Pardesa

Center for meditation and applied ecology

Pardesa is a practice center in the Dhyana (zen) tradition founded by the Venerable Thích Nhất Hạnh, that includes benevolent action towards the Earth as an essential part of a contemplative lifestyle. In all our retreats, courses, days of mindfulness and residential periods, in both formal and informal practice, we combine care for the mind with care for the Earth and investigate the connection between the two.

With the formal practice of meditation and a daily rhythm based on mindfulness, we can cultivate clarity, stability and peace in our mind every day. With regenerative agriculture, permaculture and immersion in nature, we enjoy more deeply the web of life on Earth and learn how to live more sustainably as a part of that web.

You’ll find Pardesa to be a peaceful environment, conducive to allowing the mind to settle, an ideal place for experimenting practical ways to act with wisdom and respect towards our own mind as well as others and the Earth.

See our calendar for upcoming events.
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on Pardesa.

Mindfulness

The mind is the root of our action in the world. Mindfulness is the key that allows us to cultivate the clarity, compassion and inner freedom necessary for fully living our deepest aspiration. Read more

Applied ecology

A sustainable civilization is possible. The more we understand the natural world and the elements that make it up, the more we are able to create agricultural and social systems for living in harmony with other species. Read more

Daily life

Pardesa’s daily rhythm includes formal meditation, walking meditation in nature, teaching and communal life. In addition to periods of silence and personal practice, working in regenerative agriculture is also time for cultivating our inner garden. Read more

Together we can cultivate presence and peace in the landscape of the mind, and find joy in the intrinsic connection between ourselves, all species, and the planet.

Contribute

In only five years a practice center has emerged that combines care for the Earth with care for the mind, thanks to the clear aspiration, the efforts and the generosity of many.

The courses, retreats and other events are organized by the Italian non-profit association La Natura della Mente and are self-supporting thanks to the help of volunteers and participants’ own contributions.

The food forest and organic orchard, the meditation hall, and greywater system however, require significant investment, for which we ask your support.

Give a tree

Give a gift to someone you love and to the Earth too. Donate a tree for a food forest, designed and planted to produce food and at the same time enrich the soil, improve the ecosystem and increase biodiversity. Read more

Crowdfunding

The “Eco house”, a meditation hall and the other projects for realizing the potential of this practice center and its guiding aspiration. Read more