Following the life of Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh

One of the most impressive persons in the world today is Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese-born Buddhist monk now living in France at Plum Village. Tap into his ideas via Facebook, if you are using this site.

According to his web site, Thich Nhat Hanh is not only a monk, but also a poet, a scholar, and a peace activist. He founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon and the School for Youths of Social Services in Vietnam. When not travelling the world to teach “The Art of Mindful Living”, he teaches, writes, and gardens in Plum Village, France, a Buddhist monastery for monks and nuns and a mindfulness practice center for lay people.”

This description on the web site does not do justice to how important he is to the Buddhist world, and it is better said at Shambala Sun in this month’s issue, but you will have to buy the publication because only a short interview is available on the web site.

A good summary can be found on Wikipeidia. “He traveled to the U.S. to study at Princeton University, and later to lecture at Cornell University and Columbia University. His focus at the time, was to urge the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam. He urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to publicly oppose the Vietnam War; King nominated Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in January 1967.  He created the (non-Zen) Order of Interbeing in 1966, establishing monastic and practice centers around the world. In 1973, the Vietnamese government denied Nhat Hanh permission to return to Vietnam and he went into exile in France. From 1976-1977 he led efforts to rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam. Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the development of Western Buddhism.  His teachings and practices aim to appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds, intending to offer mindfulness practices for more Western sensibilities.”