From 1 – 23 June, 2026, practitioners from all over the world gathered in Plum Village, France to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Order of Interbeing (OI) and 100 years since the birth of our beloved teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
We warmly welcomed our beloved international community of the Order of Interbeing members, as well as OI aspirants and all practitioners interested in the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, for this special time to deepen our practice and strengthen our beautiful community.
Week One: The Path of Engaged Buddhism
We started this June retreat with a week open to anyone interested in the Plum Village practices and the Order of Interbeing. The teachings focused on the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the spirit of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, as paths of resistance to our contemporary society which is overloaded with discrimination, anger, violence, craving and despair. We deepened our understanding of the role of ethics in systems change, relating to ecology, economics, politics, culture and daily life.
We reflected on burning questions of our time: How we can each contribute to a shift in collective consciousness through our way of living? How can mindfulness give us more agency to go against the stream?
We concluded the week with a Transmission Ceremony of the Five Mindfulness Trainings in each hamlet with many people making the commitment to live according to the guidelines outlined by the trainings in order to bring mindfulness into every area of their lives and to support their path of healing and transformation at the base, individually and collectively.
We invite you to enjoy these exquisite moments from the first week of this legendary June retreat.
In the last Dharma talk of the first week, Brother Phap Xa shared how our multifold sangha has inherited this precious legacy and life’s work of our beloved teacher Thay, and encouraged us all to be Thay’s wholehearted continuation in whatever we do and wherever we go. His message was conveyed in a poignant reading of the following poem by Thay.
Our True Heritage
The cosmos is filled with precious gems.
I want to offer a handful of them to you this morning.
Each moment you are alive is a gem,
shining through and containing earth and sky,
water and clouds.
It needs you to breathe gently
for the miracles to be displayed.
Suddenly you hear the birds singing,
the pines chanting,
see the flowers blooming,
the blue sky,
the white clouds,
the smile and the marvelous look
of your beloved.
You, the richest person on Earth,
who have been going around begging for a living,
stop being the destitute child.
Come back and claim your heritage.
We should enjoy our happiness
and offer it to everyone.
Cherish this very moment.
Let go of the stream of distress
and embrace life fully in your arms.
Thich Nhat Hanh from Call Me by My True Names
14 Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony
With deep gratitude to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), our spiritual ancestors, and our venerable teachers, we came together to transmit and receive the 14 Mindfulness Trainings.
A total of 160 practitioners from around the world, part of the multifold Sangha of our Plum Village International Practice Centers, gathered from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand for this legendary transmission ceremony.
May this transmission support us on our spiritual path of insight, understanding, love, compassion, and service. May our practices shine as a bright light to help all those facing difficulties and challenges in our troubled world.
Weeks Two and Three: Nurturing the Fire
These two weeks were an incredible reunion of our active members of the Order of Interbeing, as well as those who have been accepted as OI aspirants. We came together as an international, multi-fold Sangha to look deeply into the past, present, and future of our beloved OI community.
This retreat was a time of deep practice with Noble Silence observed from the conclusion of the evening activity until lunchtime. In this silence, we could truly listen to our deepest aspirations, individually and collectively, as we continue and evolve Thay’s vision of the Order of the Interbeing. We received the Dharma rain from monastic and lay Dharma teachers through diverse teachings of the different Plum Village doors and practices, intergenerational and intersectional panel sharings, Question and Response sessions, and interactive heart-storming sessions.
We dared to name and face the different poly-crises that are arising in our current world. We investigated the difficulties and challenges that we encounter in making our sangha more inclusive for those who have sometimes not felt supported, seen, and heard, such as LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, the global majority, the global south, etc. We honored and celebrated the beauty and diversity of our multifold sangha, across intergenerational and intersectional identities. We practiced deep listening and loving speech as we unlayered the profound, historical wounds of colonization, patriarchy, and other systemic institutions and structures that are entrenched in the very fabric of our society across all cultures..
We explored the spiritual essence and ethics of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings; ways to nourish and nurture our sanghas; and how we can evolve the OI Charter for our times.
We recognized the importance of connection and community and deeply cherished our spiritual friends on the path, new and old. For two incredible weeks, we practiced together the Art of Mindful Living, the Four Dharma Seals of Plum Village, and the Six Togethernesses (harmonies), as a beautiful commemoration and celebration of our esteemed teacher, Thay, and 60 years of the Order of Interbeing.
We invite you to marvel in the wondrous beauty and depth of our multifold sangha captured during the final two weeks of our epic June retreat.
In the last Dharma talk of the June retreat, Brother Phap Ung reminded us about the importance of slowing down, pausing, and coming back to ourselves in order to discover our true selves and our true home; to transform our suffering; and to touch the true nature of Interbeing, Non-self, and No-birth/No- death. His encouragement was expressed movingly through the following poem by Thay.
True Source
Where will I find the Himalayan range?
In me there is a strong and graceful mountain peak,
stretching up, lost in mist and clouds.
Let us go together to climb that nameless mountain,
let us sit on the ageless blue-green stone,
quietly watching time weave the silken thread
that creates the dimension called space.
Where does the Amazon River flow?
In me a winding river makes its way.
I don’t know from the depths of which mountain
it pours out.
Night and day, its silvery water
winds toward no fixed destination.
Let us go together, putting a boat
on its fiercely flowing stream,
to find our way together
to the common goal of all beings in the cosmos.
Which galaxy shall I call Andromeda?
In me there is a river of stars moving silently
with millions of brilliant stars.
Let us fly up together, tearing the net of space,
opening a way on the path of the clouds.
The sound of your flapping wings will reach
even the most distant planet.
Which species shall I call Homo sapiens?
In me there is a little boy.
His left hand lifts up the curtain of night.
His right hand holds a sunflower, his torch.
The child’s two eyes are stars.
The child’s hair flies curling in the wind,
like clouds over the ancient jungle on a stormy afternoon.
Let us approach the child together and ask,
“What are you looking for? Where are you going?
Where is the true source? Where is the final destination?
And what are the ways home?”
The little boy just smiles.
The flower in his hand suddenly
becomes a bright red sun,
and the child goes on alone—
his path through the stars.
Thich Nhat Hanh from Call Me by My True Names
This is our final weekly offering dedicated to the Order of Interbeing—past, present, and future, as we celebrated 60 years of the Order of Interbeing in our June Retreat in Plum Village France. We hope that you have enjoyed accompanying us on this journey. We know you are there, and we are so happy and grateful!
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