Lay Dharma Teachers
Lay Dharma Teachers are devoted practitioners who have received the Lamp Transmission from our teacher, Thích Nhất Hạnh, or from his continuation in the Plum Village tradition. Rooted in mindfulness, compassion, and engaged Buddhism, these dedicated lay practitioners offer guidance and support to our community through their lived experience of the Dharma. They lead Dharma talks, facilitate mindfulness practices, and serve as spiritual friends on the path, helping to nurture a deep, embodied understanding of the teachings in everyday life.
Dr. Larry Ward is a poet, writer, world-renowned spiritual teacher, and co-founder of The Lotus Institute. He is the acclaimed author of America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal, and a senior Dharma teacher ordained in the Plum Village tradition. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies, with a focus on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation.
With more than 40 years of international experience in organizational change and community renewal, Dr. Ward brings a unique and transformative presence to his teaching. He weaves deep insight with personal story and resounding clarity—an embodiment of his Dharma name, True Great Sound.
Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward is a writer, dreamer, world-renowned spiritual teacher, and co-founder of The Lotus Institute. A senior Dharma teacher ordained in the Plum Village tradition, she is also the co-author of Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships. Peggy has taught in graduate programs in social work, psychology, and counseling psychology. She holds an EdD in Adult Education and an MA in Counseling Psychology.
Known for her grounded and joyful presence, Peggy invites her students to uncover and embody their most creative and authentic selves. Her teaching opens a path of deep insight through movement, art, and ritual.
The Lotus Institute
The Lotus Institute was founded in 1996 by lifelong partners in both marriage and the Dharma, Drs. Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe Ward. Senior lay Dharma teachers in the Plum Village tradition, they established the Institute with the blessing and guidance of their root teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, who also officiated their wedding at Plum Village in France.
The Institute’s programs and teachings are grounded in three core pillars:
Healing stored trauma: We honor trauma as a part of our shared humanity. Through compassionate attention and care for the wounds of time, we build the resilience and inner resources needed to show up more fully in relationship—with ourselves and with each other.
Experiencing beloved community: We are re-learning how to experience the joy and wonder of being together—not through identities shaped by borders or constructs, but as one human family, living in relationship with all of nature. Beloved community is not an abstract ideal—it is something we embody and practice every day.
Transforming the narrative of superiority: At its heart, this is about loving the skin you’re in. It’s about dismantling the binaries of success and failure, good and bad, strong and weak—replacing comparison with collaboration. We meet one another as equals, recognizing our shared worth beyond societal expectations.
Explore Online Courses
From time to time we offer multi-week courses related to mindfulness, the teachings and life of Thich Nhat Hanh, and a variety of similar subjects. Please see our schedule of upcoming courses.
Plum Village App
Take the Deer Park Monastery and Plum Village community with you wherever you go. The Plum Village app is designed to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and joy through guided meditations, deep relaxations, practice poems, bells of mindfulness, and other practices — all through a mobile device.
