Dear Friends,

You are warmly invited to visit Plum Village and practice with our growing international Sangha (community of practice) and to enjoy the wonderful energy of mindfulness. The time in Plum Village is for us to enjoy simple and peaceful living, and thereby nurture our own inner growth. We take time to look deeply in order to transform both our individual difficulties and the difficulties in our society.

Our practice at Plum Village helps us weave mindfulness into all of our daily activities. In this way we can practice meditation throughout the day, while eating, walking, working mindfully, sitting in meditation, or enjoying a cup of tea together. All visitors participate in communal activities such as arranging the meditation halls, preparing meals, cleaning bathrooms, emptying garbage, watering plants, washing pots, cleaning the kitchen and other tasks as part of the daily practice of mindfulness. Since the teachings emphasize the happiness and strength of communal practice, it is important for all visitors to fully participate in all scheduled activities. Visitors are requested to refrain from smoking, drinking, and sexual practice during their stay; this supports everyone’s practice, lay and monastic. The 5 Mindfulness Trainings are the foundation of the Plum Village community, bringing happiness and meaning to all that we do.

In order to deepen your practice and make mindful living a vital part of your daily life, we request you stay a minimum of one week.

Lectures will alternate between French, English, and Vietnamese and will be simultaneously translated into the other languages such as German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian depending on the number of needs. English and French are the languages spoken most often at Plum Village.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE
5:00	Wake-up bell
5:45	Sitting meditation
7:30	Breakfast
9:00	Lectures and/or Sharings
11:00	Walking meditation
12:00	Lunch
13:00	Personal time
14:45	Working mediation
17:00	Sitting meditation & Chanting or other activities
18:30	Dinner
20:00	Personal Practice or other activities
21:30	Noble Silence
22:00	Lights Out

Plum Village has a Lazy Day one day in a week. There are no scheduled activities and the bells will only be invited to announce meal times. Lazy Day is an opportunity to let the day unfold in a natural way while still maintaining mindfulness. We can enjoy being with friends, taking a walk, reading a book, or just relaxing and enjoying the day in mindfulness within the retreat boundaries. The meditation hall is open for those who enjoy sitting meditation.

Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh (Thầy) is not able to give personal interviews to students and guests who come to Plum Village. We are encouraged to offer written questions, which Thầy can answer in his talks or during Question and Answer Sessions. The Dharma teachers of Plum Village Sangha will be available for consultation.

• Housing: Please note that we have very few rooms with 2 beds for couples with a private/public bathroom. If you find a room with 2 beds and in-house toilet/shower too expensive, you may consider staying in single-sex dormitories (for men in Upper Hamlet and for women in Lower Hamlet or New Hamlet).

• Meals: All meals are vegan (vegetarian with no dairy and eggs). Unfortunately, we are unable to cater to individuals dietary and/or medical needs. Please bring your own dietary and/or medical needs.
• Pets: Please do not bring your pets to Plum Village.
• Outer Appearance: What does one wear at Plum Village? It is fine to wear casual clothes outside the meditation hall. However, inside the meditation hall, please wear sleeved shirts, long pants or calf-length skirts. For all Dharma talks, formal lunches, tea meditations, and the other various formal activities, remember to bring something nice to wear!
• Indoor housing: We will provide a mattress and a pillow. We encourage you to bring your own sleeping bag and sheet to ensure sleeping comfort. Also to help us reduce our carbon footprint by using less energy washing linen.
• Tent / Camping Van: We have rustic camping sites with some unlevelled ground. Please bring your own tent, a camping foam pad, sleeping bag, pillow & case, sheet and whatever other items that will make your sleeping comfortable. Camping vans are welcome, but utility hook-ups are not available. Tenting option is not available in cold seasons.
• Transportation:
  Plum Village is about 85km east of Bordeaux (which has an airport) and four hours from Paris by train. The nearest train station is Sainte Foy La Grande, on the train route, which runs between Libourne and Bergerac.
  
  • When coming from Paris by train to Plum Village. You can take a train from Paris, Montparnasse to Libourne and from Libourne transfer to a train that can take you to Ste Foy la Grande (in the direction of Sarlat).
  • When coming from Bordeaux by train to Plum Village. You can take a train to Ste Foy la Grande (in the direction of Sarlat). Depending on your day of arrival, there may or may not be a train that can take you directly to Ste Foy la Grande. You may have to transfer trains.
  • Please check train information and schedules at www.voyages-sncf.com (you can use google translate for help).
  • For friends who arrive at Bordeaux or Bergerac Airport, there will not be transpiration provided by Plum Village. You may call a taxi at (+33)05.53.23.32.32.

