Harvesting Apples While Cultivating Joy & Siblinghood
On the 13th of November the Monastic Sangha gathered at a neighbor’s apple orchard. The community was kindly allowed to harvest the surplus of apples after the main harvest. Sometimes this can be called gleaning, (or glanage), and consists on the collecting of edible leftovers from a field after the farmer’s harvest. This has been permitted by law in France since the mid-16th century and remains on the books until today.
Apple picking, in fact, was quite secondary and only a pretext for the monastic siblings to cultivate joy, harmony, and true love.
We harvested many things… and even some delicious apples.
A river not very far from the site 
Photographed photographer 
Kicking the featherball (Dá Cầu) time. 
Dá Cầu fun. 
Dá Cầu game. 
Sheltering from the rain. 
Dá Cầu game. 
Sheltering from the rain. 
Dá Cầu acrobatics. 
Time to gather. 
Don’t pick the “wrong” apples. 
No picking Pink Lady apples. 
Quality Control 
Fuji Apple 
The Pink Lotus family celebrates their ordination anniversary. 
Captured while playing with food. 
Lunch Time. 
Aspirants and Novices. 
Br. Niem Luu is not sure if he likes to be photographed. 
Eating and trying to keep dry. 
Enjoying the sight of a German brother eating Asian noodles. 
The German brother. 
Br. Troi Niem Thuan looks deeply at the camera. 
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” 
Final selection. 
Fuji and Granny Smith apples.
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