The Five Mindfulness Trainings of Plum Village

This is my certificate for committing to reading and reciting the trainings once per month

One aspect of the Plum Village Deer Park Meditation Retreat I recently attended was reciting, practicing, and meditating on the Five Mindfulness Trainings. These trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. They remind me of the yoga sutras or the ten commandments and are aspirational, contemplative statements to guide our mindset and meditation practice. They are a concrete expression of the Buddha’s teachings and are meant to help us on the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation, and happiness for ourselves and the world. When I read these trainings I felt like, “YES! THIS!”. The trainings put more concrete and succinct words and concepts to ways I’ve been trying to live most of my life and frankly just feel right to me. I am excited and committed to practicing these trainings with an online sangha (community) once per month and am slowly digesting them and seeing where I feel called to make adjustments in my life.

Below is a summary of each training and a link to more details on each training with my own input, formatting, and a few cents.

Here are the 5 Mindfulness Trainings from Plum Village

First Mindfulness Training: Reverence for Life

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals.

Second Mindfulness Training: True Happiness

I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy.

Third Mindfulness Training: True Love

Aware of the suffering caused by sexual & relational misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society.

Fourth Mindfulness Training: Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations.

Fifth Mindfulness Training: Nourishment and Healing

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming.