|
Blossoming in Plum Village
by Bhikshuni Tenzin
Namdrol ©
Plum Village
consists of several hamlets pervaded by the presence of Thich
Nhat Hanh, or Thay as he is called by his disciples. The air
in this part of France is crystal clear, and the rolling landscape
dotted with old farms delights the eye. In summer, Plum Village
is filled with visitors, and children enjoy the swings, seesaws,
sandbox, and tree houses on the grounds. In winter the premises
are quieter, and the monastics do retreat.
Lower Hamlet comprises seven buildings
individually housing nuns, single women, couples and children.
A small zendo, service areas, library, shed, bookstore, and
one large zendo or meditation room also fill the cluster.
To hone the notion of community, nuns and single women are
assigned three to a room regardless of how many empty rooms
exist. No furniture other than beds is in the bedrooms, and
all belongings are kept in a large common room. In the common
study, we each have our own bookshelves for study materials.
The buildings lack sound insulation, and the floors are made
of hollow planks, but we hear no feet treading and no chatter
except on "lazy days," the one day each week when
no tasks except cooking are done.
New Hamlet consists of a manor house shared
by Vietnamese and Western nuns, lay women, and the Vietnamese
abbess. It has two beautiful, small zendos and a large one
in the meadow. Upper Hamlet stands on a flat hill surrounded
by grassy fields and woods containing meditation cabins. Here
monks and lay men live. Each hamlet has a rectangular zendo
where over three hundred people can easily sit.
In the nuns' house at Lower Hamlet live
Sister Abbess and eleven Vietnamese nuns: eleven are bhikshunis
and one is a novice. The abbess, Sister Jina, a European well
versed in both Western and Eastern traditions, is well loved
and respected. The sangha lives as one precept body, forming
individuals into a true community that makes decisions and
shares responsibilities. This close communal living brings
much freedom and joy to each member and makes refuge in the
sangha a powerful part of our daily lives.
The nuns are the core of the community.
Reminded to use skillful means to work out personal differences,
they manifest joy and trust in one another, thus setting the
tone for the rest of the community. All tasks and chores are
rotated and accomplished by groups of five or six practitioners
led by a nun. Each group cooks once a week, the only person
exempt from this task being the abbess. Hers is the only set
position; all others are changed periodically. If a sister
is especially gifted in an area she may be assigned to a project
in which that skill is needed. However, once the project is
completed, she rejoins the pool of sisters and is assigned
to another job. Mindfulness practice quickly appeases our
speedy habits. Nuns are expected to handle a multitude of
tasks demanding training in such varied fields as art, computers,
rituals, singing, and public speaking. Nevertheless, no one
appears burdened by any task, and no one is irreplaceable.
Closed offices where specialists remain on working binges
are absent in Plum Village. The nuns are humble, educated,
well balanced, and cheerful.
Mindfulness in Daily Life
Our practice centers on continuous mindfulness
in which we pay attention and bring joy to each activity.
Work is done in silence, and when the mindfulness bell rings,
we pause and breathe mindfully three times before returning
to whatever we were doing. Walking anywhere-from the table
to the sink, to and from our house-is done slowly and mindfully,
bringing body and mind in harmony regardless of the chores
we are carrying out. When the phone rings, which is constantly
during the day and several times during meals, we stop what
we are doing, are mindful of our breath, and answer the phone
with a smile after the third ring. Every fifteen minutes clocks
chime, and again we stop to focus on our breath, resuming
whatever we were doing when the chimes stop. When we talk,
we don't walk; when we walk, we don't talk. We do one thing
at a time, always mindfully. Mindfulness opens our hearts
to the here and now; we discover within ourselves infinite
gratitude for life, as well as for the soil we tread and the
oxygen we breathe. Mindfulness transforms our careless, self-centered
ways into gentle, loving ones.
We are trained to be attentive to our
interactions with each other. During the fine manners class,
inspired by 'Stepping into Freedom', a book of monastic conduct,
we learn to respect others and to actively demonstrate that
respect. For example, before and after addressing any monastic,
we gasho or bow to the person. We do this as well before sitting
down for a meal or meditation. We learn and practice kitchen
manners, dining room manners, bathroom manners, and zendo
manners, making life pleasant and caring. These rituals lend
sacredness to our lives.
Beauty and music are important at Plum
Village. Many of Thay's poems have been set to music, and
monks and nuns often sing together. The Heart Sutra has been
set to a simple melody, and by chanting it every morning,
we carry the tune in our hearts throughout the day.
The day begins with a bell at 5:00 AM,
and a half-hour later we meet for chanting and walking meditation.
At 7:00 AM, we return to our rooms for individual practice
until the bell is invited for our simple but scrumptious breakfast,
prepared by that day's cooking team. In the evening after
the day's cleaning team has finished its work, the bell is
invited again for evening meditation and liturgy until almost
10:00 PM. We are never tired, and time flies.
