Thích Nhất Hạnh ; born October 11, 1926 in central
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
) is an expatriate
VietnameseThe Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
ZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, translated from the Chinese word Chán. This word is in turn derived from the Sanskrit dhyāna, which means "meditation" ....
Buddhist
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, teacher, author, poet and
peaceA peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
activistActivism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social change, political change, economic justice, or environmental wellbeing...
. He joined a Zen
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
at the age of 16, studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949. Commonly referred to as
Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese:
Thích Nhất Hạnh), the title
Thích is used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the
ShakyaShakya was an ancient janapada of Iron Age India. In Buddhist texts, the are mentioned as a clan. The s formed an independent kingdom at the foothills of the...
(Shakyamuni
BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
) clan.
In the early 1960s he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS) in Saigon. This grassroots relief organization rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools, established medical centers, and resettled families left homeless during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
. He traveled to the U.S. to study at
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, and later to lecture at
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
and
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
. His main focus at the time however, was to urge the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam. He urged
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr...
to publicly oppose the Vietnam War; King nominated Hanh for the
Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:...
(January, 1967).
Thich 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
mindfulnessMindfulness is calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of the Buddha where it is affirmed that "correct" or "right" mindfulness is the critical factor in the path to liberation and...
practices for more Western sensibilities. He created the
Order of InterbeingThe Order of Interbeing, or Tiếp Hiện in Vietnamese, was founded between 1964 and 1966 by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Tiếp means "being in touch with" and "continuing." Hiện means "realizing" and "making it here and now." "Interbeing" is a word coined by Thich Nhat Hanh to represent...
in 1966, establishing monastic and practice centers around the world. As of 2007 his home is the
Plum VillagePlum Village is a Buddhist meditation center in the Dordogne, in southern France. It was founded by Vietnamese monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, and his colleague Bhikkhuni Chân Không, in 1982.-History:...
Monastery in the
DordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
region in the South of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and he travels internationally giving retreats and talks. He coined the term
Engaged BuddhismEngaged Buddhism refers to Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the insights from meditation practice and dharma teachings to situations of social, political, environmental, and economic suffering and injustice...
in his book
Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire.
A long-term exile from Vietnam, he was allowed to return for a trip in 2005 and again in 2007. He has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. He also publishes a quarterly Dharma talk in the journal of the Order of Interbeing,
The Mindfulness Bell. Nhat Hanh continues to be active in the peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict. . He conducted a peace walk in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
in 2005, and again in 2007; . He was awarded the Courage of Conscience award June 16, 1991.
Biography
Thich Nhat Hanh was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Thừa Thiên (Central Vietnam) in 1926. At the age of 16 he entered the monastery at Từ Hiếu Temple near
HuếHue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as “the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,”...
,
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
, where his primary teacher was
DhyanaDhyāna in Sanskrit ) or jhāna in Pāli generally refers to either meditation or meditative states. Equivalent terms are "Chán" in modern Chinese, "Zen" in Japanese, "Seon" in Korean, "Thien" in Vietnamese, and "Samten" in Tibetan....
(meditation Zen) Master Thanh Quý Chân Thật. A graduate of Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh received training in Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) and the
MahayanaMahayana is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. It was founded in India...
school of Buddhism and was ordained as a monk in 1949.
In 1956 he was named editor-in-chief of
Vietnamese Buddhism, the periodical of the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association (Giáo Hội Phật Giáo Việt Nam Thống Nhất). In the following years he founded Lá Bối Press, the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, and the School of Youth for Social Service (SYSS), a neutral corps of Buddhist peaceworkers who went into rural areas to establish schools, build healthcare clinics, and help re-build villages.
Thich Nhat Hanh is now recognized as a Dharmacharya and as the spiritual head of the Từ Hiếu Temple and associated monasteries. He is the Elder of the Từ Hiếu branch of the 8th generation of the Liễu Quán lineage in the 42nd generation of the Lâm Tế Dhyana school (Lin Chi
Chán-People:* Chan Marshall, American musician better known as Cat Power* Chan , Chinese surname; Mandarin transcription of the same name is Chen ** Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer, also famous in Japan...
臨濟禪 in Chinese or Rinzai Zen in Japanese). On May 1, 1966 at Từ Hiếu Temple, Thich Nhat Hanh received the “lamp transmission”, making him a Dharmacharya or Dharma Teacher, from Master Chân Thật.
