Plum Village

In 2023, Plum Village monastics went on their first music tour across North America, titled “The Way Out Is In: A Musical Meditation.” It offered a unique blend of contemplative music, poetry...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/music-a-dharma-door

On the 19th of May, the community at Plum Village France celebrated Vesak, honoring the Buddha's life and enlightenment. 

https://plumvillage.org/articles/vesak-day-at-plum-village-france-2024

As we approach Vesak celebrations at Plum Village Centers, we reflect on what it means to take refuge in the Buddha within during challenging times.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/honoring-the-buddha-within-reflections-on-the-buddha-his-teachings-and-the-ceremony-of-vesak

In this article Sr. Chan Lac Hanh shares about the journey of reuniting with her beloved omma (birthmother), knowing the right thing to do and how becoming a monastic has opened up a clear path a...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/i-walk-for-you

Ethics has the purpose of finding out what should be done and what should not be done. What is the right thing to do? Thay explores this topic in Talk 7 of our series on Ethics and how we can app...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/talk-7-can-you-live-a-happy-life

By recognizing what seeds lie sleeping in the depths of our Store Consciousness we can choose what seeds to water and how to practice on this path.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/entering-the-field

The door of compassion is the door of our hearts. In this article Br. Thay Minh Hy helps us look deeply into how to keep this door open for the benefit of all.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-door-of-compassion

For me, the Happy Farm, the vegetable garden at Plum Village, is a space where the doors to the Dharma are many and where a thousand flavors and colors abound at every moment.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-garden-of-1000-dharma-doors

In this article we reflect on the many joys of the 2023 Wake Up Tour in Europe and offer an invitation to join us on the road and on retreat in 2024.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/planting-and-nurturing-seeds-for-wake-up-communities-in-europe

The editorial team had a chance to interview the Daffodil family after their ordination to learn about their journeys, transformations, challenges, and aspirations.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/greeting-the-dawn

In this article we explore Sr Chan Duc's sharing on how to reconcile through the practices of Beginning Anew, Nonviolent Communication and Forgiveness.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/reconcile

The monastic sisters of the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village, France wish to offer a sincere apology for the pain some of our community endured when they saw on the Plum Village France Instagram three ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/a-message-from-sister-chan-duc

In this article we continue part two of 'Resilience, Community and Spirituality' from our panel sharing with Tho Ha Vinh, Rehena Haril and Satish Kumar

https://plumvillage.org/articles/resilience-community-and-spirituality-part-two

In our current global state, there is much despair, anger, blame, and disappointment. How do you continue to act from a place of love? In this article we explore answers to this question during a...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/resilience-community-and-spirituality-part-one

Thay was asked - How are you able to look out in the world with peace when you see so much suffering? How do you maintain your own sense of peace when you see all that going on around you? ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/love-is-the-answer

Brother Dinh Thanh shares his experience of transformation in the field of engaged ethics, thanks to a practice inspired by Thay's teaching.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/transforming-resentment-into-compassion

Thay said that stress is a great cause of suffering in our time. In this article Sr Chan Duc shares insights into the science of stress, the wisdom of the blackbird and the importance of knowing ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/how-to-relax

Tết is the Vietnamese word for the Lunar New Year. In this article we explain some of the ways we celebrate Tết (Wrapping Earth Cakes, Flag Raising, Oracle Reading, Visiting Rooms) and nouris...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/new-year-new-me-tet-in-plum-village

On January 29, more than 400 monastics from all Plum Village centers, alongside venerable monks and nuns of Hue and lay practitioners from over 30 countries gathered in Tu Hieu Root Temple to hon...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thays-2-year-memorial-ceremony

Plum Village is pleased to present the Parallel verses for Tet (the Lunar New Year 2024), to usher in the Year of the Dragon.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/parallel-words-for-the-year-of-the-dragon

How do we find a way forward in the midst of a seemingly hopeless war and darkness?

https://plumvillage.org/articles/nourishing-peace-in-dark-times

I am told to take care of the garden left to me by my ancestors. A garden always has beautiful trees and others that are not so healthy. That is the reason why we have to take good care of it.You...

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/new-buds-on-ancient-trees

When an aspirant first entered the monastery, they were not allowed to study the teachings right away but had to go through manual work for a long time. They had to see that the business of their...

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/sweeping-the-ground-of-enlightenment

Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk. We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere. Earth will feel safe When we feel in us enough safety.

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/peace-is-the-walk

Our true home is not our place of birth, our country, or four walls and a roof, but can be found in our own body and feelings, in the very here and now.

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/arrived

Dearest Thay, We, more than 400 of your monastic children from four continents and fourteen centers have returned to the mother pagoda. Did you already see this day dear Thay?

