As Plum Village approaches its 30th anniversary, it is with great joy that we announce the upcoming birth of a new practice centre in the south-east of France: Dharma Mountain.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master, scholar, poet and tireless peace activist is one of the most well known Buddhist teachers in the West. Whether at Plum Village in the south-west of France, the monastery and retreat centre that he founded and where he resides, or touring throughout the world, Thây (as he is called by his students) teaches everyone "the art of mindful living."
Last December, Thây shared with the Brothers and Sisters in the community that it was necessary to, "establish a practice centre in the mountains, in France" because, as he added, "when we go to bed in the evening in the mountains, the stars are so beautiful and we feel closer to them." Thây gave this retreat centre-to-be the name "Dharma Mountain." The next day, he announced it in a Dharma talk, reminding us of the aspiration of the Buddha, the Patriarchs and all practitioners to create wholesome environments to help each of us to blossom in the practice.
Dharma Mountain will be a lay centre, where residents and guests will live and practice in the Plum Village tradition. The monks and nuns will come regularly to organize retreats. In the future, there will be a four-fold Sangha living there - Sisters, Brothers, lay women and lay men - all together!
This centre will be an experiment in applied Buddhism for the younger generation in the realms of mindfulness, collective living, ecology and kinship in the tradition of Plum Village. It will be a true offering to future generations.
Contact : dharmamountain@plumvillage.org
Where we are - Dharma Mountain
A month has passed since Thay announced the Dharma Mountain project at the last francophone retreat. It has been a month full of out-pourings of joy, hope, but also questions and research. Dharma Mountain is not yet been born; the conditions continue to come together to help with the manifestation of this new Plum Village retreat centrer that can eventually be occupied by the fourfold sangha. Today, we would like to let you know what has happened this past month, and also the projects to come.
At Present :
The members of the Ardeche Sangha met the owner of the locations that we spoke to you about at the francophone retreat, and they returned to visit the land and the houses in her presence. Even if this property is wonderful from many points of view, our friends in Ardeche continue to search for other locations that could welcome a practice centre, making visits and taking photos.
The call for donations has been sent through France, Switzerland and Belgium, and it's even started to spread in the United States thanks to a friend from Ardeche who lives there! Your generosity has so far raised 20000€. We continue to call out toall of you in order to raise the 200 000€ that we need to buy the property. Before leaving for Asia, Thay wrote calligraphies that we are selling to raise funds for Dharma Mountain. A blog was set up – in French – a few days after announcing the project, thanks to the work of a friend. A Board, composed of monastic and lay members, has been created to coordinate ideas, share information, sharing different visions for the project, to establish a charter for the residential community, who will be lay people.
A meeting for those interested is scheduled for Monday, April 18, at Chalendas and La Boissière, contactdharmamountain@plumvillage.org
A call-out has been made through the Wake Up movement for the young people who would like to get involved in this adventure.
eventually, a scrap book has just been put together, gathering sharings, information, photos from the visits to different locations, etc... It will travel from region to region through Days of Mindfulness held by local Sanghas. When you see it come your way, don't forget to add your own input. It's first outing from Plum Village is set for Saturday, April 9th at a retreat in Bretagne.
Upcoming:
Of course, the most important is to build the Sangha, particularly the future residential sangha. If you practice in the Plum Village Tradition and you are interested in living at the Dharma Mountain, and bringing your practice and your trade, do not hesitate to write to us at dharmamountain@plumvillage.org , so that we can meet and/or exchange about the project.
On top of this, some ideas have been proposed, by Brothers, Sisters and Lay friends, to move forward with this project. This list is not exhaustive - it is up to you to continue… and to help us make these ideas a reality!
- creating a poster and leaflet to distribute widely
- putting together a little film from a youth retreat that would include also a presentation of the project that could be shared on the internet
- holding a "Health and Ecology" retreat in the Spring 2012 in Ardeche - mindfulness practice, fasting and hiking, inviting a number of outside facilitators to present their concrete ecological initiatives. And certainly presenting Dharma Mountain to everyone
- ...
All of these initiatives will be for us an opportunity to practice together in joy and fraternity - a preview of Dharma Mountain itself!
Please visit the French site at http://montagnedudharma.blogspace.fr/
for online contribution please visit
Dharma Mountain Online Donation
Please help us by sending a short email with your name and the amount of your donation so the monastics can keep track:dharmamountain@plumvillage.org
A lotus to you, the Buddha to be
Information from : http://www.plumvillage.org/sangha-projects/274-dharma-mountain.html
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