Holiday Retreat 2022
Walking Together on the Joyful Path
25 December 2022 - 1 January 2023
Date
In Person Retreat
Locations
Registration close
Registration
Namo Shakyamunaye Buddhaya
Dear Beloved Friends,
Brothers and Sisters at Thai Plum Village are very happy to welcome you to the year-end Retreat titled "Walking Together on the Joyful Path." The path of awakening is a joyful path. As we walk on this path, we have the opportunity to join a group of practitioners who have great aspiration, freedom, and capacity to bring joy and peace to life. That so-called Sangha is defined by Thay, our teacher, as “The beloved Sangha walking together on the joyful path.” Coming from all over the world to practice transforming suffering, cultivating joy and happiness, and experiencing freedom from within, we are building a very beautiful Sangha; and that is why the path we are walking on is truly joyful.
Attending this year-end Retreat at Thai Plum Village, you will have an opportunity to practice and cultivate a lot of joy and happiness together during the whole seven days. Every mindful step we make will contribute to the collective energy of peace for the community. In addition, during daily activities, we will have time to sit and breathe in mindfulness, work in brotherhood and sisterhood, and join joyful leisure time with each other in an open and non-discriminative spirit through international cultural exchange activities. Therefore, in the Retreat, every one of us will be a unit of happiness, and together we will build a beautiful fourfold Sangha that walks together on the path of love and understanding for a peaceful and happy life.
The Holiday Retreat will take place from 25 December 2022 to 01 January 2023 at Thai Plum Village International Practice Center. For more information about the Retreat’s information and guidance for registration, please visit our website (http://www.thaiplumvillage.org) and Facebook page (facebook.com/thaiplumvillage.org).
Monastic Brothers and Sisters of Thai Plum Village are happy to welcome and be with you to build a beautiful Sangha that offers joy, happiness, and freedom to all beings.
“A lotus for you,
The Buddha to be.”
Brothers and Sisters
Organizing Team | Holiday Retreat 2022
Thai Plum Village
Dear Friends,
Thai Plum Village brothers and sisters are happy to announce the upcoming year-end Holiday Retreat to be open for registration. The retreat titled “Walking Together on the Joyful Path” will be organized from 25 December 2022 to 01 January 2023 at Thai Plum Village International Practice Center.
Follows are basic notes for friends who are interested in registering for the retreat:
● Languages: Our main language is English, and translation into several languages including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese will be available.
● Number of retreatants: 500 friends.
● Registration link to be open: 07 October 2022 (3:00 P.M. GMT+7, Thailand time)
● Arrival date: The Monastery’s representatives will pick you up at the airports on two days: 24 December 2022 and 25 December 2022 between 12:00 P.M. and 04:00 P.M. Therefore, please kindly book your flight that arrives at the airport in the morning or before 03:00 P.M.
● Departure date: Drop-off transportation service will be available from the Monastery to the airports in two days: 01 January 2023 (leaving the Monastery at 01:00 P.M.) and 02 January 2023 (leaving the Monastery at 08:00 A.M.).
Notes:
● In case we have more retreatants, please accept to sleep in tents that the Monastery will put up.
● For the time being, the estimated expense including food and accommodation for Holiday Retreat is 1,200 Thai Baht per person per day.
● The Monastery is not responsible for your flight ticket if you decide to settle it before a successful registration is confirmed.
● You are recommended to arrive and leave the Monastery on the listed arrival dates, instead of any other days earlier or later than those.
● An extended stay will not be possible after this Retreat.
● Please read all information that follows prior to filling the registration form.
More information
A. REGISTERING TO VISIT THE MONASTERY
To visit the Monastery, these are must-haves:
1. Registration link: To register, please follow the link and fill in the form: Here. The link will be open on 07 October 2022 at 03:00 P.M. (GMT+7, Thailand time) and closed automatically when fully booked.
Necessary details for registering: email address, date of birth, telephone number, Viber or Zalo number (to be convenient to pick you up at the Thai airport), passport number, and contact details of a friend or a relative in case of emergency (email address, telephone number, etc.).
(This registration link is for international friends only. If you are Vietnamese, please read the information and register at the following link.)
สำหรับคนไทย กรุณาลงทะเบียนที่นี่
2. After successfully registering on the link above, you will receive an email with instructions to send us your flight ticket details. Your flight ticket details are asked to be sent to us before 23 November 2022. On 23 November 2022, if your flight ticket is not sent to us accordingly, your registration will be considered cancelled.
3. Health insurance and travel insurance: You are suggested to purchase health insurance and travel insurance when traveling to Thailand.
