Course Leaders

Lauri received the transmission of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings at Plum Village in 2014 to become an Order member. Her True name is True Mountain of Non-Fear. She is currently an Aspirant Dharma Teacher.

Lauri has been practising meditation for over 35 years and met Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings in 2006, from which point she committed to putting mindfulness practice at the centre of her life. From 2008-12 she researched a PhD on Thich Nhat Hanh and his teachings of Mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism.

With her PhD complete Lauri began teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) courses and is delighted to bring this experience to courses devoted to the Plum Village mindfulness tradition. Mindfulness has become a crucial aspect of Lauri’s life and she has experienced first-hand the transformational aspects of peacefulness, calm and clarity that this practice generates. She has many years’ experience of running and organising retreats.

Lauri also has a creative practice as a paper collage artist and finds the combination of mindfulness and creativity fit together extremely well. Her creative work (paper collages, cards, and original artwork) can be viewed from her website.

You can find her PhD research published as a book here, In The Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh; Mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism

Ian lived in Plum Village for two years. This experience allowed him to immerse himself in Thay’s deep-wisdom mindfulness practices. During this time Ian received ordination in the Zen Buddhist tradition, becoming an Order member with the True name True Insight on the Path.

Ian discovered Thay in 2010 after studying with various mindfulness teachers. In 2014 he attended the 21-day retreat, “What happens when we are alive, what happens when we die?” led by Thay. This was a deeply powerful, healing, and transformative teaching that made Ian stop, look deeply, and realise that he had been on the wrong entrepreneurial path for most of his life.

Mindfulness has given Ian so much benefit, helping every aspect of his life (ethics, health, relationships, compassion, insight, concentration, livelihood, peace, kindness, openness, etc.).

His volition is now to dedicate his life to continuing to deepen his practice, to lead a happy and joyful life and to help bring Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings to others, whilst also building community.

Clare was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2021 and received the True name True Spring Waterfall. 

Clare first encountered Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings through attending Plum Village mindfulness retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh from 1998. This encounter was life changing, she became increasingly committed to her daily practice with the support of Sangha and it is now a central part of her life.

Clare’s mindfulness practice continues to be deeply rooted in her daily practice of drawing and painting in Helmsley Walled Garden. Clare’s practice transforms and enlivens everything she does. Her daily painting practice involves cherishing and falling in love with her subject matter, nature.

Through the wealth of experience brought by parenthood, periods of great change and upheaval in her life, the journey of caring for and the subsequent death of her beloved parents and husband, Clare has practised looking for the wonderful, ‘flecks of gold’ in her life (“this moment is full of wonders”). She realised that in trying to block suffering she would also be starved of her joy. 

Sylvia, (True Direction of Gentleness), is a dedicated follower of Thich Nhat Hanh but before that tried her hand at other mindful approaches. She brings those diverse experiences to her teaching. 

David has always preferred to practice as an independent Buddhist and has also read and studied widely, especially the writing of Thich Nhat Hanh. Between them have accrued over 80 years of personal mindfulness practice and have been teaching it to groups and individuals for over thirty years, either as a team or individually.

They are both writers and poets, writing articles on mindfulness and living mindfully. David is also a musician, and Sylvia is a memoirist on her spiritual journeys. Sylvia has lived a life of coping with ADHD and PTSD both personally and with her sons. David has lived a life of coping with Sylvia and her sons. His daughter also has bipolar.

Mindfulness is the basis for their own relationship and has enabled them to cope with many moments of deep grief and adversity as well as great joy. Between them, they have a rich resource of tips and support options for people with PTSD and neurodivergency challenges. How can mindfulness support living well with them emotionally and managing symptoms?  They are both very committed to supporting this community of mindful practitioners. Titles specifically related to this course are:

1. The book most closely associated to the course, Living With and Loving ADHD and Neurodivergency

2. a personal memoir of growing up with ADHD and PTSD and how she healed through it, including the role Plum Village played  No Visible Injuries

3. A dictionary approach memoir to learning to manage emotions, much of it using mindful insights Travelling the Alphabet Emotionally: A journey through life’s ups and downs

 Tran can speak Vietnamese, English, French, and Norwegian. In the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, his practice name is True Virtue of Vulture Peak.

