Articles

“Every morning in winter when I wake up, I put on some warm clothes and go out to take a walk around the Upper Hamlet. It is usually still dark outside, and I walk gently, in touch with the nature all around me, the sky, the moon, and the...

Thầy has arrived in Thailand. That in itself brought quite a shock for countless people. What needed to be done was realized quickly. I could feel each brother and sister’s heart in anticipation of seeing Thầy. Hearing that Thầy would come, Venerable Giác Viên, currently receiving treatment in Vietnam,...

We have many funny stories during the time of attending Thầy. Once, while aiding Thầy to walk, after a few steps he pointed to his feet. My brother and I were dumbfounded to see that we had put the right shoe on Thầy’s left foot and vice versa.

“What event in this year was the most meaningful for me?” If you had asked me this question, without hesitation I would have replied that it was the opportunity to attend Thầy. In this process I have found myself and I have also found you.

Plum Village community celebrated Vesak on 7th May in the New Hamlet, with over 400 monks, nuns, and lay friends, including the French sangha, and the members of the Order of Interbeing in France. Vesak commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing away (parinirvana) of Shakyamuni Buddha. In the morning,...

Ordained in 2002 aged 14, brother Phap Huu became vice abbot of Plum Village’s Upper Hamlet in 2008 and abbot in 2011. Throughout much of his monastic life he has served as Thay’s attendant whenever Thay travels. I spoke with Br. Phap Huu after he returned from SXSW film...

Sr. Chân Hội Nghiêm     A few years ago, our former Abbess of the Dharma Nectar Temple, Lower Hamlet wished to rest and to find someone to continue her work. She asked me, but I did not accept. Anything but to shoulder this responsibility. I did not want...

Sr. Chân Diệu Nghiêm (Sr. Jina) I would like to share an experience I’ve had in a Winter Retreat that has inspired me until today. This was in the early times of Plum Village, maybe in Winter 1991. Thay used to teach in the dining hall in the Lower...

After our annual 3-month Winter Retreat, Plum Village monks and nuns have an opportunity to share the teachings and the fruits of our practice. Every week in Plum Village we are welcoming over 150 lay practitioners, and the monastics are also heading out to lead retreats and mindfulness events...

In late March 2017, two senior Dharma teachers, Sr. Bi Nghiem from the EIAB, and Sr. Dao Nghiem from Plum Village, travelled to Israel to support two retreats: one three days retreat in Ramallah near Jerusalem, in the North of Palestine, in the Occupied Territory, and another five days...

Over 700 retreatants from all over France, as well as Switzerland, Belgium, Quebec, joined the Plum Village community for our annual Francophone Retreat from April 10-17. During this Easter week we enjoyed a full week of mindfulness practice, deep sharings, meditations, teachings and relaxation, all in French. The whole community...

“It is much easier to practice to generate joy and happiness in the spring time”, shared Sister Thuan Khanh in her Spring Retreat Dharma Talk a few weeks ago. It is true: the beauty of the flowers and the warmth of the sunshine touch our hearts and gladden our...

Last month, seven Plum Village monastics supported the launch of the world premiere of “Walk With Me“, the new documentary on Thich Nhat Hanh’s community, at SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas. From 11-15th March, they held a series of mindfulness and meditation sessions for festival-goers, including mindful walking, sunset meditation, and a...

As Plum Village enters the fourth week of our three month Winter Retreat, the days are getting shorter, the air fresher, and the energy of peace, stability, harmony, and togetherness deepening day by day. Elder Dharma Teachers have been offering inspiring talks, exploring the Noble Eightfold Path on the...

On the morning of Tuesday 15th November, Thich Nhat Hanh joined the fourfold community of Plum Village for a very special opening of our annual 90-day Winter Retreat. After missing two years of Winter Retreat in a row, the sangha is delighted that Thay’s health is now strong enough for...

Dear Beloved Community, On 25th September, our Deer Park Monastery in California held a memorial service to remember and celebrate the life of our dearly beloved Brother Phap De (“Young Brother”), who passed away peacefully on August 4, 2016, at the age of 81. Brother Phap De had been...

What is The Happy Farm – Lower Hamlet? The Happy Farm Lower Hamlet is a small organic vegetable farm located on the sister’s ground in Plum village. It brings together farming and the mindfulness practice of Plum Village. In 2012 the first Happy Farm was founded in Upper Hamlet....

What is The Happy Farm? The Happy Farm is a small organic vegetable farm located within the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village. We have around 1 acre of land in cultivation, comprising 50 beds which are 35m long and 1.2m wide. In addition we have a large polytunnel with...

The Plum Village sangha has just completed the 2016 “Love and Gratitude” Great Ordination Ceremony, blessed with the physical presence of Thay during the transmission of the Great Bhikshu and Bhikshuni Precepts and ceremonies to transmit the lamp to fifty new Dharma Teachers, lay and monastic. Collective Energy  This...

Pope Francis has designated February 8, 2016 as an International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. Many of our friends may remember that in December of 2014, a delegation from Plum Village made a historic visit to Rome to represent Thay at the invitation of Pope Francis, in signing...

We are very happy to announce the new Plum Village practice phrases to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Monkey. The practice phrases are a traditional parallel verse (or “couplet”) for the Lunar New Year (“Tết”), which will be celebrating in Plum Village soon: Sunday 7th February, 2016 is...