To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.
Thich Nhat Hanh
- Day : Friday (check in 3pm-7pm) – Thursday (check out 7am-9.30am)
- Venue : Upper Hamlet
- Language: English only
- Meal : 3 meals a day (vegan)
- For All Genders (18-35 years old)
What is it about?
Enjoying the beauty of Spring in Plum Village. It makes us aspire to live in harmony with mother Earth. Mindfulness, concentration, and insight help us cultivate understanding, non-discrimination and compassion for ourselves and others.
At times, self-doubt and self-criticism can make us feel like we have no agency in our own lives. This can lead to procrastination, burnout, or even a sense of bore out when life feels blocked, routine and uninspiring.
Mindfulness allows us to go back to ourselves. By learning how to dwell peacefully in the present moment, we reconnect with the beauty & the strength within ourselves and around us. The essential Mindfulness practices of Plum Village give us the space to pause, reflect, and rediscover our happiness, peace, and freedom— right in the here and now.
Who?
Those who are 18 to 35 years old, all gender identities, and have aspiration in Practicing Mindfulness & community life whether you are experienced practitioners or Beginners.
This mini Wake Up Retreat will host +/- 60 people.
Important note : We won’t have affinity group Dharma sharing for LGBTIAQ+ and BIPoC. But everyone is welcome to join this retreat. We’ll be together. We may have affinity activities in different settings for BIPoC and LGBTIAQ+. We’ll see what the conditions are together when you are here.
More Information
- The retreat will be conducted by Upper Hamlet Brothers only
- Language: English (without translation to other language)
- For young people (18-35 years old), if you are above this age range, please don’t feel sad, you are invited to another retreat.
- Space limited
Accommodation
We live together as a community at Plum Village. If you stay in the bedroom, you’ll share a room with others. Early April can be cold or damp, so if you choose camping in the tent or camping car please make sure you have experience camping in that kind of weather.
Contribution
The contribution for the retreat is a great support for the monastery and it depends on your financial situation. Your reservation can only be confirmed after the payment. If you can, we encourage choosing a higher contribution rate, as it supports our mission of peace, monastery sustainability, and monastic training. It also helps participants who are facing financial difficulties. Although we don’t offer 100% reduction, we provide reductions based on individual needs. Please make a reservation first before discussion on reduction. See the eligibility
Registration
Please Save the Date for now.
The registration will be available on Feb 01, 2026 at 08.00.00 am.
Click here to view our updated payment and cancellation policy
Registration & Payment
Payment Structure
For retreats from January 3, 2026 onwards, your contribution will be split into two payments:
- Main payment to Bienvenue Aux Pruniers S.A.S. (BAP) for practical retreat aspects (food, accommodation, facilities, administration, taxes)
- Monastery contribution to Congrégation Bouddhique Zen Village des Pruniers (CBZ) to support the monastic community
Your bank statement will show two charges, and you will receive two invoices.
Note: For retreats taking place in 2025 until January 3, 2026, retreat contributions are received by Communaute Bouddhique Zen du Village des Pruniers, the religious nonprofit 1901 association operating our activities from 1988-2025.
Payment Methods
Our online booking system accepts:
- Credit card payments (worldwide)
- European direct debit (SEPA) for European bank accounts
All payments are processed via the secure Stripe payment gateway. We do not store payment details. Due to strict French regulations, we cannot accept cash, cheques, or manual bank transfers for retreat payments.
Cancellation Policy
To ensure fair access for all, we have revised our cancellation policy to encourage participants to book a retreat place only when certain they can attend.
Cancellation by Participants
If you need to cancel:
- 28+ days before arrival: Full refund minus €100 admin & cancellation fee
- 14-27 days before arrival: 50% refund after deducting the €100 non-refundable admin fee
- 13 days or less before arrival: No refunds possible
We strongly recommend obtaining travel insurance to cover retreat cancellation fees in case of unforeseen circumstances, including personal illness or family emergencies.
For those generously coming to Plum Village to help as a volunteer, the cancellation fee is €25 (to cover admin costs).
Cancellation by Plum Village
Plum Village reserves the right to cancel a retreat under any circumstances. If this occurs, you will receive a full refund of all payments made to us, including the admin fee.
Plum Village accepts no further liability beyond the retreat registration fee refund. We cannot be liable for funds spent on advance travel arrangements, such as flight tickets and visas. We strongly recommend obtaining travel insurance that covers this.
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