Dear Friends,
How do we welcome the Buddha—not just his image, but his living wisdom—into our hearts, our homes, and the land of his birth? In this timely and evocative talk, Dharmacharya Shantum Seth invites us to rediscover the Buddha as a spiritual ancestor rooted in Indian soil, whose teachings are as relevant today as ever. This event will be held both in person and online on Tuesday, September 2, from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm.
A teacher in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Shantum has spent decades reweaving the Buddha’s story into the cultural and spiritual fabric of modern India. With gentle humor and grounded wisdom, he shares the Dharma in a way that’s both accessible and deeply authentic. Through Ahimsa Trust, he is helping establish a Mindfulness Practice Center—Plum Village India—in the Himalayas, offering a new home for India’s ancient wisdom traditions.
Drawing from early Buddhist texts, family life, social engagement, and over thirty-seven years of guiding In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimages, Shantum offers a heartfelt vision of how we can reawaken the Buddha’s message of mindfulness, compassion, and interbeing within ourselves and within India’s evolving consciousness.
This is an invitation to “bring the Buddha home”—not just into our daily lives but back into the awareness of the people and the land where his journey began.
Date: Tuesday, September 2
Time: 6:30–8:00 PM ET
Where: Online (Zoom link will be emailed upon registration) and in person at our meditation studio: 3812 Northampton Street NW, Washington, DC 20015
Free of charge, with a suggested donation to Ahimsa Trust—a mindful offering to support the continuation of this meaningful work.
The evening will include storytelling, reflection, guided meditation, and space for dialogue. Whether you're new to Buddhism or a longtime practitioner, this talk offers a nourishing and down-to-earth perspective on living the path of awakening—right here, right now.
All are welcome.
DHARMACHARYA SHANTUM SETH
Shantum is the forty-third generation teacher of the Lin Chi Dhyana lineage, ordained as a Dharmacharya (Dharma Teacher) by the Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh in 2001. He has been teaching and leading retreats in India and across the world, including pilgrimages ‘In the Footsteps of the Buddha' and other multi-faith and transformative journeys since 1988. He personally led Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village monastics through the Buddhist sites in India.
Shantum is actively involved in social, environmental, and educational programs including work on cultivating mindfulness in society through teaching and writing with educators, the police, the corporate sector, and more.
He is setting up a mindfulness meditation practice center, Jamun Village (aka Plum Village India) in Dehradun. This is being pioneered by the nonprofit Ahimsa Trust of which he is a cofounder.
Shantum has been a senior advisor to the World Bank and advised the Ministry of Culture on Buddhism and the Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism on pilgrimage tourism. He worked in the corporate sector and later in social advocacy and development, fifteen years of which were with the United Nations Development Program, managing programs on Volunteer Promotion and Artisan Development across sixteen countries, and also initiating the Endogenous Tourism program in India.
Shantum Seth has contributed to a number of books including, Walking with the Buddha, Planting Seeds: Sharing Mindfulness with Children, and Volunteers Against Conflict. He has also been a consultant on films including Life of the Buddha, made by the BBC and Discovery, and The Story of India, made by BBC and PBS.