Sunday, August 14, I got up early after a sleepless night and spent the next 13 hours traveling by train from Stuttgart to Plum Village. I took 4 trains and one metro ride across Paris to get to the little town of Ste. Foy la Grande which is about 85 km east of Bordeaux. I arrived about 7:30 pm and was relieved to see monks and about 20 people out front. We all squeezed into 2 minivans and a car for the 18km ride to Le Pey, Thenac, where the retreat was to be held in Upper Hamlet. Plum village is a collection of several places in this area. The Upper and Lower Hamlets are really less than 2 km apart by footpath. There is a kind of old farmhouse called West Hamlet that is just outside of Thenac where extra housing is available during retreats. It is also less than 2 km from Upper Hamlet. New Hamlet, which I did not see, is further away but is also part of the whole and the retreat the previous week was there. These places were originally farm sites with old houses and barns. Many new buildings have been built since the founding of Plum Village, including the very large meditation hall in Upper Hamlet.
I was too late arriving for dinner and soon after I arrived and before I registered we were called to the meditation hall for orientation and a short dharma talk.
At around 10pm it was time to retire but those of us who arrived late still needed to register and find out where we were staying. Many people were camping but I chose to be in a private room with 4 other people. It was actually a room in an old farmhouse with a loft. 3 people slept below and I slept above with another person. The rooms were gender specific unless you were some of the few who were able to get private couple rooms. It was after 11pm when I was finally registered, had a shower, and was able to lay down on my mostly comfortable but very squeaky single bed. My neighbor promptly fell asleep and had a rather loud snore. Once again I enjoyed a second sleepless night and by the time the 5am wake up gong sounded I was thinking that this could be a long week indeed.
At 5:30am physical exercises were offered. Some people did Hatha yoga, others touching the earth prostrations and others Chi Gong or Tai Chi. That first morning I did some Chi Gong that was done using a bamboo pole. On subsequent mornings I chose to first do some hatha yoga and finally decided to do touching the earth prostrations for 45 minutes as a way of early morning exercise. After exercise we all assembled in the meditation hall for about 45 minutes of silent meditation. Sometimes this meditation was a guided meditation. After the meditation we then enjoyed a one hour dharma talk. Since this was a health and happiness retreat the talks usually focused on the importance of proper nutrition and the benefits of meditation to health. Because it was a very international crowd simultaneous translations were available in French, English, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. The dharma teachers were usually speaking in either French or English as well as the meditation and exercise facilitators. Even if I wasn't able to be close enough to plug in my earphone I could usually understand most of what was being said.
Finally at 8 am the breakfast bell sounded. Breakfast during the retreat is a rice or oatmeal soup with some boiled prunes. I wasn't very lucky that first morning and didn't get any prunes and only a little rice sediment with my broth. I was continuing to think that this was going to be a verrrrry long week.
When we registered we were put into families. Families were organized by language (the language spoken by the monk/dharma teacher assigned to the family). I was in a family of about 8 Dutch people and then a mixture of German, Irish and British folks. I was the only American in the family and one of only a few at the retreat.
At 9:30 we joined our 'families' at our assigned meeting spots. Ours was the Buddha garden outside of the meditation hall. Our dharma teacher was Thay Phap U'ng, a senior Vietnamese monk at Plum Village who also spoke fluent Dutch, English, Vietnamese and some German, at least.
We began the circle by introducing ourselves and saying where we were from and why we were there. This was a bit challenging for me because of my current circumstances but I did share that I had spent most of the previous 2 years in Vietnam and was returning there for at least another year soon after the retreat was over. This proved to be a good icebreaker for me because it sparked a lot of interest from the others in the group as well as with Thay Phap U'ng.
Soon after the introductions we went on a walking meditation.
Our teacher, I soon discovered, has a very deep practice. His walk is very slow and deliberate. He would frequently stop to gaze at the view and it is clear he is an embodiment of "presence". Many people at the retreat were in families that did 'hiking' as their form of walking meditation. Some people abandoned our 'family' in order to join these more athletic families. Thay Phap U'ng feels that hiking is not really walking meditation at all but just exercise. I agree and I really appreciated the depth of his practice and presence he surrounded himself (and us) with.
Each day during our 2 hours for walking meditation, each family was given a 'snack' to take along. This consisted of melons, nuts, dried fruits and other fresh fruits such as peaches or plums as well as whatever we could glean from the countryside along our paths. When we stopped for a snack we would sit in a circle and pass the snack items around in a mindful way with everyone taking an even share. We would then eat mindfully and quietly. Finally a bell was rung and we would chat among ourselves for a bit. Sometimes we would continue on our walk and sometimes our teacher would lead us in a deep relaxation meditation. That first morning we all lay in a circle with our heads pointing in and our teacher led us on a deep relaxation visualisation. I woke myself up several times with my snoring (and a polite jab from my neighbor). I knew then that I would sleep well that night.
When the lunch gong sounded at 1pm I was more than ready for a good meal. I was not disappointed. Lunch was usually as much brown rice as you wanted with an assortment of steamed veggies. A raw salad was also offered. I filled my plate and bowl shamelessly.
During the retreat, lunch is eaten with your family. No one begins to eat until everyone has gotten their food and is present with the family. Then a bell is rung and the family eats for about 15 minutes in "Noble" silence. After that another bell was rung and we continued eating but could also talk quietly if we wanted to. We are encouraged to eat slowly and mindfully, carefully chewing our food and really appreciating it. My taste buds were exploding and my digestive juices flowing and I certainly enjoyed that meal very much.
