Thích Nhất Hạnh (; ; born as Nguyễn Xuân Bảo on 11 October 1926) is a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, and founder of the Plum Village Tradition. Thích Nhất Hạnh spent most of his later life residing at the Plum Village Monastery in southwest France near Thénac, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks.
He also refrains from consuming animal products, as a means of nonviolence toward animals. ==Biography== Nhất Hạnh was born as Nguyễn Xuân Bảo on October 11, 1926, into a large family in the ancient imperial capital of Huế in Central Vietnam.
Nhất Hạnh is now the spiritual head of the Từ Hiếu Pagoda and associated monasteries. ===During the Vietnam War=== In 1961 Nhất Hạnh went to the US to study at the Princeton Theological Seminary, and was subsequently appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University.
In 1963, he returned to Vietnam to aid his fellow monks in their nonviolent peace efforts. Nhất Hạnh taught Buddhist psychology and prajnaparamita literature at Vạn Hanh Buddhist University, a private institution that taught Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages.
At a meeting in April 1965, Vạn Hanh Union students issued a Call for Peace statement.
In 1965 he had written Martin Luther King Jr.
It persisted in its relief efforts without taking sides in the conflict. Nhất Hạnh returned to the US in 1966 to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell University and continue his work for peace.
During his 1966 stay in the US, Nhất Hạnh met King and urged him to publicly denounce the Vietnam War.
In 1976–77 he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam, eventually stopping under pressure from the governments of Thailand and Singapore. A CIA document from the Vietnam War has called Thích Nhất Hạnh a "brain truster" of Thích Trí Quang, the leader of a dissident group. ===Establishing the Order of Interbeing=== Nhất Hạnh created the Order of Interbeing (Tiếp Hiện) in 1966.
In 1967, King gave the speech A Time to Break Silence at the Riverside Church in New York City, his first to publicly question U.S.
Later that year, King nominated Nhất Hạnh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize.
nominated Nhất Hạnh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.
In 1969 he established the Unified Buddhist Church (Église Bouddhique Unifiée) in France (not a part of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam).
When the Northern Vietnamese army took control of the south in 1975, he was denied permission to return to Vietnam.
In 1975 he formed the Sweet Potato Meditation Centre.
In 1975, he fled the country, not to return till 2005. His relations with the communist government ruling Vietnam is also edgy due to its atheism, though he has little interest in politics.
In 1976–77 he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam, eventually stopping under pressure from the governments of Thailand and Singapore. A CIA document from the Vietnam War has called Thích Nhất Hạnh a "brain truster" of Thích Trí Quang, the leader of a dissident group. ===Establishing the Order of Interbeing=== Nhất Hạnh created the Order of Interbeing (Tiếp Hiện) in 1966.
The centre grew and in 1982 he and Chân Không founded Plum Village Monastery, a vihara in the Dordogne in the south of France.
Nhất Hạnh was awarded the Courage of Conscience award in 1991. Nhất Hạnh received 2015's Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. In November 2017, the Education University of Hong Kong conferred an honorary doctorate upon Nhất Hạnh for his "lifelong contributions to the promotion of mindfulness, peace and happiness across the world".
After a 39-year exile, he was permitted to visit Vietnam in 2005.
In 1975, he fled the country, not to return till 2005. His relations with the communist government ruling Vietnam is also edgy due to its atheism, though he has little interest in politics.
He and the Order of Interbeing have established monasteries and Dharma centres 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 (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) in Vermont and Magnolia Grove Monastery (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Mississippi, the second of which closed in 2007 and moved to the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York.
Vien Dinh feared that the Vietnamese government would use the trip as propaganda, suggesting that religious freedom is improving there, while abuses continue. Despite the controversy, Nhất Hạnh returned to Vietnam in 2007, while two senior officials of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) remained under house arrest.
The film was released in 2017, premiering at SXSW Festival. === Graphic novel === Along with Alfred Hassler and Chân Không, Nhất Hạnh is the subject of the 2013 graphic novel The Secret of the 5 Powers. ==Writings== Vietnam: Lotus in a sea of fire.
Nhất Hạnh agreed to change the name to "Grand Requiem For Praying". ===Other=== In 2014, major Jewish, Islamic (Muslim), Hindu, Buddhist, Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders met to sign a shared commitment against modern-day slavery; the declaration they signed calls for the elimination of slavery and human trafficking by 2020.
Nhất Hạnh was represented by Chân Không. ===Health=== In November 2014, Nhất Hạnh experienced a severe brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized.
His presentation of the Prajnaparamita in terms of "interbeing" has doctrinal antecedents in the Huayan school of thought, which "is often said to provide a philosophical foundation" for Zen. In September 2014, shortly before his stroke, Nhất Hạnh completed new English and Vietnamese translations of the Heart Sutra, one of the most important sutras in Mahayana Buddhism.
On July 11, 2015, he flew to San Francisco to speed his recovery with an aggressive rehabilitation program at UCSF Medical Center.
Nhất Hạnh was awarded the Courage of Conscience award in 1991. Nhất Hạnh received 2015's Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. In November 2017, the Education University of Hong Kong conferred an honorary doctorate upon Nhất Hạnh for his "lifelong contributions to the promotion of mindfulness, peace and happiness across the world".
He returned to France on January 8, 2016. After spending 2016 in France, Nhất Hạnh travelled to Thai Plum Village.
Nhất Hạnh was awarded the Courage of Conscience award in 1991. Nhất Hạnh received 2015's Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. In November 2017, the Education University of Hong Kong conferred an honorary doctorate upon Nhất Hạnh for his "lifelong contributions to the promotion of mindfulness, peace and happiness across the world".
The film was released in 2017, premiering at SXSW Festival. === Graphic novel === Along with Alfred Hassler and Chân Không, Nhất Hạnh is the subject of the 2013 graphic novel The Secret of the 5 Powers. ==Writings== Vietnam: Lotus in a sea of fire.
In November 2018, he returned to Vietnam to spend his remaining days at his "root temple", Từ Hiếu Temple, near Huế. Nhất Hạnh has published over 130 books, including more than 100 in English which have sold over 5 million worldwide.
He has continued to see both Eastern and Western specialists while in Thailand, but is unable to speak. On 2 November 2018, a press release from the Plum Village community confirmed that Nhất Hạnh, then aged 92, had returned to Vietnam a final time and will live at Từ Hiếu Temple for "his remaining days".
Nhất Hạnh agreed to change the name to "Grand Requiem For Praying". ===Other=== In 2014, major Jewish, Islamic (Muslim), Hindu, Buddhist, Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders met to sign a shared commitment against modern-day slavery; the declaration they signed calls for the elimination of slavery and human trafficking by 2020.
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