08/14/2026
🐾August 2026 issue of Coyote Tracks🐾
Dear Beloved Sangha,
As summer unfolds, we are grateful for the many ways our Sangha continues to practice, learn, and come together—across monasteries, retreat centers, classrooms, and our homes.
Many of our monastics are currently in Estes Park, Colorado, where they are gathering with friends for The Sun, My Heart Retreat at the YMCA of the Rockies. A delegation of monastics has also traveled to Oregon and will continue on to Alaska for mindfulness retreats this month.
We are happy to announce Sister Dang Nghiem’s new book, Live Beautifully, Die Beautifully, a memoir and spiritual guide about transforming suffering through mindfulness, compassion, and healing. Sister D shares her journey from trauma, loss, displacement, and grief to spiritual awakening as a Buddhist nun.
A new season of mindful education begins next week. We are especially happy to share that the Thích Nhất Hạnh School of Interbeing will officially open next week and welcome its first students. This is a beautiful milestone in our aspiration to cultivate a new generation grounded in mindfulness, compassion, and interbeing.
We warmly invite you to join us for the Thích Nhất Hạnh School of Interbeing Opening Ceremony and celebrate this meaningful beginning with us. Together, we will honor this new path of mindful education and the many hands and hearts that have helped bring the school to life.
From September 8–12, we will come together online for the True Love Heals Online Mindfulness Retreat, with Vietnamese translation available. Whether you are joining from near or far, we hope this retreat offers a space to pause, reconnect with yourself, and practice together with the Sangha.
This September, we also invite you to bring mindfulness into one of the most intimate parts of daily life: preparing and eating food. Our Peace is Every Bite Mindful Cooking Course begins September 13, inspired by the plant-based meals prepared in the Deer Park kitchen and by Thầy’s teachings on mindful eating. Through the course, we will explore how cooking, eating, and even washing the dishes can become opportunities to practice peace, gratitude, and joy.
To open this offering, we will gather for a special free online conversation on mindful eating, nutrition, and the health of our planet. Together, Dr. Walter Willett, one of the world's leading nutrition researchers, Dr. Cindy Leung, a Harvard nutrition scientist and educator, and Brother Pháp Lưu, a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, will explore how the food we choose each day can support both personal and planetary well-being.
And in October, the Buddha the Scientist Retreat (Oct 1-4) will take place at an off-site venue near Big Bear, California, while the Symposium will be held at UC San Diego on October 5. We warmly invite you to join us as we explore the meeting of contemplative practice and scientific inquiry.
We are seeking a Part-Time Bookshop Assistant to support the day-to-day operations of our in-person and online Bookshop. This is an on-site, part-time position (15-20 hours per week) with weekend working hours.
As we enter this new season, we invite you to continue nurturing your practice at home, with your family and friends, and in whatever ways help you stay connected with the Sangha. Every mindful breath, every peaceful meal, every step taken with awareness is part of our collective journey.
Enjoy your breathing as you read this month’s issue of Coyote Tracks.
With love and gratitude,
Your Brothers and Sisters at Deer Park Monastery
Read the full issue here: https://tracks.deerparkmonastery.org/p/peace-is-every-bite-course-and-webinar
