A Lotus on Fire

A Lotus On Fire:

How a Buddhist Monk Ignited My Heart

A Lotus on Fire
A Lotus on Fire
A Lotus on Fire

Synopsis

Sparked by a soul-searching glance by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, this spiritual memoir illuminates the mystical path of awakening to the Love beyond the boundaries of body and mind, race and religion. In this collection of personal letters written to a beloved teacher, Vickie reveals the vulnerability of a grieving heart touched alive by this timeless glimpse of Love that ignites her soul. Ultimately, she learns that the true teacher is simply a mirror reflecting our own pure essence, and that the love she saw in Thay's eyes is what she wants to reflect back to the world.

Combining the calmness of the Zen Buddhist mind with the fiery passion of the Christian mystic's heart, A Lotus on Fire invites the reader into that intimate space of communion with the wisdom and knowing at the heart of all great spiritual traditions

A Lotus on Fire

"In A Lotus on Fire, Vickie reveals the tender and devotional love that was ignited in one moment of awakening with Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and how that love slowly expands to embrace the whole world."


-Deva Premal and Miten, Grammy-nominated mantra singers and devotional musicians

A Lotus on Fire
A Lotus on Fire

About the Author

Vickie is a writer, spiritual director, yoga & meditation teacher, passionate about integrating embodied awareness, breath, and spirituality into everyday life.

Vickie's teaching and writing is a unique blend of body-based awareness, breath, and spirituality, offering healing and wholeness to individuals and groups. With an inter-spiritual heart that embraces the oneness of all spiritual traditions, Vickie offers workshops and retreats to build bridges, and create new kinds of spiritual communities, beyond the walls of traditional religion.


Vickie is the author of   A Lotus on Fire: How a Buddhist Monk Ignited my Heart, a spiritual memoir that traces her transformative journey with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and his Buddhist community.

She has also been published in several anthologies and journals:

  • Her short story "Thay in Disguise" was published in Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh

       (Parallax Press, 2023)

  • Her prose story "Listen Like a Lotus Growing Out of the Mud" was published in Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction and Companionship (December, 2024)
  • Her poem "The Good News" was recently published in "The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook (Creative Connex 2025)


As a progressive Canadian writer, Vickie gives a face and voice to the “ordinary” seeker who is seeking depth and meaning beyond the walls of convention and traditional religion, whether in yoga studios, sanghas, chanting circles, or outside in Gaia’s natural cathedral.


Ultimately, Vickie invites her students and readers to “slow down and listen deeply” to ourselves, to each other, to our planet, and to the Great Loving Mystery that holds us all. 

Connect with Vickie

In the Media

A Lotus on Fire

Other Writing and Collaborations

Vickie writes in the growing genre of Spiritual Life Writing, imbuing the everyday ordinary stories of life with the sacred and mystical, helping us find meaning and healing amidst the rawness of life.

"Vickie's writing reflects keen attention to embodied practices. Her prose reflects the natural rhythms of life, like breathing and walking, and is lyrical in style. Her poetry invites the reader to pause, contemplate, and reflect amid picture-perfect imagery. Vickie infuses her work with equal measures of sensuality and spirituality to nourish both body and soul."

- Lana Cullis, Co-Author of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook

A Lotus on Fire
A Lotus on Fire

Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press, 2023)

Edited by Jeanine Cogan and Mary Hillebrand 


Vickie feels honored to join with over 30 other international authors to share their transformative and healing stories of mindfulness, inspired by the teachings and practices of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vickie's short story "Thay in Disguise" shares her journey of looking for the teacher outside of herself, and finally finding the true teacher within. 

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Podcasts

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Vickie interviewed on A Buddhist Life Podcast

Listen to this uplifting conversation between Vickie and Roland Ikuta from the Buddhist Temple of Southern Alberta, about yoga and meditation, inter spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village, and Vickie's memoir "A Lotus On Fire".

Listen Now
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A Lotus on Fire
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Videos

The Art and Challenges of Spiritual Memoir
A Lotus on Fire Reading (Two Palms Up Sangha)
A Visit to Thay’s Sitting Still Hut (Wild Rose Sangha)
A Lotus on Fire Reading at the Martha Retreat Centre
Living Buddha, Living Christ Meditation (Martha Retreat Centre)
A Lotus on Fire Reading at the Buddhist Temple of Southern Alberta
Plum Village Mini-Retreat
Lethbridge Inter-Faith Network
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(Vickie's talk starts at 25 minutes)

Watch Now

Praise for A Lotus on Fire

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    Vickie's writing reflects keen attention to embodied practices. Her prose reflects the natural rhythms of life, like breathing and walking, and is lyrical in style. Her poetry invites the reader to pause, contemplate, and reflect amid picture-perfect imagery. Vickie infuses her work with equal measures of sensuality and spirituality to nourish both body and soul.


    - Lana Cullis, Co-Author of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook


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    "In A Lotus On Fire, Vickie MacArthur invites us into her expanding heart. An unexpected meeting with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh brought her face to face with love, vulnerability, and compassion. Vickie invites us all to consider how merging the practices of Christian love and Zen insight might expand our own hearts. "

    ---Jonathan Prescott, Ordained Student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

    Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Counselor

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    "In A Lotus On Fire, Vickie offers us rich and vulnerable prose on how she brought her kensho, a moment of enlightenment, into her family, her community, and her life. Lovingly and skillfully, Vickie braids the teachings and practices of yoga, Christianity, and Buddhism into a seamless story of inter-being for all. She is a wise guide to the great mystery, and how to live authentically in the world with a heart undisturbed, dwelling in peace, amidst the inevitable ups and downs of life."


    - Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward, Senior Dharma Teacher in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

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    "Vickie’s prose takes us gently by the hand on an intense and intimate journey into her spiritual connection with “Thay,” the world-renowned Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. From Canada to California and France, Written as personal letters to her teacher, Vickie’s memoir reveals the depth of her inner journey, from a grieving daughter to a woman kindled by transformative love."

    ---Rev. Dr. Teresa Elder Hanlon

    Spiritual director and priest with RCWP Canada

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    "A Lotus On Fire is a sensitive portrayal of Vickie’s spiritual quest, passing through the inevitable sufferings that life entails, and in the course of which the author’s heart is broken open to the universal spirit, which is love."

     ---Antoinette Voûte Roeder

    Author of The Space Between and Poems for Meditation

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