France – Translated from French
Dear Thay, dear brothers, dear sisters,
Despite fear and world events, this moment of confinement is for me a grace, the opportunity to stop completely and take care of my internal world. For many years I have benefited from the practice of the Plum Village and today I feel that I carry this practice within me … I drink my tea with Thay, the cloud … I touch the Earth with my brothers and ancestral and spiritual sisters and that is of great support to me. I try to get back to my breath as I listen to friends and family share their suffering.
At the start of the COVID crisis, I also felt a lot of fear. The 5-day teaching kit was a rain of dharma which put me back on the path of confidence, of inter-being. Thank you to the Plum Village and its deep practice of nourishing the continuation of this Peace to which we all aspire together. Deep gratitude for Thay. May the hamlet lotuses be bright this year! Julie
US – Massachusetts
Dear Thay, dear Brothers and Sisters,
“Sangha is my lifeline right now”. This was a recent comment of one of our members. (…) When the physical distancing rules came out because of the virus, (…) we decided to hold our meetings online with zoom. At first, those of us who facilitate sangha gatherings felt insecure about using a new technology effectively. But gave each other mutual support and in our meetings, participants were understanding and patient. We also found that attendance at our Thursday and Sunday meetings was very high. One of the things that so nourished me was the ability to see the beautiful faces of so many friends in the practice.
We continued with the same meeting structure that we had for our in-person meetings, with one change. There is no walking meditation. Instead we substitute some of Thay’s mindful movements. The dharma sharing part of our meeting is quite profound and moving. It seems that relating via computer screens does not deter friends from expressing openly and authentically. I attribute this to the strong atmosphere of trust and the deep need for community. Friends have shared about their loneliness and their fear. They have wept about not being able to be with loved ones and expressed fear for the health of their elderly parents or grandparents. We hear in our sharings how much people have been supported by the teachings and the practices of our beautiful tradition. And we hear the shared joy about things like the first birdsong of the spring, seeing a family of ducks on a pond and the excitement of seeing crocuses pushing up from the ground.
A bow of gratitude and a smiling lotus to you for the invitation to reflect and share,
Sharon
Germany – Berlin
It is so lovely to meet and practice together, especially to have the opportunity to connect with our friends and family in this difficult time over Zoom is very helpful.
We also want to thank you for all the content you are creating and releasing. Each time we watch a video or listen to a dharma talk, it brings us right back to that moment of peace within in the present moment.
A lotus for you, Jennifer & Berlin from Berlin
Spain – Madrid
First of all thank you very much for sharing how is the whole community and Thay, I feel very happy to hear you are all in vitality and good spirit.
I wanted to reflect to you how much this Online Summit has helped me out to refresh the practice, your love and kindness, the dharma talks are such a relieve for me in these challenging days.
UK – Wales
Hello to everyone at Plum Village, Wanted to thank you so very much for all the live events that I and my family have been enjoying the past few weeks. Bored with home school today, we got out the Lego and showed our love of Plum Village with a little model making :-)
We hope you stay well and happy and peaceful and we look forward to joining you again very soon from here in Wales. With love, Karen and family
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