Sangha Fire-Building Sessions Around the World

Dear sangha builders, OI members, and dedicated Plum Village
practitioners around the world,
In June 2026, our worldwide Plum Village community is gathering for a retreat in Plum Village, France, which will be followed by
an Order of Interbeing Council, the first in three decades. This is our
chance to collectively envision and shape the future of our beloved
spiritual community—a moment that will ripple through generations
to come.
You have a vital role to play in this transformative process. In
the spirit of Thầy’s wisdom to drink tea together before we meet to
decide on anything, the Lay-Monastic OI Charter and Council Team
for 2026 encourages you to organize local and regional “fire-building sessions” that will kindle the energy we need to shape our collective future.
PURPOSE: BUILDING SIBLINGHOOD
These fire-building sessions will support a global process of connection and community building. We want to bring sangha members
together in person, face-to-face, creating harmony through shared
activities, before we meet to engage in discussions about our collective future. These sessions will focus primarily on strengthening
the bonds within our spiritual family and deepening our mutual understanding and aspirations.
HOW IT WORKS
We propose fire-building sessions to be organized in person in
each region across the coming year, leading up to the OI retreat
and council at Plum Village in June 2026. Any committed sangha
member should feel empowered to organize a fire-building session.
Gatherings should be organized in a way that fosters connections
across different age and affinity groups in the Plum Village

community, and should be inclusive of committed practitioners
who are not formally OI members or aspirants.
Each session should be at least 2.5 hours and should include
walking meditation, sitting and/or tea meditation, and Dharma
sharing. The session may be integrated into a Day of Mindfulness
or combined with a pre-existing retreat or gathering. We offer
these broad reflections for Dharma sharing:

♦What has the Order of Interbeing and the global Plum
Village sangha offered to my life?

♦How can we both nourish our global sangha body and
refresh and reinvigorate the Order of Interbeing?

♦How can we as the Order of Interbeing and the
Plum Village global family ensure we are a refuge for
future generations? What is already here and what is
missing?

♦What are your aspirations for our global spiritual
family?
Please designate one person at each gathering to share with
the 2026 Lay-Monastic OI Fire-Building Team via firebuilding@
plumvillage.org:

♦Basic fire-building session information (where, when,
how many attended)

♦Group photo of those at the gathering

♦Brief sharing about the experience
Wishing you a positive fire-building experience.
With gratitude,
The Fire-Building Team:
Kai Romhardt, Brother Pháp Lưu, Minh-Châu Lê, Chris Phạm
The OI Charter and Council Team:
Anh Hương, Sister Chân Đức, Shantum Seth, Mitchell Ratner,
Kai Romhardt, Brother Pháp Lưu

Bonfire and circle in India courtesy of Shantum Seth;
Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA, US courtesy of Minh-Châu (Adrienne)
Lê;
Hanoi, Vietnam courtesy of Xóm Trăng - Moon Hamlet;
Casa Sumapaz, Colombia courtesy of Maíra Fernandes de Melo;
Thai Plum Village, Bangkok, Thailand courtesy of Wake Up
Thailand

Not a Choice, a Current:
A Homecoming to Deer Park