Plum Village Youth Retreat for South East Asia region 25th – 29th April 2009

About Us

Welcome to the Seeds of Paddy Sangha, a mindfulness practice community based on Plum Village tradition (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Our Sangha sprouted after the first teaching trip by Plum Village delegation on last November 2008.

As the retreat and the art of mindful living practice bring out a lot of transformation and healing, watering our seeds of peace and joy, smile and ease, awareness and hapiness, thus we are aware that it is important to continue the practice in order to grow our beautiful seeds in us.

Practicing as a Sangha or a community in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood walking together on the path, is like putting the seed in a soil. As Thay ( Thich Nhat Hanh ) said, the Sangha is the soil, and we are the seed. No matter how beautiful, how vigorous our seed is, if the soil does not provide us with vitality, our seed will die.

And as paddy seeds that need to grow together, not as a single grain, to offer their fragrant rice, let’s gather our wholesome seeds and grow together to offer the beauty to our family, our society, and to the world.

Breathe & smile,

SOP

Seeds of Paddy

Dear friends,

I am so small and tiny

But when you look closely

You can see my green sprouting leaves

You can enjoy my yellow branches full of grains

Dancing with the wind in the field

And you can also smell the fragrant rice

Served in your dinning room

But my dear friends,

Without a good soil

Without the sun and cloud

Without the loving work of all beings

I will stay a tiny seed

A future paddy field, and a fragrant rice to-be

As all seeds need other elements to grow

So does the garden of the beautiful seeds in us

Seeds of joy & hapiness

Seeds of love and compassion

Seeds of understanding and mindfulness

We need friends and community as our soil

We need the whole universe to support us

And as a paddy seed that needs to grow together

Not as a single grain,

To offer their serene field,

To offer their fragrant rice,

Let’s gather our wholesome seeds and grow together

to offer the beauty to our family, our society, and to the world