event

True Love Heals: Online Retreat

An Online Mindfulness Retreat with the Deer Park Monastery Sangha

September 8 / 4:00 pm - 12 / 6:00 pm

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True Love Heals: Online Retreat - Deer Park Monastery

event

True Love Heals: Online Retreat

An Online Mindfulness Retreat with the Deer Park Monastery Sangha

September 8 / 4:00 pm - 12 / 6:00 pm

“True love has the power to heal and transform the situation around us and bring a deep meaning to our lives.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

True Love Heals is a five-day online mindfulness retreat offered by the Deer Park Monastery Sangha in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Throughout the retreat, we will explore Joy, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Equanimity as qualities of true love and as practices we can bring into our daily lives. We will also explore teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh's book How to Love.

This retreat will be held by the whole Deer Park Sangha, with many of our Dharma teachers and monastics offering Dharma talks, leading Dharma sharing, and guiding the practices and activities throughout our five days together. The retreat will include sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks, Dharma sharing, mindful meals, total relaxation, practice presentations, questions and responses, exercise, and a Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony.

Registration opens Tuesday July 14

Practicing Together Online

In light of the cancellation of our current in-person retreats, we are continuing to adjust and adapt to the conditions of this moment. Although we are unable to gather at the monastery as planned, we are still practicing together.

For friends joining from North America, we recommend setting aside these five days and approaching the online retreat with the same spirit as attending a retreat in person. This may include making space within ongoing responsibilities and projects, simplifying your schedule, and creating supportive conditions for practice at home.

The Retreat Experience

Each day of the retreat will be rooted in the qualities of Joy, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Equanimity.

Our five days together will include:

Sitting and walking meditation
Dharma talks and teachings
Dharma sharing in small groups
Mindful meals
Total relaxation
Mindful movement and exercise
Practice presentations and questions and responses
Chanting and singing meditation
Community gatherings and affinity-based practice opportunities

The retreat will follow the daily rhythm of Deer Park Monastery and will primarily take place during Pacific Daylight Time hours.

Our Online Retreat Space

The retreat will be held and organized through Circle, Deer Park's online course and community platform. Many friends may already be familiar with Circle from previous Deer Park online courses and offerings.

Circle will be the central space for the retreat schedule, Zoom links, announcements, and retreat materials. Before the retreat begins, we will provide guidance and support to ensure everyone can access the platform and become familiar with the retreat space and technology in advance.

Pricing and Accessibility

We aspire to make True Love Heals accessible to our wider community while supporting the Deer Park Monastery Sangha and the resources needed to offer this five-day online retreat. At checkout you may select the price point that works best for you and your family.

Individual Registration

Donor Price — $500
Full Price — $350
Reduced Price — $180

Family Registration for 2+ Adults

Donor's Family Price — $1,000
Full Family Price — $600
Reduced Family Price — $300

Discounted International and Vietnamese-Language Registration

A discounted registration structure is available for friends joining from other continents whose time zones significantly limit their ability to participate in the full live Pacific Daylight Time schedule, as well as Vietnamese-speaking friends.

Discounted Individual Registration

Donor Price — $300
Full Price — $180
Reduced Price — $90

Discounted Family Registration for 2+ Adults

Donor's Family Price — $600
Full Family Price — $300
Reduced Family Price — $150

Select retreat offerings will include Vietnamese translation, including Dharma talks, and dedicated Vietnamese-speaking Dharma sharing spaces will be available. As not every retreat activity will include Vietnamese translation, the discounted rate reflects the level of Vietnamese-language access available throughout the retreat. The reduced international pricing also recognizes that friends joining from significantly different time zones may only be able to participate live in portions of the retreat schedule.

If you are in need of a scholarship or financial assistance, please contact our course team at courses@deerparkmonastery.org for support.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings

Friends participating in True Love Heals will have the opportunity to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings during the retreat.

A Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony will be offered on the closing day of the retreat, with Vietnamese translation available. Participants who aspire to receive the Trainings will receive additional information and guidance in preparation.

Receiving the Five Mindfulness Trainings is optional and is not required to participate in the retreat.

To love is a process of learning. Learning to understand self and other. And out of that understanding comes acceptance and the energy that is needed to help with transformation and healing. True love can transform and can heal the other person, can transform and heal yourself.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Online Retreat FAQs

Yes. Family registration is available for 2+ adults, and members of the same family or household are welcome to participate in the retreat together.

For Dharma sharing, we ask that each person who plans to participate register with their own email address. This will allow us to place each participant in a Dharma sharing group and provide access to the correct online spaces. Our team will assist families with this process and provide additional instructions before the retreat begins.

