In the Footsteps of Thầy: A Journey to Our Spiritual Roots

This spiritual retreat is a pilgrimage through Vietnam in the footsteps of Thich Nhat Hanh, known to his students as Thầy, the Zen Buddhist teacher who founded the Plum Village tradition. Part of an annual pilgrimage organized from Plum Village in Thénac, Dordogne, France, it travels to the temples, mountains and practice centers that shaped his life and the roots of Engaged Buddhism. It is open to long-time students of Plum Village and to those new to the path.

The pilgrimage is offered in two segments, which can be joined together or taken separately. The first runs eight days and the second nine.

What to Expect

The first segment begins in Hanoi and moves through the north before heading south. A day in Bắc Ninh Province brings visits to ancient temples: Chùa Dâu, from the 2nd century, where Master Tăng Hội ordained and practiced as a young monk; Chùa Bút Tháp, from the 13th century, later the seat of the Bamboo Forest Meditation School; and Chùa Tiêu, from the 11th century, where Master Vạn Hạnh lived and practiced. Three days in Ninh Bình follow, a region of majestic karst landscapes and caves where Trần Dynasty kings and generals gathered to plan their resistance to three Mongol invasions. There the group visits Trang An, Bich Dong Temple and the ancient imperial city of Hoa Lu, and bikes among the hills. A flight to Đà Lạt leads to two days at Fragrant Palm Leaves (Phuong Boi Am), Thầy's first practice center in Vietnam.

The second segment is centered on Huế. It opens with a morning of practice at the resort and an afternoon tour of the Root Temple. The next day visits the Báo Quốc Buddhist Institute, where Thầy studied as a young monk, and the stupa of lineage patriarch Liễu Quán, then the Imperial Palace. On the fourth day comes Thầy's Memorial Ceremony at the Root Temple and a visit to his cremation site. The group then flies to Hanoi to see the One-Pillar Temple, the inspiration for the Plum Village logo, and to walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The final days are spent on Yen Tu Mountain, the seat of the first Vietnamese Buddhist Zen School, the Bamboo Forest Zen School, before returning to Hanoi, where the trip ends.

Walking meditation and mindful exploration accompany the visits to sacred sites, along with educational commentary on Vietnamese Buddhist history and the Engaged Buddhism lineage.

About Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 to 2022), affectionately called Thầy, was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He founded the Plum Village tradition and is widely credited as a major influence on how Buddhism and mindfulness reached the West. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Huế, he entered the monastery at Từ Hiếu Temple at sixteen and was ordained as a monk in 1951. In the 1960s he co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service, which sent volunteers into rural areas to build schools and clinics and to help rebuild war-torn villages. He also created the Order of Interbeing, a community of monastics and laypeople built around the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, and he coined the term "engaged Buddhism": mindfulness and compassionate action in the world belong together.

Before You Go

All experience levels are welcome, and no prior Buddhist training is required. The pilgrimage is held in English.

Included are the guided visits to temples and monasteries across Bắc Ninh, Ninh Bình, Đà Lạt and Huế, visits to Thầy's practice centers and places of study and ordination, the memorial ceremony at the Root Temple, and group transportation between sites. International airfare, travel insurance, personal meals outside group arrangements and activities not listed in the itinerary are not included.