On October 4, 27 Order of Interbeing members, aspirants, and friends gathered under a big tree in Snow Park near Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA, USA.
We loved being outdoors together, sitting under a big tree and enjoying fresh air, sharing lunch and snacks.
There is a lot of gratitude and energy around intergenerational sangha building in the Bay Area. Dharma Teachers are happy to see the younger generation OI and aspirants organizing (seeing the fruits of their many years of sangha building), and the younger generation appreciates the call/opportunity to step up and be the continuation
Many expressed wanting more gatherings like this in the future.
This was the first Bay Area OI “fire building” community gathering, leading up to the June 2026 OI retreat at Plum Village, France, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the OI and the 100th birthday of Thích Nhất Hạnh.
For more information on the retreat and on fire-building get-togethers, see Nurturing the Fire on the Plum Village website.
Also, check out Sangha Fire-Building Sessions Around the World on the Deer Park website.