TLDR: My time at Plum Village showed me that mindfulness isn’t confined to formal meditation, but can be gently practised to nourish everyday moments- walking, eating, listening, and resting. Through learning how to embrace and care for strong emotions with tenderness, and transform conflicts and differences into deeper understanding and connection, these practices continue to support and gently transform my daily life beyond the retreat.
Anchoring Within: How the Practice Benefitted My Life
When I first read Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay’s) book Fear many years ago, I was deeply amazed by how something so simple could be so grounding. The gentle phrase – “Breathing in, I know I’m breathing in; breathing out, I know I’m breathing out” – continually brought me back to the present, showing me how mindfulness could be integrated into daily life.
Last year, when my grandma’s health fluctuated, I found it difficult to meditate or find stillness. During that time, I anchored myself in meditative verses from How to Live When a Loved One Dies. These teachings helped me stay with my strong emotions rather than push them away – holding them tenderly, like a mother cradling her child. The practice reassured me that even amid life’s storms, I could find refuge within.
My curiosity further deepened after watching the Plum Village documentary Walk With Me. Seeing the monastics practice mindfulness so seamlessly – through walking meditation, deep relaxation, and pausing at the sound of the bell – inspired me with the possibility of living each day with greater presence. On hectic days, when stillness feels hard to access through breathing alone, I often turn to The Way Out Is In podcast, which gently helps me come home to myself.
For years, visiting Plum Village has sat at the top of my bucket list, as I wanted to experience the space, the people, and the living practice that have supported me through various parts of my life’s journey.
Plum Village Wake Up Retreat
In August 2025, I finally had the conditions to visit Plum Village, France for the Wake Up Retreat: The Power of Love (for young adults aged 18–35). It turned out to be very different from what I had expected. I thought I would be doing a lot of formal sitting meditation, but instead I received another precious gift – learning how to connect deeply with my heart and with others.
Retreat schedule
The retreat includes:
Dharma talks on love and communication
Sharing circles, where people vulnerably shared about their lives, learnings, and experiences
Deep relaxation (yes, we got to nap after lunch and fully rest our bodies and minds- one of my favourite activities!)
Lazy day, devoted entirely to rest and being rather than doing
Mindfulness was woven into every moment. During my free time, I doodled, reflected, and allowed insights to slowly arise. Below are some key realizations and precious lessons I’ve been carrying into my daily interactions and life. I hope they may resonate with or support you in your own journey.
Insights from the Wake Up Retreat
Embracing Grief: “If You Have Received Love, Don’t Let It End”
During a Dharma talk, Sister Brightness ended with the words: “If you have received love, don’t let it end.” She spoke about how, after Thay’s passing in 2022, the community continued his practices of mindful living and carried his love forward. Thay was like a loving grandfather to her, which deeply resonated with me, as my grandma holds a similar place in my heart.
This simple sentence allowed me to touch my anticipatory grief. I realised I had been afraid that the joy and love in myself would disappear after a loved one passed. Hearing this teaching opened my heart. I cried deeply and felt relief as I witnessed the possibility of how Plum Village continued Thay’s love and teaching even after he passed. I felt grateful that I could continue my grandma in me – through the genuine care, loving-kindness, and joy she embodied.
Interbeing: We Are All Different — and the Same
[Photo of the Radiant Sunflower family group – the lovely friends I spent my 8 days with]
At the beginning of the retreat, I felt a little out of place. There were over 800 retreatants, many of them Westerners, who felt like movie stars to me – tall, sharp-featured, confident, with distinctive accents. In the first few days, I felt quite different from everyone in culture, experiences, and appearance.
As the days passed and we connected through sharing circles, I began to see how similar we are internally. We all experience suffering, joy, love, and the wish to deepen our mindfulness. As I slowly let go of comparison and difference, I felt more open and connected, and a deeper sense of interbeing among all of us.
This insight extends beyond the retreat. Recognising that everyone seeks happiness and carries their own suffering helps us feel compassion and open our hearts to those we once felt distant from or struggled to understand.
Some questions Plum Village offered that may help build deeper connection with loved ones or friends include:
“What’s your inner weather like right now?”
“What landscape represents your current state of being?”
Inviting Our Loved Ones into Our Mindful Practice
During walking meditation, I initially struggled with scattered thoughts. A monastic brother shared about inviting our loved ones into our practice. When I tried this, my steps became more intentional. Knowing that the practice benefited not only me but also my loved ones helped me stay present.
This insight applies to daily life too. When our actions serve something larger than ourselves, we naturally bring more care and effort. When motivation fades, remembering who else may benefit can gently reawaken our intention.
