Short Biography
Thich Nhat Hanh, born 11 October 1926 in central Vietnam, is an expatriate Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist. He joined a Zen monastery at the age of 16, studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949.
In the early 1960s, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS) in Saigon, a grassroots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centres, and resettled families left homeless during the Vietnam War. He travelled to the U.S. a number of times to study at Princeton University, and later lecture at Cornell University and teach at Columbia University. His main goal of those travels, however, was to urge the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam. He urged Martin Luther King Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and spoke with many people and groups about peace. On January 25 1967, in a letter to the Nobel Institute in Norway, Martin Luther King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thich Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks. Exiled from Vietnam for many years, he has been allowed in recent years to visit and lead retreats.
One of the best known Buddhist teachers in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and practices appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds. He created the Order of Interbeing in 1964, and established monastic and practice centres around the world. He offers a practice of mindfulness adapted to Western sensibilities and has provided us with a version of the Five Precepts (common to all Buddhist traditions) called the Five Mindfulness Trainings, that is a list of ethical guidelines (these are not commandments). Currently, his home is Plum Village Monastery in the South of France and he travels internationally leading retreats and giving talks. He coined a term translated into English as "Engaged Buddhism" - see Glossary for more information.
Thich Nhat Hanh has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. He also publishes a quarterly Dharma talk in the journal of the Order of Interbeing, the Mindfulness Bell. He continues to be active in the peace movement, sponsoring retreats for Israelis and Palestinians, encouraging them to listen and learn about each other. He has given speeches urging warring countries to stop fighting and look for non-violent solutions to problems; conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles in 2005, and again in 2007, attended by thousands of people; and urging support of the demonstrating monks in Myanmar.
The Community of Interbeing UK website has more information about Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing. www.interbeing.org.uk/about/Order.html
The Five Mindfulness Trainings
The Five Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings, below, are Thây's interpretation of the five basic precepts as taught by the Buddha who offered them to both his ordained and lay followers so that they could have clear guidelines to lead mindful and joyful lives on the path to awakening. They are not commandments. In his book entitled "For a Future to be Possible", Thây describes in detail how the Five Mindfulness Trainings can be used by anyone in today's world to create a more harmonious and peaceful life. However, with the help of the monastic community and the lay Sanghas, he has recently (2009) updated these precepts so that they are beautifully appropriate and relevant in today's society.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. They are a concrete expression of the Buddha's teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation, and happiness for ourselves and for the world. To practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings is to cultivate the insight of interbeing, or Right View, which can remove all discrimination, intolerance, anger, fear, and despair. If we live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we are already on the path of a bodhisattva. Knowing we are on that path, we are not lost in confusion about our life in the present or in fears about the future.
Reverence For Life
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.
True Happiness
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.
True Love
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness - which are the four basic elements of true love - for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.
Loving Speech and Deep Listening
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.
Nourishment and Healing
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.
Glossary
An explanation of some terms that may possibly be unfamiliar to you:
"Buddha" means 'one who has awakened (to the truth)' and refers to Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in northern India more than 2,500 years ago who sought the cause of suffering in this world, discovered it, and taught the way to overcome it. It is important to know that the Buddha is not a "God" and never claimed to be, but was nonetheless an extraordinary man who experienced direct Insight into the true nature of existence. He then taught, over a period of forty-five years, a method for living in a mindful and ethical way to help others achieve the same Insight into reality, sometimes referred to as achieving "Nirvana".
The "Dharma" (Sanskrit; or Pali word, "Dhamma") literally translates as that which "upholds" or "supports" and is a term used to refer to the teachings that the Buddha gave and the teachings and commentaries that have followed over the centuries.
The "Sangha" refers to those people, lay or monastic, that follow and live these teachings and regard them as central in their lives.
The "Community of Interbeing (COI)" is the Sangha that Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced tick nat han) founded in the 1960s and 'interbeing' is a word coined by him that expresses the inter-connectedness between us all and the world in which we live.
"Thây" (pronounced 'tie') means 'teacher' is how Thich Nhat Hanh is referred to by the COI Sangha.
Engaged Buddhism is the English translation of a term coined by Thich Nhat Hanh, more recently referred to as 'Applied Buddhism'. In a recent talk in Hanoi (2008), Thây revealed that his concept dates as far back as 1954. During the Vietnam War, he and his Sangha made efforts to respond to the suffering they saw around them. They saw this work as part of their meditation and mindfulness practice, not apart from it. At least in the West, Engaged Buddhism applies to Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the insights from meditation practice and dharma teachings to situations of social, political, and economic suffering and injustice.
"Insight" refers to a realisation of the true nature of things. This is not solely the "big" realisations connected with the terms below, but also for many of the day-to-day occurrences in our lives. It is born through mindfulness and reflection - looking deeply. Sometimes, when we are suffering, we cannot see why it is happening, but looking deeply into a situation, we can sometimes see how it has come about and, inevitably, our part in it. Through these insights, we can transform our states of mind and our lives, and relieve suffering - for both ourselves and others.
"Nirvana" is often referred to as the "goal" of Buddhist practice. It is translated as "extinction", but this rather nihilistic translation is often misunderstood. Thây explains that this does not mean that we cease to exist: it refers to the extinction or absence of notions and concepts. It therefore really refers to the ultimate experience of the Inter-connectedness of all beings and phenomena, that Thây refers to as "Interbeing", where the realisation of no individual "self" is achieved. Liberation and Peace are associated with this term. Thây discourages direct talk of Nirvana: the practice is to live every moment fully in the here and now, and not concern ourselves with the nature of Nirvana.
Calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh
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