The First One-Year Mindfulness Teachers Training Program (MTeachers Training Program)
August 2014 - July 2015
MTeachersTraining-2014-2015-CourseOutlinesApplication.pdf
Updated April 2015
Plum Village Mindfulness Academy, The Plum Village Hong Kong Foundation, offers a one-year Mindfulness Teachers’ Training Program. The contents of the training program are from the mindfulness teachings and practices in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village. After completion of the training program, participants will be able to apply mindfulness into daily life, to cultivate peace and happiness and to transform pain and suffering, and to follow guidelines for healthy and compassionate living, for themselves and for societies. They will be able to apply the mindfulness teachings and practices into their professions and be able to facilitate mindfulness activities for those in need. Participants will be given “Certificate of Attendance” after completion of the program.
The program is offered once every two years. The first training program is from August 2014 to July 2015 and was started with the 5-day retreat August 13-17, 2014 and will end on August 1, 2015. There will be a commencement ceremony for the Class of 2015 in the 1st Asia-Pacific Mindfulness Teachers Conference Retreat August 12-16, 2015.
Mindfulness Teachers Training Program 2014/2015
Plum Village Mindfulness Academy, The Plum Village Hong Kong Foundation, will offer a one-year Mindfulness Teachers’ Training Program. The contents of the training program are from the mindfulness teachings and practices in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village. After completion of the training program, participants will be able to apply mindfulness into daily life, to cultivate peace and happiness and to transform pain and suffering, and to follow guidelines for healthy and compassionate living, for themselves and for societies. They will be able to apply the mindfulness teachings and practices into their professions and be able to facilitate mindfulness activities for those in need. Participants will be given “Certificate of Attendance” after completion of the program.
Course format:
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Duration (time period)* |
One Year, August 2014 – July 2015 Course format: (30 days of contact teachings and practices) Retreats
DOMs on: l Sept. 6, 20; Oct. 4, 18; Nov. 8, 22, 2014 l Jan 31; Feb. 14, 28 (after 1st 3-day retreat) l April 4, 18 (after 2nd 3-day retreat) l 8 DOMs in May – July, 2015 for practicum |
| Workload required participants |
Daily mindfulness practices (2 hours/day) for 200 days Reading and writing assignments |
| Number of particpants |
30 |
| Fees |
HKD 20,000.00 (including accommodations, food and tuitions for retreats & DOMs) |
| Course Instructors: |
Dharma teachers of Plum Village Mindfulness Academy Principal instructor: Bhikkhu Thich Chan Phap Kham. Assistant Instructors: |
Title of Course: Mindfulness Born Peace and Happiness: A Joyful Way of Well-Being |
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Description of the course: Students will study and practice mindfulness under the guidance of Buddhist monastics in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village. Mindfulness was discovered by Shakyamuni Buddha, a wise and compassionate teacher, in India about 2600 years ago. Practicing mindfulness can bring us peace and happiness, help transform our pain and suffering, and guide us in living our lives which can bring well-being to ourselves and society.
The teachings and practices cover three themes: Cultivating Peace and Happiness, Transforming Pain and Suffering, and Guidelines for living and creating a healthy and compassionate life style for ourselves and for society. The three themes cover three essential elements of meditation: mindfulness, concentration and insight. We will learn how to bring our mind back to our body with mindful breaths which helps us to be present in the here and now, to calm our body and mind, to stop our discriminated thinking, and to cultivate peace and happiness. The stopping and slowing down of thoughts, speech and bodily actions leads to the tranquility of the mind. Mindful breathing is integrated into daily activities such as walking, eating, exercising, taking a shower, cooking, driving, working, etc…so that mindfulness can be practiced every moment and everywhere. With our mind in tranquility and concentration, we will practice listening and looking deeply into our feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness, in order to see the causes of our pain and suffering and to transform them into peace and joy (develop insight). We will learn how the mind works through the teachings of Manifestation-Only Psychology of the Yogacara Buddhist School, which considers all physical and mental phenomena as manifestations of the store consciousness (unconscious, sub-conscious or subliminal conscious in Western Psychology). We will see how Manifestation Psychology serves as a holistic foundation for understanding the connection between body and mind, and how our consciousness affect our learning and behavior, thinking, memory and the quest for meaning of life. We will see that there are seeds of sickness and wellness within us, and whether we will be well or sick depends not only on the seeds but also on the environment (i.e. our life style and the collective health of society). Having learned how to cultivating peace and happiness, transforming pain and suffering for ourselves, we will look into the 5 essential mindfulness trainings (global ethics), which help establish a healthy and compassionate living environment for ourselves and for society. We will learn how to build a practicing community to help us going on the path of peace and happiness. Even though the teachings and practices are based on Buddhist tradition, they will be presented and implemented in a non-sectarian way. The course is held in a retreat environment to strengthen practices of mindfulness in daily life. |
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Training outcomes (By the end of this training, participants will be able to……)
About 2600 years ago, the Buddha discovered Mindfulness as a method to calm body and mind, and to develop concentration and insight as the way to overcome greed, hatred and delusions, which are the main causes of pain and suffering. The Buddha’s teachings and practices of mindfulness were recorded in the Anapanasati Sutta (Full Awareness of Breathing) and Satipathana Sutta (Four Establishments of Mindfulness). The Manifestation-Only Psychology was based on teachings of the mind by the Buddha, further developed by generations of Buddhist monks, systematized by Vasubandhu, an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher in the 4th century C.E. Works on the Manifestation-Only Psychology were further developed by Xuan Zang, Fa Zang in the 7th and 8th century. In the late 20th and early 21st century, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh has updated the teachings, made them accessible and relevant to the modern society. The Five Mindfulness Trainings (5 precepts) are guidelines for living a happy life, also taught by the Buddha in his time. The materials presented in this training program represent authentic teachings of the Buddha in the field of mindfulness, enriched and updated by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for modern time. By the end of this training, participants should be able to:
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| Minimum number of students |
10 |
| Maximum number of students |
30 |
| Name of organization (if applicable) |
Plum Village Mindfulness Academy, Hong Kong |
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Name of coordinator/contact person |
Bhikkhu Thich Chan Phap Kham |
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Email address |
phapkham@plumvillage.org |
| Telephone number |
2985-5281 |
| Application enquiry |
Ms Venus Wong email: venuspyw@gmail.com |
| MBPH - Training of Mindfulness Teachers | Year | 2014/2015 | August 2014 - May 2015 | ||
| Course | Date | Time | # of Days | # of Hours/Day | Total Hours |
| Theme 1: Cultivating Peace & Happiness | |||||
| 5-Day Retreat | Aug. 13 - 17, 2014 | 16:00 Aug. 13 - 14:00 Aug. 17 | 5 | 12 | 60 |
| DOMs | Sept. 6, 20 | 9:30 - 16:30 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| DOMs | Oct. 4, 18 | 9:30 - 16:30 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| DOMs | Nov. 8, 22 | 9:30 - 16:30 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Theme 2: Transformation & Healing | |||||
| 3-Day Retreat | Jan 16 - 18, 2015 | 16:00 Jan 16 - 14:00 Jan 18:00 | 3 | 12 | 36 |
| DOMs | Jan-31 | 9:30 - 16:30 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| DOMs | Feb. 14, 28 | 9:30 - 16:30 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Theme 3: 5 Mindfulness Trainings: Global Ethics for a Healthy & Compassionate Society | |||||
| 3-Day Retreat | March 13 - 15, 2015 | 16:00 Mar 13 - 14:00 Mar. 15 | 3 | 12 | 36 |
| DOMs | April 4, 18 | 9:30am - 16:30 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Theme 4: Practicum | |||||
| Help conducting activities at retreats, DOMs* | May - July 2015 | 9:30am - 4:30pm | 8 | 7 | 56 |
| Total # of days of teachings | 30 | 265 | |||
| Retreats/DOMs |
Participants will practice leading mindfulness activities in retreats and Days of Mindfulness conducted by PVMA in Hong Kong, from May – July, 2015. DOMs at AIAB, HKU, CUHK, HKIEd (May – July) |
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| Personal Practice | |||||
| Daily practices at home (2 hours/day) including walking/eating/total relaxation/sitting/exercise …. Meditation | 200 | 2 | 400 | ||
Mindfulness Born Peace and Happiness:
A Joyful Way of Well-Being
Mindfulness Teachers Training Program 2014/2015
Application Form
Mindfulness has been proven effective in building up concentration and alertness; reducing stress, anxiety, fear, and burn-out. It has been used to improve productivities in business, and as mind-body medicine in health care. However, mindfulness is more than those benefits. Right mindfulness can liberate us from craving, hatred and delusions. It is a practice to cultivate peace and happiness; and to transform pain and suffering. There is the need to practice and teach mindfulness in an authentic way, as originally practiced and taught by the Buddha – a wise and compassionate teacher - about 2600 years ago, and is being practiced in the Plum Village tradition. The training program conducted by Plum Village Mindfulness Academy (PVMA) hopes to address that need. The instructors are Buddhist monastics, whose daily activities integrate mindfulness practices into everything they do.
This is the first training program carried out by PVMA, and we would like to invite those who have the need to bring mindfulness into their professions, such as education, healthcare and social services professionals to participate in this program. The following are required during and after the time you participate with the program:
- Practice mindfulness daily. Mindfulness is mainly a practice, not as a subject of studies or research. We think that it is impossible to get a taste of mindfulness and to teach mindfulness without being a mindfulness practitioner.
- Participate with a practicing group (Sangha). We need friends on the path to support and deepen our practice.
l Spaces are limited. Applicants will have a group interview with the program staff before being admitted to the training program.
l Successfully application will be notified through email in June 2014.