A kind of worship.("Always remember to ask permission before you pluck it, for the flower lives in the ultimate dimension.”

For me, celebrating the wildflowers or the birds is like a kind of worship.

MICHAEL LONGLEY Hello Dear Thay and Dear Sangha, The very first intimate encounter that I had with Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) was in the spring of 1998. The Winter Retreat had ended.  I had requested and received permission to stay on for a few weeks. We were at the Upper Hamlet for the ‘Daffodil Festival’, just 20 - 30 monastics and me. There was a lot of laughter. Thay experimented with being the video camera man. I remember it as a spectacular day, with a warm sun and blue sky. Blooming daffodils were scattered over the hillside directly beside Thay’s hut. He led us down the path, and we each settled ourselves here and there, to simply enjoy being. After a few moments, Sr. Chan Chong motioned for me to come sit beside Thay who was perched above us on a large boulder. I was so surprised, that I later wondered if I had remembered to bow to him! I felt quite shy, intimated really. (I had not yet practiced with the letting go of the complex of superiority, inferiority and equality.) He asked me a few questions, and then he cupped a daffodil in the palm of his left hand and said, “Do you see this flower? Always remember to ask permission before you pluck it, for the flower lives in the ultimate dimension.” With Love and Gratitude, Trish   ONe of my fav. shorebirds the black skimmer They actually skim to feed, as you can see their Bill is designed for it I see this fairly regularly at beach. I say an american oyster (/Above) catcher at the beach yesterday.