Zen Master offers retreat for teachers

By Aree Chaisatien

Special for the Nation

BANGKOK: -- World-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is due to arrive in Thailand on March 25, as part of his dhamma retreat tour of Asia this year.

The tour is a rare opportunity for teachers, educators, administrators and anyone involved with education to join the Applied Ethics Retreat, from April 4 and 8, at Mahachulalongkorndajavidyalaya University in Ayutthaya.

The Zen master and experts on applied ethics from his organisation, the Plum Village, will lead the retreat. It is designed for teachers to get firsthand experience in mindfulness practice, mindful education and on forming mindful communities in schools, says Supaporn Pattanasiri, secretary of the Bangkok-based Plum Village Foundation.

"The Plum Village in France has long focused on planting mindfulness seeds in the new generation. The master has created a motto with his signature calligraphy for the Applied Ethics Retreat - 'Happy Teachers Will Change the World'. Teachers from all levels, from kindergarten to university, including principals and rectors are welcome. Those who cannot afford the retreat fee can apply for scholarships," says Supaporn.

Other activities of Luang Pu [venerable grandpa], as he is known to Thai followers, includes a public dhamma talk at Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon in Bangkok on April 9; a mindfulness retreat for families and a Wake-Up retreat for people aged 18-30 at Wang Ree Resort in Nakhon Nayok; and a fund-raising for a big meditation hall at the International Plum Village Thailand in Nakhon Ratchasima on April 28.

"These are golden opportunities for Thai people to join the Zen master's retreats and listen to Luang Pu, who is now 86 years old. He lives in Plum Village in France and travels abroad once every two years," added Supaporn.

After the visit to Thailand, the master planned to go to Korea, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

To register for the retreat, visit http://www.thaiplumvillage.org or call 02-885-5980

-- The Nation 2013-01-14

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Here's one problem that I see.. Luang Pu Hahn is Vietnamese.. I doubt he speaks Thai. I suppose he will have interpreters with him, but still, even interpretations get lost in the telling. Then you have the case of most Thai's don't like the Vietnamese all that much, so there will be the race issue.

On top of all that, you have the "Mindfulness" issue. How many Thai teachers you know are mindful of anything? This monk is a icon in the Mahayana Buddhist religion, but not so much in the Theravada side. Now if it was say, Luang Pu Koon, it would be mind blowing. I've found however, that most Theravada icons, Luang Pu Koon, etc., don't get very interactive in outside world activities. That's more a Mahayana trait.

Having said all that, I would sure like to meet him and hope all goes extremely well.

Applied Ethics Retreat

...... in a society with no integrity or morality in the mix,ethics then can only be dissolved by impermanence.