There was some free time after we washed up our dishes. Because I was very sleepy I took a 30 minute power nap on my bed. At 3 pm our family was to perform one hour of dharma work. Out chore was to clean and set up the meditation hall for the evening's activities.
We all met at the meditation hall. Before we started working we began learning, using a songbook, songs that are commonly sung at Plum Village. The lyrics of these songs are from poems written by Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) and put to simple melodies. After some singing we were instructed about how to do our work and then we did our work.
The 'old meditation hall' was originally a barn where hay and other farm equipment and supplies were stored. Once the Upper Hamlet outgrew it the much larger new meditation hall was built. It is now called the Transformation meditation hall. At the rear of the hall is an ancestors' room. There one can find photos and pictures as well as other things relating to the ancestry of the sangha and the families and friends of the sangha.
Each afternoon from 4 pm until 5:30 we once again met in our families and had family sharing. We would begin this time by singing a few songs we had learned or learn a new song. Early in the week people could share about whatever was present for them in regards to the retreat. Later in the week the focus shifted to the 5 mindfulness trainings. There was some deep sharing that happened at this time.
From about 5:30 until 6:40 there was another exercise period. People could do Tai Chi, Chi Gong or Yoga. Sometimes there were special talks that were part of evening workshops. Some people chose to rest. I usually did the Chi Gong workshop, however the first day I listened to a fascinating presentation by a psychiatrist. He spoke in French about depression and his work with mindfulness and meditation in his practice helping patients.
After dinner we gathered once again in the large meditation hall. There were a number of evening workshops that were available for people to join. There was one about shiatsu massage that was very popular. There were also workshops about natural cooking and baking, self healing and depression. The one I went to for 3 nights was about conquering fear of death and separateness. The monk who facilitated this, Thay Phap Dang, another senior monk there, has cured himself of colon cancer using natural means rather then Chemo and other more common 'modern' cancer treatments. He shared how his deep practice helped him do this; especially his no fear of death.
Finally at 10 pm we went off to our rooms to sleep. Shortly after my head hit the pillow I was out and enjoyed a very deep good night's sleep. It was a very long and full day. Shortly before I fell asleep I noticed a warm glow of happiness in my heart.
The second day began much as the first one had but it was a bit damp as it had rained shortly before dawn. After breakfast, when we joined our families for walking meditation, it became clear that a number of people wanted to walk with 'faster' groups. One of the women in our family, Julia, said she was feeling sad about this. It seemed to her that this was causing the family to fall apart. Our teacher once again shared that he believed that hiking wasn't really walking meditation and that he only practiced walking meditation. He went on to add that anyone was free to walk with whomever they wanted as well as be with any family they chose to be with assuming that family would take them. I thought this was a beautiful expression of non-attachment grounded in the convictions of his own practice. Several people who were about to leave the group had a change of heart and that marked a significant change in our group. From that moment onwards we truly became a family and the closeness and sharing that bloomed forth was magical.
The family snack time.
The view from the deck.
Wednesday was called a lazy day. The usual routine was somewhat changed in that some of the early morning activities were not offered so people could sleep in or just 'be lazy'. There were some walking groups that went on walks or hikes but these were not with our families but with groups we could join depending on whether we wanted a hike, a moderate walk, or a slow walking meditation.
Most of our family chose the moderate walk that was still rather mindful just a little bit faster paced but much slower than the hikers.
Each of us had to prepare our own food bag for that day after breakfast since there was to be no lunch. Later in the day we could join exercise groups and I once again did Chi Gong. That evening we did eat with our family and enjoyed a hearty soup. While we were only requested to eat with our families once a day at either lunch or the Wed. dinner most families started eating every meal together. It was great to start to get to know each other and we could all feel a bonding happening between us.
The retreat was to end on Saturday morning and as is tradition on the night before the last day each family has the opportunity to offer at the evening gathering some kind of song, poem, skit etc. of up to 10 minutes length. Our teacher said he wasn't very good at this and said we should come up with something and he would help us as he could. I suggested since we were doing a lot of singing maybe we could sing a song. Maybe to make it more interesting we could sing it not only in English but also Vietnamese. After some discussion we decided to sing a very simple song in 4 languages; English, Dutch, German and Vietnamese. The only big challenge was that the Vietnamese version has a completely different melody. Somehow we were able to pull it off much to the amusement of the crowd. Our attempt to sing the Vietnamese version was very funny. Some of the other families put some great effort into their performances and it was clear there were many highly talented people at the retreat.
The last day, Saturday, began with the 5 mindfulness trainings transmission ceremony. This is a very beautiful ceremony that involves the whole sangha. People at the retreat who chose to take the trainings as well as those renewing them were able to receive this from the sangha. There was much chanting, prostrations and affirmations involved in this ceremony. Many in my family including me chose to receive these trainings. It was a very special ceremony that touched many of us at a very deep level. Afterwards we took photos with our teacher and gave each other hugs all around.
Some people had to leave right away and others like myself left after breakfast while others were staying one extra night. It was one of the best weeks of my life and I know that I learned things that week I will always remember. It was just the 'jump start' my practice needed. "I am home, I have arrived."
You tell of a wonderful experience that truly puts us there with you. Thank you so much for sharing something that I am sure many of us will try to incorporate into our future.
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