Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

With a headline like, “Thich Nhat Hanh, Monk, Zen Master and Activist, Dies at 95”, we were greeted with the news of the passing of Thich Nhat Hanh on January 22, 2022 in Hue, Vietnam. Headlines in the news media contained such phrases as “Buddhist monk”, “Zen master”, “peace activist”, “political reformer”, and “mindfulness teacher” to describe what Thich Nhat Hanh was in his life. Thich Nhat Hanh, to be sure, was all of what these phrases describe in his life. No single phrase, however, will suffice to describe what Thich Nhat Hanh was in his life, considering that he was an inspiration for millions of people worldwide: peace activists, monastic brothers and sisters, lay practitioners, educators, and leaders in business and government.

As a Buddhist monk with his unwavering commitment to Engaged Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh has touched the lives of millions of people worldwide with his thoughts, speeches, and actions. For those of us who are familiar with his teaching of “no birth and no death”: “Our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death.” (No Death, No Fear, 2002, p.7), Thich Nhat Hanh, or our beloved teacher “Thay”, did not die but simply ceased to exist in the form of the five aggregates in the conventional world. Thay will continue to live among us in his “continuation body” with his teaching he has shared with us in his dharma talks and writings: “I am continued in my friends, students, and monastic disciples. I am continued in the countless people all over the world whom I have never met but who have read my books, listened to one of my talks, or practiced mindfulness with a local community or in one of our practice centers.” (The Art of Living, 2017, p.72)

As a Zen Master with his deep understanding of the Buddha’s teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh has nurtured generations of students of Buddhism with his accessible expositions of Buddhist philosophy and psychology. To say “No Mud, No Lotus”, with a lotus flower in his hand, was Thay’s way of teaching the Buddhist concept of “dependent origination”, which he rephrased as “interbeing”: “Interbeing is the teaching of the Buddha that everything is made by and made up of everything else.” (Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practice, 2009, p.70) The Buddhist concept of “consciousness”, in Thay’s exposition, was made into a house with two levels: “According to Buddhist psychology, our consciousness contains the store consciousness at the base, and the mind consciousness in the upper level. In the store consciousness there are many seeds, both wholesome and unwholesome. These seeds are the results of our past actions, and they can either manifest or remain dormant according to how we attend to them.” (Peaceful Action, Open Heart, 2008, p.260)

As for the question of life and death, what Thay urges us to do is to look deeply. By looking deeply, we begin to see the things others cannot see, including the wrong views that lie at the base of our suffering: (1) the idea that we are a separate self cut off from the rest of the world; (2) the view that we are only this body, and that when we die we cease to exist; and (3) the idea that what we are looking for—whether it be happiness, heaven, or love—can be found only outside us in a distant future. Thay challenges us to break away from these wrong views, for “when we can break away from these wrong views, we can master the art of living happily in peace and freedom.” (The Art of Living, 2017, p.3)

When we can break away from these wrong views, we acquire Right View, which is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. What is Right View, then? “Right View is not an ideology, a system, or even a path. It is the insight we have into the reality of life, a living insight that fills us with understanding, peace and love.” (The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, 1998, p.54) That insight into the reality of life we seek comes from practice. This is where “mindfulness” comes in, for “In Buddhism, mindfulness is the key. Mindfulness is the energy that sheds light on all things and all activities, producing the power of concentration, bringing forth deep insight and awakening.” (Zen Keys, 1974, pp.25-26)

Mindfulness is what Engaged Buddhism is all about: “Engaged Buddhism means we practice mindfulness wherever we are, whatever we are doing, at any time. When we are alone, walking, sitting, drinking our tea, or making our breakfast, that can also be engaged Buddhism.” What is important for us to realize is that our practice is not for ourselves, as Thay goes on to say: “Engaged Buddhism is not just self-help. It helps us feel stronger and more stable and also more connected to others and committed to the happiness of all beings.” (Good Citizens: Creating Enlightened Society, 2008, p.52)

Engaged Buddhism is the brand of Buddhism Thay has advocated in order to create Enlightened Society in the world in the twenty-first century, for the twentieth-century world was characterized by individualism and mindless consumption that have brought about the division between rich and poor societies and the crisis in our natural environment and our planet. What does it take to create Enlightened Society, then?

In the first place, we need to practice “mindful living”: “The practice of mindful living can be described as the practice of happiness, the practice of love. The capacity of being happy, the capacity of being loving, is what we have to cultivate in our lives.” (Teachings on Love, 1995, p.92) We must, then, develop new forms of solidarity and togetherness, extending that capacity of being happy, that capacity of being loving, to include all living beings. The teaching that guides our path is already with us, for “The teaching of the Buddha … opens up a path of living, not just for personal benefit, but for our whole species. We have the power to decide the destiny of our planet.” (The Art of Living, 2017, p.6) If the destiny of our planet is in our hands, what do we need to do? We have to see, Thay teaches us, that we are Mother Earth and that Mother Earth is us: “If we look at the Earth as just a block of matter lying outside of us, then we have not yet truly seen the Earth. We have to see that we are a part of the Earth, and the entire Earth is in us. We have to see that we are Mother Earth and that Mother Earth is us.” (The Science of the Buddha, 2012, p.66)

To keep on practicing “mindful living” is what we can do to preserve the legacy of Thay’s teaching. But mere preservation is not enough. Our practice will gather collective energy when we take refuge in our friends and communities around the world, for one Buddha is not enough and collective awakening is needed to change the world to create Enlightened Society. Mindfulness will show us the way: “When you practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful sitting, you bring peace and serenity into yourself, you get understanding and compassion, and you radiate peace while you walk, sit and speak. Love, understanding, and peace can be seen, and that is the living Dharma.” (One Buddha Is Not Enough: A Story of Collective Awakening, 2010, p.213)