Thích Nhất Hạnh was born in 1926 in central Vietnam. He was born with the name of Nguyen Xuan Bao. When he was 16, he decided to enter a Zen Buddhist Monastery, changing his name to Thích Nhất Hạnh. He began practicing medication and later founded a voluntary organization named School of Youth for Social Services. This school went around to different areas of Vietnam to help provide necessities like education, health care and improvements on infrastructure. Later, in 1960, he moved to the United States and studied comparative religions at Princeton University. He then became fluent in many different languages as well as religions. During the dispute between North and South Vietnam, he actively supported non-violent efforts in promoting peace.
…show more content…
During the Vietnam war, he befriended Martin Luther King and urged him to speak out critically about the US involvement. In 1966 Hanh created an order of Inter-Being. This was a center in Plum Village, France that was set for people of all religions to come and retreat there as ways to practice meditation and mindfulness in order to become “aware of our feelings, mental formations and how they might affect our false perceptions of reality” (Andronic 22) . This order then went on spread around the world. Hanh continued to support and promote peace everywhere and was nominated publicly by Martin Luther King for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Because of his criticism of the government of Vietnam, he was exiled from his native country for many years. He settled his base in France and continued to travel around the world. In 2005, he was finally able to return to Vietnam and establish new centers and publish books. He wishes to have communities that involve social transformations and are a place of rest and spiritual renewal. Thích Nhất Hạnh has shown to be an exemplary Buddhist monk living life accordingly while showing how the beliefs in Buddhism and Christianity can be …show more content…
Buddhism is a religion that means to awaken or to be enlightened. It is not only a religion but a way of life. They have a path that leads to enlightenment. To gain enlightenment one must lead a moral life, be mindful and aware of one’s thoughts and actions and develop wisdom and understanding of yourself and your surroundings. To gain enlightenment one must push away all the problems and suffering that cause negative states of minds to allow the happiness and good fortune arise from our positive states of mind. It is a must to ignore not anger, jealousy and ignorance and welcome love, wisdom and compassion. These can be achieved through meditation and the spiritual path. Allowing focus to be brought into the mind and developing compassion will allow for the path to be more prominent. As for meditation, it is the heart of a Buddhist life. It shows understanding of one’s own mind and allows us to identify the negative and positive states of mind. This allows for a person to be able to solely focus on the positive and get rid of the negative. Virtuous minds and wisdom can arise and help solve day to day problems. Actions start to become more constructive and people gain more knowledge and wisdom. Hanh has wanted to focus on the more practical side Buddhism and less on faith and belief. He has continually shown this through his many books such as Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness
During the Vietnam war, he befriended Martin Luther King and urged him to speak out critically about the US involvement. In 1966 Hanh created an order of Inter-Being. This was a center in Plum Village, France that was set for people of all religions to come and retreat there as ways to practice meditation and mindfulness in order to become “aware of our feelings, mental formations and how they might affect our false perceptions of reality” (Andronic 22) . This order then went on spread around the world. Hanh continued to support and promote peace everywhere and was nominated publicly by Martin Luther King for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Because of his criticism of the government of Vietnam, he was exiled from his native country for many years. He settled his base in France and continued to travel around the world. In 2005, he was finally able to return to Vietnam and establish new centers and publish books. He wishes to have communities that involve social transformations and are a place of rest and spiritual renewal. Thích Nhất Hạnh has shown to be an exemplary Buddhist monk living life accordingly while showing how the beliefs in Buddhism and Christianity can be …show more content…
Buddhism is a religion that means to awaken or to be enlightened. It is not only a religion but a way of life. They have a path that leads to enlightenment. To gain enlightenment one must lead a moral life, be mindful and aware of one’s thoughts and actions and develop wisdom and understanding of yourself and your surroundings. To gain enlightenment one must push away all the problems and suffering that cause negative states of minds to allow the happiness and good fortune arise from our positive states of mind. It is a must to ignore not anger, jealousy and ignorance and welcome love, wisdom and compassion. These can be achieved through meditation and the spiritual path. Allowing focus to be brought into the mind and developing compassion will allow for the path to be more prominent. As for meditation, it is the heart of a Buddhist life. It shows understanding of one’s own mind and allows us to identify the negative and positive states of mind. This allows for a person to be able to solely focus on the positive and get rid of the negative. Virtuous minds and wisdom can arise and help solve day to day problems. Actions start to become more constructive and people gain more knowledge and wisdom. Hanh has wanted to focus on the more practical side Buddhism and less on faith and belief. He has continually shown this through his many books such as Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness