Thich Nhat Hanh
Short biography based on wikipedia 2006
Thich Nhat Hanh (Thích Nhất Hạnh) is an expatriate Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. A teacher, author, and peace activist, Nhat Hanh was born in central Vietnam on October 11, 1926. He joined a Zen monastery at the age of 16, studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949. The title Thích is used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. He coined the term Engaged Buddhism in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire.
In the early 1960's, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS) in Saigon, a grass roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, and resettled families left homeless during the Vietnam War. He traveled to the U.S. a number of times to study and later teach at Columbia University, and to promote the cause of peace. He urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and spoke with many people and groups about peace. In 1967, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks. One of the best known Buddhist teachers in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and practices appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds. He offers a practice of mindfulness that is often adapted to Western sensibilities.
He created the Order of Interbeing in 1966, and established monastic and practice centers around the world. His home is Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region in the South of France. He travels internationally giving retreats and talks. Exiled from Vietnam for many years, he was allowed to return for a trip in 2005. 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. He has sponsored retreats for Israelis and Palestinians, encouraging them to listen and learn about each other; given speeches urging warring countries to stop fighting and look for non-violent solutions to problems; and conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles in 2005 attended by thousands of people.
In the early 1960's, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS) in Saigon, a grass roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, and resettled families left homeless during the Vietnam War. He traveled to the U.S. a number of times to study and later teach at Columbia University, and to promote the cause of peace. He urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and spoke with many people and groups about peace. In 1967, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks. One of the best known Buddhist teachers in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and practices appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds. He offers a practice of mindfulness that is often adapted to Western sensibilities.
He created the Order of Interbeing in 1966, and established monastic and practice centers around the world. His home is Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region in the South of France. He travels internationally giving retreats and talks. Exiled from Vietnam for many years, he was allowed to return for a trip in 2005. 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. He has sponsored retreats for Israelis and Palestinians, encouraging them to listen and learn about each other; given speeches urging warring countries to stop fighting and look for non-violent solutions to problems; and conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles in 2005 attended by thousands of people.
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 Huế, Vietnam, where his primary teacher was Dhyana (meditation; Zen) Master Thanh Quý Chân Thật. A graduate of Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam,[2] Thich Nhat Hanh received training in Zen (in Vietnamese: Thiền) and the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was ordained as a monk in 1949. 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 Chan in Chinese or Rinzai Zen in Japanese). On May 1st, 1966 at Từ Hiếu Temple, Thich Nhat Hanh received the “lamp transmission”, making him a Dharmacharya or Dharma Teacher, from Master Chân Thật. Thich Nhat Hanh has combined his deep knowledge of a variety of traditional Zen teaching methods with methods from Theravada Buddhism and ideas from Western psychology to form his approach to modern Zen practice. Thich Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the development of Western Buddhism.
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 corps of Buddhist peace workers who went into rural areas to establish schools, build health care clinics, and help re-build villages.
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 corps of Buddhist peace workers who went into rural areas to establish schools, build health care clinics, and help re-build villages.
During the Vietnam War
Van Hanh Buddhist University became a prestigious private university that focused on Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. Nhat Hanh taught Buddhist psychology and Prajnaparamita literature. At a meeting in April 1965, Van Hanh Union students issued a Call for Peace statement. Its main theme was: "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." When Thich Nhat Hanh left for the U.S. shortly afterwards, control over Van Hanh University was taken over by one of the Chancellors who wished to sever ties with Thich Nhat Hanh and the SYSS, calling Sister Chan Khong, who was left in control of the organization, a "communist". From that point, the SYSS struggled to raise funds and endured a number of attacks on its members, many of whom were threatened, harassed, and murdered. The SYSS persisted in their efforts, refusing to take sides in the conflict and continuing to provide aid to people in need.
