A sangha is a local community of mindfulness practitioners who gather to meditate, to share their joys and difficulties, and to encourage each other on the path of practice. Meeting regularly with others to sit and share together is a precious way to cultivate our understanding and compassion and to re-establish our deep connection with others. Some sanghas meet online and some meet in person.
Find a Sangha
There are sanghas all over the world practicing in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. We encourage you to search for a local practice community.
Start a Sangha
If there is no sangha in your area, you may consider starting one! This can begin as simply as meeting with a few people in someone’s home. There, you might sit in meditation, read an excerpt from one of Thay’s (Thich Nhat Hanh’s) books, then share together about your experiences in the practice. For more information, see the New Sangha Handbook and our Start a Sangha page.
San Diego Community of Mindful Living
We invite you to deepen your engaged Buddhism practice by joining the Community of Mindfulness Sangha, a group of laypeople working with our monastic siblings on activities and projects designed to support and deepen the loving impact of our practice. Our activities and projects focus on three primary areas: supporting Deer Park Monastery; building and supporting Sanghas throughout the Western United States; and connecting and nurturing the larger community. To find out more, please click here.
Wake Up
If you are about 18 to 35 years of age, you may have particular interest in Wake Up, an active global community of young adult practitioners.
Connecting BIPOC Sanghas and Affinity Spaces in the Plum Village Tradition
As we continue to “Deepen Our Roots,” nurture the spirit of courage and liberation, and co-create, in the words of Dr. King and Thay, Beloved Community and “communities of resistance,” we know it’s so very important to have affinity spaces that help sustain our practice, while also valuing and validating the impacts that white supremacy and other intersecting forms of systemic oppression have on BIPOC folx.
And the good news is, there are committed BIPOC practitioners in the Plum Village Tradition who are building and sustaining BIPOC Sanghas and affinity spaces outside the monastery. If you want to connect, see the listings below! We hope they will help you generate wellness, joy, and love all year-round!
And remember, you are always welcome here!
Until next time, a lotus and a smile for you!
List of BIPOC Sanghas
- Metta Morphosis Sangha – 2nd & 4th Saturday; contact Victoria Mausisa at email address vic822@yahoo.com to be added to the mailing list.
- Sweet Blossoming Sangha – weekly Friday; send email to this address to be added to the mailing list pocsanghaonline@gmail.com for a very comprehensive list of other BIPOC offerings
- Garrison BIPOC Meditation Hour – weekly Thursday; see this link to register directly with the Garrison Institute.
- Lotus in the Sea of Fire – for OI Aspirants and OI Members; 1st & 3rd Saturday; contact Juliet Hwang at email address juliethwang@gmail.com to be added to the mailing list.
- True Home Sangha – weekly Monday night; contact Polly Chu at email address pollyc.email@gmail.com to be added to the mailing list.
- Many Faces Sangha – donation-based, weekly Thursday night; all ages, colors, gender/sexual orientations, shapes, sizes + incomes. Join by FB at https://www.facebook.com/manyfacessangha/
The Mindfulness Bell
If you would like to learn more about Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition of mindfulness practice, you will surely enjoy his many books as well as The Mindfulness Bell, a journal of the art of mindful living.