Thich Nhat Hanh - Living Hero

My first introduction to Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was almost twenty five years ago through his book, Peace is Every Step. The simplicity of Zen had always appealed to me but Thich Nhat Hanh’s approach seemed to take it to another level. His teachings take people beyond themselves by encouraging his followers to embrace ‘engaged Buddhism’. Like kung fu, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches one to take his practice out of the meditation hall and into the world. The insights fostered through Zen practice are to be applied to social, political, environmental, and economic injustices.

In 2009 I spent a week in Colorado, immersed in a five day Zen retreat centered on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. When I returned, I talked slower and I walked slower. Maintaining the vegetarian lifestyle I had adopted years earlier was no longer a struggle. I was a changed man.

It is said that a Zen Master such as Thich Nhat Hanh comes around maybe once every six hundred years. At almost 92, his calm, gentle leadership is not long for this world. I feel blessed to have been able to share some of my time with the likes of him.

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)