The Order of Interbeing

The Order of Interbeing, or Tiep Hien in Vietnamese, is a four-fold Sangha comprised of monks, nuns, lay men and lay women, who have committed to living their lives in accordance with the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. These trainings are a modern distillation of the traditional Bodhisattva (Enlightened Being) teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, and were created by the Venerable Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in Saigon in 1966.

The first six members of the order, ordained together on a full moon evening of February 5, 1966, were colleagues and students of Thich Nhat Hanh who worked with him relieving the suffering of war through projects organized by the School of Youth for Social Service. Forged in the crucible of war, the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings provided a stable ground for these six brothers and sisters to develop serenity and to look deeply into circumstances, even during the tragedy of war.

Today, there are hundreds of members of the core Order of Interbeing who have dedicated themselves to the continuous practice of mindfulness, ethical behavior and compassionate action in society, and thousands of others worldwide who recite the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings regularly. The Order’s journal, “The Mindfulness Bell”, lists hundreds of Sanghas around the globe, groups of people in local communities who come together to study, practice and discuss the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. To find out more about the Order of Interbeing, please visit www.orderofinterbeing.org.

Blooming Heart Sangha currently has three lay-ordained members of the Order of Interbeing. Our Sangha maintains close ties with the international community of the Order of Interbeing, as well as with Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village Sanghas around the world.