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/coming-home-to-the-mother-pagoda

A journey dedicated to Thich Nhat Hanh I have come to be with you, to weep with you for our ravaged landand broken lives… 60 years ago, the great flood of November 1964 in central Vietnam swep...

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-tnh-2-year-memorial/message-of-love

The 90-day Rains Retreat 2023-2024 has concluded, marking a period of deep study, practice, and transformation for our monastic and lay community.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/rains-retreat-closing-ceremony-2023-2024

Join us as the Plum Village sangha from the ten directions gather in Vietnam to honor Thich Nhat Hanh as Thay formally becomes an ancestral teacher in our lineage.

https://plumvillage.org/a/tnh-2-year-memorial

You can live your enlightened life every moment with mindfulness. Because mindfulness carries concentration and enlightenment. That is why I said enlightenment is our business, daily business. An...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/talk-6-the-wisdom-that-removes-the-root-of-violence

October 7th, 2023 - It was supposed to be the last Day of Mindfulness of our tour. A peaceful trip to west Bethlehem in a Salesian convent.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/an-impermanent-day-of-mindfulness

If love is something limitless, then understanding and wisdom should also be something limitless. We cannot say that our understanding ends here.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/talk-5-letting-go-of-rigid-beliefs

I still come and go in freedom, being and non-being are not a question. Arrive home, my child, with relaxed steps, not waning nor waxing, just one moon.

https://plumvillage.org/a/coming-and-going-in-freedom-den-di-thong-dong

Dear Beloved Thay, Dear Beloved Ancestors, Dear Beloved Mother Earth, We have gathered as a fourfold sangha in this solemn moment of the New Year to express our gratitude and aspiration as a spir...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/new-year-prayer-to-mother-earth-and-all-our-ancestors-3

In January 2024, Thay’s monastics and lay disciples from around the world are gathering in Vietnam to honor our beloved teacher as he becomes an ancestor in our lineage. Join us, to practice to...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/my-life-is-my-teaching-honoring-our-ancestor-thay

Composed by Dharmacharya Jack Lawlor (True Direction) Guidance on the Aspiration/Spirit of the Ceremony One of the greatest spiritual teachers of our age, of any age, Thich Nhat Hanh, experience...

https://plumvillage.org/a/ceremony-to-honor-thay-on-the-second-anniversary-of-his-transformation

Dear friends of Plum Village, this Holy Season let us all bring light into the world. There is the physical light ...and there is a spiritual light, which is the practice of Right Mindfulness and...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/message-for-the-holy-season

Christmas is a time of joy and celebration but is also not without its difficulties and challenges. We asked senior Plum Village Dharma teachers about how to mindfully navigate some of those chal...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/a-mindful-christmas-part-1-difficult-relationships-2

"The mind is a restless bird. The more it gets the more it wants and still remains unsatisfied." - Mahatma Gandhi

https://plumvillage.org/articles/talk-4-moral-dilemmas-and-cultural-differences

Sharing siblinghood and freedom joyfully together. Reflections at our recent LGBTQIA+ Retreat at the Dharma Mountain Center.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/be-free-where-you-are

When you produce a thought in the line of Right Thinking, a thought that has no discrimination, that goes along with interbeing, understanding, forgiveness, and compassion, that thought will have...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/touching-non-fear-and-freedom

According to Buddha Shakyamuni, free will is possible. It begins with mindfulness, and we are all capable of walking in mindfulness and breathing in mindfulness. These are concrete practices that...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/in-buddhism-free-will-is-possible

The "Daffodil Family" of three novice nuns and seven novice monks ordained on November 5th in Plum Village France.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/daffodil-family-ordination-ceremony-2023

The first teaching of the Buddha set the foundation for an ethic - the real sufferings in our hearts and in society, seeing their roots, and finding a path to transform suffering. Join us in refl...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/seeing-the-roots-of-suffering-and-a-path-of-transformation

A touching account of transformation by connecting deeply to our ancestors in the present moment.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-ancestors-calling-me-home

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

https://plumvillage.org/a/test-3

In response to the current situation in the Middle East, we share an open letter, a guided meditation, and a letter to the President of the United States.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/an-invitation-to-sit-together-for-peace

The Plum Village community in France began our 2023-24 Rains Retreat on October 19. Amidst a turbulent world, the community of 225 practitioners is committing to dwell peacefully together for 90 ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/now-we-have-a-path-2023-24-autumn-winter-rains-retreat

In this post are encounters with Thay shared by our monastic siblings and friends, who have offered these stories as a gift to celebrate Thay's Continuation day (October 11).