During the Vietnam War
Nhat Hanh taught Buddhist psychology and
Prajnaparamita literature at the Van Hanh Buddhist University, a private institution that focused on Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. At a meeting in April 1965 Van Hanh Union students issued a
Call for Peace statement. It declared: "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 left for the U.S. shortly afterwards, leaving Sister
Chan KhongChân Không; born in 1938, is an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist nun, peace activist, and has worked closely with Thich Nhat Hanh in the creation of Plum Village and helping conduct spiritual retreats internationally...
in charge of the SYSS. Van Hanh University was taken over by one of the Chancellors who wished to sever ties with Thich Nhat Hanh and the SYSS, accusing Chan Khong of being a communist. From that point the SYSS struggled to raise funds and faced attacks on its members. The SYSS persisted in their relief efforts without taking sides in the conflict.
In 1960 Thich Nhat Hanh came to the U.S. to study
comparative religionComparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
at
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, subsequently being appointed lecturer in Buddhism at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
. By then he had gained fluency in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
,
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
,
Pali
,
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
, and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, in addition to his native Vietnamese. In 1963 he returned to Vietnam to aid his fellow monks in their non-violent peace efforts.
Thich Nhat Hanh returned to the US in 1966 to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
and to continue his work for peace. Thich Nhat Hanh had written a letter to
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr...
in 1965 entitled: “Searching for the Enemy of Man” and it was during his 1966 stay in the U.S. that Thich Nhat Hanh met with Martin Luther King, Jr. and urged him to publicly denounce the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
.
In 1967 Dr. King gave a famous speech at the
Riverside ChurchThe Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous not only for its elaborate Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest carillon—but also as a center for the promotion of progressive causes...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, his first to publicly question the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Later that year Dr. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the 1967
Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:...
. In his nomination Dr. King said, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.". The fact that King had revealed the candidate he had chosen to nominate and had made a "strong request" to the prize committee, was in sharp violation of the Nobel traditions and protocol. The committee did not make an award that year.
In 1969 Thich Nhat Hanh was the delegate for the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace talks. When the
Paris Peace AccordsThe Paris Peace Accords of 1973, intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam Conflict, ended direct U.S. military involvement and temporarily stopped the fighting between north and south...
were signed in 1973 the Vietnamese government denied Thich Nhat Hanh permission to return to Vietnam and he went into exile in France. From 1976-1977 he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese
boat peopleBoat people is a term that usually refers to illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate en masse in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made, rendering them unseaworthy and unsafe...
in the
Gulf of SiamThe Gulf of Thailand or Gulf of Siam is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:The Gulf of Siam is bordered by Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The northern tip of the gulf is the Bay of Bangkok at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. The gulf covers roughly 320,000 km²...
, eventually stopping under pressure from the governments of
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
and
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
. In 1969 Thich Nhat Hanh established the
Unified Buddhist ChurchThe Unified Buddhist Church was founded by Thich Nhat Hanh in France in 1969, during the Vietnam War...
(Église Bouddhique Unifiée) in France (not a part of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam).
Establishing the Order of Interbeing
In 1975 he formed the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Center. The center grew and in 1982 he and his colleague Sister Chân Không founded
Plum VillagePlum Village is a Buddhist meditation center in the Dordogne, in southern France. It was founded by Vietnamese monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, and his colleague Bhikkhuni Chân Không, in 1982.-History:...
Buddhist Center (Làng Mai), a
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
and Practice Center in the
DordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
in the south of France. Since the mid '60s he has headed a monastic and lay group, the Order of Inter-Being, teaching the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings and "Engaged Buddhism." The Unified Buddhist Church is the legally recognized governing body for Plum Village (Làng Mai) in France, for Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the Community of Mindful Living, Parallax Press,
Deer Park MonasteryDeer Park Monastery is a Buddhist sanctuary in Escondido, California. It was founded in July 2000 by monastic and lay practitioners from Plum Village in France....
in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, and the Magnolia Village in Mississippi.
He established two monasteries in Vietnam, at the original 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 in the United States at Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển) in
Escondido, CaliforniaEscondido is a city located in California, just north of the city of San Diego. The name means "hidden" in Spanish—it occupies a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city has an estimated population of 128,819. The city is...
, Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) and Green Mountain Dharma Center (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) in
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
both of which closed in 2007 and moved to the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and
Magnolia Village Practice CenterMagnolia Village Mindfulness Practice Center is a retreat and practice center located in Batesville, Mississippi. The 120 acre grounds are located near Memphis, Tennessee. The center is part of the Order of Interbeing and practices in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, who visited Magnolia Village...
(Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
. These monasteries are open to the public during much of the year and provide on-going retreats for lay people. The Order of Interbeing also holds retreats for groups of lay people, such as families, teenagers, veterans, the entertainment industry, members of Congress, law enforcement officers, people of color, and professional and scientific interest groups.
Notable students of Thich Nhat Hanh include:
Skip EwingDonald Ralph Ewing is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1988, Ewing has recorded nine studio albums, and has charted fifteen singles on the Billboard country charts....
founder of the
Nashville Mindfulness CenterThe Nashville Mindfulness Center] is a Buddhist meditation center located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in March 2006 by ordained Tiếp Hiện member Skip Ewing, the NMC is dedicated to the practice of mindful meditation in the tradition of Zen master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Thich Nhat Hanh....
,
Natalie GoldbergNatalie Goldberg is an American author. She is best known for a series of books which explore writing as Zen practice. Goldberg lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.-Books:*Chicken and in Love , ISBN 978-0930100049...
author and teacher,
Joan HalifaxJoan Jiko Halifax is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community...
founder of the Upaya Institute,
Stephanie KazaStephanie Kaza is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont. She is a writer, a practicing Soto Zen Buddhist, and an active proponent of religious dialog. She teaches religion and ecology...
environmentalist, Sister
Chan KhongChân Không; born in 1938, is an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist nun, peace activist, and has worked closely with Thich Nhat Hanh in the creation of Plum Village and helping conduct spiritual retreats internationally...
Dharma teacher, Sister Annibell Laity translator of many of Thich Nhat Hanh's books and director of North American Dharma centers,
Noah LevineNoah Levine is an American Buddhist teacher and the author of the books Dharma Punx: A Memoir and Against the Stream. As a counselor known for his philosophical alignment with Buddhism and punk ideology, he identifies his Buddhist beliefs and practices with both the Theravada and Mahayana...
author,
Albert LowAlbert William Low is an authorized Zen master, an internationally published author, and a former human resources executive. He has lived in England, South Africa, Canada, and the United States and has resided in Montreal since 1979. He holds a BA degree in Philosophy and Psychology, and is a...
Zen teacher and author,
Joanna MacyJoanna Rogers Macy, Ph.D , is a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. Joanna Macy graduated from Wellesley College in 1950. She is a voice in movements for peace, justice, and a safe environment...
environmentalist and author,
Caitriona ReedCaitriona Reed is a trans woman sensei of Thiền Zen Buddhism and co-founder of Ordinary Dharma in Los Angeles, California—as well as its rural retreat center Manzanita Village Retreat Center, located in San Diego County. Reed, a member of the American Zen Teachers Association, has been practicing...
Dharma teacher and co-founder of Manzanita Village Retreat Center,
Leila SethJustice Leila Seth was the first woman judge on the Delhi High Court and the first woman to become Chief Justice of a state High Court.-Background:...
author and Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and
Pritam SinghDr Pritam Singh has been awarded the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution in the filed of management education. Dr Singh is also the recipient of the FORE Award and has received the award for the ‘Best Director of Management School’ in India....
real estate developer and editor of several of Thich Nhat Hanh's books.
Return to Vietnam
From January 12 until April 11, 2005, Thich Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam. Following lengthy prior negotiations he was eventually allowed to teach there, publish certain of his books in Vietnamese, and travel the country with monastic and lay members of his Order, including a return to his root temple, Tu Hieu Temple in Hue.
The trip was not without controversy. Thich Vien Dinh writing on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (considered illegal by the Vietnamese government) called for Thich Nhat Hanh to make a statement against the Vietnam government’s poor record on religious freedom. Thich Vien Dinh feared that the trip would be used as propaganda by the Vietnamese government, suggesting to the world that religious freedom is improving there, while abuses continue.
