The Joyfully Together Sutra Study & Practice Program
Our Joyfully Together Sutra Study and Practice program explores the Buddhist sutras that our root teacher and founder of the Plum Village Tradition, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, identified as the foundational teachings of the Buddha. In 1998, our lay Dharma teacher and program founder, Dharmacharya Chan Huy (True Radiance), designed this curriculum for the training of Order of Interbeing aspirants as well as the ongoing education of Order members. It mirrors a four-year course of study that was offered to monastics in Plum Village at that time.
In 2010, Chan Huy and several other pioneers developed a monthly online Dharma talk broadcast based on this curriculum as a means for him to connect with and support the many Sanghas he was mentoring in North America. Originally known as the "E-Talk" program, it became the Sangha Core Sutra Study Program in 2019 and was facilitated by long time practitioners mentored by Chan Huy. The program continues anew this year as the Joyfully Together Sutra Study & Practice, again facilitated by Chan Huy's senior students and Dharma teachers.
We invite you to join us as we explore these beautiful teachings of the Buddha that Thay believed were at the core of our practice. If you would like to receive the monthly invitation to our gatherings, which contains links to study materials, recordings of past sessions, and the Zoom link for our sessions, please ask an associated facilitator in your Sangha or use the link to contact us on our home page. Each of our monthly sessions is open to anyone who would like to join; there is no requirement to have attended prior sessions.
Our past studies include:
2020-2021
The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (Ānāpānasati Sûtra) using Breathe! You Are Alive, The Path of Emancipation, and other texts by Thich Nhat Hanh
2021-2022
Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness using Transformation at the Base by Thich Nhat Hanh and other texts
2022-2023
The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutra) using Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Transformation and Healing and other texts
2023-2024
The Diamond Sutra using Thich Naht Hanh's books, The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, and other texts
2024-2025
The Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) using Commentaries by Thich Nhat Hanh in Opening the Heart of the Cosmos : Insights on the Lotus Sutra & other texts
The Four-Year Sutra Study curriculum is based on the sutras that our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh (known to his students as Thay), felt were the core, foundational teachings of the Buddha. These were the teachings in which he wanted his students to be deeply grounded in both understanding and practice. This progression of study reflects the teachings that Thay transmitted to his lay students and followers during the many retreats he offered over the years.