Thich Nhat Hanh
has been living in exile from his native Vietnam since the age of forty.
In that year of 1966, he was banned by both the non-Communist and
Communist governments for his role in undermining the violence he saw
affecting his people. A Buddhist monk since the age of sixteen, Thay
("teacher," as he is commonly known to followers) earned a reputation as a
respected writer, scholar, and leader. He championed a movement known as
"engaged Buddhism," which intertwined traditional meditative practices
with active nonviolent civil disobedience. This movement lay behind the
establishment of the most influential center of Buddhist studies in
Saigon, the An Quang Pagoda. He also set up relief organizations to
rebuild destroyed villages, instituted the School of Youth for Social
Service (a Peace Corps of sorts for Buddhist peace workers), founded a
peace magazine, and urged world leaders to use nonviolence as a tool.
Although his struggle for cooperation meant he had to relinquish a
homeland, it won him accolades around the world.
When Thich Nhat
Hanh left Vietnam, he embarked on a mission to spread Buddhist thought
around the globe. In 1966, when Thay came to the United States for the
first of many humanitarian visits, the territory was not completely new to
him: he had experienced American culture before as a student at Princeton,
and more recently as a professor at Columbia. The Fellowship of
Reconciliation and Cornell invited Thay to speak on behalf of Buddhist
monks, and he offered an enlightened view on ways to end the Vietnam
conflict. He spoke on college campuses, met with administration officials,
and impressed social dignitaries. The following year, Nobel Peace Prize
winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the same
honor. Hanh's Buddhist delegation to the Paris peace talks resulted in
accords between North Vietnam and the United States, but his pacifist
efforts did not end with the war. He also helped organize rescue missions
well into the 1970's for Vietnamese trying to escape from political
oppression. Even after the political stabilization of Vietnam, Thich Nhat
Hanh has not been allowed to return home. The government still sees him as
a threat - ironic, when one considers the subjects of his teachings:
respect for life, generosity, responsible sexual behavior, loving
communication, and cultivation of a healthful life style.
Thay now
lives in southwestern France, where he founded a retreat center twelve
years ago. At the center, Plum Village, he continues to teach, write, and
garden. Plum Village houses only thirty monks, nuns, and laypeople, but
thousands from around the globe call it home. Accommodation is readily
available for short-term visitors seeking spiritual relief, for refugees
in transit, or for activists in need of inspiration. Thich Nhat Hanh
gathers people of diverse nationalities, races, religions, and sexes in
order to expose them to mindfulness-taking care in the present moment,
being profoundly aware and appreciative of life.
Despite the fact
that Thay is nearing seventy, his strength as a world leader and spiritual
guide grows. He has written more than seventy-five books of prose, poetry,
and prayers. Most of his works have been geared toward the Buddhist
reader, yet his teachings appeal to a wide audience. For at least a
decade, Thich Nhat Hanh has visited the United States every other year; he
draws more and more people with each tour, Christian, Jewish, atheist, and
Zen Buddhist alike. His philosophy is not limited to preexistent religious
structures, but speaks to the individual's desire for wholeness and inner
calm. In 1993, he drew a crowd of some 1,200 people at the National
Cathedral in Washington DC, led a retreat of 500 people in upstate New
York, and assembled 300 people in West Virginia. His popularity in the
United States inspired the mayor of Berkeley, California, to name a day in
his honor and the Mayor of New York City declared a Day of Reconciliation
during his 1993 visit. Clearly, Thich Nhat Hanh is a human link with a
prophetic past, a soft-spoken advocate of peace, Buddhist community, and
the average American citizen. |
