Thich Nhat Hanh: master and teacher

Zen Master, poet, peace and human rights activist, and scholar, Thich Nhat Hanh, with his straightforward presentation of the Dharma, has become one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in the West. "His presence is elfin, yet confident; ephemeral, yet rooted, like a tree." (Catherine Ingham). His approach is at once scholarly and traditional (he is fluent in the languages of Buddhism as well as in Chinese, and will quote the original sources while teaching), as well as revolutionary and free thinking. He joined the monkhood at the age of 16. In Saigon in the early 1960's, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS), a grass roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, resettled homeless families, and organized agricultural cooperatives. Rallying some 10,000 student volunteers, the SYSS based its work on the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. Despite government denunciation of his activity, Nhat Hanh also founded a Buddhist University, a publishing house, and an influential peace activist magazine in Vietnam.

Exiled from Vietnam, he traveled to the U.S. where he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and so helped galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

Often referred to as the most beloved Buddhist teacher in the West with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and practices appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds. Nhat Hanh offers a practice of "mindfulness" that is beneficial for people of all faiths, by helping us resist and transform the speed and violence of our modern society. His life and teachings have deeply influenced millions of people, including scores of luminaries in different fields: politician Jerry Brown, civil rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr., eco-activist Joanna Macy, and Catholic mystic Thomas Merton - to name a few.

He has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English: Peace is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace and many more.

In May 2006 Thây, as he is called by his followers, was approached by a film magnate who wanted to turn his life of the Buddha, Old Path White Clouds, into a mega-budget movie to be called Buddha. He was in Cannes to make the announcement, peacefully strolling among the glitter of the movie festival. He refused the multi-million dollar offer for the use of his book, instead imposing a condition: that the actors spend at least one week at a retreat in Plum Village. As he explained at the June retreat of 2006, there were many projects where this money was needed; but as large numbers of people were expected to see the movie, it was more important that the actors develop a true feeling for meditation. He did not want to see meditation acted. Also, "so that the movie will be an authentic vision of the life of the Buddha, the screen writer has agreed to spend two weeks in Plum Village to learn about the Buddha's teachings on mindfulness. Under Thich Nhat Hanh's supervision, the script will be written so that the movie can convey to worldwide audiences the true flavor of Buddha's realization." (from the press release of Parallax Press, the publisher of Old Path, White Clouds.)

Thich Nhat Hanh continues to be true to himself, and to inspire the many people who come in contact with him and his teachings. To be at a retreat with him is a real "treat", where one experiences the rigour of his teaching, the peacefulness of the community he has created, and the power of his presence. A stay at Plum Village is vacation for the soul, a time of freedom from to-do lists, newspapers and TV, and a period of immersion in nature, both within and without.

For more on Thich Nhat Hanh, consult www.abuddhistlibrary.com