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thay-in-our-hearts

May the sound of this bell bring relief to the world. May the hearers awaken from their delusion of a separate self.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thays-dream

The next edition of Plum Village’s groundbreaking new long-form online course, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, will run from October 15 - December 3 2023, and there is still time to join.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/study-with-the-monastics-online

Brother Ruộng Pháp recounts his experience of taking care of his dying grandmother, elucidating the spiritual teachings contained within this challenging situation.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/my-face-before-my-mother-was-born

Brother Phap Linh aka, Brother Spirit, recently spoke at Overheated, a climate event in London co-presented by Billie Eilish.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/you-are-the-earth-the-earth-is-you

Over 300 educators from Europe and afar gathered for this one week retreat in late August to rest, renew, and connect within and with each other.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/educators-retreat-2023

Former school teacher Richard Brady speaks to Kaira Jewel Lingo about how he became a mindful teacher and his work helping other teachers learn mindfulness.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/free-at-school

We share photos and a first-hand account of our recent retreat for young people.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/love-in-action-2023-wake-up-retreat

Sister Bồ Đề recounts the challenges and the joys of last summer's children's program at the EIAB (European Institute of Applied Buddhism) in Germany.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-angels-of-summer

We invite you to share in moments from the Summer Opening for families. Over these three weeks, more than 2,000 lay practitioners – including 170 teenagers and 480 children came to live in simp...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/summer-opening-2023

In this extract from Answers from the Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh addresses how he sees the Buddhist view of homosexuality, and how we can free ourselves from the suffering caused by discrimination.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/homosexuality-and-discrimination

Three young friends recount how they explored questions of belonging and "home" during a retreat in Plum Village Monastery, France for young Asian diaspora.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/coming-home-to-our-roots

Enjoy a taste of two teaching tours in Latin America.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/transformation-and-healing-in-latin-america-2023

In June 2023, Plum Village Monastery, France hosted its first "hybrid" retreat with around 700 practitioners in-person and over 800 practitioners from around the world joining online.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/love-is-freedom-earth-retreat-2023

This Pride month, Brother Bao Tang and Rainbow Family Sangha members share heartfelt reflections on nurturing inclusiveness in the Rainbow Family.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/expanding-the-spectrum-of-love

What can we learn from astronauts? In this Dharma talk extract, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches how we can borrow their perspective to truly appreciate our precious planet.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/let-us-share-the-vision

Just a few days ago the Upper Hamlet hosted a group of business people coming from Vietnam. Please enjoy some photos of the retreat.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/vietnamese-business-retreat

As many countries celebrate Children's Day, we invite you to explore healing practices for your inner child.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/healing-the-inner-child

We have just arrived in Belfast and reached the middle of our tour. There are many reasons to celebrate. So many have been the hosts, friends and retreatants that we’ve met.  So much joy, toge...

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-2023-spring-tours/continuing-joyfully

We recently offered our second Coming Home to Mother Earth retreat at the Upper Hamlet.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/coming-home-to-the-mother-earth

On the 11th of May, the community at Plum Village Monastery celebrated Vesak, the holiday which commemorates the life and enlightenment of the Buddha.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/vesak-day-at-plum-village-monastery

On the 5th of May we have started our tour , “Nourishing Roots and Blossoming Branches“. We have just started and, at the same time, we have received so much from friends we find on our path....

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-2023-spring-tours/uk-ireland-tour

"I am well aware that practicing in order to nourish and refresh the vigorous joy of life in my heart, is something that I have learned and inherited from my mother." Enjoy this sharing from Sr. ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-silent-and-faithful-source-honoring-our-mothers

Dear Manifold Sangha, the community at Plum Village Monastery, France is delighted to share with you some images from the wondrous offerings from the Earth, our Mother.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/spring-season-2023

Freiburg (Weekend retreat with all-ages sangha, hiking, Earth-Holder event, and an evening with the Wake Uppers) Freiburg, our first stop, has received us with open arms, blooming hillside meadow...

