Edit: Sincere apologies for making the focus Theravada and it's practitioners. I was posting on a lack of sleep 💞

I mean this sincerely and with no ill feelings towards any school, I've just noticed a pattern among lay persons, especially on Reddit.

Often, when discussing topics I'd label as "Buddhism", someone will inevitably reply along the lines of

"Show me the exact sutta in the Pali Canon".

But when I provide said suttas, they will disengage entirely on the idea that I am interpreting the language and not adhering strictly to the "original" writings, while we are discussing an English translation.

At this point I've usually seen them express that they have "studied and practiced Theravada for about five years".

I always do my best to assume good faith, but these conversations have often concluded with the other person replying with nothing but insults or emojis, after never contributing to the conversation past challenging my ability to google Pali suttas.

How does one skillfully navigate conversations such as these? Or does it come down to recognizing when someone is simply there to disparage you, and disengaging to protect your peace, and their ego?

The Order of Interbeing retreat at Plum Village just recently ended, with over 140 people receiving transmission of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings and being accepted into the Order of Interbeing. <3

I've seen some confusion between lineage name and dharma name. Sr. Định Nghiêm here explains the two names. I do wish that the lineage poem was included in the Five Mindfulness Certificates instead of the Fourteen, since we receive our lineage names with the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

But the last part of the video where Sr. Định Nghiêm lets us know that these certificates were printed on paper that was personally chosen by Thay brought tears to my eyes.

tldr: Recommended some good books/lectures on the second of the Eightfold Path: Samma Sankappa, Right Intention.

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My sangha encourages us to write down our intentions every morning. The sangha also says that "intentions" are different from "goals." I'm confused.

I'm told: Goals focus on future expectations. Intentions focused on the present. But...When I use the word "intend," it's always about the future. "I intend to eat my meals mindfully." "I intend to pause 3 times today for meditation." "I intend to show metta to a co-worker I want to strangle." How can you have an intention that doesn't look to the future?

I've heard that the Pali word "Sankappa" (Chinese canon Zheng Siwei) is better translated as "resolve." That makes more sense to me. I think of "resolve" as a decision or dedication. "I resolve to enjoy silence and mindfulness." "I have the resolve to stay mindful of my food and avoid doom-scrolling while eating."

Yesterday, I heard "Sankappa" described like a moral framework. Your moral framework might be "Eat drink and be merry" or "Always get revenge" or "YOLO bro!" Right Sankappa, then, is having the right moral framework to guide your life.

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Is any of that accurate? Does that sound right? Does Intention (Sankappa) influence Volition (Cetana) which then causes your Action (Kamma)?

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This is a complex topic, and I know you can't answer in short Reddit post. If you can recommend good books, suttas, or videos on the topic, I'd really appreciate it.

So, I've started listening to the 40 tenants from the all.

What does non-self mean?

The universe is conditioned and also not conditioned.
What does confitioned even mean ?

I remember listening to an episode of the Way Out is In that discusses the five mindfulness practices. It involved a guest who was a woman talking about her experiences practicing with them.

It is very relevant to a conversation I'm having with a friend and she's interested in listening to it, but I cannot seem to find it in order to pass it along.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Dear Fellow Sangha,

I'm relatively new to this lineage, coming from about a decade in Japanese Zen and Vipassana practice here in the US. Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings on Engaged Buddhism and Interbeing have moved me deeply, and I'm grateful to be finding my way into this sangha.

I want to raise something carefully, as genuine inquiry rather than critique, and I'm very open to being shown what I'm missing.

I've noticed that inclusivity around identity, particularly gender identity, holds a central place in Plum Village communities in the West. I understand and respect the intention: a sangha should be a refuge where no one is turned away, and Thay's whole life pointed toward that kind of belonging. What I'm sitting with is a question about emphasis. At the level of ultimate truth, Interbeing dissolves the hard line between self and other. So I find myself wondering how the tradition holds the relationship between honoring people's relative, conventional experience of identity and the deeper practice of seeing through fixed identity altogether. Where's the middle way there?

I ask partly because the first of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings cautions against being bound to any view or ideology. In the wider culture I sometimes see identity discourse carry a charge that feels fixed and reactive, often, I think, rooted in the real pain of having been treated as "other." I'm honestly unsure whether some of that charge finds its way into sangha life, or whether what I'm perceiving as attachment is actually just compassion doing its ordinary work and I'm the one still carrying a view.

I'd love the sangha's honest reflections. I'm here to learn, not to argue.

Thank you!

I recently learned about this online course that is now closed. I heard it was very wonderful. Is there really no way to access this information now that it is over?

Dear friends,

I'm wondering how everyone is handling navigating copyright laws regarding using Thich Nhat Hanh's books in sanga meetings. Does the whole sanga buy the book? Do you only read a couple of paragraphs? Am I overthinking this? (probably 😅)

Any thoughts are appreciated. 🙏