Lazy Day and Deep Listening to Yourself
In Plum Village, France, they practice a weekly “Lazy Day,” devoted to being rather than doing. It’s a deliberate break from scheduled tasks to simple rest and nourish oneself, and allow the day to unfold naturally. At first, I felt pulled to socialise, but when I listened inwardly, I knew I needed quiet time alone. I doodled, reflected, and connected deeply with nature. Giving myself that space felt deeply nourishing.
Back in Singapore, I try to intentionally set aside one or two “lazy blocks” each week. In a culture driven by productivity, rest can feel secondary, yet it is so essential. Carving out this time requires me to listen to myself, turn down social meetups, and care for what I truly need.
Plum Village Gems for Relationships and Life
A monastic sister once shared that Plum Village offers many “gems” – we can choose the ones we need depending on our life circumstances.
True Love- Deep Listening, Deep Looking, Loving Speech
In every relationship, offering deep listening, deep looking, and loving speech to ourselves and others gives rise to understanding, which fosters true love. This insight has been one of my greatest takeaways for approaching conflict. Instead of reacting, I try to listen deeply and understand the values of the person and the suffering beneath their words. This helps me meet disagreements with patience, compassion, and openness, transforming the conflict into a deeper connection.
Nourishing Ourselves in Our Daily Routine
Everyday activities can be nourishing when done mindfully- for example, eating or brushing your teeth. One sister shared how she gently massages her body each morning and gives herself a warm smile while brushing her teeth. In daily life, simply pausing to connect with your breathing can also be very restorative. These small acts of care remind me that nourishment doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.
Embracing Difficult Emotions
Rather than suppressing difficult emotions, the monastic sister invited us to hold the pain tenderly, breathing with it and noticing where it lives in the body. Like a mother holding a crying child, we learned to meet our emotions with compassion instead of judgment, helping me find grounding even during difficult moments.
Five Mindfulness Training
The Five Mindfulness Trainings are ethical guidelines for living with greater awareness and compassion. I took the Training during the retreat, and these teachings serve as my north star in my daily practice. The training encourages us to practice reverence for life, true happiness through generosity, mindful and loving relationships, deep listening and loving speech, and conscious consumption.
Conclusion:
Plum Village is a living example of how it is possible to build a community rooted in mindfulness, love, and understanding in everyday life. For Singaporeans interested in exploring these practices, Joyful Garden Sangha offers Day of Mindfulness sessions on the last Sunday of each month, as well as weekly Monday and Thursday sessions. Joyful Garden Sangha also offers a Family practice and also LGBTQIA-affirming practice circles as part of its sangha. Feel free to check them out if you’re interested: https://www.joyfulgarden.sg/contact/
Plum Village practices have deeply benefited my life, and I hope that by sharing them, they may also offer support or comfort to someone else during a difficult time. Even small moments of mindfulness can gently transform how we relate to ourselves and others.
Here’s a video to summarise my Plum Village Journey. Enjoy watching:)
Wise Steps
Mindfulness is a way of living, not just meditation— It can be gently practised in everyday moments — walking, eating, resting, and listening.
Hold emotions with tenderness, not resistance —Meeting difficult feelings with compassion allows healing and inner stability.
Understanding transforms connection — Through deep listening and seeing our shared humanity, conflict can soften into compassion and deeper relationships.
TL;DR: This a reflection of a short movie about Thich Nhat Hanh, his teachings and community. Let’s walk together.
I had the chance to join the DAYWA (Dhamma Assembly for Young Working Adults) group for the Walk with Me movie screening some weeks ago. It’s a documentary showing a glimpse of activities in Plum Village, the community founded by Thich Nhat Hanh in France after he was exiled from Vietnam during Vietnam war time. It is a space for practitioners to immerse themselves in Zen Buddhism and the art of mindful living.
The directors perhaps wanted to appeal to a wider population, accompanying it with narration by Benedict Cumberbatch – with his deep voice and strong British accent. And I believe it may have worked when he read several lines from Thich Nhat Hanh’s journal throughout the movie.
There isn’t much dialogue or scripted lines like we’re used to in movies. It contains snapshots of activities, short conversations, moving images or sounds of nature.
What may seem like random scenes strung together, turns out to be a strangely beautiful flow of the story for me.
Cr: Scenes from the film
Captivating scenes
One of the earlier scenes left a deep impression on me: a group of laypeople on their knees, waiting in line for ordination. What’s striking isn’t so much the act of joining the ordained ones, but the deep sense of relief I see in their faces. Tears flooded down their faces, not from grief, but as if a huge rock had been lifted off their chests.
Cr: Scenes from the film
Witnessing such an intimate emotion, I can’t help but tear up and wonder to myself: when was the last time I experienced such a huge relief? What is weighing us down in life?
Cr: Scenes from the film. I love the knowing smile of “welcome to the group”
The bell chime every 15 minutes was cited by many of us as a good reminder for mindfulness – stop whatever it is and catch our breaths intentionally while listening to the bell for a few seconds. The resumption of the activities seems as if nothing has disrupted the motion; if not with the attitude of new experience.
