Win Grace tells us about her trip to Plum Village, so far....
I really wondered if Paul and I were going to actually get there when we had a FLAT tire 5 miles from home as we drove to the St. Louis airport. I was ready to leave on time, and was using the practice of leaving to (for once) leave and prepare to leave relaxingly and mindfully. The flat tire threw the whole mindful thing off, to say the least! But Paul changed the tire in record time and we raced back to the house where we thankfully had another working car to use. I mindlessly left the front door completely open with the keys in the door, but as we pulled out onto the road, I realized it (mindfully, panickingly!). Whew! Insanity!
All was well, though. We got to the airport an hour ahead of time. Then the flight to Chicago was delayed, then delayed again. (Is this trip really going to happen?) Then we sat on the tarmac for an hour waiting to take off, then we circled over Chicago for 30 minutes. (Are we really going to get there?) Then our flight to Paris was delayed for de-icing (Yes, please, DO the de-icing.). We were 2 hours late in leaving for Chicago. Once we got on the plane, EVERYTHING completely smoothed out. The plane was empty enough for everyone to stretch out and sleep.
From that point -- we're really going to Plum Village! Obstacles have been removed!
Fast forward to Plum Village --
in the beautifully rolling hills in a very rural area not too far from Bordeaux. It's in the midst of wine country, so there are grape vines everywhere, though nothing really going on due to the season. There is winter there, though the bamboo grows well and everything was green in late January, with daffodils starting to peek out. It was very cold though, with not a lot of heat, and I lived in my coat, as did all the monks and nuns and Thay.
Paul and I stayed at the Upper Hamlet -- which is on a hill surrounded by woods. You can have a brilliant view of both the sunrise and sunset from there. There is little light pollution and so the moon and stars were gorgeous, too. The buildings are all stone and fairly old, there is much emphasis on economy. This is not any luxury deal, for sure. Lots of things are broken, but all seem to gradually get fixed. For the first week, the tiny shower in our tiny room (bunk beds) had a very slow drain. This coupled with a shower handle that would suddenly come off leaving the water running while I frantically tried to re-attach the handle before it overflowed and flooded the room, led to some panicked moments on my part!
Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) lives in the Upper Hamlet where he has a small house. Also there were around 40-50 monks, 8 aspirants who were to become monks (maybe), 24-30 long-term male lay retreatants (who had committed to stay there for the 3 1/2 mo. winter retreat) and 8-10 short-term male retreatants who were there for 1 wk to 1 month. There was 1 older traditional Vietnamese woman who was there with her husband and 1 other woman who had been on retreat there for a year.
A 10-minute walk through the woods would take you to another hamlet -- the Dharma Cloud Monastery, which was smaller than Upper Hamlet and populated with all men -- monks and lay retreatants, both short and long term. A 45-minute fast walk would take you to the Lower Hamlet, which was for nuns, couples and women retreatants, both short and long term. A 35-minute drive would take you to New Hamlet, which was for women and couples and where Sister Chan Khong, Thay's longtime student and companion, lives. There was also West Hamlet, which is a nice stone house, empty during this season (but open for anyone who should walk by). On a Lazy Day walk I found it by accident, went inside and shared a hot chocolate with a couple of guys from Upper Hamlet who were visiting. We sang a couple of songs and then went outside to sit on the hillside to enjoy the view, then went on our separate Lazy Day walks.
The whole community (300-400 people) would gather for Mindful Days on Thursdays and Sundays. Additionally people who lived nearby and people from around Europe would come in for Mindful Days. We would gather at one of the three larger hamlets because it was only there that everyone could eat together. All the meals, waiting in line, and washing our (own) dishes was done in silence and concentration, with mindfulness, while enjoying the company of our companions. After 30 minutes or so, someone would invite (different from hitting it) the bell, and we would begin talking if we felt like it. The clock would chime every 15 minutes and everyone would stop and breath while it chimed. Occasionally, especially during Tet, everyone was talking so loudly that we didn't hear it!
No rule was ever enforced and no one was ever reproached. The guidance was very gentle. For instance, at orientation, we were told that if we should arrive for sitting meditation after the door was closed and the bell sounded, we might want to consider doing walking meditation outside instead. My rules and regulations interpretation was, "Don't come into sitting meditation late" but if I had done so, no one would have said anything. I know this because a cat got the door open once and came in a made a whole bunch of noise!
