Practices for Children / Family Beginning Anew
We are happy to offer you this sharing on the practice of beginning anew for families as we continue our summer opening retreat here in Plum Village France. A ‘beautiful, simple yet deep’ practice that has the capacity to bring joy & healing to all.
Practices for Children / Dharma Stories For Children
As we journey through our annual Summer Opening Retreat we hope you enjoy these Dharma stories for children offered by Br. Phap Dung & Br. Pham Hanh in Upper Hamlet.
Engaged Buddhism / Music on Peace
A sharing from the heart exploring music as a pathway to embrace suffering, look beyond the discriminative mind and water seeds of a new world, where every note in our collective song has the conditions to bloom in safety, peace and harmony.
Engaged Buddhism / How to Be Engaged without Becoming Entangled
Dr. Larry Ward shares about caring for our traumatic experiences so we can fully arrive where we are needed.
Photos / Biennial June Retreat 2024
We have just completed the June retreat at Plum Village France, with nearly 600 practitioners coming together. Here are some precious moments from the retreat.
Activism / Resilience, Community, and Spirituality (Part one)
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 panel sharing ‘Resilience, Community, and Spirituality’
Ask a Zen Master / Love is the answer
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? …
Sangha Stories / Transforming Resentment into Compassion
Brother Dinh Thanh shares his experience of transformation in the field of engaged ethics, thanks to a practice inspired by Thay’s teaching.
How To / Relax
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 how to relax.
“New Year, New Me” – Tết in Plum Village
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 nourishing joy together.
Thay’s 2-Year Memorial Ceremony
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 honor Thay. This grand memorial ceremony recognized Thay as the Fifth Patriarch of Tu Hieu and…
Parallel Verses for the Year of the Dragon
Plum Village is pleased to present the Parallel verses for Tet (the Lunar New Year 2024), to usher in the Year of the Dragon.
Nourishing peace in dark times
How do we find a way forward in the midst of a seemingly hopeless war and darkness?
Photos / Rains Retreat Closing Ceremony 2023-2024
The 90-day Rains Retreat 2023-2024 has concluded, marking a period of deep study, practice, and transformation for our monastic and lay community.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 6: The wisdom that removes the root of violence
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. And not something far away, something you hope to have in the future.
Sangha Stories / An Impermanent Day of Mindfulness
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.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 5: Letting go of rigid beliefs
If love is something limitless, then understanding and wisdom should also be something limitless. We cannot say that our understanding ends here.
New Year Prayer to Mother Earth and All Our Ancestors
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 spiritual family, and to begin anew.
“My life is my teaching” – honoring our ancestor Thay
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 together in-person or online.
Message for the Holy Season
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 full awareness.
A Mindful Christmas – Part 1: Difficult Relationships
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 challenges.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 4: Moral Dilemmas and Cultural Differences
“The mind is a restless bird. The more it gets the more it wants and still remains unsatisfied.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Be Free Where You Are
Sharing siblinghood and freedom joyfully together. Reflections at our recent LGBTQIA+ Retreat at the Dharma Mountain Center.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 3: How Can We Know What is Right?
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 an effect right away on your mind, on your health, and on the world.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 2: A Zen Master’s Lion’s Roar
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 help us establish our freedom and make it greater, so we can stop being lost.
Photos / Daffodil Family — Ordination Ceremony 2023
The “Daffodil Family” of three novice nuns and seven novice monks ordained on November 5th in Plum Village France.
Buddhist Ethics / Talk 1: At Home in the Here and Now
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 reflecting and applying Thay’s teachings on a Buddhist contribution toward a Global Ethic, made…
The Ancestors Calling Me Home
A touching account of transformation by connecting deeply to our ancestors in the present moment.
An Invitation to Sit Together for Peace
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.
“Now We Have a Path” – The 2023-24 Rains Retreat
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 days. Recognizing “Our actions really matter. Our love and compassion are the fabric of every moment.”