Twice a week Thay gives teachings in one
of the hamlets, which hosts the others. A youthful 72, Thay
is a simple monk, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama also likes
to call himself. Permanently in a deep state of mindfulness,
he glides slowly into the zendo, followed by two monks or
nuns, who are never the same. He sits on a cushion on a elevated
platform before a low lectern when teaching, but he also walks
about and writes on a large board, sometimes sitting sideways
on the platform. His simplicity, in contrast to the sophisticated
PA system, makes Thay appear accessible, although he seldom
addresses anyone personally and does not allow time for questions.
Every few weeks, however, he announces "Dharma a la carte"
in which questions collected from his students form the basis
for the day's teachings. When teaching, he speaks first in
Vietnamese, with simultaneous translations done by his students
into English and French. Then he speaks in either French or
English, with simultaneous translations into the other languages.
Groups of German, Italians, Spaniards, and others improvise
their own translations.
After the teachings, we form a circle
outside to sing simple Dharma songs, followed by a forty-five
minute walking meditation led by Thay. Lunch is formal: we
sit according to a strict seating arrangement, eat in silence,
and use our begging bowls. Meals can take a long time since
we are often interrupted by various bells and rings, each
prompting us to pause and breathe mindfully three times. In
the afternoon, we meet for either a tea meditation or a Dharma
discussion, and in the evening we gather again for meditation
and chanting until 10:00 PM.
Community
The Plum Village sangha comprises approximately
one hundred monks and nuns, with about sixty living in Plum
Village and forty in Maple Forest Monastery in Vermont. Before
receiving the first vows, candidates live in Plum Village
to experience the lifestyle for several months. In this way,
they can determine if it is appropriate for them, and the
community can also see if a candidate is sufficiently prepared
for monastic life. The sense of community is strong, and only
ten percent of the monastics have disrobed. Thay attributes
this, as well as the spread of his teachings, to the support
a harmonious sangha offers each practitioner, and he devotes
a great deal of time and talent to cultivate this.
Of course, not everyone is suited for
or can adjust to such intense communal life. These people
usually discover this and depart within a few days. Those
who do not are asked to write a letter of intent, which is
periodically reviewed. After some time, it may become evident
that a different environment would be more beneficial.
Liturgy is meaningful and carefully prepared.
Thay often recommends changes in the liturgy and prepares
new rituals for special use. The "beginning anew"
ceremony is an example of this. Here, we sit in groups of
about ten and share the specific ways in which our fellow
practitioners have nurtured us or caused us difficulties.
This is a time for deep listening, expressing gratitude, and
improving our communication. Our morning liturgy begins with
a series of prostrations to the Three Jewels, several bodhisattvas,
spiritual lineage, and ancestors and is followed by a formal
reading of the five mindful trainings-the five Buddhist precepts
updated and reworded by Thay to stimulate our mindful living.
On other days, formal ceremonies to purify and renew the novice
or the bhikshuni vows are held. We often read sutras or chant
while doing walking meditation together. In short, all the
occasions we meet together benefit the individual as well
as the community.
Thay integrates Buddhism into a universal
and personal practice for peace, and thus when we bow to the
spiritual lineage we may include Jesus and Mary if we wish.
Medals of both Jesus and Avalokiteshvara are placed on the
patriarch's table during Christmas, which is elaborately celebrated
with an enormous tree, presents for everyone, wreaths, thousands
of home-made cookies, and special meals. Thay talks about
the common roots of the Christian and Buddhist traditions,
a teaching everyone relishes. Hanukah is also celebrated in
a moving way, leading one lady from Israel to comment that
this was the first time the holiday had deep meaning for her.
Thrift, a significant factor for a people
not yet healed from a devastating war followed by poverty
and famine, is emphasized in the community. Water is precious
and consumed mindfully at all times. Electricity is also used
mindfully, and unnecessary lights are turned off. We have
washing machines but no dryers. Although the original buildings
have been weatherproofed and lovingly preserved, for warmth
in the public rooms we rely on layers of clothing, scarves,
wool caps, and gloves. But it is with food that we best learn
frugality, for not even a grain of rice is ever lost. Pots
and serving dishes are scraped, with leftovers kept in a cabinet
for use the same day. Food is simple, varied, plentiful, and
cooked lovingly.
Although to the common eye monastics at
Plum Village may appear disempowered-they have no personal
money, relinquish preferences, and must request permission
to leave the premises (and if it is granted, they always go
out accompanied)-our experience is one of enormous freedom,
space, and trust. Of course, there are differences of opinions
and feelings are sometimes hurt, but the simply courtesy which
is a natural outcome of ongoing mindfulness training enables
us to restore balance. Dharma is integrated into every aspect
of life in the community, and from this we learn that the
Dharma is truly the only medicine which can temporarily and
ultimately dispel all suffering.
|
