We recently had an opportunity to catch up with a former resident’s parents and they surprised us! Mark and Shannon Flanders graciously and proudly updated CooperRiis on their son, Henry Flanders’ success after leaving our residential treatment program.
Update from Parents
Mark had this to share, “Henry is doing quite well. He is an ordained Buddhist monk in the Thich Nhat Hahn tradition. He lives and works at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California. His ordained name, which is what he now goes by, is Brother Minh Hoi. He was assigned the name in the ordination ceremony by the other monks, and in English, it means Brother Radiant Understanding. He lives very contentedly, and it all started with healing at CooperRiis. A real success story for your residential treatment program!”
His Recovery Journey
Henry, now known as Brother Minh Hoi, joined our community in 2015. At that time he had aspirations of becoming a professional musician while working on his recovery. Brother Minh Hoi often entertained our Healing Community throughout his stay with us, performing his own original music; singing, and playing guitar. CooperRiis Staff member, Sharon Edwards recalls what a “delight” he was to have in our community. Brother Minh Hoi enjoyed success within our program. He progressed into our more independent transitional living program where he pressed on with his musical career.
Former staff member, Luke Nelson recalled many enjoyable conversations with Brother Minh Hoi. “He was a deeply spiritual person as I recall. He told me stories of his travels where he’d met and studied with numerous people who lived a monastic way of life. I’m not surprised about this new path for him. It suits him well.”
Understanding Living in the Thich Nhat Hanh Tradition
To share what it means to live life in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition, we researched and found this, “Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist, revered around the world for his pioneering teachings on mindfulness, global ethics, and peace.” Regarding what it means to live in this tradition we found this, “creating a healthy, nourishing environment where people can learn the art of living in harmony with one another and with the Earth.” https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/
We couldn’t be happier for Brother Minh Hoi and his family that he has found this path of peace, mindfulness, and spirituality after a stay at our residential treatment program. May we all be so lucky to know who we are and live as honestly as Brother Minh Hoi has.
