Thích Nhất Hạnh

2.1. Birth and Family

Thích Nhất Hạnh was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo on October 11, 1926, in the ancient capital of Huế, located in central Vietnam. He was the fifth of six children born to Nguyễn Đình Phúc, an official in the French administration from Thành Trung village in Thừa Thiên, Huế, and Trần Thị Dĩ, a homemaker from Gio Linh district. His lineage traces back to the 15th generation of the Nguyễn Đình family, with the renowned poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, author of Lục Vân Tiên, being an ancestor. Until the age of five, he resided with his extensive extended family at his grandmother's home.

2.2. Childhood and Spiritual Awakening

Nhất Hạnh recalled a moment of profound joy at the age of seven or eight when he saw a drawing of a peaceful Buddha sitting on the grass. This image deeply resonated with him. During a school trip, he visited a mountain where a hermit was said to sit quietly day and night to achieve peace like the Buddha. Exploring the area, he discovered a natural well, from which he drank and felt a complete sense of satisfaction. This experience was a pivotal moment, inspiring his desire to become a Buddhist monk. At the age of 12, he expressed his interest in monastic training, and after initial caution, his parents eventually allowed him to pursue this path when he was 16.

3.1. Monastic Training

At the age of 16, Nhất Hạnh entered the monastery at Từ Hiếu Temple near Huế, where he became a novice and received training in Vietnamese traditions of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism for three years. His primary teacher was Zen Master Thanh Quý Chân Thật, who belonged to the 43rd generation of the Lâm Tế Zen school and the ninth generation of the Liễu Quán school. In 1951, he was ordained as a monk at the Ấn Quang Pagoda in Saigon. On May 1, 1966, at Từ Hiếu Temple, Nhất Hạnh received the "lamp transmission" from Zen Master Chân Thật, formally recognizing him as a dharmacharya (teacher) and the spiritual head of Từ Hiếu and its associated monasteries. This also made him the 42nd heir of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism in Vietnam.

3.2. Academic Pursuits

Nhất Hạnh attended Báo Quốc Buddhist Academy. However, he became dissatisfied with its curriculum, which he felt lacked depth in philosophy, literature, and foreign languages. In 1950, he left the academy and moved to Saigon, where he supported himself by selling books and poetry while attending Saigon University. There, he pursued studies in literature, philosophy, psychology, and science, ultimately earning degrees in French and Vietnamese Literature.

In 1960, facing opposition from Vietnamese religious and secular authorities, Nhất Hạnh accepted a Fulbright Fellowship to study comparative religion at Princeton University. He continued his studies at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961. By 1962, his academic career led him to appointments as a lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University and also as a lecturer at Cornell University. He also earned a master's degree in religious studies from Columbia University in 1963.

3.3. Language Acquisition

During his monastic training at Từ Hiếu Temple, Nhất Hạnh began learning Chinese, English, and French. His subsequent academic pursuits and international engagement further honed his linguistic abilities, leading him to gain fluency in French, Classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, and English, in addition to his native Vietnamese. This multilingual proficiency was crucial for his later international outreach and the dissemination of Buddhist teachings to a global audience.

4.1. Buddhist Reform and Journalism

In 1963, following the military overthrow of the Catholic-leaning regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Nhất Hạnh returned to South Vietnam on December 16 at the request of Thich Tri Quang, a prominent monk protesting Diem's religious discrimination. His return was aimed at helping to restructure the administration of Vietnamese Buddhism. As a result, the General Association of Buddhists and other groups merged to form the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) in January 1964. Nhất Hạnh proposed that the UBCV publicly call for an end to the Vietnam War, establish an institute for Buddhist studies to train future leaders, and create a center for pacifist social workers based on Buddhist teachings.