Perish
“Friends want you to appear in the familiar form they know. But that is impossible. How could we continue to live if we were changeless? To live we must die every instance. We must perish again and again in the storms that make life possible.”
A few sentences with an immense reminder to the ever-changing nature of life: we’re not truly living if we try to fix part of us from others’ memory of us and we can’t fix others based on our memory of them.
It also reminds me of one poem in Yung Pueblo’s book Clarity & Connection:
How can we have a real conversation if every time we speak I can see in your eyes that my words are not reaching you? They stop at a narrative you have created about me based on who I was many years ago.
A reminder to let go of the past – image and belief of something and someone. So we could be fully present with what is in front of us, even if it’s a version that we’re unfamiliar with or dislike about.
The movie wasn’t only filmed within the compound of Plum Village, but also journeys to the outside world to share Buddha’s teaching. It was interesting how the monks’ and nuns’ encounters in the U.S. (prison visit, park meditation, monk’s and nun’s visit of family) shine light on the many who don’t understand Buddhism.
The scenes showed how these monks and nuns patiently shared with those who’d like to listen, in a way relatable to them. It was almost funny how the prisoners seemed to be frightened or perhaps showing pity when the monk said monks/nuns do not hold possessions and don’t even hold their own money – as if to ask: who is the one living in jail? But who is the freer person – the one who chooses to drop things or who yearns for things being denied?
Final words
I’ve watched the piece for the second time to write this article and a third time to find meaningful scenes to include alongside and realise that I can ‘watch’ it with my eyes closed. The directors have inserted beautiful sounds of nature, chanting and singing, familiar yet unfamiliar words and melodies. This is the first time I’ve heard Namo Avalokistesvara being chanted alongside violin accompaniment – a new way to appreciate the words and embrace what it stands for.
Cr: Scenes from the film: A smile can be a beautiful sound
One may expect to see more scenes with the Master himself. While Thich Nhat Hanh does make a couple of appearances in answering a question from a little girl (she’s feeling sad because her dog has passed away) and scenes covering his presence in the hall, there are limited scenes of him. His teachings and messages are cleverly transmitted through the actions and energies of his students; even in mundane activities like (mindfully) sipping a small cup of tea.
In summary, this may not be the typical movie or documentary.
One needs to appreciate and trust the flow enfolding every new second, as our self-held expectations and mind search for particular meaning or story, which is the result of a mind habitually trained at grasping. We can probably practise what Thich Nhat Hanh himself taught and come home.
Key Reflections:
Keeping ourselves open to new activities with a new group of people could result in a positive experience
The group may be watching the same film, but the message that strikes us individually may be different depending on our internal world
Lengthy script isn’t necessary to transmit a message that is well-woven in the visual, audio and tone of the piece
Wholesome Wednesdays (WW): Bringing you curated positive content on Wednesdays to uplift your hump day.
Conversions and attempts at conversion are something Buddhists may keep quiet about. This week we explore this prickly topic and how we can manage proselytising when it happens. On the flip side, do Buddhist try to convert others? Let’s explore two resources today!
1. “Hi, would you like to convert to my religion?”: Agreeing to disagree
2. Do Buddhists convert people? : Don’t Ask Strangers If They’ve Found Buddha
“Hi, would you like to convert to my religion?”: Agreeing to disagree
Snapshot from the booklet
What’s going on here & why do we like it?
Yes, being subjected to proselytising is uncomfortable. As ‘nice’ Buddhists, we may feel uncomfortable to say anything so as to not upset others.
This 2005 publication, yes we are internet archeologists, is a great resource on different settings from work, to deathbed, to home. Sponsored by two of Singapore’s most famous temples, this resource also covers misconceptions about Buddhism and how Buddhism views other religions. Pretty neat.
We don’t need others’ approval to practise the Dhamma. But we do need to be convinced in our hearts that what we do is right.
Wise Steps
Ultimately, people who try to proselytise to us have positive intentions to share their religion with us. Learning skilful means to reply is helpful in keeping harmony while being comfortable with your own religious beliefs
Check out the resource website here or the PDF itself!
Cover Page
Do Buddhists convert people? : Don’t Ask Strangers If They’ve Found Buddha
Have you found Buddha? Something you hardly/never hear Cr: Unsplash
What’s going on here & why do we like it?
Barbara O’Brien, a Zen Buddhism Expert, shares why the Buddhist teachings and practitioners aren’t big on proselytising to other non-Buddhists. She draws from suttas and renowned teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh and Dalai Lama on why proselytising might be counterproductive. We like it because she tackles the topic from many angles in a succinct manner!
“if it becomes important to you to prove to the world that your beliefs are the only correct beliefs, and it’s up to you to lead everyone else out of their erroneous ways, what does that say about you?”
