Planting Seeds Mindfulness Practice Center

08/29/2026

"Mother, your unconditional love for us is one of the most wondrous things in this world. I believe nature has placed such a heart inside every mother.

[...]

Dear Mother,
Now that I myself have entered the later years of my life, I can feel more clearly than ever the vast and immeasurable love you have given us.
I can see your sacrifices and all the quiet ways you struggled and persevered for Father, for your children, and for your grandchildren throughout your entire life.
I know there is nothing I could ever do to fully repay your love and your kindness.
I promise myself that I will be there for you, caring for you wholeheartedly and with tenderness throughout the years that remain.
I hope that each day you will continue to be aware of your breathing and practice reciting the Buddha’s name.
Whenever you have a quiet moment, Mother, please remember the Buddha.
I continue to chant and pray that the Buddhas will protect you, bring you peace, and help ease your sickness and your pain.
And in the end, there is only one simple thing I really want to say to you:
Mother, I am deeply grateful to you.
I love you very much.
And I am so happy and grateful that, in this lifetime, I have had the blessing of being your child."

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Dear beloved friends,

Above is an excerpt from a letter to his mother by anh Tâm Giác Tâm - a senior member of Planting Seeds MPC.

We would like to invite you to read the letter again (please find the link in the comment section) and enjoy beautiful moments from our Rose Ceremony.

Together, we shared a day filled with quiet reflection, peace, and deep gratitude. As the roses were pinned to our chests, we touched the living reality that our parents and ancestors are always present within us—in every breath, every step, and every beat of our heart.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, brought their open hearts, and made this day so sacred.

With peace, joy, and deep gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

08/19/2026

Dear friends,

Thank you for your RSVP to our Rose Ceremony this Saturday, Aug 22nd at Planting Seeds MPC.

As the date for the upcoming Rose Ceremony approaches, we would like to give you a few notes to help you feel fully supported and prepared for this meaningful gathering.

We want to extend our warmest welcome and express our gratitude to you for choosing to be a part of this event.

With gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

08/13/2026

Dear Beloved Friends,

As we are entering the seventh lunar month, the season of Ullambana, we are warmly invited to return to our roots with mindfulness and gratitude. It is a precious opportunity to touch the boundless love, care, and sacrifices of our parents and ancestors.

We are happy to share that the schedule for our upcoming Rose Ceremony is now available! Guided by Plum Village monastics, our day will include sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk, a mindful lunch, and the heart of our gathering - the Rose Ceremony itself.

Join us as we practice looking deeply, watering the seeds of gratitude, and touching the deep connection that links us to our families.

📅 When: Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM

📍 Where: Planting Seeds MPC (21425 FM 2920, Hockley, TX, United States, 77447)

✨ RSVP at: 👉 https://events.plantingseedsmpc.org/register/dom/rose-ceremony

We look forward to breathing, walking, and honoring our roots together.

With gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

08/02/2026

“Father’s work is enormous, as huge as a mountain. Mother’s devotion is overflowing, like water from a mountain spring. Maternal love is our first taste of love, the origin of all feelings of love.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, A Rose for Your Pocket

Dear Beloved Friends,

The full moon of the seventh lunar month, known as Ullambana, is a precious time in the Buddhist tradition to return to our roots with mindfulness and gratitude. It is an opportunity to touch the boundless love, care, and sacrifices of our parents and ancestors, and to recognize that we are the continuation of all those who came before us.

With this spirit of gratitude, Planting Seeds Mindfulness Practice Center warmly invites you to join us for our Rose Ceremony – A Celebration of Our Parents.

Guided by Plum Village monastics, we will come together in mindfulness to honor our parents – whether they are still with us or have passed on – and to embrace the many conditions of love, happiness, and support that continue to nourish our lives each day.
Together, we will practice looking deeply, watering the seeds of gratitude and compassion, and touching the deep connection that links us to our families, our ancestors, and all beings.

Event Details:
- Time: 8AM – 2PM, Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
- Location: Planting Seeds MPC (21425 FM 2920, Hockley, TX 77447)

Registration is not required, but we encourage you to RSVP in advance using the following link:

https://events.plantingseedsmpc.org/register/dom/rose-ceremony

May we come together in mindfulness to honor our parents and ancestors, touching the deep roots of gratitude and love that live within us all.

With peace, joy, and gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

06/13/2026

Dear friends,

Our hearts are full of joy as we look back at our summer retreat, “Solid as a Mountain, Free as a White Cloud” from June 5th to 7th. This was a very special milestone for Planting Seeds MPC, as it marked the first time we have been able to host a multi-day retreat together.

