Establishing a UK Practice Centre for Mindful Living and healing in challenging times
"To create an environment where the wholesome qualities in each of us can be nourished is one of the most important things we need to offer to the world today. To have a regular practice schedule, community members meeting each other in an atmosphere of harmony, to have brothers and sisters, couples, families, children, practising together brings us deep happiness and joy. The realisation of how important it is in the world to have places where people can find a refuge, where the community, through the practice of mindfulness, can generate love and compassion, where young people can find and learn the values of living in mindfulness. Please bring your love and support to this project, not just for yourself but for the countless generations that will come after us."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Twenty-one years ago whilst Thich Nhat Hanh was leading a retreat in England he expressed a wish that there be a national practice centre in the UK. He also announced that he had a name for the centre – Being Peace – and presented the UK community with a beautiful calligraphy of this phrase.
Being Peace Centre will be a place for:
Being Peace Centre will offer the gift of mindfulness to future generations through Family, Wake Up and Educators' retreats.
Being Peace Centre will offer benefits of mindful living to support UK society by offering a range of open and specific retreats, with regular invited monastic presence to support individuals, families, communities, businesses, organisations and changemakers.
A spiritual home and focal point for practice in the UK will greatly strengthen the UK national Sangha.
Many people have benefitted from the wisdom, lightness and joy that Plum Village monastics have cultivated.
Through a wild, natural setting and opportunities to put our hands in the earth on a ‘Happy Farm’, Being Peace Centre will foster the love and connection we need to respond to the grave challenges of climate change.
14th August 2022
Being Peace Sangha evenings take place in our online dharma hall on the second Sunday of every other month. The meetings are open to all comers with an interest in the joyous Being Peace Practice Centre project; to create a lasting, living memorial for Thay, here in the UK. For further information please contact us at beingpeace@plumvillage.uk
At the Sangha meeting on 14th August 2022 we welcomed Br Phap Vu, of Deer Park, to our Being Peace Sangha. Br Vu has been a friend and mentor to many in the UK sangha for years, and led several retreats in England and Scotland in the past. He is a firm supporter of our plans to establish the UK practice centre, and will be visiting the UK early in 2023.
In this short talk from our Recent Being Peace Sangha evening Br Vu emphasises the potential that we have to establish a place for nurturing individual and collective transformation in these uncertain, challenging times.
Our vision is to establish a Lay Practice Centre in an inspiring natural setting, as the first stepping stone towards having a Monastic Centre in the long term future.
We will continue watering the seeds of the long term vision and building on our relationship with the monastics whilst we work on implementing the Lay Practice Centre Project.
We envisage the centre being able to host around 40-50 people per week, with extra capacity for camping in the summer.
The property would have scope to grow over time and we will work as a community to expand the accommodation capacity and improve the facilities.
In order for this vision to manifest then many conditions need to come together at the same time. We need to raise a significant amount of money, secure a suitable property and establish a bigger project team with all the skills and capabilities required for an undertaking of this size and complexity.
We need your financial help to make this vision a reality.
We need to raise at least £1 million to add to existing COI assets and pledged donations in order to proceed.
Since this project re-emerged at the 2017 London Mindfulness Hub, a small team has come together, with skills in commercial property, project management, start-up projects and online communications.
Many initial steps have been taken including:
Read our latest updates here.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The Starter Circle community is crucial for the centre’s creation as it will demonstrate the groundswell of support and enthusiasm there is for a home for Plum Village in the UK. In addition to offering regular financial support, this community will be at the heart of the movement to realise our collective dreams for a centre.
There will be regular email updates about progress made. Join us and be a part of creating a home for Plum Village in the UK.
If you are in a position to be able to offer a major gift of £1,000 or more, or offer a loan on friendly terms, this will significantly help us bring the vision into reality.
We would recognise this generosity with a personalised calligraphy, recognise the names of people within the Stability Circle in the new centre and invite you for a weeks’ retreat as a special guest.
To discuss this further please email beingpeace@plumvillage.uk.
The centre will need financial support to develop and grow over the years and remembering the project in your will can be a way to create a beautiful continuation.
We would recognise this generosity with a personalised calligraphy, recognising the names of people within the Continuation Circle in the new centre.
If this is something you can do please get in touch by emailing beingpeace@plumvillage.uk and we can offer you support and assistance.
If you are planning to offer a large donation, please email beingpeace@plumvillage.uk to arrange a bank transfer. Otherwise please click here to donate : Donate
I am dedicating my time and skills towards this project as I feel it is a chance to be part of something really important that will really help a lot of people.
Esteban Ruseler - Wake Up London Member
Much time, effort and skill will be needed in this project. We will only achieve this with a diverse team of dedicated volunteers.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Given these considerations, Wales or in the Welsh Borders regions has been identified as an area that is likely to have properties that meet these requirements, but the team is also searching in other parts of the UK with natural beauty.
If you would like to get in touch about the project, please email us on:
Please send your phone number if you would like us to call you back
Sign up to ‘Here and Now’ to receive the latest Plum Village news, mindfulness inspiration, and information on retreats and courses.