, just like jewels catching the morning light. I stopped walking and put out my hand to catch a drop of water from a pine needle; the glistening water fell onto my finger in one round drop. I told Professor Ch\u00e2n \u0110\u1ea1o H\u00e0nh to put out his hand to recieve this jewel, and I put it on his palm. His hands had been in his pockets, so they were still dry and warm, and when the jewel was placed on his hand it was still a whole drop. I also \u201cpicked\u201d a jewel like that for Ch\u00e2n Tu\u1ec7 H\u01b0\u01a1ng. The Earth and sky are so wonderful. Every moment is a precious jewel containing sky, water, clouds, earth. With just one mindful breath, so many miracles manifest.<\/p>\n<p>Walking meditation is like that. Each step is a realization; each step is joy; each step is nourishment and healing. When we started up the hill, I stopped, pointed up to a corner of the hill and told them, \u201cA short distance from here, you shall see the Sitting Still Hut. Maybe the master is sitting there.\u201d And when Sitting Still hut was visible, I stopped again, pointed to the hut so they could see it, and invited them to breathe and smile. In reality, both of them had seen Sitting Still hut many times already, and many times drank tea with me in that Hut; but this time they were using a new set of eyes to look and explore something new. The three of us were like people out of a legend, looking for a Zen master in the mountains, not knowing whether the conditions will be right for them to meet the master or not. (There are thousands of people who have been to Upper Hamlet, from so many countries; but how many were received as guests by the hermit at the Sitting Still Hut? Or how many have been received as the guests of the hermit at the Deep Listening Hut at our T\u1eeb Hi\u1ebfu root temple?<\/p>\n<p>Last year during winter retreat, Brother Ph\u00e1p Tri was my attendant at Still Sitting hut, under the guidance of his elder Brother M\u00e3n Tu\u1ec7. When Brother Ph\u00e1p Tri came back from his mindful manners class, not seeing me, he prepared to go into the hills to search for me. Right at that moment, I arrived with my two tourists. I was still playing \u201ctour guide\u201d and I asked the novice: \u201cIs the master in the hut?\u201d The novice looked confused, and he didn\u2019t know how to answer. I went on: \u201cOr is the master not back from gathering herbal medicine on the mountain?\u201d Now the novice understood. He answered: \u201cDear honored guest, my teacher is almost back from the mountain. I would like to invite everyone to come into the hut to drink tea while waiting for the master.\u201d At Vietnam Temple in Los Angeles, there is a calligraphy I offered to Venerable M\u00e3n Gi\u00e1c. It is a translation of a poem written by Gi\u00e3 \u0110\u1ea3o from the \u0110\u01b0\u01a1ng dynasty:<\/p>\n<p>By the pine tree the novice said,<br \/>\n\u201cThe master just left to gather herbal medicine on this mountain\u00a0but because of the thick fog you cannot see him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the attendant knew where his master was sitting and at which peak, but he answered in that way because he didn\u2019t want his master to be disturbed by the visitor. He didn\u2019t want to have to go search for the master, so the master could be left alone to sit in peace. Occasionally fog envelops Th\u1ec7 Nh\u1eadt mountain, but not as much as at Kim S\u01a1n Monastery in Northern California.<\/p>\n<p>My pine path has become a legend too, don\u2019t you see? But what path that we tread hasn\u2019t? Like the walking meditation path to the creek at Praj\u00f1a. We have walked that path many times with such steps, do you remember, my children? The path leading the to Thousand Lotus Petal mountain in Deer Park \u2013 how many times have we climbed that mountain? How many times have we sat on those boulders at the top of the peak, looking down at the valley and at Escondido covered with fog? The walking meditation path starting from the Buddha Hall garden in T\u1eeb Hi\u1ebfu down to the half-moon pond, around the morning star pond, accross the three-door gate up D\u01b0\u01a1ng Xu\u00e2n Hill or towards the patriarch\u2019s stupas \u2013 that path has become legendary, and appeared in my dreams over the forty years I was away from Vietnam. The walking meditation paths in Lower Hamlet and New Hamlet also carry two decades of our footprints, and every time we go far away, we always miss them.<\/p>\n<p>We have printed our Buddha footsteps on walking meditation paths at Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains; on the walkways of Stonehill College; on the grounds of the University of California at Santa Barbara; at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles; on main roads of big cities like Frankfurt, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, New Delhi, Hanoi, etc. I remember when we did walking meditaion by Ho\u00e0n Ki\u1ebfm Lake, as a sangha of monastic and lay practitioners of 41 nationalities. We made steps of peace and freedom by the lake, crossing Th\u00ea H\u00fac Bidge into Ng\u1ecdc S\u01a1n Shrine. The locals were surprised to see a group of people walking with freedom, as business-less people amidst the bustle of Vietnam\u2019s capital, where everyone seems to be preoccupied and in a hurry. Upon seeing such a group of people, some said they rediscovered the roots of their culture and their true home. We walked the same way in Trung H\u1eadu, \u0110\u1ed3ng \u0110\u1eafc, S\u00f3c S\u01a1n, B\u1eb1ng A, V\u0103n Mi\u1ebfu, Hoa L\u01b0, T\u00e1t Di\u1ec7m, Di\u1ec7u \u0110\u1ebf, Thuy\u1ec1n T\u00f4n, Linh M\u1ee5, Linh \u1ee8ng, Tam Thai Ch\u00fac Th\u00e1nh, M\u1ef9 S\u01a1n, Cam Ranh, Th\u1eadp Th\u00e1p, Nguy\u00ean Thi\u1ec1u, Gi\u00e1c Vi\u00ean, Gi\u00e1c L\u00e2m, \u1ea4n Quang, Ho\u1eb1ng Ph\u00e1p, and Ph\u00e1p V\u00e2n. Everywhere is the holy land to us. Any place can be our true home, when we know how to stop and live in awareness.