About

History

Honey Locust Sangha started in the 1990s, in the basement of Holy Family Church in North Omaha, a building constructed in 1883. For several years, it consisted of a small group of practitioners inspired by Thích Nhất Hạnh’s life, teachings, and vision of a beloved community.

Plum Village

Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh was born in Hue, Vietnam, in 1926. In 1966, he moved to France and became chair of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation, a group which helped negotiate the Paris Peace Accords which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War.

As an exile from his country, Hạnh founded Plum Village—along with Buddhist nun Sister Chân Không—in the South of France in 1982. The monastery operates today as the home of around 150 bhikkus and bhikkunis (fully ordained monks and nuns). Additional monastic practice centers in this tradition have been established in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.

Order of Interbeing (OI)

OI is an international Buddhist community of monks, nuns, and lay people established between 1964 and 1966 with six original members—three men and three women. In 2025, the order counts around one thousand members worldwide, and Honey Locust Sangha is privileged to have seven of them in our regular practice community.

The Yoga Path

Our current home, The Yoga Path, is located at 7641 Pacific St, Omaha, NE 68114.

Our Teachers

Terry Cortés-Vega began her training in mindfulness in 1998 with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and in 2012 she was ordained as a Dharmacharya, Dharma Teacher in his Order of Interbeing.

Michael Ciborski is a lineage holding Dharma teacher who lived as a monk for seven years in Plum Village, France, and has worked intimately with Thích Nhất Hạnh and the monastic community to organize, support and offer meditation retreats around the world.

Joe Reilly is a singer, songwriter, social worker, Dharma teacher, and educator who writes songs from his heart. The core of his message is an invitation to heal our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with the earth.

Honey Locust Sangha / Omaha Community of Mindful Living is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All funds help fulfill the mission of practicing and raising awareness of mindfulness practice in the Plum Village tradition.

You can provide dana (donations) by visiting the “Dana (Donations)” page.