2020 Annual Retreat
Due to concerns about the spread of the coronaviris (COVID19), we are cancelling this year’s retreat to protect the health and safety of the sangha. We will be contacting registrants in the coming days to provide refunds of registration fees. We do this with both with sadness for missing this opportunity to practice together, but out of loving care and concern for our collective well-being. Plum Village in France has also been closed to the public, with the monks and nuns writing:
“We send our thoughts and prayers to those around the world facing suffering and difficulty in these moments, and look forward to the chance to welcome our wider community back in Plum Village in the near future. May all of us as a species use this opportunity to wake up to our shared humanity, our shared vulnerability, and to nourish our compassion and tolerance, and not our fear and discrimination.”
For more information about COVID19 and how to keep yourself and those around you safe, please see information provided by King County. That page is being regularly updated as new information is available.
Being Together: Back to Basics
A Mindfulness Retreat inspired by the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh
Wednesday, March 25th – Sunday, March 29th
Life can only be found in the present moment. Through the practice of conscious breathing, we will go back to the present moment where all wonders of life are found. By learning to be aware of every movement, every thought, and every feeling that arise in our daily life, we will touch peace and joy that are available within and around us.
During this retreat, we come together as a community to practice mindful breathing, sitting, eating, mindful movement and mindful walking. The community’s collective energy of mindfulness as well as the trees, the birds, and the sunshine will also help us to embrace our thoughts and feelings as they arise, so that we can continue to feel solid and calm. With continued practice, we will be able to touch the pain that lies deep in us – the fear, anger, and despair – with mindfulness and tenderness so we can be healed and transformed. The retreat’s atmosphere is one of togetherness, peace and quiet joy!
Anh-Huong and Thu Nguyen have been practicing mindfulness in the tradition of the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh for 30 years. They have led mindfulness retreats in the United States since 1988 and in 1992 were among the first students to be ordained as meditation teachers by Thich Nhat Hanh. Anh-Huong is the author of “Opening the Heart of Compassion,” a guided meditation CD and co-author with Thich Nhat Hanh of “Walking Meditation”, a multimedia manual on mindful walking. She has also translated several of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books into English, including “The Sun My Heart” and “The Diamond that Cuts through Illusion.”