Nhat Hanh also founded the School of Youth for Social Service, a neutral corps of Buddhist peaceworkers who established schools, built healthcare clinics, and rebuilt villages in rural areas.ĭr. He went on to begin his activist work, founding La Boi Press and the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon. Nhat Hanh became editor-in-chief of the periodical created by the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association, Vietnamese Buddhism. In 1949, Nhat Hanh, then 23, was ordained as a monk after receiving training in Vietnamese traditions of Mahayana Buddhism and Vietnamese Thien Buddhism. Interested in Buddhism from an early age, he entered the monastery at Tu Hieu Temple in Vietnam at sixteen and worked with his primary teacher, Zen master Thanh Quy Chan That. Thich Nhat Hanh, (now affectionately referred to as “Thay” by his students), was born Nguyen Xuan Bao in central Vietnam in October of 1926.

His simple yet deeply profound teachings aim to lead students towards a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace-a life that benefits the planet, and all beings. In his 94 years, Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has made a global impact as a teacher, author, activist, and the founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement. By all these measures, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the leading spiritual masters of our age,” writes Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod in his introduction to The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh. “We gauge the greatness of spiritual teachers by the depth, breadth, and impact of their teachings, and by the example their lives set for us. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.

Thich nhat hanh peace is every breath