Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you, your feelings need you, your perceptions need you. Your suffering needs you to acknowledge it. Go home and be there for all these things.
– Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Please kindly note that registration will close on September 04.
Join the monastic community founded by Thich Nhat Hanh as they host retreats at Plum Village monasteries in New York, Mississippi, and California, continuing the legacy of the beloved Zen Master. We joyfully invite you to practice with us in the upcoming retreats and days of mindfulness, and learn how you can bring the miracle of mindfulness into your daily life.
The theme of this year’s US Teaching Tour is “The Beloved Community,” and will be guided by the Monastic Disciples of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the Plum Village tradition. Monastics from Blue Cliff Monastery in New York, Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi, and Deer Park Monastery in California will gather for this tour.
MONASTICS & FRIEND GIVING TEACHINGS
Sister Gioi Nghiem
Sister Dang Nghiem, MD
Brother Phap Khoi
Brother Phap Luu
Dr. Juliet Hwang
As a part of our US Teaching Tour, we invite you to join us for a special retreat experience, “ Nourishing Ourselves, Caring for Others,” where we will share the opportunity to look closely at teachings and practices of mindfulness that can bring joy and harmony into our lives. Come and join us for five days of cultivating peace as a community, from September 06, 2023 to September 10, 2023.
Do you remember those wonderful moments when your loving care made a difference in someone’s life? It is great happiness to be of service to others, yet it is also too common to become exhausted, burnt out, and frustrated when we do not have the time to care for ourselves. The past few years have been particularly stressful for many people, especially for those providing medical and mental health care, first responders, and/or caregivers for individuals with special needs.
Our wonderful healing recitations of metta – loving kindness – point out to us the importance of self-care.
“May I be free from injury. May I live in safety.
May I be free from disturbance, fear, and anxiety…”
These verses start with “I” before moving on to other individuals, communities, and the world. Sending ourselves loving kindness and practicing self- compassion is the first step we need to take in order for our service to be nourishing and sustainable.
In this “Nourishing Ourselves, Caring for Others” retreat, we will benefit from the collective energy of the Beloved Community as we come home to ourselves. We will have a chance to experience the art of mindful living and apply different meditation practices throughout the day, which include Dharma talks, sitting, walking meditation, eating meditation, deep relaxation, mindful movements, loving speech and deep listening, and Noble Silence. This is a time to relax deeply into our bodies and feelings in order to replenish ourselves.
If there is sufficient interest or need, we can form affinity groups for friends with similar interests and for friends who identify as LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
This five-day retreat is open to all in the mental health and medical healthcare profession, first responders, caregivers, and those in training. No prior meditation experience is required. We warmly welcome the diversity of your experience to this place of refuge and healing – wherever you come from, however you look or identify yourselves.
In honoring the need to rest and be kind to ourselves, our hearts will naturally open to others. The reality of the profound connection between self-care and caring for others will be deeply felt and evident. Nourishing ourselves is indeed the first and necessary step in caring for others.
The healer, the healed and the healing process are not three separate entities, but they are in each other, and they are one.
Sister Dang Nghiem
Suggested readings:
- How to Relax, by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
- Mindfulness as Medicine, by Sister Dang Nghiem, MD
Please consider making a donation
In many traditions, we practice dana by making monetary offerings for the teachings and the teachers.
For the Beloved Community tour, all US-based monastics will travel to each center to host retreats. We would like to keep the retreat costs affordable so as many friends can attend as possible. If you are able, please consider making a donation in addition to your retreat fee to help support this special US tour.
We bow in gratitude for your generosity.
We hope to make the retreat accessible to all. Please do not hesitate to contact our office (office@magnoliagrovemonastery.org) if you need financial support to attend this retreat and/or if you have any special needs or concerns.
Register for the retreat.
This is a four-night retreat. Prices include the cost of all activities, three meals per day and lodging.
- DORM/CABIN bed in a shared room $100 per night
- TENT / RV/COMMUTER $60 per night. (For RV camping: unfortunately we do not have any electrical or water hookups available. You’re very welcome to come with your RV, but please prepare for dry camping accordingly.)
Discounts for seniors & students 20%.
The following nearby hotels kindly offer a special rate to retreatants of the monastery:
Holiday Inn : (662) 563-1234)
Days Inn : (662) 563-4999
Quality Inn : (662) 563-6592)
Please ask for Magnolia Rate when making reservations.
