Careers: An Opportunity for Right Livelihood
“Teaching is not done by talking alone. It is done by how you live your life. My life is my teaching. My life is my message.”
Do you want to work in an community that transforms lives and makes a difference in the world? Do you want to use your practice of mindfulness to create a more compassionate, peaceful, and mindful society? This is a call to serve, a chance to bring meaning into the world.
Our community has the following open positions. Jump to:
Staff Accountant/Bookkeeper (Blue Cliff Monastery)
Bookshop Assistant (You will be rerouted to the Deer Park Monastery website)
Staff Accountant/Bookkeeper (Blue Cliff Monastery)
Full-time • Hybrid
Blue Cliff Monastery (BCM) is seeking a full-time Staff Accountant to support the management of our finances, under the supervision of the Treasurer and Monastic Finance Committee. Responsibilities will include tracking the monastery’s revenue and expenses, reconciling our accounts, and producing financial reports, ensuring in all instances that our records are complete and correct.
DESIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate is knowledgeable, experienced and supportive of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition, Buddhism, or mindfulness. They will be able to communicate with partners in a way that is consistent with Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and trainings, i.e. with authenticity, empathetic listening, and mindful speech. Prior experience on retreat and/or in a sangha setting is strongly preferred.
RESPONSIBLITIES
Through your daily work, embody our vision of bringing the teachings and practices of Thich Nhat Hanh to the world.
Maintain accurate and complete financial records using QuickBooks Online, including account setup, monitoring restricted fund balances, and record reconciliation.
Ensure all transactions are properly documented, backed up, and compliant with applicable legal and organizational requirements.
Review bank transactions daily and promptly address discrepancies with the bank and Treasurer.
Reconcile general ledger, subsidiary accounts, and bank statements monthly.
Process accounts payable, including reviewing, coding and issuing payments.
Manage accounts receivable activities such as invoicing, recording deposits, collections and revenue recognition.
Transfer balances to and from subsidiary accounts, including credit cards, petty cash, bookshop accounts, monastic allowances, and healthcare funds.
Prepare monthly and ad hoc financial statements, including balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow reports, for review by the Treasurer and the Monastic Finance Committee.
Support the Monastic Finance Committee with information gathering for timely tax filings, including sales and property taxes.
Monitor restricted fund balances, post deposits and compile report donation information to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.
Assist monastics in establishing effective financial controls and procedures.
REQUIRED
Ability to work in harmony with the Blue Cliff Community.
Demonstrated experience in bookkeeping or accounting functions.
Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
Proficiency with accounting systems and spreadsheets.
High attention to detail and accuracy.
Strong verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
Strong organizational skills.
Fluency in English.
Integrity and discretion when handling monastery’s financial data.
Ability to work well independently as well as to function effectively as a member of a team.
Welcomes other points of view and ideas, recognizing and embracing different and contrary perspectives with kindness and curiosity.
PREFERRED
CPA certified.
Experience supporting audits, tax preparation, or compliance reporting.
Prior experience with the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and an active mindfulness practitioner/member of the Plum Village community.
Familiarity with nonprofit or religious organization accounting.
Computer skills, especially experience using QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Office, and Google Workspace.
Fluency in Vietnamese.
LOCATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
Initial training (first 2-3 months) will require working on-site at Blue Cliff Monastery full-time.
After training is complete, most duties may be complete remotely, if necessary. Working at the monastery will be required on occasion with options for overnight accommodations.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism offers a full range of benefits, including full health and dental insurance, paid vacation, health leave, and paid holidays. The Staff Accountant is a full-time, salaried position. The annual salary is commensurate with skills and experience, within an anticipated range of $63,000 - $67,000.
We are an equal opportunity employer and actively work to ensure fair and equal treatment of our employees and constituents regardless of differences based on culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, or sexual orientation.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job even though there’s no such thing as a “perfect” candidate. The Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism is looking for exceptional and caring people who want to practice right livelihood, make a positive difference through their work, and help create an organization where everyone can thrive. So, we encourage you to practice Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching of “be beautiful, be yourself” and apply if this role would make you excited to come to work every day.
Please send the following materials electronically to work@tnhf.org by July 30, 2026:
Cover letter explaining your interest in this position, our organization, and how your experiences and skills, both professionally and spiritually, match this position;
Resume;
Contact and relationship information for three references.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND AND CULTURE
Blue Cliff Monastery is a mindfulness practice center and monastic training center in Pine Bush New York, founded by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist -- our beloved teacher, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. Rooted in his teachings, the monastery offers a sanctuary for individuals seeking peace, connection, and transformation through mindfulness and meditation. With a spirit of inclusivity, collaboration, and siblinghood, Blue Cliff Monastery provides a calm and supportive environment for all who arrive.
Blue Cliff Monastery is part of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism (PVCEB), Thich Nhat Hanh’s nonprofit organization in the United States. PVCEB also includes Deer Park Monastery in California, Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi, Parallax Press, a publishing company, and the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, a fundraising arm and communications hub.
You may also find job openings through other entities of the International Plum Village Community on these pages:
ABOUT THIS PAGE
New positions within and supported by the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation are posted to this page as they become available.
CULTURE
The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation family is a diverse team, deeply engaged in the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition and practice of mindfulness and compassion in our own lives, knowing this action will help improve the lives of others and our society. “Peace in oneself, peace in the world,” is a teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh we try to diligently practice. We are fortunate to be guided by monks and nuns on our volunteer working board, lay dharma teachers, and long-time mindfulness practitioners, making for a supportive, collaborative, inclusive, and mindful atmosphere. We see siblinghood as our most important asset and love and healing as our most valued profit.
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation (the “Foundation”) is the fundraising arm and a communications hub of the International Plum Village Community. The Foundation was established in 2011 by Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Chan Khong, and other senior monastics to raise funds for the continuation of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings. The Foundation, the three US monasteries, and Parallax Press, comprise one 501c3 charitable nonprofit in the US: the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc. (PVCEB).
Headquartered in the US, the Foundation is led by an Executive Director, has a small international team of professional lay staff, and a volunteer advisory board of monastic and lay practitioners. The Foundation raises approximately $9 million annually and has a monthly donor program, annual, major, and legacy donors. It is also responsible for communications and Dharma sharing to the community. The Foundation also works with local lay committees to support the capital campaigns of monasteries in the Plum Village tradition.