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Look at his face. It feels impossible not to love this man. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese mindfulness teacher, poet and peace activist who died in 2022, was probably the best known and most loved Buddhist monk in the West. A deeply gentle and humble man, he was nevertheless a spiritual titan who not only touched but radically transformed millions of hearts and minds over his long life of service. The peace and joy you see in his face was a result of decades of spiritual training. Most people would have been defeated by the suffering that Thich Nhat Hanh endured not only during the Vietnam War but for decades afterwards when he was exiled from his country. But he believed, as Buddhists do, that we need not fear suffering. The only thing to be afraid of is not knowing how to deal with our suffering. So that was what he taught. Thich Nhat Hanh (or Thay as he was affectionately known, which means ‘teacher”) was born in central Vietnam in 1926 and became a novice monk at the age of sixteen. When the war came to Vietnam, monastics were faced with the question of whether to remain meditating in their temples, or go out to help those suffering in the turmoil of war. Thay chose both, and so became the founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement whose ethos is all about practicing mindfulness as a foundation for wise and compassionate action in the world. At the height of the war, in 1966, he travelled to the US to call for peace. There he met Martin Luther King who described him as "an apostle of peace and non-violence" and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But his refusal to take a side in the war cost him dearly. Both North and South Vietnam denied him the right to return and he remained in exile for the next 39 years. He devoted himself to teaching and writing about mindfulness and the practice of peace, and founded a monastery in France known as Plum Village, which is now the West’s largest and most active Engaged Buddhist community. With characteristic gentleness and patience, he taught the Buddha’s message that leaning into rather than away from suffering is the only path towards peace of mind. As we are in the third week of Advent, I’ve chosen to share some of his words about joy. If anyone has read my book The Mindful Photographer, you’ll know my curiosity about how we can restore our sense of wonder and awe in the world immediately around us. Thay was a master of this. Every step, every breath, every glass of water and cup of tea was like a miracle for him. Decades of spiritual training had rewarded him with what is known in Zen Buddhism as a “beginner’s mind”, a childlike attitude of openness and eagerness towards every thing we encounter.
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