- All
- Buddhist Concepts
- Emotional & Spritual Practices
- Engaged Buddhism
- Mindfulness & Meditation
- Retreat
Second Mindfulness Training: True Happiness
Tonight we reflect on the second mindfulness training, True Happiness, as written by Thich Nhat Hanh, or Thay, followed by reflections on happiness, its different levels, and the ...
Read More 
The Fourth Mindfulness Training
Snowflower Sun August 2026 Based on a Dharma Reflection by Dave Zeman Preamble to the Five Mindfulness Trainings The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a ...
Read More 
Navigating These Times
SnowFlower Sun July 2026 Based on a Dharma Reflection by Susan Schwaab Before I meditate, I usually read something from a Buddhist teacher. Right now, I am reading ...
Read More 
The Four Noble Truths: A Path to Liberation
SnowFlower Sun May 2026 Based on a dharma reflection by Gloria Green in October, 2025 The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are the direction, the ...
Read More 
Working with the Five Hindrances
SnowFlower Sun March 2026 Walt Keough looks at how we can use the Five Hindrances to increase our self awareness, instead of using them as a checklist for ...
Read More 
Gratitude and Equanimity
SnowFlower Sun November 2025 from a talk by Cheri Maples Cheri Maples looks at how gratitude is rooted in humility and leads to wonder. She explores faith that ...
Read More 
Seed for a Boundless Life – Part 1
SnowFlower Sun February 2021 By Zenkei Blanche Hartman; Excerpts by Susan O’Leary “When we sit in meditation, we can see the tranquil world despite the chaos that is ...
Read More
Tonglen Loving Kindness
SnowFlower Sun October 2020 from a talk by Cheri Maples Tonglen is a loving kindness practice that has its roots in the Tibetan tradition. Interestingly, it is actually ...
Read More 
Discourse on the Dharma Seal
SnowFlower Sun November 2020 from a talk by Jim Roseberry What is the essence of this discourse in which the Buddha identified the Dharma Seal as the Three ...
Read More 
Awakening Joy through the Practice of Gratitude
SnowFlower Sun December 2020 from a talk by Mary Michal in January of 2015 I used to think that joy was a feeling that I would either experience ...
Read More
My Master’s Robe
SnowFlower Sun January 2021 by Thich Nhat Hanh My monastic ordination at Tu Hieu temple was scheduled for 4:00 o’clock in the morning. The night before, after chanting ...
Read More 
Finding the Positives
SnowFlower Sun March 2021 from a talk by Don Katz-March/April 2013 If, as the Second Mindfulness Training, “True Happiness”, tells us, “we already have more than enough conditions ...
Read More 
Growing Compassion, Attention, Presence: the 4th Mindfulness Training
SnowFlower Sun April 2021 From a talk by Walt Keough in 2012 Loving speech and deep listening are broader, wider practices than might first appear. Practice and effort ...
Read More 
A Guided Metta Meditation
SnowFlower Sun May 2021 adapted from Kamala Masters by Mary Michal May I relax my heart and my body. Praise and blame, happiness and suffering, all arise and ...
Read More 
Our Body Doesn’t Lie
SnowFlower Sun January 2023 a dharma talk by Lisa Gleuck Early on, I’d sit on my zafu and soar freely through space. (At least on a good day.) ...
Read More 
Aging and Buddhism
SnowFlower Sun January 2024 A Dharma Talk by Don Katz The Buddha’s great journey to seek awakening was a journey inspired by the recognition of the suffering caused ...
Read More 
Cultivating the Inner Stability of Equanimity
SnowFlower Sun October 2023 A Dharma Talk by Don Katz In the world we usually inhabit, there are evil people doing evil self-interested deeds. These often include political ...
Read More 
Equanimity: Calmness and Composure in Difficult Situations
SnowFlower Sun July 2023 A Dharma Talk by Gloria Green Tonight’s talk will be on Equanimity. You may want to meditate using the traditional format for Equanimity, as ...
Read More 
Right Diligence
SnowFlower Sun April 2023 a dharma talk by Lisa Glueck The last three steps on the Buddha’s Eight-fold Path concern mental discipline. They are Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness ...
Read More 
Non-striving and Engaged Buddhism
SnowFlower Sun March 2024 From a Dharma talk by Celeste Robins Non-striving is a Buddhist concept. In The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thay tells us: “There is no need ...
