A Plum Village Week

This unique place has a distinctive approach to conducting one’s life.  You will see that the languid life within the villages provides ample time for introspection.

Each week has one “Lazy Day”.  On that day each person could do as they would like.  It was often a day to go into town.  On that day the village vans would be packed with monks headed for the nearby village in search of who knows what.  The lunch and often the dinner would be sparsely attended.  Lazy Day was very quiet.  It was a perfect day for long walks and reflection.  Oftentimes, my thoughts would be of what might be happening at home, which was pretty much halfway around the world.  I wouldn’t call them homesick thoughts but, rather, curiosity thoughts.  What were my friends doing 12 hours ago?  Eating?  Sleeping?  Playing?  One’s mind can wander and wonder.

Also, each week has two days reserved for village gatherings.  On those days all of the monks and nuns would gather for a lunch at one of the hamlets.  There are three hamlets, one for monks and two for nuns.  The days began, as usual, with morning meditation and breakfast.  These days ended with a quiet dinner.  However, the gatherings were quite lively.  In mid-morning everyone would pack into the village vans and head for the designated hamlet.  Arrival at the site was a special time.  Although the monks and nuns had visited just a couple of days ago, their meeting was very joyous.  There was so much laughing and giggling that one’s heart couldn’t help but be happy.  Shortly after arriving all would gather in the hamlet meditation hall for a dharma session.  The teaching gave way to walking meditation, then to lunch, then to sharing sessions related to the subject of the dharma talk.  When the sharing session had ended everyone began to say farewells.  The vans were reloaded and buzzed back to their respective hamlet, arriving in time for dinner.  These days ended, as did most others, with personal time.  Some would gather around the table tennis area, taking turns playing, all the time chatting and laughing.  Others would retire to their space to read or sleep.  A few would wander about, absorbing the sounds and aromas the dusk offered.  As the late afternoon settled into night each hamlet drifted into a quiet slumber.

The remaining four days were the “work” days for the community.  Each day began with morning meditation.  Breakfast was then followed by a couple of hours of personal time.  A dharma session preceded lunch.  Walking meditation gave way to working meditation, which lead to a bit more personal time before dinner.  After dinner there was personal time to absorb the day.  So, each of these days was comprised of 3 hours of meditation, 3 hours of eating, 2 hours of learning, 2 hours of working and 6 hours of personal time.  We arose well before the sun and closed our eyes when the moon was high in the sky.  The hours sound long but the pace was so relaxed.  Each segment of time was conducted in very mindful way and, because of that perspective, I awakened each morning well rested and without a worry.