When you come to our monastery, you will have a chance to participate in working meditation with the community. In Plum Village practice centres, we call it “mindful service”. It can be a great happiness. It is also an opportunity to engage in the maintenance and care of our practice centre while enjoying the practice of mindfulness.

When we sweep the floor, rake the leaves, wash the cars, turn the compost piles, we stay mindful of our breathing and the activity that we are doing. We speak only when necessary and about the work at hand. We can maintain a light and easy feeling as we work. An environment that is quiet can make the work more pleasant and enjoyable. 

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When we work in the garden, we get in touch with the plants and nourish our connection to the earth. Sweeping and mopping the meditation halls, we see that we are already practicing to calm our mind and body. When you do mindful service for the sangha, please do not be in too great of a hurry to get the job done.

 

Our most important contribution to the sangha is to maintain our practice of mindfulness. Mindful service links us to our everyday life, both in the monastery and at home. As we are working at our computer, preparing dinner for our family, or teaching a class, we can practice stopping, calming, and refreshing ourselves with our conscious breathing. We can relax and smile at our co-workers and pace ourselves to maintain a light and serene state of being.

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