Read More 
Practicing as an Engaged Buddhist
SnowFlower Sun July 2024 From a Dharma talk by Susan Schwaab I’d like to start with a quote from an interview with our teacher Thay: “Engaged Buddhism” is ...
Read More 
Gratitude & Equanimity
SnowFlower Sun October 2024 By Cheri Maples GRATITUDE Mindfulness and the practice develop an attitude of gratitude. The first aspect of gratitude is humility. You can’t find gratitude in ...
Read More 
Generosity
SnowFlower Sun January 2025 From a Dharma talk by Don Katz Generosity (dana in sanskrit) is the first of the six paramitas (or perfections). Some commentaries on generosity ...
Read More
Letting Go of Your Cows
SnowFlower Sun April 2025 From a Dharma talk by Gloria Green Thich Nhat Hanh explains, “When I use the word ‘cow,’ its first meaning is something that you ...
Read More 
Apranihitai– the Third Door of Liberation
SnowFlower Sun September 2020 from a talk by Amy Krohn Thay gives us many touchstones to rely on in our practice, so beautifully pulling profound concepts into simple ...
Read More 
Statement on Racial Justice
SnowFlower Sun As a sangha practicing in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, SnowFlower Sangha mourns the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other ...
Read More 
Statement on Racial Justice – Updated
Update on Statement by SnowFlower Sangha on Racial Injustice For many SnowFlower members, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Engaged Buddhism is what drew them to this sangha. Aware of the ...
Read More
Practicing Compassion Amid Chaos & Illusion
SnowFlower Sun August 2020 from a talk by Jim Roseberry The term ‘compassion’ maintains an exalted status in Buddhism. Avalokiteshvara (or Kwan Yin) is revered as the Bodhisattva of ...
Read More
Where is Thich Nhat Hanh Right Now?
SnowFlower Sun July 2020 from a talk by Steven Spiro, Spring Thay is known for saying that the next Buddha will be the Sangha. In Buddhist tradition the ...
Read More
Compassion: The Wish to Alleviate Suffering
SnowFlower Sun June 2020 from a talk by Gloria Green Compassion is the strong wish of the heart to alleviate suffering. Our hearts open to the suffering that ...
Read More 
A Cloud Never Dies
SnowFlower Sun May 2020 from a talk by David Zeman “What Happens When We are Alive and What Happens When We Die?” This was the theme of a ...
Read More
Interplay of the Divine Abodes
SnowFlower Sun April 2020 from a talk by Gloria Green Loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity are called divine as they teach us how to lessen suffering, ...
Read More 
Letting Go
SnowFlower Sun March 2020 - Excerpts from a talk by Don Katz The type of practice in which I am engaged is letting go by giving everything (bestowing ...
Read More 
Embracing the Sacred and the Mundane
SnowFlower Sun February 2020 - Excerpts from a talk by Lisa Glueck As many of us recognize, at least intellectually, the sacred and the mundane are one and the ...
Read More 
Mindfulness of What?
SnowFlower Sun January 2020 Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. This very explicit instruction of Thay’s will be explored in this talk. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something, ...
Read More 
The First Practice and the First Perfection
SnowFlower Sun December 2019 from a talk by a SnowFlower Dana is the term used in Buddhism to refer to the practice of giving. Recognized in all wisdom ...
Read More 
The Four Immeasurable Minds
SnowFlower Sun November 2019 Excerpts from Bonnie Trudell's talk The Four Immeasurable Minds is one of the clearest and most beautiful teachings of the Buddha. The four elements ...
Read More 
Excerpts from Cheri’s Lamp Transmission Dharma Talk
SnowFlower Sun October 2019 by Cheri Maples January 9, 2008. Dear Thay, Dear Venerables, Dear Sangha: Finding Thay’s teachings and being instructed and supported in developing a mindfulness ...
Read More 
Vedana: Mindfulness of Feeling
SnowFlower Sun September 2019 From a talk by Lisa Glueck As you know, the Four Foundations are deeply interconnected and flow inseparably into one another. When we feel ...
Read More 
Gratitude and Equanimity
SnowFlower Sun August 2019 From a talk by Cheri Maples You can’t find gratitude in your mind. You can only find it by leading with your heart and ...
Read More 
Cultivating Joy and Happiness
SnowFlower Sun June 2019 from a talk by Lisa Glueck The Dalai Lama tells us that the purpose of life is to be happy. This is not a ...
Read More 
The Sustaining Power of Mindfulness
SnowFlower Sun May 2019 from a talk by Cheri Maples The understandings, openings, and sense of vastness created by a mindfulness practice happen in different ways for different ...