In 1964, two of his students founded La Boi Press, which published 12 books within two years. However, by 1966, the publishers faced risks of arrest because the word "peace" was interpreted as a communist leaning. Nhất Hạnh also edited Hải Triều Âm (Sound of the Rising Tide), the UBCV's official weekly journal. He consistently advocated for peace and reconciliation, notably calling for a peace settlement in September 1964, shortly after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and referring to the Viet Cong as brothers. The South Vietnamese government subsequently closed the journal.

4.2. Social Service and Peace Activism

In 1964, Nhất Hạnh co-founded the School of Youth for Social Service (SYSS) with Sister Chân Không. This neutral corps of Buddhist peace workers ventured into rural areas to establish schools, build healthcare clinics, and assist in rebuilding war-torn villages and resettling displaced communities. The SYSS comprised 10,000 volunteers and social workers who provided essential aid. When Nhất Hạnh left for the U.S. and was subsequently denied re-entry, Sister Chân Không took charge of the SYSS, which continued its relief efforts without taking sides in the conflict, despite facing funding struggles and attacks on its members. The SYSS was initially part of Vạn Hạnh University, but in April 1966, Vice Chancellor Thích Minh Châu dissolved the students' union and removed the SYSS from the university's auspices.

4.3. Founding Institutions

On March 13, 1964, Nhất Hạnh and monks at An Quang Pagoda established the Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies (Học Viện Phật Giáo Việt Nam) with the support of the UBCV. This institution was later renamed Vạn Hạnh Buddhist University, a private university in Saigon dedicated to Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. Nhất Hạnh taught Buddhist psychology and Prajnaparamita literature there and actively fundraised for the university's operations.

4.4. The Order of Interbeing

Nhất Hạnh founded the Order of Interbeing (Tiếp Hiện^Vietnamese), a monastic and lay community, between 1964 and 1966. This order was based on the philosophical concept of interbeing and taught through the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. These trainings were a modern adaptation of traditional bodhisattva vows, specifically designed to support efforts to promote peace and rebuild war-torn villages. The initial members of the Order consisted of six individuals from the SYSS board-three men and three women-who vowed to practice the Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism. A seventh member was added in 1981.

In 1967, Nhat Chi Mai, one of the first six members of the Order of Interbeing, self-immolated in front of the Tu Nghiem Pagoda in Saigon as a peace protest, calling for an end to the Vietnam War. Nhất Hạnh clarified to Western audiences that such acts of self-immolation by Vietnamese Buddhist monks, including Thích Quảng Đức, were not suicides but rather acts aimed at "moving the hearts of the oppressors, and at calling the attention of the world to the suffering endured then by the Vietnamese." The Order of Interbeing has since expanded into an international community of laypeople and monastics, focusing on "mindfulness practice, ethical behavior, and compassionate action in society." By 2017, the group had grown to include thousands who recite the Fourteen Precepts.

5.1. Exile and US Visits

In 1966, Nhất Hạnh was exiled from South Vietnam after expressing opposition to the war and refusing to align with either side. He moved to Paris, where he became the chair of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation, a group actively involved in the Paris Peace Accords that eventually ended American involvement in the Vietnam War. He was granted asylum in France, where he lived with other Vietnamese refugees in the Paris suburbs.

During this period, Nhất Hạnh made several visits to the United States. He led a symposium on Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell University and participated in a forum on U.S. policy in Vietnam, invited by Professor George McTurnan Kahin. On June 1, 1966, he released a five-point peace proposal to the U.S. government, advocating for a clear statement of intent to help the Vietnamese people form a responsive government, a cessation of air strikes, purely defensive military operations, a willingness to withdraw within months, and an offer to pay for reconstruction. In response, the South Vietnamese military junta accused him of treason and being a communist.

