@1tm122n22m Atma Unum

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, peace activist, and father of mindfulness, influenced modern Buddhism. He founded Plum Village and promoted peace. 📚🌸 #ThichNhatHanh #Mindfulness #Peace #Buddhism 💖

The life and teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh transcend the realm of Buddhism. They offer valuable lessons on peace, compassion, and the practice of mindfulness. These lessons are relevant in the contemporary world. His focus on nonviolent conflict resolution and the interconnectedness of all human beings provides an essential framework for addressing the divisions and tensions in our current society. By understanding his legacy, we pay tribute to a great master. We equip ourselves with practical tools to cultivate inner and collective peace in our own lives. This promotes positive change in our communities. Thich Nhat Hanh invites us to reflect on our actions and their impact. He makes us aware that changing the world begins with personal transformation.

Thích Nhất Hạnh (Hue, October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022) was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. He was also a writer, poet, and peace activist. He founded the school of Buddhism known as the Plum Village Tradition. This tradition is historically regarded as the main reference for engaged Buddhism. Known as the “father” of mindfulness, Nhất Hạnh was a significant influence on Western Buddhist practices.

In the mid-1960s, Nhất Hạnh founded several important institutions. He established the School of Youth for Social Services. He also founded Vanh Hanh Buddhist University. Additionally, he started Le Boi Press publishing house and the Order of Interbeing. In 1966 he was exiled from South Vietnam for his opposition to the Vietnam War and for not taking sides. In 1967 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. In 1972, he became a political refugee in France.

For several years he lived in Plum Village, the monastery he founded in 1982, in southern France. Nhất Hạnh promoted deep listening as a tool for nonviolent conflict resolution. He also raised awareness of the interconnectedness of all elements in nature. He wrote more than 100 books, which have been translated into over 40 languages. Some of his most popular works include “The Miracle of Mindfulness, Peace is Every Step, Anger and How to Love.”

In 2005, after 39 years of exile, he was allowed to return to Vietnam for a visit and returned permanently in 2014, residing in his original temple Từ Hiếu near Huế, Vietnam, where he remained until his death in 2022.

Biography

He was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in the city of Quảng Ngãi in Central Vietnam in 1926. At 16 years old, he entered Từ Hiếu monastery near Huế, Vietnam. His first master in Zen meditation was Thanh Quý. Thich Nhat Hanh graduated from the Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam. He then received training in Zen and Mahayana Buddhism. He was ordained as a monk in 1949. In 1956, he became the chief editor of Vietnamese Buddhism. It was the newspaper of the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association (Giáo Hội Phật Giáo Việt Nam Thống Nhất). In the years that followed, he founded Lá Bối Press. He also founded Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon. Additionally, he established the School of Youth for Social Service (SYSS). This was a neutral body of Buddhist peace activists who went to rural areas. They worked to establish schools, build hospitals, and reconstruct towns. Nhat Hanh is recognized as Dharmacharya and spiritual head of Từ Hiếu temple and its associated monasteries. On May 1, 1966, at Từ Hiếu temple, Thich Nhat Hanh received the “lamp transmission.” This made him a Dharmacharya or master of Dharma, under Master Chân Thật.

During the Vietnam War
In 1960, Nhat Hanh went to the United States to study comparative religions at Princeton University. Later, he was appointed a professor of Buddhism at Columbia University. He communicated in French, Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Japanese, and English, in addition to his native Vietnamese. In 1963, he returned to Vietnam to assist his followers in their nonviolent actions for peace. Nhat Hanh taught Buddhist psychology and Prajnaparamita literature at Van Hanh Buddhist University. It was a private institution specializing in Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. During a meeting in April 1965, the student union at Van Hanh University published a manifesto. It was titled “A Call for Peace.” It stated: “It is time for North and South Vietnam to find a way to stop the war and help all Vietnamese live in peace and mutual respect.” Nhat Hanh soon left for the United States, leaving Sister Chan Khong in charge of SYSS. One of the rectors took over Van Hanh University. He wanted to sever ties with Thich Nhat Hanh and SYSS. He accused Chan Khong of being a communist. From that time on, SYSS struggled to raise funds and face attacks on their members. The SYSS persisted in their aid efforts without taking sides in the conflict. Nhat Hanh returned to the United States. He led a symposium on Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell University. He continued his work for peace. He had written a letter to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 titled “In Search of the Enemy of Man.” Thich Nhat Hanh met Martin Luther King Jr. during his stay in 1966 in the United States. He urged Martin Luther King Jr. to publicly denounce the Vietnam War. In 1967, Dr. King gave a famous speech at Riverside Church in New York. It was his first public questioning of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. After this year, Dr. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination, Dr. King stated, “I do not personally know anyone more deserving of this award than this kind Vietnamese monk. His ideas for peace, if implemented, would erect a monument to ecumenism, universal brotherhood, and humanity.” King disclosed both the chosen nominee and his “strong petition” to the Nobel Committee. This disclosure represented a clear violation of Nobel traditions and protocols. The committee did not award the prize that year. In 1969, Nhat Hanh was the delegate of the Buddhist Peace Delegation in the peace talks held in Paris. When the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973, Thich Nhat Hanh could not return to Vietnam. He remained in exile in France. Between 1976 and 1977, he led efforts to rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam. The governments of Thailand and Singapore eventually stopped him under pressure.