Read More 
Silent Illumination Meditation
SnowFlower Sun April 2019 from a talk by Susan O'Leary Our lineage through Thich Nhat Hanh is in the Linji (‘Rinzai’ in Japanese) Zen tradition. For me, the ...
Read More 
Equanimity: Spaciousness Stillness of Mind
SnowFlower Sun March 2019 from a talk by Lisa Glueck Equanimity is a spacious stillness of the mind that is able to meet with steadiness and serenity the ...
Read More 
Ending Conditioned Doing with the Eightfold Path
SnowFlower Sun February 2019 from a talk by Gloria Green The Buddha says that we can cultivate the wisdom that eliminates the ignorance that causes suffering. The course ...
Read More 
The Five Remembrances
SnowFlower Sun January 2019 by David Haskin The Five Remembrances, and the beautiful Upajjhatthana Sutta it comes from, is remarkable not just for its power but for how ...
Read More
A Priceless Gift
SnowFlower Sun December 2018 from a talk by Mary Michal As we approach the Holidays, how can we as practitioners bring our practice to the essence of the ...
Read More 
Meet MOSES (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity)
Meet MOSES (Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity) It’s been wonderful to have so many new SnowFlower participants in the last two years! This article is to ...
Read More 
From the Retreat Tea Ceremony
"When you go into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees… and some of them are bent, and some of them are ...
Read More 
Insights and Touching Moments from SnowFlower Fall Retreat 2018
The insight I gained was to not worry about tomorrow. There are many things our ancestors faced and we are here to tell about it. On Saturday evening, ...
Read More 
We Are Not Alone
SnowFlower Sun November 2018 by Lisa Glueck The great paradox: You go alone into your meditation room; you follow your breathing; you watch the play of your own ...
Read More 
Retreat Reflection by Doug Lien
A Spiritual Gathering Seeking connections, a sangha family Is drawn to the Driftless area of the state Where in the history of the planet, mankind Has often come ...
Read More
The Practice of Inquiry
SnowFlower Sun – September & October 2018 From a talk by Suzanne Kilkus Sitting meditation is a quest, an inquiry. Even when sitting quietly, gently, at the core ...
Read More 
Creation of SnowFlower
First Steps on the Journey How SnowFlower Sangha began is discussed in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Friends on the Path, a book that is actually a compilation of essays ...
Read More 
How SnowFlower Got Its Name
by Karuna Namenwirth From the windows of the speeding train on the way to Plum Village in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, there were miles and miles ...
Read More 
Buddhism on One Page
Buddhism on One Page by Larry Mandt The Four Noble Truths Life is hard. Life is hard because we continually want things that aren’t possible. Life becomes easier ...
Read More 
Open Hearts, Open Arms
We can't breathe! In Buddhist meditation, our breathing is essential. Anapana, meditation on the breath, was the Buddha's first meditation instruction and the basis for all further meditative ...
Read More 
The Coming Home Project
The Coming Home Project (CHP) offers programs that serve incarcerated individuals or persons recently released from prison. SnowFlower members volunteering in CHP frequently become deeply committed to this ...
Read More 
Skillfull Investigative Questions
SnowFlower Sun – July & August 2018 From a talk by Cheri Maples The first set of questions invites us to look where we are making our home ...
Read More 
Earth Holder Project
by Curt Pawlisch In her book, Oceans of Insight, Heather Mann describes how SnowFlower's Earth Holders Project began in early 2013 in response to heedless and rapacious mining, both ...
Read More 
Taking Refuge in Oneself
SnowFlower Sun – May & June 2018 From a talk by Sr. Annabel Laity (True Virtue) The Buddha advised his followers to take refuge in themselves: to ...
Read More
Loving Response to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis
March 2018 Dearest Sangha, As many of you have most likely heard, there is a humanitarian and refugee crisis for the Rohingya people of Myanmar. As many of ...
Read More Zen and Romantic Love
February 2018 by Zach Smith In light of the cultural holiday with love at it's center this week, Thay's take on this subject might be of interest to ...
Read More 
Winter Family Retreat Reflection – Magnolia Grove Monastery
Lotus seed pod in ice at Magnolia Grove Monastery I was a little nervous about driving 10 hours to an unfamiliar place where we wouldn't know a soul ...
Read More 
Thaypassana Reflection – Ann Varda
Bubbles in Ice February 2018 Overwhelmed by political and environmental problems, I went to the Thaypassana retreat at Holy Wisdom. “Doing the next right thing” – what is ...
