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Healing Ourself, Healing The World ( 1 – 5 May, 2021)

Dear friends, welcome to our Online Retreat.

It is so wonderful to have you with us for the most healing online retreat that we have ever offered, with the title “Healing Ourselves – Healing the World.”

This is a new experience and, indeed, an opportunity, for Thai Plum Village to offer an online retreat.

This is a chance for us to practice to embrace our suffering by practicing and being healed together during this global time of crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic.

We wish you a wonderful experience; may you have healing and inner peace throughout this retreat.

Intimate group interactions with monastics

Join a group of 16-20 people, guided by a monastic. These “Dharma Sharing” groups are a unique Plum Village offering and a highlight of the retreat. It’s a great way to enjoy live interaction, and to hear, learn, and connect deeply with people from many different countries and backgrounds. Dharma Sharing also provides a chance to ask questions to the monastics and receive guidance or recommendations for deepening your mindfulness practice.

These are Dharma talks in the online retreat "Healing Ourselves, Healing the World"

Beginning Anew Presentation with Sr Chân Không

Sister Chân Không, the first fully ordained monastic disciple of Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, received full Bhikshuni ordination from Thầy on November 17, 1988, in India. In 1990, she received the Dharma Lamp Transmission from Thầy. She has been the director of Thầy’s humanitarian projects since the 1960’s. Born in 1938 in Ben Tre, southern Vietnam, she began to study Buddhism with Thầy in November 1959, and later helped Thầy set up the School of Youth for Social Service, training thousands of young social workers to bring aid to remote war-devastated villages. 

 In 1966, she became one of the original six members of the Order of Interbeing. She organized the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace Talks in 1969, and in the 1970’s, assisted Thầy in his world tours calling for peace. She was instrumental in directing emergency humanitarian efforts to rescue Vietnamese Boat People from the high seas, as well as in leading sponsorship programs for over 14,000 orphans in Vietnam. 1. In the 1980’s, Sister Chân Không helped Thầy establish Plum Village Monastery in southwestern France, and is today the most senior nun of the International Plum Village Sangha. She began her social work as a teenager in city slums, and now, with her deep mindfulness practice as a nun, she has brought reconciliation and healing to families, couples, communities, and workplaces worldwide. From her deep practice and guidance, we can learn true love and how to relax body and mind to heal ourselves.

Dharma Talk – Day 1 – Brother Pháp Niệm – “Cultivating Happiness”

In the first Dharma Talk of our online retreat, Brother Pháp Niệm will share with us about cultivating happiness. We all want to be happy and to bring happiness to our loved ones, but due to our notions of happiness and beliefs about what will make us happy, we unwittingly inhibit our own capacity to be happy, and we may unintentionally cause suffering for those around us and for ourselves. When we confuse happiness with the experience of external pleasures, we can easily get caught in chasing after them thinking we are pursuing happiness. So, what is true happiness? And how can we cultivate true happiness in our daily lives? 

In the past year, all of our lives have had to change drastically to adapt to the global Covid-19 pandemic, and we may feel that our happiness is less important than the urgent issues we must face each day. However, when we understand clearly what true happiness is, we will see that cultivating happiness right in the midst of our challenges will enable us to face and handle every situation with more stability, clarity, and peace. True happiness also has the power to heal, so, in accord with our retreat theme, “Healing Ourselves – Healing the World,” the cultivation of happiness is an essential element in the process of healing.

Dharma Talk – Day 2 – Sister Lương Nghiêm – “Transformation and Healing”

In order to cultivate happiness in our daily lives, we need to transform our afflictions. In the second Dharma Talk of our online retreat, Sister Lương Nghiêm will share with us about the art of transformation and healing. As our teacher has taught, “When we know the art of how to suffer, we suffer much less. We’re able to make use of the mud of our suffering to grow lotuses of love and understanding. Living our life fully and deeply requires courage. If we cannot be happy, right here and right now, we need to ask ourselves why. If we’re having difficulty touching peace and the wonders of the cosmos in our daily life, there must be something getting in the way. We need to find out what it is. What’s weighing us down or pulling us away from the present moment?” (The Art of Living, p. 163)


