Less than a week after the end of the summer retreat at Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh and some members of the monastic Sangha embarked on a two-month tour of North America. Retreats and public lectures took place in Massachusetts, Quebec, Colorado, and California. The tour culminated with a visit to Mississippi, where Thay received the gift of a new practice center called Magnolia Village.

Hundreds of people took the Three Refuges and the Five Mindfulness Trainings, while thousands more were exposed to Thay’s ongoing message that “A smile is the most basic kind of peace work.”