Zen Master Thầy Nhất Hạnh — Sowing the Seeds of Mindfulness with Compassion

In his later years, after wandering in foreign lands for four decades, Thầy Nhất Hạnh finally returned to his homeland, Vietnam. Over the years, Thầy Nhất Hạnh promoted "engaged Buddhism" in the West, advocating for peace with loving-kindness and forgiveness, and healing countless hearts with his teachings on mindfulness. His poetry, teachings, and conduct have instilled the energy of loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity into the world.


During the Vietnam War, the young Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh cultivated mindfulness in the midst of every action, from cleaning to walking, within the Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, where he was ordained. Meanwhile, outside the monastery, the war's devastation ravaged all the cities and villages throughout Vietnam.

Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh's heart was deeply struck by the war. Unwilling to see his compatriots living in the horror of their homeland being bombed into ashes, he was prompted by a sense of urgency surging through his body to realize the Buddha's compassionate teachings and to improve the lives of his compatriots. "Should I stay in the monastery to deepen my spiritual cultivation, or venture out to aid those suffering amidst the flames of war?" After much deliberation, he decided to do both. In 1954, he published articles advocating the concept of "engaged Buddhism," hoping that peace could be attained through the Middle Way to help those who had fallen victim to war.


Compassionately caring about sentient beings with empathy

However, he had difficulty promoting it since his notions conflicted with the conservative hierarchical system of the monasteries at the time. Under such political turmoil, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh decided to go to the U.S. in 1961 to study Comparative Religion at Princeton Theological Seminary, with the intent to learn from the wisdom of different religions so that he could bring benefit to sentient beings with an even broader mental capacity.

On November 2, 1962, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh read the book Résistance et Soumission about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian with compassionate belief, who was hanged for his actions against the Nazis. The story inspired Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh, illuminating a light in his mind. "Joy and certainty welled up within me, enabling me to endure an arduous ordeal as such, which is more than what I had thought I could endure." He contemplated the kindness of a bodhisattva that cares about all living beings, and wondered, what could be more precious than that? With renewed courage, his whole body and mind were filled with love, understanding, and peace.

When returning to Vietnam the following year, he saw poverty and deprivation everywhere. "What can I do to help the people out of their misery?" he asked himself. In 1964, he founded the School of Youth for Social Service, calling on young students to participate. With the determination to "dedicate one's life without resentment," they traveled back and forth across Vietnam to help those who were living on the edge of life and death in the hail of bullets.

In the midst of blasting bombardment, volunteers made every effort to provide medical services and early childhood education, treating service recipients of different camps equally. Meanwhile, volunteers worked with farmers to rebuild their war-torn homeland. Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh was filled with appreciative joy when seeing the selflessness of the volunteers, and the farmers who rolled up their sleeves to help and support one another getting back on their feet.

Despite continuous reconstruction, the village was repeatedly destroyed by raids. To make matters worse, in the same year, a devastating flood engulfed the area that was already struck the most by the war. Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh held the hands of the survivors, listening attentively as they spoke of their grief. Seeing this endless suffering, he cut open the fingers of his left hand with a knife, letting the blood flow into the running river as a prayer for all those who had lost their lives in the war and the flood.


In 1966, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh revisited the U. S. and Europe to call for peace and an end to the Vietnam War. However, during that time, anyone who called for the withdrawal of U. S. troops would be considered a comrade of the Communist Party, and peace was regarded as a taboo word. He was therefore denied entry back to Vietnam, and it was not until 2005 that he was allowed to return for the first time after 39 years in exile.

This exile allowed Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh to gain deeper insights into his mind, further realizing that "war reflects the lack of peace in our collective consciousness." He believed that all beings are interdependent and that we should observe reality without discrimination, rather than in a dichotomous manner. We must embrace suffering with love and understanding and look at the world with loving-kindness and compassion. "If we stop and attentively contemplate ourselves, our neighbors, and even the circumstances of our countries, we can see that we are suffering, and so are others. The people of Vietnam are suffering, and so are the American soldiers." For Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh, seeking peace is a spontaneous reaction that arises from contemplation. "In a conflict or collision, most people would choose sides. We hope that people can learn to love, without feeling they must take sides; to embrace the entire reality, like a mother hen spreading her wings to care for all her chicks."

"Humanity is not our enemy, ignorance and hatred are. Compassion is the only thing you should have: a compassion that is free of enmity, boundaries, and conditions. Hatred can never help you face the monsters within mankind." He knew that, despite the odds, he could still love and understand at all times.

