In my previous series, we explored Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings, a modern reinterpretation of the traditional Five Precepts. By renewing their language, structure, and emphasis, these trainings represent a universal vision of ethical living that reaches beyond religious boundaries. Rather than serving as rules to follow, they offer a path of mindful engagement with everyday life, encouraging ethical responses grounded in awareness, insight, and compassion.
This new series turns to the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, which are intended for members of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Order of Interbeing and further develop the ethical vision outlined in the Five Mindfulness Trainings. In this first article, we focus on the origins and structure of the Order of Interbeing, which illuminate the spirit behind these trainings.
The founding of the Order of Interbeing
The Order of Interbeing is an international community of monastics and laypeople committed to mindful and socially engaged living, guided by the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. The order was established by Thích Nhất Hạnh in 1966 in response to the critical situation of the Vietnam War.
For Thích Nhất Hạnh, the Vietnam War represented a fight between two different ideologies: the Marxist-Leninist ideology held by the North (and supported by China and the Soviet Union) and the ideology of personalism and capitalism held by the South (backed by the United States). He wrote:
Not only did we fight with ideologies imported from the outside, but we also fought with weapons imported from the outside—guns and bombs from Russia, China, and America. As Buddhists who practice peace and reconciliation, brotherhood and sisterhood, we did not want to accept such a war. You cannot accept a war where brothers are killing brothers with ideologies and weapons imported from the outside. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 2008)
The order was created with the aim of ending war and promoting social justice without siding with political factions. (Chapman 2007) As will be discussed in the next article, not being caught in ideologies is a core principle of the order.
The first members of the Order of Interbeing
In February 1966, six people were ordained by Thích Nhất Hạnh into the Order of Interbeing. They were all from the board of the School of Youth for Social Service, which he had co-founded the year before. This group included three women and three men in their 20s or early 30s. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1998)
Among the six members, the three women committed themselves to celibate lives similar to those of nuns, although they did not shave their heads or undertake the full monastic vows. The three men decided to marry and continue practicing as lay Buddhists. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1998)
Nhất Chi Mai, one of the women ordained, became a deeply influential figure. In May of the following year, she self-immolated in response to the devastation of the war. Thích Nhất Hạnh recalled:
. . . she placed a statue of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, and a statue of the Virgin Mary in front of her, and burned herself alive at the Từ Nghiêm Temple, a nunnery. She left behind letters to the Presidents of North and South Vietnam, imploring them to stop the fighting. She wrote one letter to me: “Thầy, don’t worry too much. We will have peace soon.” Nhất Chi Mai moved the hearts of millions of her countrymen, evoking the force of love. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1993)
“Thầy,” meaning “teacher” in Vietnamese, is a common way for followers to address Thích Nhất Hạnh.
For Thích Nhất Hạnh, Nhất Chi Mai’s act was understood as a call to wake up, grounded in compassion and the intention to alleviate suffering. For more details on his views on self-immolation, see my earlier article, “Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Engaged Buddhism During Wartime Vietnam, Part 2.”
The development of the Order of Interbeing
After the first ordination in 1966, no new members joined the order until 1981—after a 15-year period of experimentation—when the seventh member was ordained. (Eppsteiner 2017, Hunt-Perry & Fine 2000)
In 1988, Cao Ngọc Phương, one of the original members of the order, was ordained as a nun by Thích Nhất Hạnh, who gave her the Dharma name Chân Không (meaning “True Emptiness”). She was his first fully ordained monastic disciple. She had been his student since the end of 1959 and was one of his closest associates. (Chân Không 2007, Plum Village n.d.) She played a key role in developing the Plum Village Tradition and in leading retreats internationally.
In the same year, the order also received its first Western monastic member. (Plum Village 2019) Since then, the monastic community has continued to grow and now includes more than 600 monks and nuns worldwide. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 2016) The order also has over 2,000 lay members in local communities across the globe. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 2012)
The two communities of the Order of Interbeing
The Order of Interbeing comprises two communities: the core community and the extended community. Members in both communities practice the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. Those in the core community have formally received all 14 trainings in a transmission ceremony and have committed to living in accordance with them. Members of the extended community, by contrast, have not yet made this formal commitment and are learning to apply the trainings in daily life. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 2005)
For those who wish to become members of the core community, receiving the Five Mindfulness Trainings is a prerequisite. After that, they write a letter declaring their aspiration and send it to the local core community, or to appropriate Dharma teachers if there is no community nearby. Dharma teachers are experienced members of the core community entrusted with teaching responsibilities. They are recognized for the steadiness of their practice and their ability to live with happiness and balance. Through their presence and guidance, they help cultivate joy and stability in local sanghas (practice communities). (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1998)
They then enter mentorship with at least one member of the core community and practice the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings with the community for at least a year. After formally receiving the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, they continue their practice within a sangha. (Hunt-Perry & Fine 2000, Thích Nhất Hạnh 1998, 2005)
Conclusion
The Order of Interbeing emerged in response to the suffering and ideological conflicts of wartime Vietnam. From its small beginnings in 1966 to its global presence today, it has grown into a community that embodies Thích Nhất Hạnh’s vision of engaged Buddhism—spiritual practice expressed through mindful action in the world.
The first six members included the influential figure Nhất Chi Mai, who immolated herself for peace. Another member, Chân Không, was Thích Nhất Hạnh’s first fully ordained monastic disciple and worked closely with him in developing the Plum Village Tradition.
The order’s two branches—the core community and the extended community—help practitioners deepen their commitment through mentorship, community practice, and the transmission of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings.
The order’s origins, early members, and structure shed light on the spirit behind these trainings. They are not abstract ideals but living practices shaped by real people responding to real suffering.
In my next article, we will look more closely at how the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings function within the Order of Interbeing.
References
Chân Không. 2007. Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.
Chapman, John. 2007. “The 2005 pilgrimage and return to Vietnam of exiled Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh.” In P. Taylor (Ed.), Modernity and Re-enchantment: Religion in Post-revolutionary Vietnam (pp. 297–341). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Eppsteiner, Fred. 2017. Thích Nhất Hạnh’s guidelines for anyone wishing to live mindfully. Retrieved from https://www.lionsroar.com/the-fourteen-precepts-of-engaged-buddhism/
Hunt-Perry, Patricia. & Fine, Lyn. 2000. “All Buddhism is engaged: Thích Nhất Hạnh and the Order of Interbeing.” In C. S. Queen (Ed.), Engaged Buddhism in the West (pp. 35–66). Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Plum Village. 2019. True Virtue: The journey of an English Buddhist nun by Sister Annabel Laity. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/articles/news/true-virtue-the-journey-of-an-english-buddhist-nun-by-sister-annabel-laity/
Plum Village. n.d. Sister Chan Khong.Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 1993. Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 1998. Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2005. Being Peace. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2008. “History of Engaged Buddhism.” In The Mindfulness Bell, 4–9.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2012. The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. Retrieved from http://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2016. At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk’s Life. London: Penguin Random House.
Related features from BDG
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings, Part 1
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings, Part 2
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings, Part 3
