In this article, we explore the Two Promises offered to children during the Summer Opening retreat — simple yet powerful vows that plant seeds of compassion and understanding.
What are the Two Promises?
The Two Promises were offered by Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) as a way for children to touch the heart of the mindfulness trainings in a form they can understand and embody, here and now. Explored during the children’s programme, and offered in a formal ceremony at the end of each week, these simple yet profound vows help young ones cultivate the values of understanding and compassion.
The Two Promises
I vow to develop understanding
In order to live peacefully with people, animals, plants, and minerals.
I vow to develop my compassion
In order to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.
These words water seeds of practice. With each repetition, children begin to see that their thoughts, speech, and actions have power. They learn they can choose to cultivate peace, nurture life, and respond to all beings with care.
Living the Promises Through Practice
During the Summer Opening retreat, children explore these promises through mindful activities that awaken joy and deepen their connection to the wonders of life.
In each moment of mindfulness, they are practicing the promises:
- When they stop and breathe before reacting.
- When they notice the needs of a friend.
- When they listen with care and protect life.
Keeping the Two Promises (An Exert from the Mindfulness Bell)
Ester shared about her fear of spiders and how the Two Promises helped her. She realized that she felt really scared about spiders and remembered her promise to understand them better. The next time she saw a spider, she sat down and watched it carefully. It was spinning a beautiful web. It was graceful and reminded her of a ballerina dancing. Ester discovered that the spider was very talented. Its web was beautiful and so was the spider!
Some of the children shared about the ways they’ve already practiced understanding and compassion. One girl named Paz spoke up. She and her family live in Spain’s capital city, Madrid. She and her friends found a dead bat in the park. Some people thought it was ugly, but Paz thought it needed to be buried. She and her friends took sticks and dug a hole. She said, “We buried it and I picked flowers to put on the little bat’s grave.”
Amara lives in Barcelona, another big city in Spain. She shared that she was walking with her brother, sisters, and dad, and they found a nest. “We put it back in the tree to make sure the birds found it when they returned.” We wouldn’t want to find our home missing.
Nourishing Aspiration
By nurturing these qualities from a young age, we offer children a path to well-being and build their capacity to meet the world with tenderness — to notice suffering, and to embrace it.
The Two Promises speak to the healing our world deeply needs: the courage to care, the willingness to listen, and the aspiration to protect. As adults, we too can learn from the clarity and sincerity with which children live these vows. The promises form a foundation for us all, woven through the The Five Mindfulness Trainings, The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, and the monastic precepts.
Singing the Promises into Life
One of the most beloved ways children embody the Two Promises is through song. In Plum Village, music is a deep part of the practice — a way to create harmony inside ourselves and within the community. As we breathe, sing, and listen together, the song becomes a living memory — a quiet compass that children carry with them beyond the retreat and into daily life.
The Two Promises Song
Lyrics by Thich Nhat Hanh | Music by Betsy Rose
I vow to develop understanding
in order to live peacefully with
people, animals, plants and minerals.
Mmm – ahh, mmm – ahh, mmm – ahh.
I vow to develop my compassion
in order to protect the lives of people,
animals, plants and minerals.
Mmm – ahh, mmm – ahh, mmm – ahh.
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