Despite the controversy, Nhat Hanh again returned to Vietnam in 2007 while two senior officials of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam remained under house-arrest. The Plum Village Website states that the three goals of his 2007 trip back to Vietnam were to support new monastics in his Order; to organize and conduct "Great Chanting Ceremonies" intended to help heal remaining wounds from the Vietnam war; and to lead retreats for monastics and lay people. The chanting ceremonies were originally called "
Grand Requiem for Praying Equally for All to Untie the Knots of Unjust SufferingThe Liberation Rite of Water and Land , also commonly known as the Waterland Dharma Function is a Chinese Buddhist ritual performed by temples and presided over by high monks. The service is often credited as one of the greatest rituals in Chinese Buddhism, as it is also the most elaborate and...
," but Vietnamese officials objected, saying it was improper to "equally" pray for soldiers in the South Vietnamese army or U.S. soldiers. Nhat Hanh agreed to change the name to "Grand Requiem For Praying."
Approach
Thich Nhat Hanh's influential approach has been to combine a variety of traditional
ZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, translated from the Chinese word Chán. This word is in turn derived from the Sanskrit dhyāna, which means "meditation" ....
teachings with methods from
TheravadaTheravada Theravada Theravada (Pāli: थेरवाद theravāda (cf Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda); literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Buddhism, insights from
MahayanaMahayana is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. It was founded in India...
Buddhism, and ideas from Western psychology - to offer a modern light on
meditationMeditation is used here as a broad term for practices done by a sole practitioner without much, if any, external aide, often for the purpose of self-transformation...
practice. Nhat Hanh has also been a leader in the
Engaged BuddhismEngaged Buddhism refers to Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the insights from meditation practice and dharma teachings to situations of social, political, environmental, and economic suffering and injustice...
movement, promoting the individual's active role in creating change. He cites the thirteenth-century
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
ese King Tran Nhan Tong with the origination of the concept. Tran Nhan Tong abdicated his throne to become a monk, and founded the Vietnamese Buddhist school in the Bamboo Forest tradition.
Names applied to him
The
VietnameseVietnamese , formerly known under French colonization as Annamese , is the national and official language of Vietnam...
title
Thích (釋) is from "Thích Ca" or "Thích Già" (釋迦), means "of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan." All Vietnamese (and Chinese) Buddhist monks and nuns adopt this title as their
"family" nameA family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
or
surnameA surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases a surname is a family name; the family-name meaning first appeared in 1375. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". It is also known as a "last name". In some cultures, the surname may...
implying that their first family is the Buddhist community. In many Buddhist traditions, there are a progression of names that a person can receive. The first, the lineage name, is given when a person takes
refugeBuddhists are said to "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This is often done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The general signification of Three Jewels is: * the Buddha;...
in the
Three JewelsThe Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:...
. Thich Nhat Hanh's lineage name is Trừng Quang. The next is a Dharma name, given when a person, lay or monastic, takes additional vows or when one is ordained as a monastic. Thich Nhat Hanh's Dharma name is Phung Xuan. Additionally, Dharma titles are sometimes given, and Thich Nhat Hanh's Dharma title is "Nhat Hanh".
Neither
Nhất (一) nor
Hạnh (行) — which approximate the roles of
middleMany people's names include one or more middle names, placed between the first given name and the surname. In some countries, a middle name is effectively a second given name. In the USA and Canada there is usually only one middle name, often abbreviated by its possessor to the middle initial or...
or intercalary name and
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
, respectively, when referring to him in English — was part of his name at birth.
Nhất (一) means "one", implying "first-class," or "of best quality," in English;
Hạnh (行) means "move", implying "right conduct" or "good nature." Thích Nhất Hạnh has translated his Dharma names as Nhất = One, and Hạnh = Action. Vietnamese names follow this naming convention, placing the family or surname first, then the middle or intercalary name which often 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" or Thay Nhat Hanh by his followers. On the Vietnamese version of the Plum Village website, he is also referred to as Thiền Sư Nhất Hạnh which can translated as "Zen Priest", "Zen Master", or "Dhyana Master". Any Vietnamese monk or nun in the Mahayana tradition can be addressed as "Thầy" ("teacher"). Vietnamese Buddhist monks are addressed "Thầy tu" ("priest" or "monk") and nuns are addressed "Sư Cô" ("sister") or "Sư Bà" ("elder sister").
See also
- Buddhism in America
- Buddhism in France
Buddhism is widely reported to be the third largest religion in France, after Christianity, and Islam.France has over two hundred Buddhist meditation centers, including about twenty sizable retreat centers in rural areas...