Each day will follow the practice rhythm of Deer Park Monastery and include a combination of meditation, teachings, mindful meals, rest, and community practice. While each day will be different, a retreat day may look something like this:

6:00 AM PDT — Guided Sitting Meditation
6:45 AM PDT — Walking Meditation
7:30 AM PDT — Breakfast
9:30 AM PDT — Dharma Talk or Presentation
11:30 AM PDT — Exercise or Mindful Movement
12:30 PM PDT — Mindful Lunch
2:30 PM PDT — Total Relaxation
4:00 PM PDT — Dharma Sharing, Dharma Talk, or Practice Presentation
6:00 PM PDT — Dinner
7:30 PM PDT — Sitting Meditation
9:00 PM PDT — Noble Silence and Tech Lights Out

This sample is intended to offer a sense of the retreat rhythm. The full schedule will include different practices and teachings each day.

We encourage participants, particularly those joining from North America, to set aside the five retreat days and participate as fully as their conditions allow.

We recommend approaching the online retreat with the same spirit as attending a retreat at Deer Park in person. We also understand that practicing from home comes with different responsibilities and conditions, and invite each participant to make space for the retreat within the realities of their daily life.

Vietnamese translation will be available for select retreat offerings, including Dharma talks. Dedicated Vietnamese-speaking Dharma sharing spaces will also be offered.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony is also planned with Vietnamese translation.

As not every retreat activity will include Vietnamese translation, discounted registration is available for Vietnamese-speaking friends.

At the end of each retreat day, participants will be invited to observe Noble Silence and Tech Lights Out, reflecting the retreat rhythm at Deer Park Monastery. The proposed retreat schedule closes each full practice day with Noble Silence and Tech Lights Out at 9:00 PM.

Tech Lights Out is an invitation to step away from unnecessary screen use, online activity, work, and other digital distractions for the remainder of the evening. Participants are encouraged to use this time for quiet, rest, and continued mindfulness practice at home.

Friends participating in True Love Heals will have the opportunity to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings during the retreat.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings (The 5 MT) are one of the most concrete ways to practice mindfulness. They are nonsectarian, and their nature is universal. They are true practices of compassion and understanding. All spiritual traditions have their equivalent to the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings are based on the precepts developed during the time of the Buddha to be the foundation of practice for the entire lay practice community. Thay has translated these precepts for modern times, because mindfulness is at the foundation of each one of them.

At Plum Village practice centers, both lay and monastic practitioners live by the Five Mindfulness Trainings, strengthening their mindfulness practice and fostering harmony in their communities. Abstaining from smoking, drinking alcohol, and maintaining integrity in relationships are all part of this precious practice, cultivated with diligence in Plum Village communities.

At any time, anyone can choose to live in accordance with these Five Trainings. By practicing them, we become Bodhisattvas—living in harmony, protecting the environment, preserving peace, and nurturing siblinghood. We not only safeguard the beauty of our own culture but also respect and protect the beauty of other cultures and of the Earth itself. Carrying the Five Trainings in our hearts, we are already walking on the path of transformation and healing.

During retreats organized by Plum Village practice centers, there is often a ceremony at the end to formally accept the Five Mindfulness Trainings and to receive a Dharma Name. This name reflects a quality or aspiration to nourish on the path of practice. We are often reminded that the Five Mindfulness Trainings are not commandments or rigid rules but deep practices of love and understanding. Receiving them doesn't mean you must follow them perfectly, but that you are committing to practice, reflect and come back to them again and again.

A Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony will be offered on the closing day of this online retreat, with Vietnamese translation available. Participants who aspire to receive the Trainings will receive additional information and guidance in preparation.

Receiving the Five Mindfulness Trainings is optional and is not required to participate in the retreat. Learn more about the 5MT here.

The retreat will be offered primarily in English, with Vietnamese translation available for select retreat offerings, including Dharma talks. Dedicated Vietnamese-speaking Dharma sharing spaces will also be offered.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony is also planned with Vietnamese translation.

As not every retreat activity will include Vietnamese translation, discounted registration is available for Vietnamese-speaking friends.

Due to limited resources we are only able to provide Vietnamese translation at this time.

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.

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.

Open Plum Village Mobile App in the App Store

Open Plum Village Mobile App in the Google Play Store

Turn Your Inbox into a Dharma Door

Subscribe to our Coyote Tracks newsletter on Substack to receive event announcements, writing, art, music, and meditations from Deer Park monastics.

Support Deer Park

Donations are our main source of support, so every offering is greatly appreciated. Your contribution helps us to keep the monastery open to receive guests throughout the year.

Donate

“True love has the power to heal and transform the situation around us and bring a deep meaning to our lives.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

True Love Heals is a five-day online mindfulness retreat offered by the Deer Park Monastery Sangha in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Registration opens Tuesday July 14

Practicing Together Online

The Retreat Experience

Each day of the retreat will be rooted in the qualities of Joy, Loving-Kindness, Compassion, and Equanimity.

Our five days together will include:

Sitting and walking meditation
Dharma talks and teachings
Dharma sharing in small groups
Mindful meals
Total relaxation
Mindful movement and exercise
Practice presentations and questions and responses
Chanting and singing meditation
Community gatherings and affinity-based practice opportunities