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-2023-spring-tours/german-tour-freiburg-and-stuttgart

Scientists and Plum Village monastics from around the world gathered on Wednesday 26 April to launch the Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health in Harvard University.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thich-nhat-hanh-center-for-mindfulness-in-public-health-opened-in-harvard

Enjoy updates from our nuns and monks sharing mindfulness across the world.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/plum-village-on-tour-this-spring

A retreat with friends from Wake Up Lund, Wake Up Malmö and all-ages Sangha in Malmö.

https://plumvillage.org/live-blog-2023-spring-tours/wake-up-europe-sweeden

We recently welcomed over 400 Francophone friends from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ... to the first Francophone Retreat since 2019.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/francophone-retreat-2023

Thich Nhat Hanh has taught that in order to really care for Mother Earth, we should learn to fall in love with her. One very practical way we cannot connect intimately with our planet is through ...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-walk-mindfully-for-our-planet

Dr. Elli Weisbaum shares her experiences in bringing Plum Village mindfulness teachings and practices into healthcare settings.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/healing-the-healers

To celebrate Sister Chan Khong's (Sister True Emptiness) continuation day on April 9, we share here glimpses of this remarkable nun through the eyes of Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Chan Duc, and Siste...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/a-true-bodhisattva

True equanimity, says Kaira Jewel Lingo, is not in any way detached or uncaring—it’s inclusive, and loving, and the foundation for spiritual courage. There is a power that can help us meet th...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/how-equanimity-powers-love

In this 5 minute video, Brother Phap Dung explains the meaning of “Zen” and the value of bringing a “Zen flavor” to climate and social action. This is a clip from the upcoming Zen and the...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/how-zen-can-help-save-the-planet

Brother Thiện Chí recounts three moments of insight he has experienced so far in his monastic journey.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-taste-of-the-insight

Radical Love distills the Satish Kumar’s lifetime of experience as a lover, parent, activist, and educator into simple lessons on transforming our time of ecological crisis, conflict, and scarc...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/radical-love

Brother Phap Luu recollects impactful moments he has experienced with Thich Nhat Hanh since first encountering Thay in 2001.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thay-in-my-heart

Rooted in the Plum Village Tradition, the ARISE Sangha is committed to socially engaged mindfulness to bring about racial and social equity. We interview Marisela to learn more about the ARISE sa...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/getting-to-know-the-arise-sangha

I was the first Black monastic in the Plum Village tradition, and it was Thay’s inclusiveness, especially of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, that helped me see how I could actually live...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/black-is-beautiful

We are happy to announce that 19 novice monks and 38 novice nuns received the Revised Pratimoksha to become fully ordained bhikshus and bhikshunis at the "Trừng Quang" Great Precepts Transmissi...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/trung-quang-great-precepts-transmission-ceremony

In June 2022 Shelly Anderson received the lamp transmission to become a lay Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Tradition. In response to a letter from Sister Linh Di, she shares her experience of...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/on-dying-pain-and-being-alone

In reflecting on her journey since ordaining as a Buddhist nun, Sister Tri Nghiem highlights the importance of a sense of family and belonging.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thirteen-years-of-monastic-life-taking-stock

Photos of Thay's memorial in Vietnam and details of the memorial at Plum Village on January 22nd

https://plumvillage.org/articles/thays-memorials-in-vietnam-and-france

Plum Village offers these parallel verses to mark Tết, the Lunar New Year.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/freedom-in-every-smile-parallel-verses-for-the-lunar-new-year

As we mark one year since Thay transitioned, we share three personal memories from Thay's senior monastic students.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/three-precious-memories-of-thich-nhat-hanh

On New Year's Eve each year, we gather as a four-fold community to express our aspirations for the New Year. As we welcome 2023, we at Plum Village, offer you our New Year's Prayer to Mother Eart...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/new-year-prayer-to-mother-earth-and-all-our-ancestors-2023

尊敬的精神和血緣祖先， 尊敬的老師， 在這跨入2023年的神聖時刻，我們知道你們和我們在一起。儘管老師，您沒有以實體形態在此，但我們在您所...

https://plumvillage.org/%E6%96%87%E7%AB%A0/2023%E5%B9%B4%E7%9A%84%E6%96%B0%E5%B9%B4%E7%A5%88%E7%A6%8F

As the calendar year draws to a close, we share an excerpt from a Dharma Talk offered on December 29, 2013, where Thay invites us to question what it means for a year to end and a new year to beg...

https://plumvillage.org/articles/can-the-new-year-really-be-new

We share a message from Brother Phap Dung of Deer Park Monastery and timings of live talks you can follow over the holiday period.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/a-holiday-message-and-live-dharma-talks

Your solid and peaceful presence has been a real support for us during these 90 days. - Brother Phap Huu at the "Ceremony of Invitation" to close the 2022 Rain

https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-rains-retreat-2022

On 10 December 2022, Sister Chan Khong received an honorary Ph.D. in Social Work from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Thailand.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/sister-chan-khong-receives-honorary-doctorate

Plum Village is dedicated to creating an environment in which healing, understanding, happiness, and peace can blossom and grow. We do this by travelling to Palestine & Israel and bringing young...

https://plumvillage.org/newsletter/support-us-in-bringing-mindfulness-to-palestine-israel