We look forward to welcoming you soon!
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I have registered for this retreat and am choosing to stay in a hotel. I am booking my flight now and wondering what time we will finish on the 10th. I’ll be coming in on the 5th, renting a car so I don’t need transportation from the airpot. Looking forward to this!
Dear Debra,
Thank you for the information. The retreat ends around 2:00pm after lunch. However, if you need to depart earlier, we do have lunch box provided. Wishing you a peaceful day.
Hi, I live in Davis- CA. I could travel there, but I would need a scholarship to stay. Is there an opportunity for scholarships for this? Please let me know.
Dear Mary,
Thank you for expressing your interest in attending the retreat. It is our deep wish to make this retreat as accessible as possible. We will forward your email to the office and the registrar will contact you.
May you have a peaceful day.
Hello- what time will activities start on the 6th? Thank you!
Dear Laura,
Friends are encouraged to arrived at the monastery between 2:00pm-5:00pm for registration. Dinner will start at 5:30pm and 7:30pm is orientation.
Thank you for your question and wishing you a peaceful day.
I’m experiencing difficulty registering for this retreat, and I need assistance. Please assist me in this matter. I trust there is space for me to attend this retreat.
Dear Johnny,
We’re sorry to hear you’re experiencing difficulty registering for this retreat. To register, please visit this page:
1) https://magnoliagrovemonastery.org/magnolia-grove-registration-page/?mode=reserve&planyo_lang=EN&calendar=20362&resource_id=%20189996&prefill=true
2) Under Reservation Details, on the first box which says resources, please choose Healthcare Retreat and your preferred accommodation
3) Continue to fill out the requested information.
If you have further questions, please contact us at office@magnoliagrovemonastery.org as you’ll receive the response quicker.
I am wondering if any of the sessions will be recorded for those of us who live in other countries. Thank you for the two suggested readings. Yolanda
Dear friend,
Thank you for your question. We are in the process of making this retreat also available online for friends who are unable to join in person. Please kindly visit our website again within the next five days for more information.
Oh, how I wish this was available for online retreatants. Travel is difficult for me. But this retreat looks so beneficial.
Dear Kerri,
We are happy to share with you this retreat is also available online. You may register to attend Nourishing Ourselves, Caring for Others Mindfulness Retreat online by copy and paste the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nourishing-ourselves-caring-for-others-tickets-672803743107?aff=efbevent&fbclid=IwAR0IRKnDZQP5P2ncwYVpfagKed1gQkHpY6rTW0gdTLB-B7iQv5ADVz_N0BU
We look forward to practicing with you.
Hello, A question for the online retreat, I live on the East coast of Canada so AST time which means that the morning meditation may be difficult to join, although I would definitely try especially on the Sunday for the Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony. What are your thoughts? If for some reason 4 am is too early, during the retreat and I meditate before the morning Dharma talk. This will be my first Plum Village retreat if I can join. I’ve been following you online since and have brought some of your practices to my daily practice (5 Mindulness, Touching the Earth, Satipattana, Earth holder meetings, potential future Saving the Planet course student, …). So much appreciation to your tradition, Thich Nhat Hanh. Thank you for all your work in the continuation of this tradition. Much warmth, Paulette
Dear Paulette,
Thank you for expressing your interest in attending the Healthcare online retreat. We are aware the difficulty it can bring for some friends to join the early sitting meditation. If there’s a time during the day that you could practice have your own sitting meditation, that would be wonderful. This indeed will help your practice greatly.
We would be very happy to have you join us for the Five Mindfulness Trainings ceremony. Friends who join the retreat online are welcome to receive the trainings as well.
Thank you for your swift response and sharing your thoughts. <3 I think it would be possible then even if somehow joining the early morning meditation proves to be too difficult. I'll register very soon if so. I forgot to write the date that I started following you online, it was around March 2022 that somehow I felt compelled to investigate the tradition, not long after TNH's passing. And slowly but surely, started adding some of the documents available online to my daily practice. Thanks so very much again, Paulette _/\_
Hi, is this retreat only open to healthcare workers/first responders/caregivers? Thank you very much
Dear Melissa,
Thank you for your question. Yes, this special retreat is only open to healthcare workers/first responders/caregivers.