Q&A – Day 3 – Questions from Your Heart – Br. Pháp Niệm and Sr. Định Nghiêm

We will have one Question-and-Answer session for our online retreat. This is an opportunity for us to ask our panel of Dharma Teachers questions from our heart. We can ask questions which come from our direct experiences and difficulties. A good question for the Q & A comes from the heart because such questions can touch the lives of many people. We should avoid asking theoretical or trivial questions; Google can answer these questions for us. Our Dharma Teachers have many years of experience in the practice of mindfulness from which they will be able to share in order to help us overcome our difficulties and suffering. So we are invited to take advantage of this precious opportunity to ask our heart’s deep questions.

Dharma Talk – Day 4 – Brother Pháp Tử – “Joy to the World”

In the third and final Dharma Talk of our online retreat, Brother Pháp Tử will help us relate what we have learned, practiced, and transformed during this retreat to our lives in the world. When we are able to live happily in each moment, to transform our suffering and heal ourselves, we are also taking care of our loved ones, those around us, and the world. With the insight of Interbeing, we can see this truth. Our own healing and happiness contribute to the healing and happiness of the world. We may wish to “change the world,” to put an end to social injustice, poverty, starvation, pollution, climate change, war, domestic violence, the spread of Covid-19, etc. However, if we cannot heal ourselves by transforming the roots of these issues in our own lives, we will be unable to do this for the world. On the other hand, while we transform and heal ourselves, we automatically heal and transform the world. When we have joy in our lives, we effortlessly bring joy to the word.

Retreat Program

  1. All streamed content will be uploaded after the session, and will be available to everyone who has registered.

  2. All sessions will be happened at Thailand time, GMT +7. Please adjust time of the schedule to fix your local time zone.

  3. We will use Google Form for registration and Thinkific.com to run the online retreat. Please note that you will need to use only one email address to register on Google Form and then to sign up Thinkific.com.