We are so grateful to the monastics from Deer Park Monastery in California. Their presence and guidance helped us breathe, walk, and touch peace in the present moment as a sangha.

On the last day, we also celebrated the Vesak Ceremony including the practice of the Bathing the Baby Buddha. It was a beautiful time to water our seeds of love, peace, and understanding.

We are happy to share these pictures of our days together. Thank you to everyone who joined and supported this beautiful gathering.

With peace, joy, and gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

06/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BFCy3fB4d/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/10/2026

05/31/2026

Dear Sangha and Community Friends,

We warmly invite you and your loved ones to join us for our Vesak Ceremony (Bathing the Baby Buddha Ceremony) on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 10:30 AM at Planting Seeds Mindfulness Practice Center.

Vesak is a sacred celebration in the Buddhist tradition, honoring the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha. The Bathing the Baby Buddha Ceremony symbolizes cleansing the mind and heart, and returning to mindfulness, compassion, and peace within ourselves.

This gathering marks the closing of our non-resident retreat – Solid as A Mountain, Free as a White Cloud – guided by Plum Village monastics from Deer Park Monastery, California and offers a special opportunity for the wider community to come together in celebration of the Buddha’s birthday.

Ceremony Schedule:
• 10:15 AM: Arrival and Settling in. We gently ask that you arrive by this time so we may sit together and prepare our collective energy.
• 10:30 AM: Vesak Ceremony Begins.
• 12:00 noon: Circle Lunch.

Venue: Planting Seeds Mindfulness Practice Center - 21425 FM 2920, Hockley, TX 77447
(When using Google Maps, please make sure the city is listed as Hockley. Sometimes it auto-fills Tomball and may lead to the wrong location, 16 miles away.)

Important Notes:
• The ceremony will be both English and Vietnamese, with translation provided.
• Áo dài is lovingly encouraged.
• The Vesak Ceremony is open to the public, and registration is not required. The 3-day mindfulness practice program (June 5–6, 2026) is for registered participants only.

We look forward to practicing and celebrating together in mindfulness, peace, and joy.
With peace, joy, and gratitude,
Planting Seeds MPC

Photo shared by: plumvillage.org

05/09/2026

Free as a White Cloud

You feel that you don’t have freedom, but freedom from what? Freedom to do what you want to do? Freedom is first of all freedom from your anger, from your sorrow, from your confusion, from your attachment. Because all these things bring ill being, all these things bring suffering.

Freedom is our practice, because every minute the practice can help bring freedom to us - freedom from forgetfulness. We forget that life is a wonder. To be alive, to be present on this planet - full of life, full of wonders - is happiness. Knowing that the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land of the Buddha is available in the here and now. Sometimes our intellect recognizes that the wonders of life, the kingdom, is here and now and yet we cannot get in touch with them because of our anger, our depression, our uncertainty, our despair. And that is what freedom is: first of all, freedom from our afflictions. We practice right mindfulness in order to come home to the here and the now, so that we can touch the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land of the Buddha, the wonders of life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh (Excerpt from Thay's Dharma talk on 13 May 2004)
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Join us for a three-day non-resident retreat to practice the art of being free as a white cloud: learn to release the internal afflictions of anger and sorrow, allowing you to drift back home to the wonders of the here and now.

Register at https://events.plantingseedsmpc.org/register/retreat/solid-as-a-mountain---free-as-a-white-cloud%3A-a-3-day-retreat-guided-by-deer-park-monastics

05/05/2026

Solid as a Mountain

"Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid."

"Whenever we feel despair, anxiety, fear, or anger, we are carried right into the heart of a whirlwind. We are like a tree standing in a gale. If we look up, we shall see our branches bending as if they are about to break and be carried away by the storm. But if we look down at the trunk and the roots, we should know that the roots of the tree are held firmly in the earth, and we shall feel more stable and relaxed.

Body and mind are like that. When there is a hurricane of emotions in us, if we know how to withdraw from the storm—that is, if we know how to withdraw from the turmoil in our brain—we shall not be swept away. We must transfer our attention to a place in our abdomen called the tantien acupoint (about four fingers’ width below the navel) and breathe deeply and slowly according to the formula “mountain, solid.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh (The Blooming of a Lotus: Essential Guided Meditations for Mindfulness, Healing, and Transformation)

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Join us for a three day non-resident retreat to learn the Plum Village practice of remaining solid as a mountain: be aware of your breath and find unshakable stability in the face of any emotional storm.

Register at https://events.plantingseedsmpc.org/register/retreat/solid-as-a-mountain---free-as-a-white-cloud%3A-a-3-day-retreat-guided-by-deer-park-monastics