The Plum Village Monastery ( vi, Làng Mai; french: Village des pruniers) is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

of the

Plum Village Tradition The Plum Village Tradition is a school of Buddhism named after the Plum Village Monastery in France, the first monastic practice center founded by Thích Nhất Hạnh. It is an approach to Engaged Buddhism mainly from a Mahayana perspective, ...

in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

, southern France near the city of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

. It was founded by two Vietnamese monastics,

Thích Nhất Hạnh Thích Nhất Hạnh ( ; ; born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo; 11 October 1926 – 22 January 2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher, who founded the Plum Village Tradition, historically recogni ...

Zen master Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authoriz ...

and Buddhist monk) and Chân Không (a

Buddhist nun Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gr ...

), in 1982.

History

After being refused the right to return to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

due to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Thích Nhất Hạnh formed a small

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

community 100 miles southeast of Paris at the village of Fontvannes called "the Sweet Potato" after the food that poor Vietnamese people eat. Following Thích Nhất Hạnh's expulsion from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

following illegal attempts to rescue

Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its ...

, he settled in France and began to lead mindfulness retreats. In 1981, the Sweet Potato community held its first summer retreat, which attracted more people than it could accommodate. Thích Nhất Hạnh then traveled south with Chân Không to find a larger site. They found a piece of land in

Thénac, Dordogne Thénac (; oc, Tenac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Dordogne department The following is a list of the 503 communes of the Dordogne department of ...

, which seemed ideal. The landowner, Mr. Dézon, didn't want to sell, so they continued looking. A few days later, on September 28, 1982,

purchased a tract of land about away, which is now known as the Lower Hamlet ( vi, Xóm Hạ). Later that year, a hailstorm destroyed the vineyards on Mr. Dézon's property and he was forced to put his land on the market. Nhất Hạnh bought the land and called it Upper Hamlet ( vi, Xóm Thượng). Initially, these two hamlets were named Persimmon Village ( vi, Làng Hồng), but it soon became clear that

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

s fared much better on the rocky soil, so it became Plum Village ( vi, Làng Mai). Each year the community hosts a four-week Summer Opening retreat, which has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Attendance has grown from 232 people in total in 1983 to over 800 guests at a time in 2015. In addition, the community hosts a variety of retreats year round, such as the Wake Up Retreat for young adults, the 21-Day Retreat for more experienced laypeople, and the 90-day Winter (Rains) Retreat.

Practice

Aside from practice Zen Buddhism, The Plum Village practices

Engaged Buddhism Engaged Buddhism, also known as socially engaged Buddhism, refers to a Buddhist social movement that emerged in Asia in the 20th century, composed of Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the Buddhist ethics, insights acquired from meditation ...

, a application of buddhist teaching to the current world to help solve social problems. The following is the schedule for an average day at Plum Village (Làng Mai): *5:00 am: Rise *6:00 am:

Sitting Sitting is a List of human positions, basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat, in ...

and

walking meditation Walking meditation, sometimes known as kinhin (Chinese language, Chinese: 經行; Pinyin: ''jīngxíng''; Romanization of Japanese, Romaji: ''kinhin'' or ''kyōgyō''; Korean language, Korean: ''gyeonghyaeng''; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: '' ...

*7:00 am: Breakfast *9:00 am: Dharma Talk / Class / Presentation / Mindful work period *11:30 am: Walking meditation *12:30 pm: Lunch *1:30 pm: Rest *3:00 pm: Service (working) meditation *6:00 pm: Optional dinner *8:00 pm: Personal study, Happiness Meeting, Beginning Anew *9:30 pm: Noble silence begins *10:00 pm: Lights out Throughout the day, visitors and members of the Plum Village hear the sound of a gong ring through the Upper Hamlet. When this happens all members are expected to cease what they are doing and pause for a moment of mindful silence

Hamlets

Today, Plum Village is made up of four major residential hamlets. Upper Hamlet houses approximately 65 monks and laymen. Lower Hamlet houses over 40 nuns and laywomen. Son Ha Temple houses approximately 20 monks and the New Hamlet, 20 minutes away by bus, houses approximately 40 nuns and laywomen. There are two additional hamlets that open up during the Summer Opening retreat, which are open for all guests. Plum Village has one sister monastery in Europe, the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) in Waldbröl, Germany, and three in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

: Blue Cliff Monastery in

Pine Bush, New York Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of Crawford and adjacent to Shawangunk, New York, within Orange and adjacent to Ulster counties in the U.S. It is roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 tel ...

, Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển) in

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Ety ...

, and Magnolia Grove Monastery in

Batesville, Mississippi Batesville is a city in Panola County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,463 at the 2010 census. Batesville is one of two county seats which the legislature established for Panola County, related to a longstanding rivalry between ...

. There are also branches in Thailand and Hong Kong. File:New Hamlet - Plum Village3.jpg, alt=Image of New Hamlet, New Hamlet - one of the four settlements of Plum Village File:New Hamlet - Plum Village4.jpg, alt=Another image of New Hamlet, New Hamlet - one of the four settlements of Plum Village

References

External links

Plum VillageLang Mai - Plum Village site in VietnamesePlum Village site in FrenchEuropean Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)Community of Mindful Living
Community based on the practice of Plum Village
Thai Plum Village
{{Authority control Zen Buddhist monasteries Buddhist monasteries in France Buddhist temples in France Buildings and structures in Dordogne Plum Village Tradition Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist temples Asian-French culture Vietnamese diaspora in France