Tuesday was Lay Day when the entire lay community from all the hamlets gathered for a day of activities put together by a committee of lay people. This was the day for the monastics to gather together separately at a different hamlet.
Mondays were Lazy Day! My favorite! Nothing was scheduled except 3 meals. It was a day of exploration, reading, walking, playing ping pong, whatever anyone chose. My first Lazy Day was a very foggy day, strangely interspersed with patches of sunlight. I decided to walk to Thenac, a tiny town nearby, to look at the church there. I needed a goal, I guess. First I met on the road a monk from Cambodia doing mindful walking with a young musician from England. I had a brilliant visit, learning a lot from the monk, who came from a different tradition and was finding a commonality between the two traditions. I walked on alone, grape vines and hills on each side, breathing and walking and enjoying the beauty. I did not know the way. I went down a hill and then looked to my right from the valley and there was the church and little town floating high in a cloud! What a sight.
Every day was different. The schedule was posted the night before for the day and the schedule for the evening was posted after dinner. It changed often and I learned to just watch the board. Bells would be rung 10 minutes before activities and WHEN a meal was ready. Everyone stopped with the sound of the bell to take a few breaths. This was always a challenge for me because when I heard the bell I would feel the need to jump into action. I had many opportunities to learn about my fear of being left out, not knowing what was going on!
There were quite a few visiting monks and nuns from other traditions. The main languages were French, English and Vietnamese. Everything was translated into those languages. However, there were many other languages spoken -- Dutch, Chinese, German, Korean, Thai -- and more. There were only two other Americans at Upper Hamlet -- many people from Scotland and England, Belgium, Holland, Australia, Hong Kong, more.
Most days we had Sitting Meditation at 5 am and 5 pm for 45 minutes. Sometimes it would be guided, sometimes silent. Always different. Sometimes there would be a ceremony as part of the evening meditation, or singing. Most days we had walking meditation for an hour or so -- often led by Thay. We would always gather and sing little songs (They LOVED "Love Grows.") with motions. Then we would mindfully walk together led by Thay or by a monk or nuns. We would walk (sometimes as many as 300 people) silently through the woods or the plum orchards, enjoying the lovely company and the beautiful surroundings. Then we would often sit in a beautiful spot and meditate or just enjoy the beauty. Sometimes a monk or nun would lead us in mindful movements for exercise.
Twice Thay popped up right behind me while we were singing before walking meditation. I didn't know he was there until I saw everyone looking at me. It is said that these Boddhisattvas know how to hide their energy. I think that is true for him because he would be there one minute and the next he would be gone. People just wanted to be around him, so I think this might be a useful thing for him.
He often ate with us at Upper Hamlet and we would know when he was coming because the food was better than usual. (It was fantastic vegan food.) His dharma talks were amazing. He gave around 6 talks while we were there -- they would be in English, French or Vietnamese. We were given headphones and there would be someone doing simultaneous translation (whispering into a mike in the same room). One of his talks was on The Little Prince! But wisdom could be had through the personal experience of virtually anyone there.
There is so much more -- 5 very amusing attempts on 5 days to catch a goat so I could milk her because she was going to die (according to an older Italian monk) if she didn't get milked, Happiness Meeting, Dharma Discussion, Shining Light, Picnics (They love picnics, and often carry food for 300-400 people to a beautiful place to have a picnic!), formal meals with the whole community, working meditation (MUCH learning for me there!), many games, much laughing, lots of ping pong, and last, but not least the 4-day celebration of Tet, the Lunar New Year, complete with firecrackers, a dancing dragon, the Oracle, unbelievable food - lots of ginger, earth cakes and sky cakes wrapped in palm leaves and baked for 6 hours, the Hungry Ghost ceremony, being royally received and entertained in the monks' quarters on Tet, much joking and giggling by the Vietnamese monks and nuns, and the hilarious "spectacle" put on by the monks and nuns.
This is too long, but I have to mention that the Upper Hamlet was the sight of a battle between the French and German (don't know which war). There is a big stone wall there next to the Dining Hall that was the assassination wall. Many people died there. Thay preserved the wall and there are plantings of bamboo around it, and a path through it with a little altar where there were always offerings of fruit, and a candle or incense. About once a week, two monks would stand there and chant in a special ceremony for an hour while ringing a small bell in time, to bring peace to the spirits of those who suffered there -- both those who killed and those who died.
Sending much love, Win
Wondrous Music of the Heart
