Teras Dharma
Plum Village (Nunery) in Bali
Inspired by the breathtaking terraced rice fields of Tabanan, Bali, the name "Teras Dharma“ (The Terrace of Dharma) was born. This sacred site will become the future home of the Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Center for the nunnery in Bali.
Phase One: Building the Foundation
The initial phase of construction will focus on creating:
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Residential quarters (kuti) for Bhikshunis (fully ordained nuns) and Śrāmaṇerikā (novice nuns)
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A meditation hall dedicated to monastic practice
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A teaching and practicing center rooted in the Plum Village tradition
This center will also welcome the wider community through programs such as Days of Mindfulness and Mindful Living Retreats.
Cultivating a Wholesome Environment
A nourishing environment is essential for spiritual growth. Just as a seed cannot sprout without fertile soil, practitioners need supportive conditions to flourish.
Teras Dharma aspires to be that fertile ground—where monastics and laypeople can live and practice mindfully, joyfully, and harmoniously together.
Together, we will generate a collective energy of peace and happiness—transforming ourselves, relieving the suffering of others, and caring deeply for the Earth.
Walking the Path Together
Practicing in community helps us stay true to our aspirations. We support and remind one another not to be swept away by worldly distractions through social media and AI.
This spirit of sangha-building was one of Thay’s (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh) deepest aspirations.
In times of great challenge, Thay often said:“One Buddha is not enough.”
We must build communities that serve as refuges—places where people can find peace, healing, and strength.
A Living Dharma
Our hope is for Teras Dharma to become a vibrant center of practice and transformation. A place where the many doors of the Dharma are studied and practiced, and where the teaching is applied in every aspect of daily life-the Living Dharma.
This is the very spirit in which Thay lived his monastic life—and the spirit we wish to carry forward.
Semi - Basement Floor Plan
Ground Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Land Blessing
27 January 2024
With blessings and support from all directions—and the sincere love and compassion of many dear friends—the land blessing ceremony unfolded beautifully in an atmosphere of peace, harmony, and joy.
Venerable Bhiksuni Chan Khong (85), known as Sister Chan Khong and the first monastic disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, led the ceremony with deep presence, love, and sincerity. She offered prayers of gratitude as children of the Earth, humbly seeking permission to dwell upon the land and vowing to care for the surrounding nature with reverence and love.
Thay’s senior disciples—Bhiksuni Chan Dinh Nghiem, Bhiksuni Chan Tue Nghiem, and Bhiksuni Chan Si Nghiem—joined the ceremony, along with monastics and friends from Plum Village Indonesia.
Together, they chanted prayers and mantras, including the collective recitation of the Metta Sutta—the Sutra of Loving-Kindness—invoking blessings of peace and goodwill for all beings.
The ceremony concluded with the laying of the first stone, upon which Sister Chan Khong inscribed the words “Thank You Mother Earth,” marking this meaningful beginning with simplicity and grace.
With hearts full of gratitude, we offer our thanks to Mother Earth, who continues to nourish and embrace us, bringing forth the happiness that arises from appreciation, peace, and love.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Born in Vietnam in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh became a Zen monk at the age of 16. In the Zen lineage, he is the 42nd generation of the Dhyana Linji (Rinzai) school. Throughout his life, he published over 100 books on meditation, mindfulness, and Applied Buddhism, as well as poetry, children’s stories, and commentaries on Buddhist sutras.
Since being exiled from Vietnam in 1966, Thay became a pioneer in bringing Buddhist teachings to the Western world. He was deeply respected and loved by more than 700 monastic disciples, as well as tens of thousands of lay practitioners who follow his teachings, practice mindfulness, engage in peace activism, and build communities of practice in schools, workplaces, prisons, governments, and businesses around the world.
He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam—the monastery where he was ordained as a novice monk.
Plum Village Center
The Plum Village Practice Center, located in southwestern France near the city of Bordeaux, is the largest international mindfulness training center and the first monastic community founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) in the Western world.
Plum Village is where Thay realized his dream of building a community of both monastics and lay practitioners—a healthy environment where people can learn the art of living harmoniously with one another and with the Earth, through the core of his teaching: Applied Buddhism.
Today, Plum Village has grown to include more than 10 mindfulness practice centers across America, Europe, and Asia.
Founded in 1982 on a small rural farm, Plum Village has become the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe, home to more than 200 monks and nuns practicing in four monasteries spread across the French countryside. It is a continuation of the Sweet Potato Community, which Thay first established near Paris in the 1970s, shortly after he was exiled from Vietnam.
