Plum Village

Plum Village is a Buddhist center in Thénac that spreads across three hamlets in southwestern France, providing meditation spaces and living quarters for monks and nuns. The site includes several buildings with meditation halls, communal kitchens, and dormitories set within a rural landscape of orchards and woods.

Vietnamese monk Thích Nhất Hạnh founded the site in 1982 after relocating from an earlier center in Fontvannes. Over the following decades, the community grew and expanded into neighboring hamlets to accommodate more visitors.

Residents follow a tradition that treats everyday tasks like cooking or gardening as part of spiritual practice. Visitors join communal meals eaten in silence and can experience mindfulness practice woven into daily life.

The center offers retreats throughout the year ranging from one week to three months, with programs for young adults and families. Most visitors arrive via Sainte-Foy-la-Grande and travel about 9 miles (15 kilometers) north from there.

The compound crosses three French departments – Dordogne, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne – linking separate regions through a network of spiritual communities. This unusual geographic arrangement allows residents to move between sites and experience different landscapes.