Scattered Memories

A collection of poems by Thay Giac Thanh (writing under his pen name Da Hac) the much loved senior disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh and the first abbot of Deer Park monastery in Escondido, California. Published here for the first time, these fifty poems explore his journey from young boy in Vietnam to Buddhist monk, to immigrant and monastic leader. While the early poems are full of romantic and poetic imagery, the subsequent ones convey a profound wisdom and vast spaciousness of heart. As both disciple and Zen master, he was committed to cultivating great compassion and liberation through inner discovery. Light in spirit, loving and wise, sometimes strict, often humorous - his poetry perfectly capture Thay Giac Thanh's clarity, wisdom, and vastness of heart. With beautiful original ink drawings by Orlin Mantchev.

Giác Thanh was born in 1947 in Vietnam and passed away October 2001 at Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA. Ordained as a monk at age 20, in 1967, he received the Dharma name Giác Thanh (Awakening Sound). In 1971 he went to Van Hanh University to further his studies in Buddhism. He left Vietnam as a boat person in 1981 and came to the US in 1982. In 1999 he became the first abbot of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA.