Just a simple monk!

No Coming, No Going: Thay’s 2014 Spain Tour concludes

Thay’s first major Spain Tour concluded last Sunday afternoon May 11th, with the powerful collective energy of thousands meditating under Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf, Passeig Lluís Companys. An estimated 5,000 people participated in Sunday’s collective sitting meditation in the bright spring sunshine. Some of them had been waiting at the spot...

The Meaning of Mindfulness

A film clip taken from research interviews for our upcoming feature documentary “Walk With Me”. The film is an impressionistic portrait of a Zen Buddhist community who follow the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. In this short clip, Sister Chan Khong shares about the origins and meaning of mindfulness....

Hong Kong University honors Thay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wmhVrgZD04 The University of Hong Kong has formally awarded Thay an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his contributions to world peace and humanity. Past Hong Kong University (HKU) Honorary Degrees have been awarded to Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Bill Clinton. Hong Kong comes to France...

The Campaign Is Still On!

Dear Friends, Thank you all so much for the donations and many words of support we have received. We have been deeply moved by the generosity of everyone who has contributed to this campaign. We are delighted to report that the response to the Happy Farm campaign was so...

I Don’t Run Away Anymore

Thay recently received this beautiful and moving letter from one of his students (a lay man) in Ireland. With permission from the author, Thay asked us to type it up and post it online for the whole community to read. We have transcribed it from the original handwritten letter,...

New Book: How To Sit

The first thing to do is to stop whatever else you are doing. –Thich Nhat Hanh How to Sit is the first in a new series of how-to titles by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduces beginners to and reminds seasoned practitioners of the essentials of mindfulness practice....

Happy Farmers Will Change the World

We would like to invite you to participate in growing and supporting Plum Village’s Happy Farm as it enters its second bountiful year. Your donation will help us introduce thousands of children and adults to the practice of mindfulness and organic farming. The Happy Farm is steadily transforming Plum...

Peace is the Way

Produced at Plum Village Meditation Center, this short film highlights the practices of mindful breathing and walking. These practices can help us to find peace in the present moment and to bring relaxation, ease and joy into daily life. Based on the teachings and tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh...

Alone Again

Lyric: Thich Nhat Hanh Singer: Phap Khoi alone again I’ll go on with bent head, but knowing the immortality of love and on the long rough road both sun and moon will shine promise me, promise me this day while the sun is just over head even as they...

The Sound of the Rising Tide

We children of the Earth Scattered far and wide We heard the call, the distant call the mighty call, of the of the rising tide And our hearts aflame with remembering a memory beyond recall We came to build A community of love To learn, to train, to serve...

In memory of Thay Phap Y

Dear Spiritual Family, With great regret we announce that our dear Italian brother Thay Phap Y passed away last Friday morning, February 7th, 2014. He was a teacher to all of us, our big brother, our “Venerable Thich Chan Phap Y”, and “Papi” to many. He was a colorful...

Is Nothing Something?

Is Nothing Something? : Kids’ Questions and Zen Answers About Life, Death, Family, Friendship, and Everything In-between In Is Nothing Something? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children of all ages. Beginning with the most basic questions, “What is important in life?” and...

Interbeing, Service, and Our Little Wars

By: Ray Hemachandra In September I drove to Magnolia Grove Monastery in Batesville, Mississippi, to spend a day at a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh and Zen Buddhist monks and nuns both from this monastery and mindfulness meditation practice center and from Plum Village in France. In many ways...

And a Mindful New Year

By Jessica Ardis If you had told the sixteen-year old version of myself that I would chose to spend New Year’s Eve sitting in silence with nuns, I would have asked what you were smoking. The nuns I had encountered in twelve years of Catholic school were mostly a...

New Contemplations Before Eating

Dear Spiritual Family, Thay has just announced a new version of the Five Contemplations before Eating, after receiving a letter from scientists recommending replacing “global warming” with the more appropriate term “climate change.” As a spiritual family and a human family, we can all help avert climate change with...

Love Letter to Vietnam

On behalf of the international fourfold sangha of Plum Village, and our friends on the path in Vietnam, we would like to ask for your help. As we start the New Year 2014, please offer to write to the leaders of Vietnam, asking them to allow Vietnam to have at least...

Plum Village Practice in Vietnam – some background

Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh’s return from exile Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam in 2005, after nearly 40 years of exile for having called for an end to the Vietnam War. His return attracted tens of thousands of people to his talks and retreats. His accessible teachings...

New Year’s Prayer 2014

This prayer was offered by the Plum Village fourfold sangha as part of the midnight ceremony to mark the dawn of the New Year 2014. Dear Beloved Father Sun – Bodhisattva Mahavairocana Tathagata, Dear Beloved Mother Earth – Bodhisattva Mahagaia, Dear Beloved Ancestors, both Spiritual and Genetic,   We...

Preventing the Sandy Hook Shooting

Neil Heslin, father of Sandy Hook victim, asks Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh: What could have prevented what happened that day? What changes could we all make to help try to prevent suffering like that in people in the future? From the Question & Answer Session at the Art...

Christmas in Plum Village

Yesterday was the arrival day for our Christmas week, as Plum Village welcomed people from around the world to join us for this deeply joyful and time of “coming home” together as a spiritual family. Every bed is full! The hamlets are already beautifully decked with greenery, berries and...

Learning to let go

Dear friends of the four fold Sangha, A deep bow to you all from Lower Hamlet, Plum Village. Here we have just started the first week of our Autumn retreat, the golden poplar leaves are floating down in the gusts of wind, rain is finally falling on our summer...

New Practice Phrases for 2014

We are very happy to announce the new practice phrases that Thay has just composed, as an offering to the worldwide Plum Village Community for the New Year 2014 and the Lunar New Year of Horse:   The practice phrases are a traditional parallel verse (also known as a “couplet“)...

27 New “Linden Trees”

At 6am on a frosty morning, this last Sunday 8th December, over 400 people gathered in the Still Water Meditation Hall of Upper Hamlet, Plum Village to witness Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh transmitting the Ten Novice Precepts to eight young ordinees here in France. Plum Village Thailand held a...

Earth Hug

Think about it. Who has supported you all your life without asking for anything in return? Fresh air, clear water, food, stability and unconditional love… The earth provides. the earth cares. the earth loves! It’s about time we love her back again… Every day – every moment… And with...

Moments of Mindfulness

We have the ability to work wonders. If we live mindfully in everyday life, walk mindfully, are full of love and caring, then we create a miracle and transform the world into a wonderful place. —Thich Nhat Hanh This beautifully designed gift book contains many of the best-loved inspirational...

Novice Ordination this Sunday

This Sunday, 8 December at 6 am in the Still Water Meditation Hall of Upper Hamlet, there will be a Novice Ordination Ceremony for new monks and nuns. Eight ordainees here in Plum Village, and twenty in Thailand, will receive the 10 Novice Precepts from Ven. Zen Master Thich...

A Short Break Can Go a Long Way

By Deirdre Mullins Over the last few weeks, broadcaster John Murray and Cork hurler Conor Cusack have spoken openly about their struggles with depression. The musician Bressie, rugby analyst Brent Pope and author Marian Keyes have also discussed their own emotional struggles. Thanks to this openness, the stigma about...

The Unspeakable Reality

By: Jack Saunsea love to write. It is one of the most important tasks I believe I am here on this earth to do. Writing has been instrumental in connecting and building relationships with people all over the world. While at the same time there is a certain admission...

Video: Rebuilding our Health

November 17, 2013. 82-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Stillwater Meditation Hall, Upper Hamlet of Plum Village. This is the first talk of the 2013-2014 Winter Retreat. We begin with two chants from the monastics. Rebuilding our health – mental and physical. Our society seems to...

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What is Mindfulness

Thich Nhat Hanh January 15, 2020

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