Plum Village

Plum Village – the home of Thich Nhat Hanh– is located in south-west France, near Bergerac in the Dordogne valley. It is a residential retreat centre and home to many monks, nuns, and lay practitioners. It is made up of three hamlets: Upper and Lower Hamlets, which are about two miles apart, and New Hamlet, which is some eighteen miles away.  Other, smaller buildings belong to the Community, including the Middle Hamlet – between Lower and Upper Hamlets – and a separate building known as West Hamlet, near Upper Hamlet.

During the year, retreats are held at Plum Village and these are attended by practitioners from all over the world, contributing an international atmosphere to the centre. In particular there is a Summer Opening of four weeks held each year from around mid-July to mid-August. The three-month Winter Retreat (The Rains Retreat) is also a regular feature of the programme, taking place from around mid-November to mid-February. In addition it may be possible to visit at other times of the year in order to practise with the residential community and support the work of the Plum Village community.

Plum Village was founded in 1982. The previous practice centre, called Sweet Potato, was at Fontvannes, 95 miles south-east of Paris but this had become too small to accommodate all those who wished to visit. Thây had heard there was cheap farmland in the South of France so he and Sister Phuong headed southwards towards Aix-en-Provence. En route however, they suffered colds from the mistral (the strong local wind) and decided to move westward toward Bordeaux where it is less windy. Eventually they located a small farm of three small stone buildings at Thenac which Thây liked very much. This became the Upper Hamlet. They were joined by a Vietnamese friend who bought another farmstead near Loubes Bernac with arable land to support his family. This later became the Lower Hamlet.

Collectively the two hamlets were given the name Làng Hông which literally means Persimmon Village but, because the surrounding land was so good for growing plums, it was decided to transform this into Village de Pruniers – Plum Village. One thousand plum trees were planted in the Lower Hamlet fields and these have slowly matured over the years. In 1992 over six tons of plums were harvested, the proceeds from their sale going towards hungry children in the Third World.

Since its inception Plum Village has grown. Some forty monks and nuns are being ordained each year and more and more retreatants come to enjoy mindfulness practice in the peaceful surroundings. For instance, about one hundred retreatants attended the 1982 Summer Opening, but now more than a thousand visitors visit every Summer. This growth has necessitated the building of new accommodation and meditation halls in the grounds of all three main hamlets of Plum Village, to house monastics and retreatants, and to provide halls large enough for meditation and dharma talks. In recent years centres have also been established in the United States: Green Mount Dharma Center (for women) and Maple Forest Monastery (for men and couples) in Vermont; and Deer Park Monastery in California. Like Plum Village, these centres are home to monks or nuns ordained by Thây, as well as offering residential retreats (see details below).

Accommodation at Plum Village is simple and basic, with good vegetarian food. Retreatants sleep in dormitories of varying sizes in the original stone buildings or more modern additions. The West Hamlet, which is a short distance from the Upper Hamlet, provides more comfortable rooms especially suited to older retreatants. During the Summer many retreatants, in particular families with children, bring tents and camp in the extensive grounds. The daily programme varies during the week. On retreats, Thây will generally offer dharma talks on most days. He teaches in Vietnamese, English, or French, with simultaneous translation into these and several other languages as appropriate for those attending. Some retreats are conducted predominantly in English. Besides the teachings by Thây, each week will include a variety of meditations, discussions and celebrations. Retreatants are expected to contribute fully to the work of the Community which is a vital part of our mindfulness practice. Every week also incorporates a Lazy Day which is a day when everyone can relax and do as they like.

Further information on Plum Village can be found in the manual.