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 with the Master of 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 my first one-week retreat in Hong Kong in November 2023, I look forward to joining a longer retreat. Then on a May day, I learnt about a 90-day Rains Retreat (October 11 to December 20, 2024) at the Plum Village Bordeaux which would fit in perfectly with my travel plan: 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, 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. He accepted a Fulbright Fellowship to study comparative religion at Princeton University in 1960 and at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961 and 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. The following year, 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 in 1964 and co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service with Chan Khong (1938), a nun and Thay’s first fully-ordained monastic disciple. 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.
In 1975, Thay was refused the right to return to Vietnam when the North Vietnamese took control of the south. 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” and led mindfulness retreats in 1981. As the community attracted more and more people, Thay together with Chan Khong 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. Plum Village is where Thay and Chan Khong has realised their dream of building a community in a healthy, harmonious and nourishing environment with one another and Mother Earth. The New Hamlet which is 18km from Lower Hamlet was established later. Today, Plum Village has grown into Europe’s largest Buddhist monastery with some 200 resident brothers and sisters (monks and nuns) living in three hamlets and the Son Ha Temple (Foot of the Hill). New Hamlet and Lower Hamlet are for sisters while Upper Hamlet is for brothers to live and practice. All hamlets accept couples and families for short-term retreats. There are a further ten monastic practice centres in the Plum Village tradition in Europe, the USA and Asia, all founded by Thay himself.
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)
Lower Hamlet
I stayed at the Poplar House, Lower Hamlet sharing a room with Sarah from the UK for the first week and then Grace from New York. I also met Catherine from Sweden and Candy from the Philippines who also stayed at the Poplar House which is close to the Great Hall. Over the retreat period in the Lower Hamlet, I met over 30 short-term stayers (1 to 2-week), 50 sisters and about 20 long-term stayers (for the entire 90 days). My life was centred around mindful living and noble silence though I did speak with others occasionally.
I find Lower Hamlet a paradise. Surrounded by vineyards, farmland and forests, the hamlet comprises a number of old charming rustic stone houses typical of Bordeaux rural region with old trees, woodland, rolling hills, orchards, meadows and vineyards. Together with a bell tower, a temple gate and pavilion, and a lotus pond, the hamlet has a most wonderful, natural, harmonious, and peaceful environment for mindful living and spiritual practice.
With the exception of the lay day, we had to get up early to join a sitting and walking meditation session in the Great Hall at 6am. The milky way and millions of stars greeted me as soon as I stepped out of the door of the Poplar House every morning except two days when it was raining or misty. After breakfast in the dining hall at 7:30am, I would watch the gorgeous sunrise near the temple entrance opposite a vineyard between 8 and 8:30 am. The colours were mesmerizing. One day, the valley was cloaked with mist: it was even more enchanting.
Mindfulness Day / Lay Day
During the rains retreat, lay residents have a mindfulness day on Sundays and Thursday. Each hamlet takes turn to host it. Lay residents gathered at the Upper Hamlet on 28 November, the New Hamlet on 1 December and the Lower Hamlet on 5 December. I was glad to be able to visit the Upper and New Hamlets. Each hamlet has its unique setting and atmosphere. But all are nature wonders filled with peace and joy: they are labour of love of Thay and Chan Khong for the benefits of their followers, Buddhists and mankind.
Upper Hamlet
Upper Hamlet is located on a flat expansive hill top about 3 km away and I had a lift in the morning. The great hall looks familiar as I had watched ceremony held there after Thay died in 2022. The programme was good beginning with a question and answer session followed by walking meditation. The walking meditation through forested woodland and the Buddha Hill was atmospheric. The total relaxion session with music after lunch was wonderful. I enjoyed the 50-minute walk downhill to Lower Hamlet. The sun was setting showing the best foliage colours.
New Hamlet
New Hamlet though smaller in size is compact and lovely. The day began with a dharma talk by Sister Chan Duc (Sr. True Virtue) who has been a disciple of Thay since 1986, was the first European woman to be ordained as a nun. (Sr. Chan Duc also gave a dharma talk at Lower Hamlet on November 24 when other came to Lower Hamlet for a mindfulness day.) Then at 11:30am, we had walking meditation up a hill through a plum forest. It was a sunny gorgeous day and the some 300 monastics and laymen walked in total silence. We had a dharma sharing session before returning to Lower Hamlet around 4:30pm. I was hoping to meet a sister from Hong Kong in this hamlet. But as she was not well, she had not appeared.
Walking Meditation
We had walking meditation everyday as a group at 11:30am. It begins with singing with lovely verses with profound meanings for meditation. I always find walking meditation most enjoyable. It is amazing to find one of the cats at Lower Hamlet always joins the walk. She must be a practising Buddhist in her previous lives. Whenever I had time, I would practise walking meditation on my own.
Remarks (to add)