While in the U.S., Nhất Hạnh visited Gethsemani Abbey to meet with the Trappist monk Thomas Merton. Merton, in solidarity, wrote an essay titled "Nhat Hanh is my Brother" when the South Vietnamese regime threatened to block Nhất Hạnh's re-entry to the country. Between June and October 1963, Nhất Hạnh conducted numerous interviews with newspapers and television networks to rally support for the peace movement. He also undertook a widely publicized five-day fast and translated reports of human rights violations from Vietnamese into English, compiling them into a document he presented to the United Nations. After the publication of his poem "whoever is listening, be my witness: I cannot accept this war...", the American press labeled him an "antiwar poet" and a "pro-Communist propagandist." In 1965, he wrote a letter to Martin Luther King Jr. titled "In Search of the Enemy of Man," urging King to publicly denounce the Vietnam War. Largely due to Nhất Hạnh's influence, King delivered his impactful "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in 1967, marking his first public questioning of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

5.2. Peace Proposals and Nobel Nomination

Nhất Hạnh's peace proposals, including his five-point plan and the ideas articulated in his 1967 book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire, were foundational to his international peace advocacy. These efforts culminated in a significant recognition when Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination, King stated, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity." King also referred to Nhất Hạnh as "an apostle of peace and nonviolence." Although King's nomination violated Nobel traditions by publicly naming his candidate, the committee ultimately did not award the prize that year.

5.3. Refuge in France and Plum Village

After his exile, Nhất Hạnh settled in Paris in 1966. In 1969, he established the Unified Buddhist Church (Église Bouddhique Unifiée) in France, distinct from the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. In 1975, he founded the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Centre at Fontvannes, near Troyes in Aube province, southeast of Paris. For the next seven years, he focused on writing, completing influential works such as The Miracle of Mindfulness, The Moon Bamboo, and The Sun My Heart.

By 1982, the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Centre had become too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors seeking retreats. Consequently, in 1982, Nhất Hạnh and Sister Chân Không established the Plum Village Monastery, a vihara (Buddhist monastery and Zen center) in the Dordogne region near Bordeaux in southern France. Plum Village grew to become the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and America, housing over 200 monastics and attracting more than 10,000 visitors annually. The Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism (formerly the Unified Buddhist Church) and its French sister organization, the Congrégation Bouddhique Zen Village des Pruniers, serve as the legally recognized governing bodies of Plum Village in France.

5.4. Introduction of Mindfulness to the West

Nhất Hạnh played a pivotal role in introducing the practice of mindfulness to Western audiences. He began teaching mindfulness in the mid-1970s, primarily through his books. His 1975 book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, originally titled The Miracle of Being Awake because "mindfulness" was not widely recognized in English at the time, served as the main vehicle for his early teachings. He wrote it as a manual for social workers in Vietnam, who faced daily dangers, out of compassion and a desire to help them continue their work. The book's emphasis on integrating mindfulness into daily life, rather than confining it to formal meditation, underscored its potential for personal growth, enlightenment, and global peace.

His work profoundly influenced the Western understanding and application of mindfulness. The Miracle of Mindfulness is credited with laying the foundations for the use of mindfulness in treating depression through "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy," influencing figures like University of Washington psychology professor Marsha M. Linehan, the originator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). J. Mark G. Williams of Oxford University noted Nhất Hạnh's ability to communicate the essentials of Buddhist wisdom, making it accessible globally and bridging ancient wisdom practices with modern psychological science and healthcare. One of Nhất Hạnh's students, Jon Kabat-Zinn, developed the mindfulness-based stress reduction course, which is now offered in hospitals and medical centers worldwide. By 2015, approximately 80% of medical schools reportedly offered mindfulness training. By 2019, mindfulness, as championed by Nhất Hạnh, had become the theoretical underpinning of a 1.10 B USD industry in the U.S., with one survey indicating that 35% of employers used mindfulness practices in the workplace.

5.5. Campaign to Help Boat People

After the North Vietnamese army took control of the South in 1975, Nhất Hạnh was denied permission to return to Vietnam, and the communist government banned his publications. He soon initiated efforts to rescue Vietnamese boat people fleeing the country in the Gulf of Siam. These humanitarian operations eventually ceased due to pressure from the governments of Thailand and Singapore.

