Ah, and I saved the best for last! Actually, I entered the pictures and comments in the order that we saw and did. The reason we went to France in the winter time was because we wanted to attend the retreat at Plum Village with Thich Nhat Hanh who prefers to be called Thay, Vietanmese for teacher. Thay is a Buddhist monk who was kicked out of Vietnam during the war because he was promoting peace.
Thay is a writer, a poet, an artist and a teacher. He is 80 years old, and has written over 60 books and is still writing. He never slows down. Not sure when he opened the first Plum Village but it now has four locations, three are walking distance and the other is a 20 minute drive. We stayed in the Upper Hamlet. The closest one to UH is a very small hamlet that is only open in the summer. We also visited New Hamlet and Lower Hamlet.
I first learned about Thich Nhat Hanh about 12 years ago after we moved to Houston. We went to our first retreats while living in Houston and they were lead by two women who were trained by Thay. He is a remarkable man and loved and revered by all who know him. Much of the proceeds from Plum Village, including all the proceeds from his caligraphies and all the profit from the bookstore go to Vietnam to provide books and meals for school children. He is now allowed back in Vietnam where he has been instrumental in getting schools opened and children fed, clothed and educated.
You will see in one of the pictures our daily schedule on the white board. Most days, the schedule for the next day would be posted on the board when we came to dinner, but sometimes later. I believe the picture I chose has the schedule for Lazy day. Once a week, they have lazy day and it can be any day. The schedule is subject to change without notice and varies greatly from one day to the next.
We met people from all over the world. Most of the young Monks and Nuns are Vietnamese but not all. Plum Village is also a refuge for young men and women who are at a crossroads in their life. My understanding is that they may stay at Plum Village for as long as 6months or maybe more until they find their way.
Some mornings we had a 5 a.m. bell for a 5:45 meditation in the main meditation hall. Meals were more consistent at about 8 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. Everything else was very flexible. Thay is not always at Plum Village but we were thrilled that he was present while we were there. He came to several meals in the dining hall during our week, and made two talks while we were there. We attended an all day event at the New Hamlet as well as one at the Lower Hamlet. (The New Hamlet is 8 years old.) The first one was Lower Hamlet and was named Plum Village because of the beautiful plum orchard to which much has been added. All the hamlets are surrounded by vineyards as this is the heart of vinyard country. Some days, we had work meditation. The first day, I volunteered for kitchen cleanup. I didn't volunteer for that again; too dirty!
In one of his talks, Thay told us about someone from the outside asking him if he had children and he said yes. The man then wanted to know how many children he had, and he said about a million. It was very obvious when he was in the dining hall at the head of about six long tables, end to end with appx 40 young monks lining both sides that he was feeding and caring for his children. We all felt like his children.
It's hard to say what was the best part. On our last night when we were packing up and cleaning our room, Chris said this was the first time he had ever taken a vacation that he felt rested at the end. I think that speaks volumes. What we saw and what we felt was love, joy, generosity, and a mixture of people who normally would not mix. It is quite indescribable!
We are happy to share another very memorable trip with you! And next month, we are going to China for ten days. What a great assignment we have here, and a great life!
We wish you a great one too!
Love,
Chris & Donnie
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