Plum Village
From Order of Interbeing
Plum Village (Làng Mai) is a Buddhist meditation center in the Dordogne region of southern France. It was founded by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and his colleague Bhikkhuni, Sister Chan Khong, in 1982.
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History
After being refused the right to return to Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) formed a small mindfulness community 100 miles south-west of Paris called the Sweet Potato, the food that poor Vietnamese people eat. Following Thich Nhat Hanh's expulsion from Singapore following illegal attempts to rescue Vietnamese boat people, he settled in France and began to lead mindfulness retreats. In 1981, Sweet Potato community held its first summer retreat, which attracted more people than it could accommodate. Thay then traveled south with his colleague Sister Chan Khong to find a larger site. They found a piece of land in Thenac which seemed ideal. The landowner, Mr Dezon, didn't want to sell, so they continued looking. A few days later, on September 28, 1982, Thay purchased a tract of land about 6 kilometers away, which is now known as the Lower Hamlet (Xóm Hạ). Later that year, a hailstorm destroyed the vineyards on Mr Dezon's property and he was forced to put his land on the market. Thay bought the land and called it Upper Hamlet (Xóm Thượng). Initially, these two hamlets were named Persimmon Village (Làng Hồng), but it soon became clear that plum trees fared much better on the rocky soil, so it became Plum Village (Làng Mai). Every year the community hosts a four-week summer retreat, which has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Attendance has grown from 232 people in 1983 to over 2000 people in 2004.
Practice
The following the schedule for an average day at Plum Village (Làng Mai):
- 5:00am: Rise
- 6:00am: Sitting and walking meditation
- 7:30am: Breakfast
- 9:00am: Mindful work period
- 12:30pm: Lunch
- 2:00pm: Rest
- 3:00pm: Class/Study time
- 5:00pm: Exercise
- 6:00pm: Optional dinner
- 8:00pm: Sitting meditation
- 9:30pm: Noble silence begins
- 10:30pm: Lights out
Hamlets
Today, Plum Village (Làng Mai) is made up of four major residential hamlets. Upper Hamlet (Xóm Thượng) houses approximately 65 monks and laymen, as well as being Thay's residence. Lower Hamlet (Xóm Hạ) houses over 40 nuns and laywomen. Son Ha Temple houses approximately 20 monks, and the New Hamlet (Xóm Mới), 20 minutes away by bus, houses approximately 40 nuns and laywomen.
Plum Village (Làng Mai) has branches in the United States of America: Green Mountain Dharma Center (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) and Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) in Vermont, and Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển) in Escondido, California.
See also
- Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk and founder of Plum Village
- Mindfulness, the practice on which the community is based
Selected works
- I have arrived, I am home: Celebrating 20 years of Plum Village life. Nhất Hạnh, Thích. 2003. Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, ISBN 1-888375-25-6
- Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Book Thich Nhat Hanh (compiler) and the monks and nuns of Plum Village (compilers), Parallax Press, 2005, ISBN 0-938077-91-0
External links
- Plum Village
- Lang Mai - Plum Village site in Vietnamese
- Plum Village site in French
- Deer Park Monastery
- Green Mountain Dharma Center
- Community of Mindful Living Community based on the practice of Plum Village
- Biography of Thich Nhat Hanh