- Buddhism in Vietnam
Buddhism came to Vietnam as early as the second century CE through the North from central Asia and via Southern routes from India. Buddhism in Vietnam as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese is mainly of the Mahayana school, although some ethnic minorities adhere to the Theravada school...
- Order of Interbeing
The Order of Interbeing, or Tiếp Hiện in Vietnamese, was founded between 1964 and 1966 by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Tiếp means "being in touch with" and "continuing." Hiện means "realizing" and "making it here and now." "Interbeing" is a word coined by Thich Nhat Hanh to represent...
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates that have "?" are approximations.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...
Further reading
- Vietnam: Lotus in a sea of fire. New York, Hill and Wang. 1967.
- Being Peace, Parallax Press, 1987, ISBN 0-938077-00-7
- The Sun My Heart, Parallax Press, 1988, ISBN 0-938077-12-0
- The Miracle of Mindfulness, Rider Books, 1991, ISBN 9780712647878
- Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, Parallax Press, 1991, ISBN 81-216-0675-6
- Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Bantam reissue, 1992, ISBN 0-553-35139-7
- The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion, Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra, Parallax Press, 1992, ISBN 0-938077-51-1
- Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living, Parallax Press, 1992, ISBN 0-938077-57-0
- Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice, Three Leaves, 1994, ISBN 0-385-47561-6
- Cultivating The Mind Of Love, Full Circle, 1996, ISBN 81-216-0676-4
- The Heart Of Understanding, Full Circle, 1997, ISBN 81-216-0703-5
- Living Buddha, Living Christ, Riverhead Trade, 1997, ISBN 1-57322-568-1
- True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart, Shambhala, 1997, ISBN 1-59030-404-7
- Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals, 1962-1966, Riverhead Trade, 1999, ISBN 1-57322-796-X
- Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers, Riverhead Books, 1999, ISBN 1-57322-145-7
- The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Broadway Books, 1999, ISBN 0-7679-0369-2
- Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism, Parallax Press 3rd edition, 1999, ISBN 1-888375-08-6
- The Miracle of Mindfulness
The Miracle of Mindfulness is a book by Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a manual on meditation.In this book, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh presents several methods for becoming liberated....
: A Manual on Meditation, Beacon Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8070-1239-4 (Vietnamese: Phép lạ c̉ua sư t̉inh thưc).
- The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist/Christian Awareness, Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan, SJ is a poet, American peace activist, and Roman Catholic priest. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for committing acts of vandalism including destroying government property.-History:Daniel Berrigan was born in Virginia,...
(Co-author), Orbis Books, 2000, ISBN 1-57075-344-X
- Essential Writings, Robert Ellsberg (Editor), Orbis Books, 2001, ISBN 1-57075-370-9
- Anger, Riverhead Trade, 2002, ISBN 1-57322-937-7
- No Death, No Fear, Riverhead Trade reissue, 2003, ISBN 1-57322-333-6
- Touching the Earth: Intimate Conversations with the Buddha, Parallax Press, 2004, ISBN 1-888375-41-8
- Teachings on Love, Full Circle, 2005, ISBN 81-7621-167-2
- Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment, Parallax Press, 2007, ISBN 1-888375-75-2
- Understanding Our Mind, HarperCollins, 2006, ISBN 978-81-7223-796-7
- The Art of Power, HarperOne, 2007, ISBN 0-061242-34-9
About Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing
Official websites for the Order of Interbeing
Media
- Speaking of Faith - Downloadable Public Radio broadcast about the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh
- Deer Park DharmaCast - podcasts of Thich Nhat Hanh's lectures and dharma talks.
- Google Video - Thich Nhat Hanh - Social Change at the Base (1 hr 30 min 27 sec, recorded on Mar 27, 2004 at Plum Village)
- From Vietnam to Iraq, this Zen Master has seen it all - Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis
- Thich Nhat Hanh audio from the DIYDharma website
- http://www.onetheproject.com interviewed in ONE: The Movie
ONE: The Movie is an independent documentary about the meaning of life, created and directed by Michigan filmmakers Scott Carter, Ward M. Powers and Diane Powers, starring Deepak Chopra, Robert Thurman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, et al....
- Humankind -Interview in Vermont monastery on public radio program
- Thich Nhat Hanh honored as Interfaith Hero on ReadTheSpirit.com