釋一行

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thích (釋) is from "Thích Ca" or "Thích Già" (釋迦, "of the Shakya clan") Nhất (一) Hạnh (行)

Rested in  Peace @Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Việt Nam, on January 22, 2022

Founder of Plum Village, Làng Mai, 梅村/梅莊@Thénac, Dordogne, the Buddhist centre of the «Village des pruniers», created in 1982 and spread over three/four “hamlets” with the nearby towns of Dieulivol and Loubès-Bernac.

Practice 實踐

The following is the schedule for an average day at 梅村 Plum Village (Làng Mai):

05:00 am: Rise

06:00 am: Sitting and walking meditation 坐和行禪

07:00 am: Breakfast

09:00 am: Dharma Talk / Class / Presentation / Mindful work period

11:30 am: Walking meditation 行禪

12:30 pm: Lunch

01:30 pm: Rest

03:00 pm: Service (working) meditation

06:00 pm: Optional dinner

08:00 pm: Personal study, Happiness Meeting, Beginning Anew

09:30 pm: Noble silence मौन mauná begins  (安靜，靜寂，ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄐㄧˋ, σῐωπή • siōpḗ, σῑγή • sīgḗ)*

10:00 pm: Lights out

In a world of noise, the sounds of our voices themselves play a deep role in the manifestation of our reality. In this way then, we are all instruments of the process of consciousness becoming matter. When our bodies are tense, or our energetic fields are contracted, the sounds we make are out of tune. The true nature of our souls’ songs are distorted, and not heard. And indeed, a reality — an out of tune with our true nature reality— may start to manifest. Noble Silence is Healing, is being alert and present. Silence is essential for deep transformation. It allows the practice of conscious breathing to become deep and effective. Like still water that reflects things as they are, the calming silence helps us to see things more clearly, and therefore, to be in deeper contact with ourselves and those around us.

* Noble Silence is a term attributed to the Gautama Buddha, for his reported responses to certain questions about reality. One such instance is when he was asked the fourteen unanswerable questions. In similar situations, he often responded to antinomy-based descriptions of reality by saying that both antithetical options presented to him were inappropriate.