Traveling with new friends on the Loving Work Retreat gave me a sense of happiness and purpose that has stayed with me. The experience of working in community gardens with staff of Action for the City Hoi An and visiting schools both public and private is the essence of happiness itself. The Vietnamese are warm, kind and create an atmosphere where all things are possible. The trip to Quang Tri province is one I’ll always remember.
From the Sunflower Kindergarten where students sang songs for us, played games and found joy in receiving instant photos to keep - (Trish mentioned this would be something we could do and the joy it gave me was beyond all reason!!) to Tinh Truc Gia (Peaceful Bamboo Family), a residential program in Hue for individuals with disabilities. It’s easy to be happy, as Thay would say: “we already have sufficient conditions to be happy in the here and now,” and this was a
constant feature of the Loving Work Retreat.
Danna Zelenka, Mountain Lamp Sangha, Bellingham, Washington USA