Nhất Hạnh recounted his experience in Singapore, where he witnessed the harsh policies implemented against boat people, including their rejection and the punishment of sympathetic fishermen who attempted rescues. To counter this, he organized a clandestine rescue operation from Singapore. Aided by individuals from France, the Netherlands, and other European countries, he hired a boat to deliver food, water, and medicine to refugees at sea. Fishermen who had rescued boat people would contact his team, who then secretly transported the refugees to the French embassy at night, helping them enter the compound to seek asylum. His best-known poem, Please Call Me by My True Names, was written in 1978 during these efforts. When the Singaporean government uncovered the network, police surrounded their office, impounded Nhất Hạnh's and Sister Chân Không's passports, and gave them 24 hours to leave the country. Only through the intervention of the then-French ambassador to Singapore, Jacques Gasseau, were they granted 10 days to wind down their rescue operations. Nhất Hạnh was only permitted to return to Singapore in 2010 to lead a meditation retreat.

6.1. Engaged Buddhism

Thích Nhất Hạnh is credited with coining and popularizing the term "Engaged Buddhism," which he also referred to as "Applied Buddhism" in later years to emphasize its practical nature. This concept stresses the integration of spiritual practice with active social and political engagement for positive change. He attributed the origin of this concept to the 13th-century Vietnamese Emperor Trần Nhân Tông, who abdicated his throne to become a monk and founded the Vietnamese Buddhist school of the Bamboo Forest tradition. Nhất Hạnh's approach combined teachings from Early Buddhist schools, Mahayana, Zen, and insights from Western psychology to teach mindfulness of breathing and the four foundations of mindfulness, offering a modern perspective on meditation practice.

6.2. Mindfulness Trainings

Nhất Hạnh adapted traditional Buddhist precepts into modern mindfulness trainings, shifting their focus from merely refraining from negative actions to actively committing to positive actions that prevent or minimize suffering. For instance, instead of solely refraining from stealing, he rephrased it as taking action against unfair practices or unsafe workplaces to "prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth."

The Five Mindfulness Trainings and the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, which he developed for the Order of Interbeing based on the ten deeds of the Bodhisattva precepts, emphasize ethical conduct and compassionate action in daily life. According to Plum Village, the UNESCO-introduced Manifesto 2000 was largely inspired by his five mindfulness trainings. He also updated the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya for Plum Village monastics, maintaining its original number of rules (250 for monks and 348 for nuns) while adapting them for contemporary practice.

6.3. Interbeing

Nhất Hạnh coined the English term "interbeing" by combining the prefix "inter-" with the verb "to be" to articulate the fundamental interconnectedness of all phenomena. This concept was inspired by the Chinese term 相即_xiāngjí^Chinese found in Master Fa Zang's "Golden Lion Chapter," a Huayan summary of the Avatamsaka Sutra.

He was known for conveying profound teachings through simple phrases or parables. "The sun my heart" illustrated the interdependence of all things. The phrase "no mud, no lotus" was used to explain the interrelationship between awakening and afflictions, and between well-being and ill-being. "A cloud never dies" served as a contemplation of phenomena beyond birth and death. To teach non-duality, he often recounted the story of his left and right hand, while his meditation on aimlessness (apranihita) was conveyed through the metaphor of a river. The relationship between waves and water elucidated the Dharma Realm of Unobstructed Interpenetration of Truth and Phenomena.

6.4. Translation of Heart Sutra

In September 2014, Nhất Hạnh completed new English and Vietnamese translations of the Heart Sutra. In a letter to his students, he explained that his motivation for these new translations stemmed from his belief that imprecise word choices in the original text had led to significant misunderstandings of these core Buddhist teachings for nearly 2,000 years. His aim was to convey a deeper and more accurate meaning of the sutra.

