Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace activist, poet & Buddhist monk
(b. 1926)
                          

"It is safer to approach God through the Holy Spirit than through theology," Thay writes.  And yet he is a theologian in the deepest sense:  He speaks of God out of his own living experience.  And he speaks with enthusiasm with the voice of the divine Spirit in his own heart.  If we listen attentively, we will hear traditional truths expressed in startling new ways.  And we might be surprised by Thay's sure sense for essentials.(1)
- Br. David

Peace activist, poet, and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Not-Hahn) is one of the most beloved peacemakers and spiritual teachers of our time.  Author of more than 100 books on meditation, non-violence, and Buddhism, Nhat Hanh’s simple message and grateful life-long practice of cultivating peace by dwelling in the present moment has served as a model for millions of people trying to find greater joy in the authentic and everyday aspects of their own lives.

Born in Vietnam in 1926, Nhat Hanh entered a Zen monastery at the age of 16 and was ordained a full monk in 1949.  In the early 1960s, he studied and taught comparative religion at Princeton and Columbia Universities.  His monastic and scholarly training would help him persevere in helping others amid some extremely difficult periods of time over the course of the next couple of decades.  When the Vietnam War (1959-1975) escalated and engulfed his country, he returned there to lead a nonviolent resistance movement.  Through the continual practice of mindfulness, he was able to maintain compassion for all the people involved in the bloodshed.  In 1964, he founded Van Hanh Buddhist University and instituted the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS), an organization that helped rebuild villages and homes destroyed by the fighting.

“It is because of the practice of meditation—stopping, calming, and looking deeply—that I have been able to nourish and protect the sources of my spiritual energy and continue my work… During the war in Vietnam, I saw communists and anti-communists killing and destroying each other because each side believed they had a monopoly on the truth.  I was able to see that everyone in the war was a victim, that the American soldiers who had been sent to Vietnam to bomb, kill, and destroy were also being killed and maimed.” (2)

In 1966, Nhat Hanh was expelled from Vietnam by the Vietnamese government for his activities promoting peace.  He returned to the United States to continue his efforts through meetings with several well-known American activists, including Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton.  “Thich Nhat Hanh is more my brother than many who are nearer to me in race and nationality,” Merton would write after their memorable encounter at Merton’s Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, “because he and I see things the same exact way.”(3)  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was another American to whom Nhat Hanh felt close and who could understand, appreciate, and assist him in his cause.  So impressed was King by the strong yet tranquil and unassuming Buddhist monk that in 1967 he nominated Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize.  “Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout,” King wrote in a nomination letter to the Nobel Prize Committee.  “His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.” 

Although the prize was not awarded to Nhat Hanh due to rule technicalities, his peace work continued.  Following the Vietnam War, he helped rescue Boat People sailing the Gulf of Siam in their attempts to escape from Vietnam.  In 1982, he established Plum Village, a meditation center in Southern France that has hosted retreats for individuals of various national and religious backgrounds, including groups of Israelis and Palestinians.  In 2005, he was finally permitted by the Vietnamese government to return to visit Vietnam and teach there after 38 years of living in exile.  Affectionately called “Thay” (Vietnamese for “teacher”) by his students, Nhat Hanh continues to this day to practice meditation while engaging in social work, writing books on non-violence, and speaking on the topic of peace, a type of active contemplation he terms “Engaged Buddhism”.  

For the gift of our brother Thich Nhat Hanh, we should all feel deeply grateful.  His beautiful example of Being Peace speaks to each of us as we embark on the daily journeys that are our lives.  These are often perilous sojourns through trials and tribulations, but as Thay wonderfully reflects, they have the subtle power and immediate potential to draw us back safely to our true homes, our true selves.

“Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality, or race…It is something you can touch and live in every moment…Other people can occupy your country, they can even put you in prison, but they cannot take away your true home and your freedom.”(4)

“Don't say that I will depart tomorrow -
even today I am still arriving.
Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone…
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart
could be left open,
the door of compassion.”(5)

References
King, M. (1967).  Nomination of Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. Retrieved January 30, 2007, from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/025.html
Nhat Hanh, T. (1992).   Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life.  New York:  Bantham Books.
Nhat Hanh, T. (1995). Living Buddha Living Christ.  New York:  Riverhead Books.
Nhat Hanh, T. (2005).  Being Peace.  Berkeley, California:  Parallax Press.
Nhat Hanh, T. (2006, March).  Shambala Sun.  “Returning Home.”
Nhat Hanh. (2007, January 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Nhat_Hanh& oldid=99360046
Parallax Press (2007).  About Thich Nhat Hanh.  Retrieved January 8, 2006, from http://www.parallax.org/about_tnh.html

Additional Resources
See: Plum Village Practice Center

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