Establishment of the Order of Interbeing

Nhat Hanh created the Order of Interbeing in 1966. He led this group of monks and laypeople, teaching the five mindfulness trainings and the fourteen mindful trainings. In 1969, Nhat Hanh established the Unified Buddhist Church in France (independent of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam). In 1975, he created the Sweet Potatoes meditation center. The center grew. In 1982, he and his colleague Sister Chân Không founded Plum Village (Làng Mai), a monastery and practice center in Dordogne, southern France. The Unified Buddhist Church is legally recognized organizationally in Plum Village (Làng Mai) in France, at Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, the Community of Engaged Living, Parallax Press, Deer Park Monastery in California, Magnolia Village in Batesville, Mississippi, and the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbröl, Germany. He established two monasteries in Vietnam, the original one at Từ Hiếu temple near Huế and at Prajna temple in the Central Highlands. Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing have established monasteries and Dharma centers throughout the United States. These centers include Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển) in Escondido, California, Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong), and the Green Mountain Dharma Center (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) in Vermont. Both closed in 2007 and transitioned to Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, and Magnolia Village Practice Center (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Mississippi. These monasteries are open to the public for much of the year and promote retreats for laypeople. The Order of Interbeing also organizes retreats for specific groups of laypeople, as well as families, teenagers, veterans, entertainment industry members, Congress members, law enforcement, and people of color. In 2005 and again in 2007, he led a peace march in Los Angeles. Notable students of Thich Nhat Hanh include Skip Ewing, founder of the Nashville Mindfulness Center; Natalie Goldberg, writer and teacher; Joan Halifax, founder of Upaya Institute; Stephanie Kaza, environmentalist; Sister Chan Khong, Dharma teacher; Noah Levine, writer; Albert Low, Zen teacher and writer; Joanna Macy, environmentalist and writer; Caitriona Reed, Dharma teacher and co-founder of Manzanita Village Retreat Center; Leila Seth, writer and former Chief Justice in Delhi; Claude AnShin Thomas, Zen Buddhist monk and Vietnam war veteran; and Pritam Singh, real estate promoter and publisher of various books by Thich Nhat Hanh.

First Return to Vietnam

In 2005, after lengthy negotiations, Nhat Hanh obtained permission from the Vietnamese government to return to visit Vietnam. He received authorization to teach there. He could publish four of his books in Vietnamese. He was allowed to travel throughout the country with monastics and lay members of his order. This included returning to his original temple, Tu Hieu temple in Huế. The trip was not without controversy. Thich Vien Dinh wrote on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which is considered illegal by the Vietnamese government. He asked Nhat Hanh to make a statement against the government’s lack of religious freedom. Thich Vien Dinh feared that the trip would be used as propaganda by the Vietnamese government. It would create the impression to the world that religious freedom was growing there. Meanwhile, abuses continued. Despite the controversy, Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam again in 2007. Two high-ranking officials of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) were under house arrest. The UBCV considered Nhat Hanh’s visit a betrayal, symbolizing his desire to work with the oppressors of his fellow believers. Vo Van Ai, a spokesperson for the UBCV, said: “I believe Thich Nhat Hanh’s trip is manipulated by the Hanoi government to cover up its repression of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and create a false impression of religious freedom in Vietnam.” The Plum Village website states that the three objectives of his return trip to Vietnam were to support the monastics of his order, to organize and conduct the “Great Chanting Ceremonies” to help heal the wounds of the Vietnam War, and to lead retreats for monastics and laypeople. The chanting ceremonies were originally called “Grand Requiem for Praying Equally for All to Untie the Knots of Unjust Suffering.” Vietnamese officials protested. They argued that it was unacceptable for the government to “equalize” prayers for the soldiers of the South Vietnamese army or American soldiers. Nhat Hanh agreed to change the name to “Grand Requiem for Praying.”

