As we begin a new year, after having ushered out the previous one, we often are in touch with the sense of the three times (past, present, and future) within the present moment. In this article, we would like to present the humble beginnings of when our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, first established Plum Village; how we are currently continuing his vision; and our aspirations for the future in being a global spiritual refuge. This month, Plum Village is offering two special opportunities online, so that you may practice with us from the comfort of your home.
Nurturing Thay’s Vision: past and present
When Thay first bought Lower Hamlet in 1982, it was to create a centre for refugees, a healing village for the Vietnamese boat people. But over the years, it wasn’t only the Vietnamese who came for refuge and for healing; it was also peace activists, families and young people inspired by Thay’s books and his message of transformation, understanding, love, and compassion.
It was in Plum Village that Thay began his monastic sangha, as well as where his dream of a beloved multifold community practicing together was realized. Here he also wrote many more books and his vision to change the collective consciousness of the world was born.
Plum Village is continuing Thay’s legacy by being a place of pilgrimage for individuals, couples, and families; cultivating an environment of peace, healing and reconciliation; and offering an authentic refuge and beacon of hope for spiritual seekers. It is also the main training centre for all aspirants and monastics in Europe and the US, training the next generation of international monastics and lay teachers who will hold the Dharma light for the next 50 years.
New practices and modalities for teaching are continuously being pioneered, online as well as in-person. Plum Village has become a vibrant community of innovation—offering many online retreats (reaching 20,000 people during the pandemic); courses such as Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (participants from 80 countries and with 30% scholarships); and the podcast “The Way Out is In” with 3 million downloads.
Recently, regular retreats for Climate leaders are offering refuge for activists to recharge and learn ways to build resilience, acting from a place of love and joy. Regular support is given to Palestinians and Israelis to practice together in peace, and Plum Village annually holds the largest Buddhist youth retreats in the west, with Wake Up.
Lower Hamlet’s Nuns’ Quarters: old and new.
The original old farmhouse building, which Thay renamed “Purple Cloud,” housed the first monastics of Lower Hamlet. Most of the bedrooms were upstairs, off the steep, creaky, wooden staircase, a labyrinth of tiny plywood-partitioned attic rooms, huddled under the sloping roofs.
As the community grew, a second building was put into service, Plum Hill. This long, low lying building had been a tobacco drying shed in a previous life. Converted by many willing hands, the Sisters, Brothers, their families and friends, Plum Hill housed the majority of the Sisters for over thirty years.
But living so closely together in conditions of mould, damp and cold caused health problems and other challenges for the Sisters and became unsustainable. Finally during the Covid pandemic, the Sisters took advantage of the empty retreatants’ accommodation and decided to move out of Plum Hill into a more healthy environment.
Soon after, with heavy hearts it was decided that Plum Hill had to go. Two years ago it was demolished having become irredeemably insalubrious, with its asbestos roof, and in addition it was sitting on the only land in Lower Hamlet deemed constructible for the new nuns’ quarters.
Building a Global Spiritual Refuge for All
Here in Lower Hamlet, we are on the way to realizing our dream of over 30 years, to build a nuns’ quarters where all our sisters can live and practice together under one roof.
After years of consultation, much hard work and planning, we now have a beautiful, ecological timber-frame design for our long dreamed of nuns’ quarters, where all the sisters will be able to reside under one roof, instead of how we presently live spread out across the hamlet in four separate buildings originally intended for retreatants.
The new nuns’ quarters will contain training facilities, accommodation for our communal living, a practice zendo, library, rooms for our elders, and classrooms. Our vision is to stay accessible, open and relevant especially for young people and those who need scholarships, but we have huge challenges.
- The original old farmhouse building, Purple Cloud, which housed the first monastics of Lower Hamlet burnt down in a tragic fire last winter. Thankfully no-one was injured but our sisters lost everything.
- To train the next generation of monastics we need facilities, and we also need a solid infrastructure to carry on hosting our large retreats and to allow Plum Village teachings to radiate widely in the world.
- The foundations for our beautiful new nuns’ quarters will begin in Spring 2026, and we are continuing to fund-raise to make up the 50% remaining needed to complete the project.
Special Fundraising Online Retreat: “Calming the Fearful Mind”
Thursday, 22nd – Monday, 26th January, 2026
How do we cultivate the clarity and stillness that allow us to address the fears and tensions running through ourselves, our loved ones, communities, and the world?
This will be an opportunity to learn how to navigate an increasingly bewildering world with calm and non-fear. We wish to offer our practice of cultivating joy, stability and peace to all.
We will practice sitting meditation together, coming home to ourselves with kindness and compassion. We will learn how to walk as a free person, how to wake up to the wonder of being alive, in this moment, in community.
There will be a mix of both light and intensive mindfulness practices so that you can still experience a Plum Village retreat while managing work or study commitments. Live as well as recorded offerings will enable greater flexibility.
Special Fundraising Online Event: Lyrical Meditation ~ Celebrating Togetherness & Building The Future
Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 10:30am PST / 13:30pm EST / 19:30pm CET
The Sisters of Lower Hamlet warmly invite you to a lyrical meditation—a gentle celebration of our togetherness and an opportunity to pause and reflect on this beloved place of pilgrimage and practice.
Joined by special guests, the Lower Hamlet Sisters will share stories, music, and prose that express their lived experiences and deep love for the Plum Village community.
Join Us to Connect Live with our Sisters and an International Community
We hope to meet you online this January—to start your year with joy, hope and confidence, knowing that all the proceeds of the retreat will go towards nurturing Thay’s vision and building a real home for all the Sisters of Lower Hamlet and for the next generations to come.
The Sisters will also share their vision for Lower Hamlet’s future and offer gratitude for all who are helping to build this spiritual home. Together with you, we’re building a refuge for peace and healing that will serve practitioners for generations to come.
We Know You are There, and We are so Grateful!
The monks and nuns of the international Plum Village community join the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation in thanking our generous donors for their support in 2025.
Share Your Reflections