AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE ENGLISH WITH MONASTIC FRIENDS AT PLUM VILLAGE THAILAND
Breathing in, I breathe in, Breathing out, I smile. Recently one of our Foundation volunteers, Robin Hyerstay (Joyful Returning of the Heart), experienced the many smiles your support has brought to our worldwide Sangha when he took a detour from his vacation in Thailand to visit the Thai Plum Village International Practice Center (TPVIPC) in Pak Chong, Thailand. With your generous gifts, the Thich Nhat Hanh Continuation and Legacy Foundation is able to support the inspirational work of our monastic brothers and sisters in Thailand and Vietnam. Here are some highlights from his visit…
“First of all, many thanks to the monks, nuns and lay persons at TPVIPC. My visit there was wonderful and there was a lot of planning and coordination by local staff to make it happen. The practice center has been operating for almost four years. I was surprised to learn that there are 100 nuns and 60 monks living there making it the largest practice center outside of Plum Village. The center operates on two large parcels of land that a local business person is providing rent free. The land is a farm, so there are several buildings that are used for classes and seminars and the nuns are living in former farm worker housing. There was not housing available for all so the monks built some small one room huts and sleep several to a room. They have two mediation halls – again built by the monks that can hold up to several hundred people. When Thay last visited they had 1500 practitioners staying on-site!
The Thai center’s monthly calendar is packed full of seminars, retreats and days of mindfulness. At the end of March, they hosted an Applied Ethics Retreat in conjunction with the National Health Security Office of Thailand and the Alternative Buddhist School Network. April 27- May 1 they are very excited to host the Annual Wake Up Asia Retreat with an expected attendance of 700 people. The most exciting news is that they recently broke ground on a new practice center about 45 minutes from their current site. The new practice center is quite large – the main meditation hall will be able to seat 2,000 people.”
The Thai Center is currently looking for volunteers to come for a 3-month visit to teach English to the monastics onsite. If you have any questions please contact Robin at: rhyerstay@gmail.com.
Working mindfully and joyfully together, loving Foundation supporters are transforming suffering throughout the world, and we thank you for your compassionate heart.
A lotus to you, Buddha to be,
Board of Directors, Thich Nhat Hanh Continuation and Legacy Foundation
Sr Chan Khong
Sr. Thoai Nghiem
Br Phap Hai
Br Phap Ho
Elizabeth Hospodarsky
Laura Hunter
Thich Nhat Hanh Continuation and Legacy Foundation
Planting Seeds of Compassion
2499 Melru Lane Escondido, CA 92026
Email: Info@ThichNhatHanhFoundation.org
Phone: 760-291-1003 ext. 104
Website: www.plumvillage.org
Heart Beat Sangha 