Thich Nhat Hanh has been a leader in the Engaged Buddhism movement and he is credited with bringing the idea to the West. He credits the thirteenth-century Vietnamese King Tran Nhan Tong with the origination of the concept. Tran Nhan Tong abdicated his throne to become a monk, and founded the still dominant Vietnamese Buddhist school, the Bamboo Forest tradition.
In 1960, Thich Nhat Hanh came to the U.S. to study comparative religion at Princeton University, and he was subsequently appointed lecturer in 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 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 University and to continue his work for peace. Thich Nhat Hanh had written a letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. 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 War.
Dr. King gave his famous speech at the Riverside Church in New York City in 1967, 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 Prize. In his nomination Rev. 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." (Despite King's high praise, the committee decided not to make an award that year. King's revelation of his nomination was a violation of tradition and the explicit "strong request" of the prize committee.)
In 1969, Thich Nhat Hanh was the delegate for the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace talks. When the Paris Peace Accords 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 through 1977, he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam, but was forced to stop because of the hostility of the governments of Thailand and Singapore. In 1969, Thich Nhat Hanh established the Unified Buddhist Church (Église Bouddhique Unifiée) in France (not a part of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam).
Thich Nhat Hanh has been a leader in the Engaged Buddhism movement and he is credited with bringing the idea to the West. He credits the thirteenth-century Vietnamese King Tran Nhan Tong with the origination of the concept. Tran Nhan Tong abdicated his throne to become a monk, and founded the still dominant Vietnamese Buddhist school, the Bamboo Forest tradition.
In 1960, Thich Nhat Hanh came to the U.S. to study comparative religion at Princeton University, and he was subsequently appointed lecturer in 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 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 University and to continue his work for peace. Thich Nhat Hanh had written a letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. 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 War.
Dr. King gave his famous speech at the Riverside Church in New York City in 1967, 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 Prize. In his nomination Rev. 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." (Despite King's high praise, the committee decided not to make an award that year. King's revelation of his nomination was a violation of tradition and the explicit "strong request" of the prize committee.)
In 1969, Thich Nhat Hanh was the delegate for the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace talks. When the Paris Peace Accords 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 through 1977, he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam, but was forced to stop because of the hostility of the governments of Thailand and Singapore. In 1969, Thich Nhat Hanh established the Unified Buddhist Church (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 Village Buddhist Center (Làng Mai), a monastery and Practice Center in the Dordogne in the south of France. Since the mid 60s he heads 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 governance body for PlumVillage (Làng Mai) in France; for Maple Forest Monastery and Green Mountain Dharma Center in Vermont, the Community of Mindful Living, Parallax Press, Deer Park Monastery in California, and Magnolia Village in Mississippi.
There are now 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, California, Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) and Green Mountain Dharma Center (ÐạoTràng Thanh Sơn) both in Vermont, and Magnolia Village Practice Center (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Mississippi. These monasteries are open to the public during much of the year and provide on-going retreats for laypeople. The Order of Interbeing also holds focused 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.
There are now 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, California, Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) and Green Mountain Dharma Center (ÐạoTràng Thanh Sơn) both in Vermont, and Magnolia Village Practice Center (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Mississippi. These monasteries are open to the public during much of the year and provide on-going retreats for laypeople. The Order of Interbeing also holds focused 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.
Return to Vietnam
From January 12 until April 11, 2005, Thich Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam after a series of negotiations that allowed him to teach, have select titles of his books published in Vietnamese, and allowed 100 monastic and 90 lay members of his Order to accompany him in his travels around the country, including a return to his root temple, Tu Hieu Temple in Hue.
Prior to the 2005 trip, Thich Nhat Hanh’s organization had been highly critical of the restrictions imposed by the Vietnamese government regarding a possible visit. Those restrictions included: not allowing his monastics to stay in Buddhist monasteries, not allowing him to teach to large crowds as he does in the West, and not allowing his books to be published in Vietnamese.
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, making the world believe that the issues of religious freedom are improving there, while abuses continue.
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