Featuring an exclusive interview with the great Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, a look at the dramatic life and profound legacy of Chögyam Trungpa, Robert Thurman on Occupy Wall Street, Natalie Goldberg, and more.

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this issue's editorial:

• Full Disclosure

Editor-in-Chief Melvin McLeod declares — and celebrates — his and the Shambhala Sun's involvement with Chögyam Trungpa and Thich Nhat Hanh, the two great teachers featured in this issue. 

features

• Ocean of Dharma

It has been twenty-five years since the death of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a seminal figure in modern Buddhism and founder of the Shambhala Sun. Barry Boyce surveys his teachings and their lasting impact on how Buddhism is understood and practiced. "He lived to leave a legacy," Boyce writes, "so that far into the future people could experience the dharma he taught not as an artifact of a past time and place, but always as 'fresh-baked bread.'"

• Be Beautiful, Be Yourself

Thich Nhat Hanh on why Buddhists don't really believe in reincarnation, why meditation is only worth doing if its enjoyable, and why you don't have to be a Buddhist to be a good Buddhist. A provocative interview with the great Zen teacher, by Andrea Miller.
 

• Awakening My Heart

Andrea Miller attends a transformational six-day retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh.

• Thich Nhat Hanh on suffering

A retreatant asked the Zen teacher for guidance. Read his response, "Imagine a Pine Tree," from our current issue, now online in its entirety.

• Speak No Evil, Tweet No Evil

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all — but that's easier said than done, as sarcastic scribe Michael A. Stusser finds out when he tries to take up right speech for a month.

 
RELATED SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE VIDEO:

• Video: "The Speak No Evil" Experiment

PLUS:  Genine Lentine on lessons learned from a mother's life and death, and Jeff Greenwald on snakes and the fascinating stories we tell ourselves about them.

other voices

• Another New Year

Sitting still in the dark zendo at Upaya Zen Center and breathing with others is exactly what Natalie Goldberg needs. On this last night of the year, she wonders what this human life is all about.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• Natalie Goldberg: Her best from the Shambhala Sun

• Joined at the Heart

We can brighten the future of modern society, says Sakyong Mipham, by cultivating our communal basic goodness.

• Sakyong Mipham: His best from the Shambhala Sun

• The Cool Heroes of Zuccotti Park

Determined, insightful, nonviolent — Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman tells the protestors of Occupy Wall Street that they're just the kind of people the country needs.

RELATED SHAMBHALASUN.COM SPOTLIGHT:

• See video of Thurman's speech, and more, via our blog's ongoing OWS/Occupy coverage.

barry boyce on "the mindful society"

• Meeting of the Mindful

Meet Jenny Lykken, Ali Smith, Atman Smith, Andres Gonzales, Congressman Tim Ryan, and other pioneers introduced at Fall 2011's historic "Creating a Mindful Society" conference in New York.

SEE ALSO:

• Mindful.org

Bring the benefits of mindfulness practice into every aspect of your life, learn the science behind it all, get up-to-the-moment news, and watch video from "Creating a Mindful Society."