Wise Steps
A common Buddhist saying “There are enough people trying to spread the Dhamma but not enough trying to realise the Dhamma.” Spread the Dhamma by practicing it, without having to use words, simply behave well so as to be an example to others through one’s manners and behavior.
Those of us who wonder how we can introduce our loved ones to Dhamma can start by cultivating our hearts towards greater happiness
Wholesome Wednesdays (WW): Bringing you curated positive content on Wednesdays to uplift your hump day.
白发送黑发 (White-haired person sends off black-haired person) is a common taboo subject that we avoid in our culture. However, it happens. Elderly sometimes have to witness the death of their offspring. How do we deal with such situations? Today, in the spirit of ghost month, we explore the topic of death.
1. My daughter died of leukemia. Is it possible to ever be truly happy again?
2. Grief and loss. Here’s how attending a concert shows you the difference.
My daughter died of leukemia. Is it possible to ever be truly happy again?
Thich Nhat Hanh’s shares the answer with the lady who lost her daughter
What’s going on here & Why we like it
A lady asks the late venerable Thich Nhat Hanh how she can be happy in spite of her daughter’s death. Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh compassionately shares on she can move on as a mother. Seeing other ways the departed person can manifest in your life is one way to develop healing and closure. We love how the mother listens intently to venerable and we feel that sorrow and hope for the mother.
“So the old buds who have died, they have not really died. They come again, as life is very strong. Life is stronger than death.”
Wise Steps
Healing from loss is an extremely difficult process that each of us will go through in our lives. By finding answers in nature, we develop the ability to see reminders of the departed one. A cloud never dies.
Grief and loss. Here’s how attending a concert shows you the difference.
Cr: A concert and death. What’s the relationship?
What’s going on here & why we like it
There is a difference between grief and loss. Ajahn Brahm, a famous monk from Australia, shares stories of death, loss, and how losses can remind us of the present moment. Grief is seeing only what has been taken away from you. The celebration of a life is recognizing all that we were blessed with, and feeling so very grateful. We like this talk because it beautifully captures the essence of life and how we can move on when love ones go in different directions as we journey through life.
“It wasn’t happy, it wasn’t sad. It was spiritual…It was like how I went for concerts, seeing bands…after the encores finished I had to go home. I knew I would never hear that music again…I never focused that the concert was ending. The only thing I ever knew was how wonderful it had been. How inspiring that music was and how fortunate I was to be there.”
Wise Steps
Death reminds us that losses will happen in our lives. Instead of going into loops of loss, we can reflect on the moments of inspiration we gained from that person’s journey in our lives. Reminding ourselves that life is impermanent will also spur us to forgive easily and not let petty arguments get in our way of love and friendship.
Enjoy the talk below! (We have cut it short to the juiciest part! But just listen to the whole thing if you can!)
Wholesome Wednesdays (WW): Bringing you curated positive content on Wednesdays to uplift your hump day.
Earth day is approaching! Climate change, going electric, buying sustainable products are all aspects passionately discussed on Earth day. Buddhists are commonly nudged towards being more environmentally friendly… so what does the late zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, have to say about our attitudes to the earth?
1. Can you fix climate change? Answering it is harder than you think
2. The astronaut & the Dhamma lessons on earth
Can you fix climate change? Answering it is harder than you think
Unsplash
What’s going on here
Kurzgesagt, an awesome youtube channel and writer of Immune, explores how we can solve rapid climate change. He explores deeper into how individual responsibility is not enough to turn around the tide of climate change. Instead of feeling hopeless, Kurzgesagt explores what we can actually do.
Why we like it
“Go vegetarian! Buy metal straws!” We are often told to make personal lifestyle changes to save the planet. However, there are also more ways to create a deeper impact. This video shares our current impact and why it is not enough to solve climate change. The mixture of narrative and statistics makes this video super enjoyable.
“Can’t some technology save us so we can continue to drive our big cars and eat meat every day? “
Wise Steps
Education is our first step. The next goes towards advocacy at the level we can to help some of the greatest issues facing earth and humanity. Doing our part and helping others/ industries do a little better can go a long way!
Read our review of a Buddhist Environmentalism movie (psst. we enjoyed it!)
The astronaut & the Dhamma lessons on earth
Unsplash
What’s going on here
Late Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, shares on we can approach caring for the earth and our minds. When we are mindful, we are able to see the beauty of the earth and can start caring for it. Oh yes, he mentions legendary Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.
Why we like it
His short and impactful sharing between the first moon landing and earth is unforgettable. We sometimes think of different miracles being something extraordinary. Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh challenges to see the miracle in the simple. Simply earth.
“Mindful walking means you touch the ground of the planet earth mindfully, you touch all the wonders of life”
Wise Steps
When is the last time you walked in nature? Taking yourself out to walk and be in nature (no airpods/ no phones) could reconnect you with the earth on earth day!
