Celebrating Thich Nhat Hanh

 

04.15.2022 CELEBRATING THICH NHAT HANH The May 2022 issue of Lion’s Roar magazine celebrates the life of one of the most important spiritual leaders of our time, Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away on January 22, 2022 at the age of 95. Thich Nhat Hanh has often been referred to as “the father of mindfulness.” In his 95 years, he made a global impact as a teacher, author, activist, and founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement. His simple yet profound teachings led countless people towards a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace and helped define Buddhism for the modern world. “Now that Thich Nhat Hanh has transitioned, how will we continue his teaching to live with peace in every step?” asks Lion’s Roar associate editor Pamela Ayo Yetunde in her opening editorial to the issue. Below, you’ll find three pieces from the issue that answer this very question, telling the story of his courageous life, sharing the spirit of his practice community, Plum Village, and demonstrating how his teachings continue to live in us all. May they each inspire you to walk with peace this weekend.

A Cloud Never Dies Andrea Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue. In January, I got the email from a colleague: “Thich Nhat Hanh has died.” On January 23, the casket ceremony was livestreamed with thousands of people from all over the world watching from their homes. I watched too, of course. At Tu Hieu, monastics were gathered, saffron shoulder to shoulder. As the crowds’ singing swelled and broke, a procession of monks carried Thay’s body from his hut to the Full Moon Meditation Hall. There he was lovingly placed in his coffin. Then the coffin was shut tight and festooned with chrysanthemums, his favorite flower. I had been right, back in 2013. I never would see Thay again in the same form—and now none of us will. But we will see Thay again. Even as the casket ceremony was unfolding, we were seeing him.

The Spirit of Plum Village “The next Buddha may be a sangha,” Thich Nhat Hanh famously said, and the practice of community was always central to his life and teachings. Dharma teacher Mitchell Ratner experienced the wonders, lessons, and challenges of living the mindful life at Plum Village. Plum Village was a place of wonderment. But it was also a human community—of monastics, residents, and visitors of very different backgrounds, with different capacities and ways of embodying and expressing the spiritual lessons of Thich Nhat Hanh. Misunderstandings and tensions were inevitable. It was easy to get caught up in the ongoing drama of who was doing what and why. It was especially easy for me to get caught up in the drama when my feelings were being hurt, when others were not acting or responding in ways I desired. When I was puzzled, hurt, or confused, I sometimes questioned all that I had learned at Plum Village. Without really realizing it, a part of me implicitly tied attunement to the present moment, the teachings of the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh as a person, and Plum Village as a community, into a single conceptual package. I couldn’t separate the message from the messenger.

Memories of Thay A collection of tributes to and memories of Thich Nhat Hanh from Peggy Rowe Ward, Shantum Seth, Hozan Alan Senauke, Larry Ward, Kaira Jewel Lingo, Rebecca Solnit, and Dzung Vo. Shantum Seth: It was wonderful to experience the stories and drama of the Buddha’s life through Thay’s eyes. Thay was like a happy, curious child meeting his teacher the Buddha everywhere he traveled: meditating in the same caves and rocks the Buddha may have sat on, crossing the same rivers, eating the same food, greeting children who may have descended from children the Buddha met. Thay’s favorite place was Vulture Peak, the hilltop in Rajgir where, it’s believed, the Buddha loved watching the sunset and taught the Heart Sutra. Thay said his own buddha eyes had opened there some years before, and it was there, on our pilgrimage, that he ordained his first three monastics and transmitted his lay teachings on the fourteen mindfulness trainings and the five precepts. Sitting under the trees, Thay expounded on the Buddha’s teaching that nothing is born and nothing dies, that there is neither being nor nonbeing. Later, he held my hand and pointed to the turban on my head, saying, “Shantum, the matter of transcending birth and death is as urgent as if your turban is on fire.”

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