Plum Village & cynicism

This summer I spent a week at Plum Village, a Buddhist monastery in the southwest of France. And this place held up a mirror in a way that I didn't expect. There are lots of ways in which this retreat changed me as a person, but here I want to discuss one specific thing that happened there. Plum Village made me realize that I have grown cynical. ParadiseIt went roughly like this. I arrive at a beautiful place – an open area amid the farmland with a few buildings sprinkled around, and beside that mostly grass and trees. Everybody there walks calmly, slowly. People smile at each other. I learn where to pitch my tent, and I do, amid the trees to shelter it from the evening sun. A bell rings. People stop walking. They stop talking. They stop everything and close their eyes. I do the same, although I'm not sure why. I later learn that this is to remind ourselves to watch our breathing and ground ourselves in the moment. Every bell – and there are many in Plum Village – is an opportunity to…

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