Editing Plum Village Monastery (section)

==History==

After being refused the right to return to [[Vietnam]] due to the [[Vietnam War]], Thích Nhất Hạnh formed a small [[mindfulness]] community 100 miles southeast of Paris at the village of Fontvannes<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://interbeing.org.uk/manual_pages/5_2.html |title=5.2 Plum Village – www.plumvillage.org |access-date=2014-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216060226/http://interbeing.org.uk/manual_pages/5_2.html |archive-date=2010-12-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> called "the Sweet Potato" after the food that poor Vietnamese people eat. Following Thích Nhất Hạnh's expulsion from [[Singapore]] following illegal attempts to rescue [[Vietnamese boat people]], he settled in France and began to lead mindfulness retreats.

In 1981, the Sweet Potato community held its first summer retreat, which attracted more people than it could accommodate. Thích Nhất Hạnh then traveled south with Chân Không to find a larger site. They found a piece of land in [[Thénac, Dordogne]], which seemed ideal. The landowner, Mr. Dézon, didn't want to sell,<ref name="thich">{{cite web|last1=Thích|first1=Nhất Hạnh|authorlink1=Thích Nhất Hạnh|title=I have arrived, I am home|url=http://plumvillage.org/about/plum-village/i-have-arrived-i-am-home/|website=Plum Village}}</ref> so they continued looking. A few days later, on September 28, 1982, [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]] purchased a tract of land about {{convert|6|km}} away, which is now known as the Lower Hamlet ({{langx|vi|Xóm Hạ}}). Later that year, a hailstorm destroyed the vineyards on Mr. Dézon's property and he was forced to put his land on the market.<ref name="thich"/> Nhất Hạnh bought the land and called it Upper Hamlet ({{langx|vi|Xóm Thượng}}). Initially, these two hamlets were named Persimmon Village ({{langx|vi|Làng Hồng}}), but it soon became clear that [[plum]]s fared much better on the rocky soil, so it became Plum Village ({{langx|vi|Làng Mai}}).<ref name="thich"/>

Each year the community hosts a four-week Summer Opening retreat, which has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Attendance has grown from 232 people in total in 1983 to over 800 guests at a time in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|author=Plum Village|title=Summer Retreat Dharma Talks|url=http://plumvillage.org/retreats/info/summer-retreat-dharma-talks/|website=Plum Village}}</ref> In addition, the community hosts a variety of retreats year round, such as the Wake Up Retreat for young adults, the 21-Day Retreat for more experienced laypeople, and the 90-day Winter (Rains) Retreat.