Pebbles Sangha has been based in the city of Brighton & Hove since 1998. We practice Mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Everyone is welcome at Pebbles, regardless of background, identity, or level of experience. Pebbles is a nurturing and mutually supportive community, with an emphasis on mindfulness, compassion, inclusivity and ethical living. Our practice includes regular recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings which represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. Our practice is supported by the Order of Interbeing and is deeply rooted in a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist tradition that has been nurtured and transmitted across many generations.

The Sangha offers a welcoming, peaceful and safe space for meditation, deep sharing, and mutual support on the path. Many people have found greater peacefulness, happiness and joy through the Plum Village mindfulness practice.

We hold fortnightly in-person practice sessions on a Saturday morning, at Patcham Community Centre, and weekly online practice sessions on Wednesday evenings. Several times a year we hold a Day of Mindfulness. You will find more information about our practice meetings here.

Following the opening of the Being Peace Practice Centre in the Forest of Dean in 2026, we will be organizing an annual Sangha Retreat.

Regular sangha members often make a regular bank transfer. It all helps with the cost of holding sangha meetings and retreats; it includes our core running costs such as room rentals for example. We also pass on the benefit to other charitable organisations including the Being Peace Centre (Plum Village UK), Plum Village (France) and local charities in the City.

Pebbles Sangha brings together people from many different backgrounds, experiences and identities. Some have been practising for many years, while others are joining us for the first time. Some have a Buddhist background, while many do not. Whatever brings you here, you are warmly welcome.

If you’re thinking about coming for the first time and have any questions, or if there’s anything that would help you feel more comfortable attending, we’d be very happy to hear from you. Whether you have accessibility needs, would like to know what to expect, or simply feel nervous about coming on your own, please get in touch via our contact form.

We recognise that, like many mindfulness communities in the UK, our sangha is currently made up predominantly of White practitioners. We also know that whether people feel safe and welcome can be shaped by many aspects of identity, including race, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, sexuality, age, culture, faith background and class. We recognise that not everyone has experienced Buddhist communities as welcoming or inclusive, and we are committed to learning, listening and doing our best to create a community where everyone feels respected, valued and able to participate.

Across the wider Plum Village community there are also affinity groups — practice groups for people who share a particular identity or life experience, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled and neurodivergent practitioners, younger practitioners and others. Many people find it supportive and empowering to practise in an affinity group, often alongside attending their local sangha. For a full list of affinity groups and more information, see the Plum Village UK webpage.

We know that creating an inclusive community takes more than good intentions. It asks us to listen carefully, reflect honestly, and be willing to change when we need to. We won’t always get everything right, but we are committed to learning from feedback and responding with humility. We see this as part of our practice together. We hope our sangha will continue to be enriched and to grow through the diversity of the people who practise here, and we look forward to welcoming you.

The mindfulness practices we share are rooted in a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist tradition that has been nurtured and transmitted across many generations (44th generation of the Lâm Tế (Linji) Dhyāna School and the 10th generation of the Liễu Quán Dharma Line). When Thích Nhất Hạnh (affectionately referred to as “Thây” – teacher) shared these teachings with people from different cultural backgrounds, he adapted Vietnamese Zen Buddhism so that its wisdom could be accessible while remaining rooted in the depth of his lineage.

Through his extraordinary life of engaged practice — including his work for peace during the Vietnam War, his years in exile, and the founding of Plum Village — Thây showed that mindfulness is not only a personal practice but also a way of responding to suffering in the world with compassion and courage.

We are deeply grateful to Thây, his teachers, and the generations of practitioners who preserved these teachings and made them available to us. As we practise together, we seek to remember and honour the roots from which our practice has grown, recognising that this tradition has been lovingly carried by countless people before us, especially within Vietnamese and wider Asian Buddhist communities.

May we walk this path with open hearts, remembering that we are part of a stream of practice that began long before us and continues through all those who care for it today.

If you wish to receive the regular Pebbles Sangha newsletter please let us know. The newsletter will keep you informed about sangha activities

Safeguarding Policy