Closing chant

We started with walking meditation at 5:40, and then assembled at the meditation hall for Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. I was most interested to see Jeff take his. I found him at breakfast and presented him with four pebbles for doing pebble meditation. He seemed genuinely appreciative. Everyone was smiling all morning. I found Ruth Fishel and gave her the certificate with her dharma name, which had been misplaced. That felt good. There was a lot more bowing and hugging. We are 900 close friends now. It was a beautiful retreat. John Bell and I had a nice talk. He remarked at how animated Thay seems this time.

After breakfast, Thay gave his closing dharma talk, which focused on "no birth and no death." It made me feel peaceful and calm. Nothing can be created form nothing. Everything is just a continuation of something else.

At the end of the retreat he invited the members of the Order of Interbeing to join the monks and nuns on stage for the closing chant,.Reciting the name of Alavokiteshvara. With the monks chanting in my ears I was completely transported. It was an ecstatic experience, as if I were just part of some large musical instrument being played by something far greater than myself. The chant went on and on, and I watched he members of the greater sangha, the 800 people in the audience become transfixed and transported as well. It was magical and mystical. The whole retreat was beautiful. The best part is that Thich Nhat Hanh himself, looks younger and more energetic than he has in years. His historic return to Vietnam after 40 years in exile, gave him great joy and newfound energy.

I gave a ride to Falmouth to a fellow retreatant named Mary. Then I proceeded to Cape Cod Hospital and got my chest X-ray.It didn;t take too long, and then I was home. It was nice to be home and to see my wife and to sleep in my own bed again.