6.5. Manifestation-Only Teaching

Continuing the traditions of the Yogācāra and Dharmalaksana schools, Nhất Hạnh composed "fifty verses on the nature of consciousness." He preferred to refer to this teaching as "manifestation-only" (vijñapti-mātratā^Sanskrit) rather than "consciousness-only" (vijñāna-mātratā^Sanskrit). This distinction was crucial for him to avoid misinterpretation of the teaching as a form of idealism, emphasizing that phenomena are manifestations of consciousness rather than mere mental constructs.

6.6. "Father of Mindfulness"

Nhất Hạnh is widely recognized as "the Father of Mindfulness" and is credited as one of the primary figures responsible for bringing Buddhism to the West, particularly for making mindfulness a well-known practice. James Shaheen, editor of the American Buddhist magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, noted that "In the West, he's an icon. I can't think of a Western Buddhist who does not know of Thich Nhất Hạnh."

His 1975 book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, is credited with laying the groundwork for the use of mindfulness in treating depression through "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy." His work significantly influenced figures like University of Washington psychology professor Marsha M. Linehan, the originator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). J. Mark G. Williams of Oxford University and the Oxford Mindfulness Centre highlighted Nhất Hạnh's ability to communicate the essentials of Buddhist wisdom, making it accessible worldwide and bridging the gap between modern psychological science, the healthcare system, and ancient wisdom practices. One of Nhất Hạnh's students, Jon Kabat-Zinn, developed the mindfulness-based stress reduction course, which is now available in hospitals and medical centers globally. By 2015, approximately 80% of medical schools reportedly offered mindfulness training. By 2019, mindfulness, as championed by Nhất Hạnh, had become the theoretical foundation for a 1.10 B USD industry in the U.S., with a survey indicating that 35% of employers incorporated mindfulness practices in the workplace.

6.7. Interfaith Dialogue

Nhất Hạnh was notable for his active involvement in interfaith dialogue, a practice that was not common when he began his work. He cultivated significant friendships with prominent religious leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Merton. In his Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Nhất Hạnh, King emphasized that "His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity." Merton, in his August 1966 essay for Jubilee titled "Nhất Hạnh Is My Brother," expressed a deep solidarity, stating, "I have far more in common with Nhất Hạnh than I have with many Americans, and I do not hesitate to say it. It is vitally important that such bonds be admitted. They are the bonds of a new solidarity ... which is beginning to be evident on all five continents and which cuts across all political, religious and cultural lines to unite young men and women in every country in something that is more concrete than an ideal and more alive than a program." The same year, Nhất Hạnh met with Pope Paul VI, and together they called upon Catholics and Buddhists to work towards world peace, particularly in relation to the conflict in Vietnam. According to Buddhism scholar Sallie B. King, Nhất Hạnh was "extremely skilled at expressing their teachings in the language of a kind of universal spirituality rather than a specifically Buddhist terminology," finding common values across different religions.

7.1. Plum Village Network Expansion

By 2019, Nhất Hạnh had established a global network of monasteries and retreat centers across several countries, including France, the U.S., Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. This expansion grew the Plum Village community into a worldwide presence. The Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, through its fundraising arm, the Thích Nhất Hạnh Foundation, reported in 2017 that the monastic order he established comprised over 750 monastics residing in 9 monasteries globally.

In the United States, Nhất Hạnh and the Order of Interbeing established several practice centers and associated organizations, including Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York; the Community of Mindful Living in Berkeley, California; Parallax Press (his nonprofit book publisher); Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển), established in 2000 in Escondido, California; Magnolia Grove Monastery (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Batesville, Mississippi; and the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbröl, Germany. While the Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) and Green Mountain Dharma Center (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) in Vermont closed in 2007 and relocated to the Blue Cliff Monastery, the existing monasteries remain open to the public for much of the year, providing ongoing retreats for laypeople. The Order of Interbeing also organizes specialized retreats for various groups, such as families, teenagers, military veterans, individuals in the entertainment industry, members of Congress, law enforcement officers, and people of color. Additionally, Nhất Hạnh established two monasteries in Vietnam: the original Từ Hiếu Temple near Huế and Prajna Temple in the central highlands.

