A spiritual memoir of awakening to the universality of a Love beyond culture and religion, based on Vickie’s experience with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and his Buddhist community.

A Lotus on Fire weaves together the passion of the Christian mystic, the calmness of the Zen Buddhist mind, and the embodied wisdom of yoga into a seamless story of peace and inter-being for all.

Sparked by a soul-searching glance from Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, A Lotus on Fire is a spiritual memoir that illuminates the path of awakening to the Love beyond the boundaries of body and mind, race and religion. Revealing the intimate details of her inner spiritual journey, Vickie shows how her heart-felt connection to this much revered Buddhist teacher, dissolved layers of suffering and separation to reveal the inherent oneness of life.

A Lotus on Fire is rooted in a collection of deeply personal letters Vickie wrote to her teacher while grieving the death of her mother, and also trying to understand the kind of life-changing, all-consuming love she was experiencing – the same love that mystics from all spiritual traditions struggle to describe. This love is both personal and universal, and felt as vast, loving presence.

Moving between her day-to-day life in Canada and retreats in North America and Plum Village (France), Vickie skillfully blends her ordinary lived experience with mystical moments of mindful attention. Her story traces the classic arc of the spiritual journey, from the spark of awakening in the presence of her teacher, to finally recognizing the true teacher and wisdom within.

This spiritual memoir is a tribute to Thich Nhat Hanh’s exceptional life and integrative teachings. Inspired by Thay’s life-long aspiration to inter-faith dialogue, Vickie poetically weaves together stories from her own life with the teachings and practices of both her Buddhist and Christian communities, to build bridges of shared understanding and practice.  Her personal stories reveal how these teachings take root in everyday experiences – from healing generational suffering and grieving a loved one, to reclaiming a more holistic and embodied spirituality.

Struggling with the Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment and letting go of desire, Vickie learns to sit with the feelings of intense love and longing she has for God. Finally, she is able to integrate the calmness of the Zen Buddhist mind with the passion of the Christian mystic’s heart. Following in the footsteps of saints and mystics the world over, she learns that these feelings of love and devotion to God or guru can be a path of skillful means to finally dissolving into the pure heart of Love.

In revealing the subtle mystical connection between spiritual teachers and students, Vickie reclaims the deep love and inherent gifts that seem to have been lost in the traditional teacher/disciple relationship. Ultimately she discovers that the true teacher is a mirror reflecting our own pure essence. What she saw in Thay’s eyes is what she wants to reflect back to the world. Like any good memoir, Vickie’s story turns out to be a collective story – revealing what is available to us all when we open our hearts to the intimacy and universality of a Love that knows no bounds.