<\/p>\n<p>The year 2008 will end in a few weeks. Sitting here, writing this end-of-the-year letter for my spiritual children, I feel a lot of warmth, as if I am sitting with you all. New Hamlet will host Christmas this year, Lower Hamlet will host the New Year\u2019s celebration, and Upper Hamlet will host the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the Year of the Ox. In this winter\u2019s New Lotus Season Great Ordination ceremony, about twenty-seven people will receive transmission of the Dharma lamp, and Brother Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu will be one of them. Little Hu\u1ef3nh Th\u1ebf Nhi\u1ec7m came to Plum Village for the first time when he was seven years old, and he came back many times after that. Nhi\u1ec7m ordained at the age of twelve, in February 2002. Now Nhi\u1ec7m will receive the lamp and become a Dharma Teacher. That is Brother Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu. During this winter retreat, Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu has seven lay mentees. They are very happy to have such a young mentor.<\/p>\n<p>My baby monks and nuns are now all grown up! Other than Brother Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu, there are Brother Ph\u00e1p Chi\u1ebfu and Sisters M\u1eadt Nghiem, \u0110\u00e0n Nghi\u00eam and M\u1eabn Nghi\u00eam also mentoring our lay friends. Sister M\u1eabn Nghi\u00eam received the lamp transmission last year in the Earth Refreshing Great Ordination ceremony, becoming the youngest Dharma Teacher in Plum Village. Sister M\u1eabn Nghi\u00eam met me for the first time when she was five years old. She came to Plum Village to ordain when she was twelve. H\u1ea1 Tho\u1ea1i M\u1ef9 Quy\u00ean was her name. When she was sixteen she read my book\u00a0Speaking to Twenty-Year-Olds\u00a0and she promised herself that when I turned eighty she would write a book for me with the title,\u00a0Speaking to Eighty-Year-Olds. Quy\u00ean did write that book when she turned twenty; it was 300 pages long, and I still have it in my Fragrant Source hermitage. I am the only one allowed to read it, Sister M\u1eabn Nghi\u00eam has told me.<\/p>\n<p>Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu will become a young Dharma Teacher. In his ten years together with me, we have never been upset with each other. The connection between us is very good. Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu has become one of the best attendants \u2013 most attentive, no less than Brother Ph\u00e1p Ni\u1ec7m; very organized. He doesn\u2019t wait for me to tell him what I need. One time I said to Ph\u00e1p H\u1eefu: \u201cIn the past when the Venerable Ananda was attending the Buddha, he was only as good as you are being my attendant now.\u201d Nhi\u1ec7m humbly answered, \u201cBut I don\u2019t have good memory like the Venerable Ananda.\u201d I chuckled and said, \u201cYou don\u2019t need Venerable Ananda\u2019s memory, because you already have an iPod in my shoulder bag.\u201d Master and student looked at each other and giggled.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly I am thinking of snow. Snow is falling right now in Waldbr\u00f6l, at the EIAB. Last week, Sister S\u00f4ng Nghi\u00eam called and told me that snow was falling and that it was ten inches deep on the ground. The scenery in Waldbr\u00f6l is now wonderfully beautiful, and she invited me to come over there to play with them. But I am there right now, do you not see that, my children? I am also right now at Blue Cliff, Deer Park, Maple Village, Lotus Bud, Magnolia Village, Prajna, T\u1eeb Hi\u1ebfu, Hohenau, Source of Compassion, and many other places! You have to be able to see me right there where you are sitting or standing. Do the younger ones still remember Brother Ph\u00e1p L\u00e2m\u2019s riddle? I am not only in India. Have you heard the Zen master V\u00f4 Ng\u00f4n Th\u00f4ng say, \u201cHere is India; India is here\u201d (T\u00e2y Thi\u00ean th\u1eed \u0111\u1ed9, th\u1eed \u0111\u1ed9 T\u00e2y Thi\u00ean) yet?<\/p>\n<p>I remember the hammock that hangs among the trees behind the Insitute. Before going there, I had written a letter for my children in Germany. I asked anyone who has a hammock to bring it for me to borrow. I would hang the hammock in the apple orchard and sit on the hammock to play with my children, celebrating the new Insitute. I don\u2019t know who passed on that letter, but when I arrived at the Institute, my attendants reported that a total of 149 hammocks that been brought. Next summer, we will have more than enough opportunities to practice hammock meditation over there.<\/p>\n<p>Writing letters for my children, I don\u2019t know how much is enough. I will stop here. I will see you again on the eve of the Lunar New Year, during the poetry sharing. I wish everyone much happiness and progress in building brotherhood and sisterhood.<\/p>\n<p>Th\u1ea7y<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thay wrote this\u00a0end-of-year letter addressed to all of his students about the Toadskin Hut, the hermit of Still Sitting Hut, walking meditation paths that have become legendary, and the new young Dharma Teachers in Plum Village. &nbsp; Still\u00a0Sitting\u00a0Hut, Plum Village Upper Hamlet, France December\u00a05,\u00a02008 There is sunshine in Upper Hamlet today. I went for walking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","topics":[],"class_list":["post-160244","letter","type-letter","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter\/160244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/letter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter\/160244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=160244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}