7.2. Return Visits to Vietnam

After lengthy negotiations, the Vietnamese government permitted Nhất Hạnh to return for a visit in 2005, marking his first return after 39 years in exile. He was allowed to teach, publish four of his books in Vietnamese, and travel across the country with monastic and lay members of his Order, including a return to his root temple, Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế. This trip, however, was not without controversy. Thich Vien Dinh, representing the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), urged Nhất Hạnh to issue a statement against the Vietnamese government's poor record on religious freedom, fearing the visit would be used as propaganda to suggest improving religious freedom while abuses continued.

Despite the controversy, Nhất Hạnh returned to Vietnam in 2007, even as the heads of the UBCV, Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do, remained under house arrest. The UBCV viewed his visit as a betrayal, suggesting his willingness to cooperate with the oppressors of his co-religionists. A UBCV spokesman, Võ Văn Ái, stated his belief that "Thích Nhất Hạnh's trip is manipulated by the Hanoi government to hide its repression of the Unified Buddhist Church and create a false impression of religious freedom in Vietnam." The Plum Village website outlined three goals for his 2007 trip: to support new monastics in his Order, to organize and conduct "Great Chanting Ceremonies" aimed at healing the wounds of the Vietnam War, and to lead retreats. The chanting ceremonies were initially named "Grand Requiem for Praying Equally for All to Untie the Knots of Unjust Suffering" but were renamed "Grand Requiem For Praying" after Vietnamese officials objected to "equally" praying for South Vietnamese and U.S. soldiers. During this visit, Nhất Hạnh suggested ending government control of religion to President Nguyen Minh Triet. A provincial police officer later accused Nhất Hạnh of breaking Vietnamese law, stating, "[Nhất Hạnh] should focus on Buddhism and keep out of politics."

A significant dispute arose concerning the Bat Nha monastery. In 2005, Abbot Duc Nghi, a member of the official Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam, invited Nhất Hạnh's followers to occupy Bat Nha. Nhất Hạnh's followers stated that during a sacred ceremony at Plum Village Monastery in 2006, Nghi received a Dharma transmission from Nhất Hạnh and agreed to allow them to occupy Bat Nha. Nhất Hạnh's followers invested 1.00 M USD in developing the monastery, including building a meditation hall for 1,800 people. Thousands came to practice, and Nhất Hạnh ordained over 500 monks and nuns there. It was later believed that the initial government support for his followers was a tactic to remove Vietnam from the US State Department's Religious Freedom blacklist, improve chances for World Trade Organization entry, and increase foreign investment.

In 2008, statements Nhất Hạnh made regarding the Dalai Lama during an Italian television interview reportedly upset Chinese officials, who then pressured the Vietnamese government. The chairman of Vietnam's national Committee on Religious Affairs sent a letter accusing Nhất Hạnh's organization of publishing false information about Vietnam on its website, alleging misrepresentation of Vietnam's religious policies and potential undermining of national unity. The chairman requested Nhất Hạnh's followers leave Bat Nha, stating that Abbot Duc Nghi also desired their departure. Brother Phap Kham, a follower, asserted that Duc Nghi was "breaking a vow that he made to us," citing video evidence of Nghi inviting them to transform the monastery into a Plum Village tradition worship place "life after life." In September and October 2009, a standoff escalated, culminating in authorities cutting power and conducting police raids, augmented by mobs. Attackers used sticks and hammers, dragging hundreds of monks and nuns away. A villager described senior monks being "dragged like animals out of their rooms, then left sitting in the rain until police dragged them to the taxis where 'black society' bad guys pushed them into cars." Two senior monks had their IDs confiscated and were placed under house arrest without charges in their hometowns. Monastics responded with chanting, but continued to face government persecution.

