Days of Mindfulness
A Day of Mindfulness is a full day of practicing mindfulness, in the Plum Village tradition, as a community. Monks, nuns, and lay practitioners come together to listen to a Dharma Talk (i.e., a Buddhist teaching or lecture), and to practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating and mindful breathing together.
The following is a sample of a Day of Mindfulness Schedule:
- Orientation
- Sitting Meditation and Chanting
- Walking Meditation
- Dharma Talk
- Mindful Lunch
- Deep Relaxation
- Dharma Sharing
- Sitting Meditation and Chanting
- Final Remarks
Days of Mindfulness for Children and Their Families
A Day of Mindfulness for children and their families is a full day of practicing mindfulness, in the Plum Village style, with the focus of teaching children the practice of mindfulness. The parents also participate so they could learn how to apply mindfulness in parenting and how to support their children to practice mindfulness at home. Monks, nuns give Dharma Talks to children and their parents. Lay practitioners teach children to practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, mindful eating and mindful breathing.
The following is a sample of a Day of Mindfulness for Children and their Families Schedule:
- Orientation
- Warm-up Games, Singing Mindfulness Songs
- Walking Meditation
- Sitting Meditation
- Dharma Talk
- Mindful Lunch
- Deep Relaxation
- Mindful Art
- Snack Meditation
- Final Remarks
The Children’s Program – Days of Mindfulness for children and their families – are organized and carried out by a group of lay practitioner volunteers under the guidance of Plum Village monastics.
Monthly Days of Mindfulness for children and their families are conducted as a family gathering at a residential address.
Larger retreats, which open to the general public, are conducted at Vietnam Buddhist Center, 10002 Synott Rd, Sugar Land, TX 77498.
In the future, we plan to build our own Mindfulness Practice Center where we can host Days of Mindfulness for children and their families more frequently and offer multi-day retreats for children and their families.