Read More 
The Four Noble Truths for Today
The following "translation" of the Four Noble Truths for Today is taken from an excerpt from a Dharma talk Thay gave in Hanoi, Vietnam in May 6-7, 2008 (the ...
Read More YouTube Video of Cheri’s Memorial
Cheri's memorial service was a beautiful remembrance and refuge. In case you missed it or would like to re-watch it, you are now able to watch a recording ...
Read More Jon’s 2017 SnowFlower Retreat Reflection
I always look forward to SnowFlower’s fall retreat. I find it a bit daunting to write about it because I enjoy all of it: The setting in the ...
Read More Tod’s SnowFlower 2017 Retreat Reflection
For the past few years, I’ve been the volunteer who picks up a dozen dense, aromatic, freshly baked loaves at Cress Spring bakery and delivers them to the ...
Read More Doug’s SnowFlower 2017 Retreat Reflection
What a wonderful weekend retreat. Gathered amid ancient hills and valleys, To study and meditate on ancient learnings. Nature is always present with whispering winds, And falling leaves ...
Read More Ed’s SnowFlower 2017 Retreat Reflection
"Attending a SnowFlower retreat is like drinking a glass brimming with cool water on a scorching day. Retreats refresh me so that I can plunge back into the ...
Read More
Ten Practice Tips
SnowFlower Sun March/April 2010 by Cheri Maples Constancy. Sit every day, even if there are times when it can only be for five minutes. Take Responsibility for Your ...
Read More Register for the SnowFlower Fall Retreat
Socially Engaged Insight Meditation in Times of Difficulty SnowFlower Annual Fall Retreat October 13-15, 2017 Bethel Horizons in Dodgeville, WI Registration Form Frequently Asked Questions Once again we ...
Read More Sharon Salzberg Retreat in Cheri’s Memory August 26
Day Long Retreat in Honor of Cheri Maples will be Live Streamed We are so grateful to Sharon Salzberg for suggesting that she still do the Madison Day of ...
Read More Registration Now Open for the SnowFlower Fall Retreat
Socially Engaged Insight Meditation in Times of Difficulty SnowFlower Annual Fall Retreat October 13-15, 2017 Bethel Horizons in Dodgeville, WI Registration Form Frequently Asked Questions Once again we ...
Read More SnowFlower Annual Fall Retreat
Refuge, Transformation and Healing: Socially Engaged Insight Meditation in Times of Difficulty October 13-15, 2017 Bethel Horizons in Dodgeville, WI
Read More “Living Happily in the Present Moment, Transforming our Store Consciousness” Retreat
Retreat at the Christine Center, Willard Wisconsin, August 6 to 11, 2017 (Sunday night to Friday afternoon) “Living Happily in the Present Moment, Transforming our Store Consciousness”. The ...
Read More Thaypassana Retreat at Holy Wisdom from Feb 10-12
Open Heart, Peaceful Mind: Knowing Ease in the Midst of Difficulty Please join us for a three-day Thaypassana meditation retreat at Holy Wisdom Monastery from February 10-12, 2017 ...
Read More Day of Mindfulness hosted by Lakeside Buddha Sangha – 1/29 in Evanston
A Day of Mindfulness sponsored by Evanston's Lakeside Sangha will be held on January 29, 2017. 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m in Evanston, IL. The day is entitled: "Refuge ...
Read More SnowFlower Fall Retreat: Enveloped in Silence, Embraced by Metta
SnowFlower member Zach Smith reflects upon the recently held 2016 SnowFlower’s annual fall retreat and shares his experiences as a first-time retreatant. For a different perspective, please see ...
Read More SnowFlower Fall Retreat: Walking in Nature, Healing with Others on the Path
SnowFlower member Lisa Glueck reflects upon the recently held 2016 SnowFlower’s annual fall retreat, and discusses the value of retreats and what over the years has made SnowFlower's fall ...
Read More Summer Day of Mindfulness – July 23, 2016
Our sister sangha, the Mindfulness Community of Milwaukee, hosted the annual Summer Day of Mindfulness for people following the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh from Milwaukee, Chicago and ...
Read More Cheri Maples Offers Dharma Talk at Plum Village on Mindful Policing
SnowFlower Sangha is fortunate to count among its ranks Cheri Maples, an ordained Dharma teacher in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition. Last month at Plum Village, she gave ...
Read More