Saturday May-1st, 2021

Sunday May-2nd, 2021

Monday May-3nd, 2021

Tuesday May-4th, 2021

Wednesday May-5th, 2021

Saturday May-1st, 2021

  1. ⫸ LIVE 9:00 AM Technic Try Out

  2. ⫸ LIVE 3:00 PM Welcoming & Introduction And Meet & Greet Family Group

  3. ⫸ LIVE 7:30 PM Sitting Meditation + 3 Touching The Earth

  4. 9:30 PM (Offline) Noble Silence until the next day after breakfas

Sunday May-2nd, 2021

  1. 5:00 AM Wake up & Listening to the Great Bell

  2. ⫸ LIVE 5:30 AM 30′ Guided Meditation + Sutra chanting

  3. ⫸ LIVE 6:30 AM 10′ Walking meditation

  4. 7:15 AM (Offline) Breakfast

  5. ⫸ LIVE 8:45 AM Singing Meditation

  6. ⫸ LIVE 9:00 AM Chanting – Dharma Talk

  7. 11:30 AM (Offline) Lunch

  8. ⫸ LIVE 1:00 PM Total Relaxation

  9. ⫸ LIVE 3:00 PM Tea-In & Dharma Sharing

  10. 4:30 PM (Offline) Exercise

  11. 5:30 PM (Offline) Mindful Dinner

  12. ⫸ LIVE 7:30 PM 5MTs Presentation

  13. 9:30 PM (Offline) Noble Silence until the next day after breakfast

Monday May-3nd, 2021

  1. 5:00 AM Wake up & Listening to the Great Bell

  2. ⫸ LIVE 5:30 AM 30′ Guided Sitting Meditation + Sutra chanting

  3. ⫸ LIVE 6:30 AM 10′ Walking Meditation

  4. 7:15 AM (Offline) Breakfast

  5. ⫸ LIVE 8:45 AM Singing Meditation

  6. ⫸ LIVE 9:00 AM Chanting – Dharma Talk

  7. 11:30 AM (Offline) Lunch

  8. ⫸ LIVE 1:00 PM Total Relaxation

  9. ⫸ LIVE 3:00 PM Tea-In & Dharma Sharing

  10. 4:30 PM (Offline) Exercise

  11. 5:30 PM (Offline) Mindful Dinner

  12. ⫸ LIVE 7:30 PM Beginning Anew Presentation

  13. 9:30 PM (Offline) Noble Silence until the next day after breakfast

Tuesday May-4th, 2021

  1. 5:00 AM Wake up & Listening to the Great Bell

  2. ⫸ LIVE 5:30 AM 30′ Silent Sitting Meditation + Sutra chanting

  3. 6:30 AM (Offline) Walking Meditation

  4. ⫸ LIVE 7:15 AM Formal Breakfast

  5. ⫸ LIVE 8:45 AM Singing Meditation

  6. ⫸ LIVE 9:00 AM Questions and Answers

  7. 11:30 AM (Offline) Lunch

  8. ⫸ LIVE 1:00 PM Total Relaxation

  9. ⫸ LIVE 3:00 PM Tea-In & Dharma Sharing

  10. 4:30 PM (Offline) Exercise

  11. 5:30 PM (Offline) Mindful Dinner

  12. ⫸ LIVE 7:30 PM Writing Aspiration / Healing

  13. 9:30 PM (Offline) Noble Silence until the next day after breakfast

Wednesday May-5th, 2021

  1. 5:00 AM Wake up & Listening to the Great Bell

  2. ⫸ LIVE 5:30 AM 5MTs Transmission Ceremony

  3. 6:30 AM (Offline) Walking Meditation

  4. 7:15 AM (Offline) Breakfast

  5. ⫸ LIVE 8:45 AM Singing Meditation

  6. ⫸ LIVE 9:00 AM Chanting – Dharma Talk

  7. ⫸ LIVE 11:30 AM Lunch with Nation & Farewell

What is like to attend a Plum Village retreat at home?

Questions about Registration

We will use Google Form for registration and Thinkific.com to run the online retreat. Please note that you will need to use only one email address to register on Google Form and then to sign up Thinkific.com.

For further support, please kindly contact tpvretreats@thaiplumvillage.org

Questions about the program

This is a 5-day retreat, Saturday morning to Wednesday evening. Ideally, it is best if you can clear your days from other commitments so you can fully participate and savor the peaceful energy of the retreat, even when you are not following a scheduled session.

Each day there is a morning session from 5.00 to 11.30 (CET), which includes an optional 30-minute guided exercise session and a one-hour break for breakfast. The afternoon session is from 3.00-4.30 pm each day and starts with relaxation at 1.00 pm. The evening session is from 7.30 pm. We recommend you always arrive a few minutes early to set up your computer connection. 

Please note that you can choose to opt-in or opt-out of the three “Dharma sharing” afternoon sessions (3.00 – 4.30 pm each day). If you opt-in, we ask that you commit to join all three sessions, on time, so the group can have a strong collective experience. To avoid disturbing the group, we will not be able to admit people to the Dharma Sharing sessions once they have started.

Please also organise some time before the retreat starts, to familiarise yourself with the videos and information in the “How To Enjoy The Online Retreat” package, and set up a peaceful corner of your home where you can have an internet connection. We hope that this immersive and interactive experience will help you strengthen your mindfulness practice and establish the spirit of Plum Village right in your home.

Yes, we try to livestream all sessions to our platform so you can follow both there and on Zoom. The recording of this livestream will remain available afterwards.

In this retreat, the Dharma Sharing is a smaller break-out group of 20-25 participants, led by a monastic. It gives us a chance to listen deeply, to speak from the heart, and benefit from each other’s insights and experience of practicing mindfulness. We can share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, and our questions relating to the teachings in the retreat, and the mindfulness practices we are following together.

Please organise your time and commitments, so you have space from the morning of Saturday, May 1, to the evening of Wednesday, May 5, to fully participate in the retreat. Please allow an hour or two before Saturday morning to familiarize yourself with these materials and set up your computer correctly.

You’re invited to prepare a room or corner in your home where you can be online, undisturbed. It is important that you are not interrupted during the various sessions, so you may like to communicate with loved ones, or other people you live with, to ask for their support in this. If you are participating in the Dharma Sharing groups, it will be important for you to log-on from a private space where you can share without others hearing you.

