Wake Up (18-35)
Wake Up is a global community of young mindfulness practitioners, aged 18-35, inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. Groups meet in person and online to practice sitting and walking meditation, listen to Dharma talks, listen deeply to one another, and recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. They also organize visits to Plum Village practice centers, music evenings, picnics, hikes, and other special events and engaged action.
– Thich Nhat Hanh“We must rebel against the forces that lead to a meaningless and illusory life. The secret is knowing how to rebel. There are ways of rebelling which only create more bondage and suffering. However, there are ways of rebelling that can offer us real freedom.”
Join an Upcoming Wake Up Event
July 2025
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The Tenets of Wake Up International
Practice: essence
We follow the Five Mindfulness Trainings, which are ethical guidelines that offer concrete practices of true love and compassion and a path towards a life in harmony with each other and the Earth. These guidelines are the foundation of our lives and represent our ideal of service. Our practice is based on cultivating awareness of the breath and living deeply in the present moment, aware of what is happening within us and around us. This practice helps us to release the tension in our bodies and feelings, to live life deeply and more happily, and to use compassionate listening and loving speech to help restore communication and reconcile with others.
Roots/inclusiveness
The Wake Up movement is inspired by Buddhism’s long tradition of wisdom and practices which help cultivate understanding and love; it is not based on beliefs or ideology. The spirit of our practice is close to the spirit of science. Both help us cultivate an open and non-discriminating mind. We honor everyone’s diverse spiritual and cultural roots. You can join as a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, as an agnostic or atheist, or as a member of any other spiritual or religious tradition.
What we do
We aspire to be a place of refuge, nourishment, and support for anyone with an aspiration to transform their own suffering and contribute to a healthy and compassionate society. We gather weekly or monthly in Wake Up groups to practice sitting and walking meditation, to listen to a teaching, practice total relaxation, listen deeply to one another, and recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We also organize mindfulness events and retreats and visit meditation practice centers together to refresh ourselves and strengthen our practice. Many groups also organize music evenings, meditation flash mobs, picnics, hikes, and other special events or actions.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Message to the Youth“We sometimes feel very alone. Even within our own family, we are alone. We withdraw into our shell, hoping to find peace, but without success. Then we lose ourselves in the crowd. But when the party is over, we are more alone than before. We do not have the courage to face our loneliness. We continue to run day after day. Do not continue to drown in the ocean of loneliness you have created. Learn to still your mind, so that the storm within you can calm and the sky can clear. Remind yourself of our common humanity, as this will allow you to transcend your suffering. You are not alone and life is worth living. Life is wonderful. The blue sky within your innocent eyes is a miracle. Your eyes are also a miracle. Please cherish your body and mind. They are manifestations of life, of truth, of the divine.”
Join Wake Up
If you are a young person inspired to cultivate mindfulness and compassion in your life, we invite you to join the Wake Up movement in your country. Wake Up offers a way to pool our energy and act collectively, to create the world we want to live in! Anyone can get together and form a Wake Up group wherever they are. Please let us know what you are planning to do and what you are trying to achieve. We will do our best to support you.
Discover more on the Wake Up website:
Action Wake Up
Action Wake Up (AWU) is a new 15-month residential training program in Buddhist spiritual practice, applied ethics, community living, mindful service, and leadership development. Deer Park Monastery will welcome the first Action Wake Up cohort of young people (aged 18-35) to live and train in Escondido, California in October 2025. Learn more on the Action Wake Up page.
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.
