Going to visit Thich Nhat Hanh's monastery!!

[LucidMind]

Hello all!

I was at starbucks a few days ago, and I was holding the book "insight meditation" by Joseph Goldstein (highly recommended). The barista guy glanced at the book and said "what kind of meditation is that?". I replied "oh, it's about mindfulness, are you familiar?". And then we start talking about meditation in the middle of starbucks! He then asks me if I know Thich Nhat Hanh, and I proceeded to nod my head eagerly. He informed me that Thich Nhat Hanh has a meditation monastery right here in my city! It's a little bit of a drive in the mountains, but it's only about 25 minutes from my house. It's called deer park monastery. They have weekend retreats, special events, and week-long retreats. Every Sunday and Thursday are open to visits, and I am planning on going this Sunday! It is from 9:00am to 3:00pm, and includes mindful walking, eating, sitting meditation, and a dharma talk. I'm so glad I ran into this guys and found out about the monastery. If anybody is interested i'll let you know how it goes!

I really have no idea what to expect, and i'm honestly a little anxious about it. I am just going to do my best to stay in the moment and take things as they come.

[JonW]

Sounds like an amazing find, and almost on your doorstep. Please provide a detailed account of how your visit goes.

[BioSattva]

You'll have a great time, I'm sure - and no need to be nervous. I stayed at TNH's Plum Village in France for a week in 2010 and although most people were treating him like a god as he did this thing, the general atmosphere was generally pleasant and welcoming. My girlfriend stayed at the women's village and he went there to visit and have lunch. Afterwards he stood up to do a talk and had a grain of rice stuck to his chin near his mouth and nobody would tell him, so my girlfriend told him and he patted her back and afterwards. Some of the other women were saying "Oh my god, you're so lucky - he touched you!", etc. Haha. So be prepared for a bit of that kind of thing, but the group compassion and positivity is a wonderful environment to be in.

We also visited his original monastery in Hue, Vietnam, which has been my favourite TNH-related experience - to soak up the 'zen' of that place was an amazing thing - a place totally steeped in, and geared up for, mindfulness practice. Shame he can't go back there himself very easily.

[rara]

All this sounds AWESOME! Happy to hear

[FeeHutch]

I'll be really interested to hear how your visit goes too.

[LucidMind]

I'll defintiely let you guys know how it goes!

Unfortunately, Thich Nhat Hanh won't be there. He only goes to this monastery a few times per year, the next is in a couple of months and already booked up!