Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh Dies January 22

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, peace activist, and author, died on January 22, 2022, at the age of 95.

He was born Nguyen Xuan Bao in Vietnam and ordained at age 16. His students called him “Thay,” and he is known as the “father of mindfulness.”

During the Vietnam War, he worked to bring peace without taking sides. He met with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966 to discuss the war. Afterward, King nominated Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, but none was awarded that year. Nhat Hanh campaigned for the U.S. to stop bombing Vietnam. He once said, “Even if we were able to transport all the bombs to the moon, we’d still be unsafe, because the roots of war and bombs are still there in our collective consciousness.” Ultimately, he was exiled from Vietnam.

Nhat Hanh founded many groups and facilities, including the Order of Interbeing, the Unified Buddhist Church, Van Hanh Buddhist University, the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Center, Plum Village, and Deer Park Monastery. Following a 39-year exile from both North and South Vietnam, he was allowed to return in 2005.

Thich Nhat Hanh died at the Tu Hieu Pagoda in Vietnam. He taught that he will continue after death: “When you see someone walking with mindfulness and compassion, you know he is my continuation. I don’t see why we have to say ‘I will die,’ because I can already see myself in you, in other people, and in future generations.”

To learn more about him in his own words, read these Thich Nhat Hanh quotes.

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SOURCES

Greenblatt, Lilly. “Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the great Buddhist teachers of our time, dies at 95.” Lion’s Roar, January 21, 2022, https://www.lionsroar.com/thich-nhat-hanh-zen-teacher-who-popularized-mindfulness-in-the-west-dead-at-95/.

Plum Village. “Thich Nhat Hanh: 20-page Biography.” Plum Village, https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanh-full-biography/#brotherhood.

Wang, Philip. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and peace activist, dies at 95.” CNN, January 22, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/asia/thich-nhat-hanh-death-intl/index.html.

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