"When I was a sixteen-year-old novice monk, my teacher taught me to open the door and close the door with one hundred percent of myself. One day, my teacher asked me to get something for him. Because I loved him very much, I was eager to do it, so I rushed to do this task and closed the door quickly.
My teacher called me back: "Novice, come back here." I went back to him. I joined my palms and looked at him. He said, "Novice, this time go out mindfully and close the door behind you mindfully." That was the first lesson he gave me on the practice of mindfulness. At that moment, I began to walk mindfully and became aware of every step I took. I touched the doorknob mindfully. I opened the door mindfully. I went out and closed the door behind me mindfully. My teacher didn`t have to teach me a second time how to close the door.

When you hold the hand of a child, invest one hundred percent of yourself in the act of holding her hand. When you hug your partner, do the same. Forget everything else. Be totally present, totally alive in the act of hugging. This is the opposite of the way we`ve been trained to lead our lives and run our businesses. We`ve been taught to do many things at once. We answer an e-mail while we talk on the phone; while in a meeting for one project, we work on our notes for another project. Every new technology promises to help us do more things at once. Now we can send an e-mail while listening to music, talking on the phone, and taking a picture, all with the same device. With your energy dispersed, where is your power?
Instead of always multitasking, we must teach ourselves to unitask. Mindfulness needs some training. We may be very intelligent. We may understand this right away. But that doesn`t mean we can do it. To do it, we have to practice and train ourselves.

Mindfulness is the capacity to be present with one hundred percent of ourselves. The energy of mindfulness enables us to recognize the presence of what is. What is there is yourself, what is there is your loved ones. If you aren`t capable of being in the here and now, you won`t be able to recognize yourself, your happiness, or your suffering. Without mindfulness, we can`t help ourselves or our loved ones or succeed in our workplace. Without mindfulness, any power we have will be fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying."

- Thay (from The Art of Power)

On the 1st of April 2010, Thay made a present for each of his monastic and lay students in Plum Village. During the Dharma Talk Thay came to each person to hand him/ her a card with the graphic you can see above. Thay asked us to put this card in our pocket to remind us to be ourselves, to be at our best, to give hundred percent in everything we do in our daily lives. Maybe you feel inspired to do the same? Good luck! :)

"In Reverence to the Buddha Nature within all Beings

We, the Wake-Uppers from all ten directions (Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland) , gathered at the EIAB from the 1st to the 6th of April in the year 2010 for the "One Buddha Is Not Enough!" Youth Retreat to explore the precious gift of life and our great potential to give to life, in celebration of brotherhood and sisterhood.

Aware of the suffering caused in this place by unskillful actions in the past, we dedicate the wholesome energy of our coming-together, in order to water the seeds of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness within us and around us, to this soil and vow to nourish the seeds planted in us during this Wake Up Retreat.

May we cultivate the capacity to bare fruits of love and understanding and this Wake Up Tree bare nourishing fruits, for our ancestors, present and future generations.

Bowing to all beings in gratitude."

The Wake Up Tree Foundation was born on the 6th of April 2010, when the first Wake Up Walnut Tree was planted at the EIAB in Germany. We have the dream to continue planting Wake Up trees at the EIAB and in every place where a youth retreat takes place. A CD containing Dharma talks, deep relaxation, Wake Up music, etc. will be produced to raise funds for the Wake Up Tree Foundation. If you are interested in supporting this dream, please write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Nous organisons une retraite jeune avec des moines et moniales du village des pruniers dans un petit village perdu en Ardèche, du 12 au 16 mai.

Nous ne pouvons pas accueillir plus de 30 personnes, mais il reste encore une vingtaine de places. Il s'agit d'une retraite rustique : logement en tente, toilettes sèches, et vie quotidienne au cœur de la montagne.

Nous demandons une participation aux frais de 60 euros par personne, merci de nous contacter si vous êtes intéressé à l'adresse suivante : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , afin de recevoir la liste des choses à prévoir, l'itinéraire, les heures d'arrivée, etc...

Young peoples' retreat in Ardeche from the 12th to the 16th of May with PV monastics - 20 places available - accomodation in tents, simple living, compost toilets, happiness in the heart of the mountain.

We ask for a €60 contribution to the costs of the retreat - contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more info!!!

Belgium is waking up!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=247484736046&ref=mf

A few enthusiastic practitioners got together and decided to create a new facebook group: Wake Up Belgium. In this way, we hope to reach more people and to make the Wake Up movement better known.

We'd like to bring people together to practice mindfulness, and to bring more joy and awareness to the world.

Feel free to join us!

The brothers and sisters at Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, CA, USA, are very happy that spring is here and that our young adult retreat is approaching. Last year during our Another Way of Being Retreat we practiced together for five days, we sat, walked, worked, played, hiked all together with a lot of joy and togetherness. The Tea Meditation was a wonderful celebration of the talents and freshness of the Wake Up community that gathered here last year, including rapping, breakdancing and much more. The picture was taken on the mountain where we hiked for sitting meditation and dinner one evening.

So another retreat is coming up: Playing with our Monkey Mind - May 26-30, 2010.

During this retreat we will practice mindfulness together as a community: Getting to know our restless mind & befriending ourselves; Sitting, Walking & Eating Meditation; Working Together; Singing, Exercise, Hiking; Sharing & Listening; Silence & Nature; Discovering our Aspiration in Life   --- We will learn the art to focus, relax, be present, enjoy life and be happy together.

We have been gathering as a Wake Up community here at Deer Park on a Sunday afternoon each month, to come together mindfully as young adults. We have shared, drank tea, hiked and maybe on this Sunday March 14 weather permitting we can play some volleyball.

More information, pictures and a retreat poster can be found on the Deer Park Website! You are here and we are there! Enjoy your practice and keep growing! We'll do the same, one breath at a time!

You can download the lyrics here.