Finding Our True Home: Lessons from Vietnam

with Dharma Teacher Mitchell Ratner, Senior Teacher, Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center

Mitchell recently returned from a month in Vietnam where he practiced with Plum Village monastics in Hue and with lay practice groups in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Using Thich Nhat Hanh’s Three Touchings of the Earth as a framework, Mitchell will share with the WMC community some of his experiences and lessons learned.

Mitchell began practicing in the Plum Village tradition in 1990 with a small group that gathered weekly at the Buddhist Congregational Church on 16th Street. He gave the group its name - the Washington Mindfulness Community - so they could specify the entity organizing a retreat for Thich Nhat Hanh in 1991.

He founded the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center in Maryland in 1999, and in 2001 was invited to receive Dharmacharya (Dharma teacher) transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh. He enjoys teaching classes and workshops focused on integrating mindfulness meditation with work, meaningful relationships, and the challenges of everyday life.