The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has died at the age of 95. For the last four years of his life he was severely debilitated by a stroke. But he was still able to return to his native country and to the monastery where he first took vows, and that is when he died.
I have referred to him often in my videos and elsewhere. His concept of “Engaged Buddhism,” which combines contemplation with social action, is one I embrace wholeheartedly. His books are simple and profound. He was a great communicator and teacher and an inspiration.
And he also endured trauma. There was the seemingly endless series of wars that wracked his country, first with France and then the U.S. When he went to the U.S., he spoke out against injustices in both North and South Vietnam and he was barred from returning. He created his own community, Plum Village, and dedicated himself to nonviolence. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Prize.
In the video linked here, which is given the name “No Birth, No Death” which resembles the title of one of his books, he gives a beautiful teaching on a seemingly simple slip of paper. He demonstrates how things don’t really die; they are transformed into something else, and then something else. A death is really a rebirth. I celebrate his life and his rich teachings.