Please arrive and depart only on the dates indicated on the registration form. On the specified dates, we will arrange for your transportation between Plum Village and Sainte Foy la Grande train station, which may take up to 1 hour (luggage loading & driving time). If you use Plum Village transportation between Ste Foy La Grande train station and Plum Village, a transportation fee of 20 Euros per person will be added to your final contribution. Please specify your arrival time. We will do our best to be there as close as possible to that time.  Please arrange to arrive at Plum Village before 17:00  for registration.  If in the situation where you forgot to inform us about your arrival and no one is there at the trains station in Saint Foy la Grande. You can contact a local taxi service at (+33)05.57.46.05.65.

When coming to Plum Village with your own transportation. Please use online maps for help of directions.

• for directions to Upper Hamlet
• for directions to Lower Hamlet
• for directions to New Hamlet

HOW TO REGISTER

There are registration forms available online. When downloading, please make sure to download the appropriate registration form. If you are unable to download the registration from our website, you are welcome to send us e-mails requesting registration. The expected contribution per week listed below is according by room and age. This amount is per person, including tuition, room and meals.

* PER WEEK CONTRIBUTIONS *
HOUSING CODES	DESCRIPTION	17yrs. & older	13yrs. – 16yrs	6yrs. – 12yrs
PRV 2	Room with 2 beds & private bathroom	456 Euros	254 Euros	169 Euros
PRV 3-4	Room with 3-4 beds & private bathroom	392 Euros	229 Euros	148 Euros
PRV 5-10	Room with 5-10 beds & private bathroom	328 Euros	195 Euros	130 Euros
PUB 2	Room with 2 beds & public bathroom	375 Euros	195 Euros	130 Euros
PUB 3-4	Room with 3-4 beds & public bathroom	350 Euros	183 Euros	122 Euros
PUB 5-10	Room with 5-10 beds & public bathroom	297 Euros	172 Euros	114 Euros
TENT/RV	Bring own tent or camping van (no utility hook-ups)	254 Euros	143 Euros	95 Euros
DAY	Day commuter	254 Euros	143 Euros	95 Euros

If you have received the registration form electronically, please fill the form out on the computer, so we can read your information clearly. Print clearly your last name, first name, and gender (for housing purposes). If you would like to share a room with someone, please register on the same form. For each person on the registration form, print the full name and gender. We will be sending a confirmation letter and any other relevant information to the retreatant(s), please give us your email address.

• Means of Transport: Please mark the appropriate box. Please note that registration is from 9:00 till 17:00 on the arrival day for each week at the hamlet indicated on your confirmation letter.
• Weeks: Friends are encouraged to stay for one week in Plum Village to deepen their practice. However, there is a maximum of two weeks stay for friends. If you choose to stay for more than 2 weeks, a letter of aspiration (explaining your motivation to continue to practice with us) is requested. We will not process registration forms, which indicate an arrival or departure on a date other than the dates listed as arrival day on the registration form. This also goes for those who provide their own transportation. Please make sure that your planned dates fit with our date codes.
• Housing Code: Indicate 1, 2 and 3 of your first three choices in accommodation on your registration from in order of preference. We will try to assign housing as requested, but we reserve the right to make necessary modifications.
• Emergency contact person/telephone: Please give us the name, telephone number and e-mail of a close relative or friend who we can notify in case of an emergency.
• Liability waiver: While we of the Plum Village Sangha will try our best to ensure your stay with us is incident-free, we cannot be held responsible for any injury or illness that may occur. For everyone over 16 years old please date and sign in the space provided. For those under 16 years of age, a parent or a legal guardian must sign and date.
• Method of Contribution: All contributions should be made in Euros only. Do not send cash, Euro Cheque or personal checks not issued by French banks. There will be a 15 Euros bank charge for all foreign cheques. Please make them payable to Eglise Bouddhique Unifiée. If you contribute by postal mandat or wire transfer, please attach a clear copy of the document confirming the transaction. Please make sure you are making the transfer to the hamlet which you will stay. This information should is listed at the bottom of that hamlet’s form. If you contribute by travellers' cheques, please remember to sign, counter-sign, and date all cheques. Any omission of the above information will add much delay to the processing of your entire registration.

• Refunds. Please take note of the timetable for cancellations if you wish to receive a refund.