4. ATK (Quick test Antigen) at the Monastery:
a. Upon arriving at the Monastery, our Health Care team will conduct checks including body temperature and ATK test. We look forward to receiving your support for the ATK test fee, which is 200 Thai Baht per person per check.
b. Visitors who have negative Covid-19 test result are eligible to be registered into the week of mindfulness practice.
c. Visitors who have positive Covid-19 test result: will take quarantine at home-stays near the Monastery. At the next ATK test shows negative result, friends will be eligible to join activities of the week with the community. All expenses including food and accommodation at the boarding house will be settled by the male friends who are undertaking the quarantine. Within days of quarantine, we will stay in close contact and offer support like medication and food to the best we can.
B. PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF TRANSPORTATION
1. Arrival date:
a. For participants who registered “to be picked up at the airport”: The Monastery’s car will pick you up from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) or Don Muang Airport (DMK) from 01:00 P.M. to 12:00 P.M. in two days: Friday, 24 December 2022 and Saturday, 25 December 2023. You are suggested to select a flight that arrives in Thailand before 03:00 P.M. If possible, please select one that arrives at about 12:00 P.M., so that after being picked up, you will have more time to take a rest and be ready for the activities.
Upon welcoming you at the appointed assembly point, our pick-up car will go directly to the Monastery. Please wear a face mask for the whole trip; the car will stop once for toilets at a pre-planned public place.
b. For participants who registered “will arrive in my own means of transportation” (not having registered “to be picked up at the airport”): Please arrive at the Monastery on 25 December 2022 from 02:30 P.M. to 05:00 P.M.
2. Please note:
To help our pick-up team: Please buy a Thai sim card upon arrival at Thailand’s airport (or use Wifi at the airport to use the Viber app) to stay connected with the Monastery and our pick-up team via email, Viber, or direct telephone.
3. Pick-up fee (Airport <--> Monastery)
a. The pick-up fee is around 600 Thai Baht per person (or 1,200 Thai Baht per person for two rounds).
b. If the Monastery needs to arrange a taxi pick-up, the fee is 2,100-2,400 Thai Baht/taxi. If you travel with other friends, the taxi fee will be shared.
4. Departure date:
The Monastery can arrange drop-off service from the Monastery to the airport (either BKK or DMK). Our drop-off car will leave the Monastery at 01:00 P.M. on 01 January 2023 or 08:00 A.M. on 02 January 2023. You are suggested to select a flight that departs at least six hours after the time you leave the Monastery, which means approximately four hours of travelling from the Monastery to the airport plus two hours of check-in at the airport.
C. REGULATIONS DURING YOUR STAY IN THE MONASTERY
1. Except for medical emergencies, please do not go out of the Monastery.
2. You are encouraged to wear a face mask, wash your hands, and practice social distancing.
3. Please clean your own space regularly according to the instructions of the Monastery.
4. If you are currently taking any medication, please make sure that you bring them with you.
5. In case we have more retreatants, please accept to sleep in tents that the Monastery will put up.
1. The Monastery is a non-profit practice center. All activities are therefore donation-based only. We look forward to receiving your support during the time you stay in the Monastery. For the time being, the estimated expense including food and accommodation for Holiday Retreat is 1,200 Thai Baht per person per day.
2. Your donation will support the Monastery to cover the monastics’ daily expenses like food, electricity, water, and health care. Donations can be made in Thai Baht, USD (by cash) at our Registration office.
E. OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Please read the information carefully below to prepare for the best visit to Thailand:
1. If you are positive to Covid-19 before arriving at the Monastery, please kindly do not make it to come. The Monastery will arrange another appropriate time for you to visit. Please keep us informed of this via email to visitus@thaiplumvillage.org.
2. If the situation of Covid-19 becomes complicated and activities like retreats must be canceled, the Monastery will not be allowed to receive and host guests. Please note that we will not be responsible for your flight ticket and hotel booking. We are sorry for this inconvenience. In the case of cancellation, an email of notice will be sent to you.
3. Please note: Thai Plum Village Practice Center is a non-profit organization without any support from commercial establishments. The funding is provided solely by donations from those with kind hearts. Therefore, should you develop any health problems or personal issues (including the case of being infected by Covid-19) that require treatment during your practice and stay in Thailand, please be aware that you will be fully responsible for any expenses incurred.
4. Participants under 18 years old need to be accompanied by their parent or a legal guardian.
5. To guarantee the community practice and activities, the Monastery only receives participants older than five years old.
6. If there are updates from the Thai government related to the immigration and quarantine guidelines for international visitors, Monastery will amend this document accordingly.
7. Thai Plum Village on Google Map: Click Here
If you have any further questions regarding attending retreats or other Monastery events, please email us at visitus@thaiplumvillage.org.
Thank you very much! We wish you a great Holiday Retreat with a lot of joy and happiness!
Thai Plum Village Registration Office
Breathe and Smile