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Mindfulness Beyond Religion
Starting from this summer, the method of mindfulness practice will be offered as a “non-religious medicine,” available to all races, religions, and cultures. The aim is to establish, in every city, a Mindfulness Practice Center with the following main characteristics:
- No Buddha statues, no religious rituals, and no requirement to join our palms in greeting.
- A small sangha (about four members, ordained with either the Five or Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings) will live and practice full-time, caring for guests who can immediately join activities such as gardening, eating together, walking meditation, without having to wait for a retreat.
- Open to both children and adults, offering opportunities for individual consultation, listening to Dharma talks, and practicing right in daily activities.
At the same time, there will be larger Dharma Centers, maintaining full Buddhist rituals (meditation and devotion practice), similar to Plum Village. But the focus of the 21st century is to de-religionize the Buddha’s teachings, making mindfulness a universal art of living to help address modern suffering—from crime, violence, broken families, and drugs to psychological crises in schools and prisons. To realize this, we need to train thousands of practitioners capable of living happily, harmoniously, and guiding others:
- Trusting in the capacity for awakening, understanding, and loving that lies within each person.
- Trusting in the path of mindfulness practice, which has been tried and brings results in the present moment.
- Trusting in the practicing community, to be supported, illuminated, and to journey together.