7.3. Final Years and Illness

In November 2014, Nhất Hạnh suffered a severe brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized. After several months of rehabilitation, he was discharged from the stroke rehabilitation clinic at Bordeaux Segalen University. In July 2015, he traveled to San Francisco to accelerate his recovery through an intensive rehabilitation program at UCSF Medical Center. He returned to France in January 2016 and spent the remainder of that year there before moving to the Thai Plum Village. While in Thailand, he continued to receive care from both Eastern and Western specialists. Despite these efforts, he was unable to communicate verbally for the rest of his life.

In November 2018, the Plum Village community issued a press release confirming that Nhất Hạnh, then 92, had returned to Vietnam for the final time to live at Từ Hiếu Temple for "his remaining days." During a meeting with senior disciples, he had "clearly communicated his wish to return to Vietnam using gestures, nodding and shaking his head in response to questions." In January 2019, Sister True Dedication, a representative of Plum Village, reported that "Thầy's health has been remarkably stable, and he is continuing to receive Eastern treatment and acupuncture. When there's a break in the rains, Thay comes outside to enjoy visiting the Root Temple's ponds and stupas, in his wheelchair, joined by his disciples. Many practitioners, lay and monastic, are coming to visit Tu Hieu, and there is a beautiful, light atmosphere of serenity and peace, as the community enjoys practicing together there in Thay's presence." Although Nhất Hạnh could no longer speak, Vietnamese authorities assigned plainclothes police to monitor his activities at the temple.

8.1. Death

Thích Nhất Hạnh died at his residence in Từ Hiếu Temple on January 22, 2022, at the age of 95. His death was attributed to complications from the severe stroke he had suffered seven years prior.

8.2. Funeral Rites

His funeral began on the day of his death and included a seven-day wake, culminating in his cremation on January 29. In a 2015 book, Nhất Hạnh had articulated his wishes for the disposition of his remains, using it as a teaching on impermanence and continuity: "I have a disciple in Vietnam who wants to build a stupa for my ashes when I die. He and others want to put a plaque with the words, 'Here lies my beloved teacher.' I told them not to waste the temple land...I suggested that, if they still insist on building a stupa, they have the plaque say, I am not in here. But in case people don't get it, they could add a second plaque, I am not out there either. If still people don't understand, then you can write on the third and last plaque, I may be found in your way of breathing and walking." At the conclusion of the 49-day mourning period, Nhất Hạnh's ashes were portioned and scattered at Từ Hiếu Temple and other temples associated with Plum Village worldwide, in accordance with his wishes.

8.3. Mourning and Condolences

News of Thích Nhất Hạnh's death prompted widespread mourning from various Buddhist communities both within and outside Vietnam. Messages of condolence were issued by global figures and organizations, including the Dalai Lama, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the U.S. State Department, reflecting his broad international impact.

11.1. Films

Nhất Hạnh has been featured in several films, including:

• The Power of Forgiveness, which was screened at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival.
• Walk with Me, a 2017 documentary directed by Marc James Francis and Max Pugh, with support from director Alejandro González Iñárritu. Filmed over three years, this documentary focuses on the daily life and rites of the monastics at Plum Village Monastery. Benedict Cumberbatch narrates passages from Nhất Hạnh's book Fragrant Palm Leaves in voiceover. The film premiered at the SXSW Festival in 2017.
• One: The Movie, a documentary that surveys beliefs on the meaning of life, features appearances by Nhất Hạnh and Sister Chân Không.
• A Cloud Never Dies, a biographical documentary produced by Pugh and Francis and narrated by Peter Coyote.

11.2. Graphic novel

Thích Nhất Hạnh, along with Alfred Hassler and Sister Chân Không, is a central subject of the 2013 graphic novel The Secret of the 5 Powers.

11.3. Public Art

Nhất Hạnh is among 25 humanitarians featured in Remember Them: Champions for Humanity, a bronze monument created by artist Mario Chiodo. This monument was unveiled in Oakland, California, on May 31, 2013. Other notable personalities included in the sculpture are Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Maya Angelou, Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, and Harvey Milk.