In 2008, Tan began exploring mindfulness practices in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh to navigate a personal crisis. Since then, he has dedicated himself to studying and practicing mindfulness, expanding his approach to include various methodologies such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Search Inside Yourself (SIY), Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP), and Theory U.

Tan seamlessly integrates mindfulness practices into his professional work as a human flourishing facilitator, sharing his insights with numerous individuals and organizations, including multinational entities like the United Nations, General Electric, and Salesforce. He currently leads The Flourishing Circle, a mission-driven initiative aimed at helping individuals flourish by combining wisdom and science.

Vari was ordained by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 1995 into the Order of Interbeing and as a lay Dharma teacher in 2012 and given the True name True Action of Loving Kindness.

Vari arrived home on her first Plum Village mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in 1990. Life became brighter, calmer, more enjoyable and understandable.

She began to recognise how, supported by a mindfulness practice community, she could cultivate peace, love, and understanding in herself every day. It was clear that developing these qualities in herself also truly benefitted others. She put mindfulness practice and sangha at the centre of her life. Bit by bit; building her practice, accepting her shortcomings, encouraging herself through the difficulties – perceived and otherwise. Through difficult times in her life, she has practised seeing that there cannot be happiness without suffering (“no mud, no lotus”)– through the premature death of a beloved friend, the sudden deaths of her parents, the challenges of parenthood, and work and health challenges.

Vari has been an ordained Dharma teacher since 2012 and combines this responsibility with work as a Strategic Consultant. She has shared mindfulness in corporate settings, with female offenders and victims of sexual abuse as well as through Plum Village UK retreats and the Be Calm Be Happy courses which she co-developed.

Mark received the 14 Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing in 2016. His True name is True Mindfulness of Gratitude.

Mark first started practising mindfulness meditation more than 20 years ago. He was introduced to the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh in 2009 and in 2014 was fortunate to be able to move to the Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Centre in France where he and his wife would spend the next six years living in the village and learning to integrate the practice of mindfulness into daily life.

In 2021, Mark undertook further training to consolidate his learning and become a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, completing a two year training program led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield through Sounds True and the University of California, Berkeley Greater Good Science Centre.

In 2023, Mark returned to Plum Village and is currently living and practising with the community. 

Mark is indebted to Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community for all their support to develop and sustain a daily mindfulness practice. Having experienced the benefits of this practice in so many aspects of his life, Mark is committed to paying this forward by sharing with others.

Letizia received the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings in 2024 and her True Name is True Deep Inclusiveness. 

Letizia has practised in the Plum Village tradition since 2002.

She works as a person-centred counsellor. The teachings and practices she has encountered during her retreats have helped her greatly to deepen her own self-awareness and to inform and enrich her therapeutic interventions.

She has attended retreats regularly to deepen her understanding of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and increase her ability to incorporate them in her daily life. During an extended stay in Plum Village at the 2022/23 Rains retreat, Letizia was deeply moved by the light-heartedness and joyfulness emanated by the monastic community, and by the depth and stability of their practice. Since that stay, she has been even more determined to nourish her practice regularly and to share its transformational energy with others. 

Jan attended a Mindfulness-based stress reduction course about 12 years ago, when she was looking to find some peace and calmness in herself. Following the course, she went to various mindfulness groups to try to sustain the mindfulness practice.

One of the groups she stumbled across was the Oxford Sangha which follows the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh; she soon realised she had found her practice “home”. Since then, she has attended many retreats and has followed the teachings to help her live a calmer and happier life. She is grateful for the continuing support from being a part of, and helping to run, the local Sangha as well as being a regular at other on-line sangha meetings.

She loves to sing the Plum Village songs and the practice of walking meditation in nature.