In 1976, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh became involved in the rescue of boat people who were adrift in the sea after the collapse of the South Vietnamese regime. To pirates, who were regarded as unpardonable villains, he saw them equally in a sympathetic light for they were suffering, too. "If I had had similar upbringings, I probably would have become a pirate, too." If society as a whole contributes to these atrocities, then everyone is responsible for the tragedy.


Seeds of joy and the miracle of mindfulness

In 1982, in the south of France, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh founded Plum Village, the practice center for meditative mindfulness to realize the dream of creating a loving community where everyone could live in harmony with one another and with the earth.

"Mindfulness is an energy to be cultivated from day to day so that it can support our aspiration to put compassion into action, and further help alleviate suffering in oneself and the world." For Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh, to practice mindfulness is to learn how to go back to ourselves and expand our own mental capacity: from deep contemplation and listening, we can experience the inherent nature of impermanence that neither arises nor ceases, thus freeing ourselves from all fears and discriminations. With awareness and insights into our mind, we attentively observe every breath and  savor every present moment. From such practice comes a great sense of relief and joy, and suffering is transformed into a smile.

"Only in the 'here and now' can we live life deeply, but this cannot be achieved overnight. We need to support each other, and this support is embodied in the Sangha." Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh believed that, whether it is a small Sangha of two or three people or a communion of hundreds of people living together, we should treat each other with sincerity and learn from one another. In this way, even the most rigid mind will gradually mellow out, and be filled with joy and happiness. "If everyone could experience such joy, the operation and direction of a society could even be changed."

People from all over the world gave feedback on the life-changing effects of practicing mindfulness. There have been people who rejoiced at the mere act of mindful driving; couples reconciled after year-long indifference in their relationships; and a daughter finally let go of unquenchable bereavement for years by writing a letter to her deceased mother. There also have been occasions where a Palestinian and an Israeli came to practice at Plum Village at the same time. "On the first day, they couldn't even look each other in the eye as their minds were occupied by suspicion and aversion." But through embracing each other's feelings, they miraculously began to build joyful communion.

In 1990, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh further helped 400 traumatized U.S. veterans regain their sense of life. "How can we turn our backs on those who have suffered so much?" He led them on a meditative walk toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. By listening and giving loving words to them, he encouraged them to talk about their pain.

One participant said that he had put explosives in cookies in revenge for Vietnamese guerrillas killing his fellow soldiers. However, he has been haunted by guilt ever since  he saw Vietnamese children being instantly killed in the explosion after picking up and eating the cookies. Through the healing process, he finally liberated himself from that guilt and went to save the lives of 20 children. Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh was gratified, indicating, "Healing a person could help a family, which can then be expanded to a whole country and even generations to come."


The embodiment of compassion continuing in silence

Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh described himself as a "piece of iron forged in the fire of war," tempered into love and serenity amid suffering. The compassion he naturally exuded brought peace and joy to those around him. With love and respect, even children would also hold his hand in laughter.

He instilled hope and peace in a world of continual crisis and conflicts. Furthermore, not only prescribed compassion to cure aversion and hatred, but also offered mindfulness for the liberation of troubled minds. Under his guidance, people are able to joyfully perceive the splendor of heaven and earth by savoring even a single bite of food, and see themselves reflected in political leaders, criminals, the rich, a speck of dust, and the vast expanse of the Milky Way.

Since 2014, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh's physical health became weaker. The Sangha grew bigger as devotees from all over the world gathered to bless and pray for him, practicing his teachings of compassion and peace.

In 2018, Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh returned to Từ Hiếu Temple, his root temple in Vietnam, as the final stop of his life's long journey. Along with his companions, he enjoyed music and laughter while sitting in peace around a campfire, or spending time in the warmth of the afternoon sun. Although he was no longer able to speak, the peace, love, and serenity that naturally flowed from Ven. Thích Nhất Hạnh's life continues to spread and propagate the Dharma, infusing the world with the energy of loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity as it inspires and heals the world.


Reference:
Céline Chadelat, Bernard Baudouin. (2018). Traditional Chinese edition of Thich Nhât Nanh: Une vie en pleine conscience. China Times Publishing Co.



Related articles:

An Introduction to the Four Immeasurable States of Mind

A Brief Introduction to the Mettā Sutta

Ven. Dhammadipa on Cultivation of Four Immeasurable States of Mind

Zen Master Thầy Nhất Hạnh — Sowing the Seeds of Mindfulness with Compassion

His Holiness the Dalai Lama — Healing People's Mind with Loving-kindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity



Resource: Issue 460 of Humanity Magazine (December 2021), Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Original Chinese text: Wei Tzu-yin (魏子茵)
Translation: Li Siang-ling
Editing: Keith Brown, Freya Chang (可馨)