Brother Pháp Dung

Brother Pháp Dung/Dharma Embrace is a Vietnamese American monk in the Plum Village tradition, ordained by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh in 1998. Before entering monastic life, he graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture and worked as an architect and designer for four years. He received Lamp Transmission from Thầy in 2004 and served as abbot of Deer Park Monastery until 2010. He also played a key role in establishing the monastery and several other Plum Village practice centers. He has been instrumental in designing meditation programs and retreats for children, teens, families, and young adults, and in planning the physical infrastructure, such as Dharma halls and residences, of Plum Village centers. A joyful and dedicated monk, Brother Pháp Dung is deeply inspired to help the Plum Village monastic tradition take root in America and the West. He devotes himself to training young monastics from Western backgrounds, building residential communities of practice, and developing programs of mindful service such as the Happy Farm and the Thích Nhất Hạnh School of Interbeing. He believes that mindfulness practice, community living, and compassionate service are powerful antidotes to the suffering and disconnection in modern society.