In LOVE with Humanity

Hero #133: Thich Nhat Hanh
Born in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh (known affectionately by many of his friends & followers
as ―Thay‖) is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist.
He lives in the Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region of southern France …
By the late 1950's, when he was already a Buddhist monk of no small fame, Thay
founded Lá Bối Press, the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, and the School of Youth
for Social Service -- a neutral corps of Buddhist peaceworkers who journeyed into rural areas
to establish schools, build healthcare clinics, and help re-build villages … In 1960, Nhat Hanh
went to the U.S. to study comparative religion at Princeton University, and subsequently
lectured Buddhism at Columbia University. By then he had gained fluency in French,
Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Japanese, and English, in addition to his native Vietnamese. In 1963,
Thay returned to Vietnam to aid his fellow monks in their non-violent peace efforts. At a
Van Hanh Buddhist University meeting in April 1965, students issued a Call for Peace
statement, declaring: ―It is time for North and South Vietnam to find a way to stop the war
and help all Vietnamese people live peacefully and with mutual respect.‖ Nhat Hanh then
returned to the United States in 1966 to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell
University and to continue his work for world peace. He had written a letter to Martin Luther
King, Jr. in 1965 entitled: ―In Search of the Enemy of Man‖, and it was during his 1966 stay
in the U.S. that he was able to meet with King and urge him to publicly denounce the Vietnam
War. A few months later, King gave a famous
speech at the Riverside Church in New York City,
where he for the first time publicly criticized the
U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Later that same year
(1967) King nominated Nhat Hanh for the 1967
Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination letter King
stated, ―I do not personally know of anyone more
worthy of [the Nobel Peace Prize] than this gentle
monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if
applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to
world brotherhood, to humanity‖ … In 1969, Nhat
Hanh was the delegate for the Buddhist Peace
Delegation at the Paris Peace talks. After the Paris
Peace Accords were signed in 1973, Thich Nhat
Hanh was denied permission to return to Vietnam
and he went into exile in France. In 1976-1977, he
led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people
in the Gulf of Siam … Since that time, Thay has extensively traveled internationally to give
various retreats and talks, has written over 100 books, is still active in a global peace
movement that promotes non-violent solutions to conflicts, and has been an active leader in
the ―Engaged Buddhism‖ movement (a term coined by him) -- a faction of Buddhism that
promotes the individual's active role in creating positive social change. As a means of
remaining morally consistent with his noble views on interactive non-violence, Nhat Hanh
refrains from consuming any animal products whatsoever.
―The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth,
dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive ... There is no enlightenment
outside of daily life ... When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and
actions should express our compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not
easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent
upon the other person being lovable.‖ ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
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