Thay’s Proposal

Nhat Hanh’s proposal has been to combine teachings from traditional Zen. He incorporates contributions from Mahayana Buddhist traditions and Theravada Buddhist methods. Additionally, he integrates ideas from Western psychology. This approach offers a contemporary light on the practice of meditation. Hanh’s presentation of Prajñāpāramitā as “interbeing” has roots in the Huayan school of thought. This school, as noted often, provides a philosophical foundation for Zen. Nhat Hanh has also been a leader in the engaged Buddhism movement. He coined this term. He promotes an active individual role in creating change. He cites the Vietnamese king Trần Nhân Tông (13th century) as the origin of the concept. Trần Nhân Tông gave up his throne to become a monk. He founded the Vietnamese Buddhist school in the tradition of the Bamboo Forest.

He coined the concept of engaged Buddhism in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. After a long period of exile, he received permission to return to Vietnam in 2005. Nhat Hanh has published over one hundred books, including more than forty titles translated into Spanish. Nhat Hanh is active in the pacifist movement, promoting nonviolent solutions to conflicts.

1. By my nature, I am destined to grow old. There is no way to escape aging.
2. By my nature, I am destined to fall ill. There is no way to escape illness.
3. By my nature, I am destined to die. There is no way to escape death.
4. Everything I want and the people I love have the nature of change. There is no way to avoid having to part with it.
5. My actions are the only things that truly belong to me. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. They are the foundation that supports me.
   Thich Nhat Hanh

Names of Thay

The Vietnamese name Thích (釋) comes from “Thích Ca” or “Thích Già” (釋迦), meaning “of the Shakya clan (Shakyamuni Buddha).” All monks and nuns in the East Asian Mahayana and Zen traditions adopt this name as a “family name” or surname. This adoption implies that their first family is the Buddhist community. In many Buddhist traditions, there is a progression of names that a person can receive. The first, the lineage name, is given when a person takes refuge in the Three Jewels. Thich Nhat Hanh’s lineage name is Trừng Quang. The second is the Dharma name, given when a person, monastic or lay, takes additional vows or when they are ordained as a monastic. Thich Nhat Hanh’s Dharma name is Phung Xuan. Complementarily, some Dharma titles are occasionally granted, and Thich Nhat Hanh’s Dharma title is “Nhat Hanh.” Neither Nhất (一) nor Hạnh (行)— which play the roles of middle or intercalary name and given name, when referred to in English— were part of his birth name. Nhất (一) means “one,” implying “first class” or “of better quality,” in English; Hạnh (行) means “movement,” implying “right conduct” or “good nature.” Thich Nhat Hanh has translated his name from Dharma as Nhat = One, and Hạnh = Action. Vietnamese names follow this conventional form, placing first the surname or family name, the middle or intercalary name that frequently refers to the person’s position in the family or generation, followed by the given name. Thich Nhat Hanh is often referred to as “Thay” (Vietnamese: Thầy, “master”) or Thay Nhat Hanh by his followers. In the Vietnamese version of the Plum Village website, he is also referred to as Thiền Sư Nhất Hạnh, which can be translated as “Zen master” or “Dhyana master.” Any Vietnamese monk or nun in the Mahayana tradition can be called “Thầy” (“master”). Vietnamese Buddhist monks are called “Thầy tu” (“monk”) and nuns are called “Sư Cô” (“sister”) or “Sư Bà” (“older sister”).

Awards and Recognition

Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Nhat Hanh did not win it. As of 2012, the peace prize had not been awarded nineteen times, including that year. He received the “Courage of Conscience” award in 1991. He has appeared in numerous films, including The Power of Forgiveness, shown at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival. Nhat Hanh, along with Alfred Hassler and Sister Chan Khong, has been featured in a comic titled “The Secret of the 5 Powers” in 2013.

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