The Dharma Sharing break-out groups are the ideal time to ask questions from the heart about the teachings you have heard and practices we are following together. You can also write a question in the comments below the video of a particular talk.

The Dharma Sharing break-out groups offer a rare opportunity to join a circle facilitated by a monastic. If you are interested in connecting with the monastics, we strongly encourage you to make the commitment to opt-in to the three Dharma Sharing sessions. Our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, taught us that Dharma Sharing break-out groups are the most powerful way to learn and grow in our mindfulness practice. Please note that these sessions are not direct question-and-answer sessions, but a group where questions are addressed collectively.

Yes, you do not need to be in a hut on a mountain to enjoy this retreat. So long as you have a quiet corner or room where you can be undisturbed, and perhaps have space to stretch and do the mindful movements, you will be able to enjoy the retreat fully. You may need headphones, and if you are joining Dharma Sharing, somewhere in the house where you can speak without being heard by others.

You can explain to those you live with your intention in joining the retreat and ask for their support. The idea is not to cut yourself off from them, but to generate a strong energy of mindfulness, peace and presence, during the sessions, that you can bring to your in-person interactions off-screen over the course of the weekend. You will be able to apply many of the teachings on deep listening, mindful eating and so on, right away!

This retreat is designed as an adult learning experience, but anyone is welcome to join the meditations, talks, movement and relaxations. Please note that in the Dharma Sharing breakout groups themes may spontaneously arise that are not appropriate for teenagers or children, and so it is not possible to register participants under 18 for the Dharma Sharing groups. We are currently exploring how we can offer a different, more tailored experience for children and teens online. Please check our events listing for future announcements.

This retreat is accessible to those new to the practice, and will be a refreshing and deepening experience for those who have been practicing mindfulness for some time. It is a precious chance to connect directly with our spiritual community, and to meet like-minded people.       

Please see the schedule and convert the times into your time-zone. If you are in a later time-zone, you may still be able to follow the morning meditations, exercise, teachings, relaxations and Dharma sharing (and simply miss the evening session, which you could watch the next morning). If you are in an early time-zone, you are likely to miss the morning sittings but you may be able to join the Dharma talks if you wake up early. We have designed this retreat primarily for Asia, as our centers in the US and Europe are offering online events in their region. This is still an experiment and we are open to learning, so please do send us your feedback.

The retreats will be offered in English only. However, we have translation system for all live sessions in Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian.

Questions about tech issues

This retreat will be delivered to you through your web browser and the Zoom app. When following the live events you can choose to join via Zoom or via the embedded video in your browser (link will be provided in advance). If you are opting-in to Dharma Sharing (the smaller breakout groups), you will need to install the Zoom software and you will need a webcam on your computer or tablet, so people can see you (just as you will see others). It is also preferable to have headphones, ideally with a microphone.


It depends how unstable. Your viewing quality is similar to watching something on youtube. So if that is a pleasant enough experience, then yes you can join this retreat. But for Dharma Sharing others might find it difficult to hear you. You can ask permission to turn off your camera, so others can hear you better.

HQ Video 

HD 720P Video/Gallery View

Receiving 1080P HD Video

Sending 1080P HD Video

Upload Speed

800 kbps

1.5Mbps

2.5 Mbps

3.0 Mbps

Download Speed

1.0 Mbps

1.5Mbps

2.5 Mbps

3.0 Mbps

Group video calls have more than two active video streams. This is the most common format of Zoom calls.

Yes, when you subscribe you will receive an email with instructions and telephone numbers to join us via Zoom. You will only be able to follow the live sessions; it is not possible to join Dharma Sharing sessions from a phone.

Yes, you can join only via audio, you do not have to start your camera, you can also choose only to watch via our platform. Only when you join the Dharma Sharing session, everybody is asked to start their camera to create a safe environment.

All the recordings will be available afterwards on our platform, for you to access for six months. You will not be able to download them. 

You’re invited to breathe, pray, or send an email to technique team: wakeupvn@plumvillage.org

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