Plum Village Rain Retreat 22/11 – 6/12/2-24
I first heard of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) (fondly called by his followers as Thay) and the Plum Village when I attended a dharma talk given by the Venerable at the Coliseum in Hong Kong in May 2013. I later met two nuns from the Plum Village Tradition at the Buddhist study course at the Hong Kong Dharma Centre (2020-22). I began to read books by Thay in connection of the Buddhist Counselling course at the University of Hong Kong (2022-23). My faith in Buddhism grew and I took refuge of the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha) in July 2023. After having spent a week of retreat in Hong Kong in November 2023, I look forward to joining a longer retreat. Then one day when I looked at the Plum Village’s website, I learnt about its 90-day Rains Retreat (October 11 to December 20, 2024) and it was possible to join the retreat for one to two weeks. I decided to join a two-week retreat after the end of the Costa Rica – Chile expedition on 18 November 2024. Things worked out smoothly and I arrived at the Lower Hamlet, Plum Village Bordeaux on Friday November 22.
Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village
Thay, a Buddhist monk, peace activist, poet, prolific author and teacher, is known as the “father of mindfulness”. He expressed an interest in training as a monk at the age of 12 and finally pursued his goal at 16 and was ordained as a monk in 1951. Thay was a writer and a Buddhist teacher advocating for a humanistic, unified Buddhism. in 1960, he accepted a Fulbright Fellowship to study comparative religion at Princeton University and at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961. He taught Buddhism in Columbia University and Cornell University. He was fluent in French, classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali and English. in 1963, Thay returned to Vietnam and was tasked to help restructuring the administration of Vietnamese Buddhism. In 1964, he proposed a call for an end of the Vietnam War and helped to establish an institute for the study of Buddhism to train future leaders and create a centre to train pacifist social workers based on Buddhist teaching. He was a prolific writer advocating peace and reconciliation. in 1964, Thay together with another monk founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University and also co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service in 1964. He also created the Order of Interbeing, a monastic and lay group between 1964 and 1966.
In 1966, he received the “lamp transmission” from Zen Master Chan That making him a dharma teacher and spiritual head of Tu Hieu. Thay was refused the right to return to Vietnam when the North Vietnamese took control of the south in 1975. He was also expelled from Singapore following illegal attempts to rescue Vietnamese boat people. Thay moved and settled in France and formed a small mindfulness community called “the Sweet Potato” community and led mindfulness retreats in 1981. As the community attracted more and more people, Thay together with Chan Khong (a nun) began to search for land for expansion and purchased land in September 1982 (which is now known as the Lower Hamlet). Later that year, they acquired land of the present day Upper Hamlet. (to continue)
A retreat is an opportunity to experience the art of mindful living. Everything is done in a spirit of meditation: daily schedule is centred on sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating and mindful working (service meditation). “Noble Silence” is observed by all from 8:30pm to after breakfast the next day. One day a week is designated Lazy Day without formal practice schedule. The community gathers on Thursdays and Sundays for a full Day of Mindfulness in one of the hamlets (also known for short-term retreat stayers as a Lay Day)
Upper Hamlet
New Hamlet
Walking Meditation
A Paradise
