Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 to 2022) was a Vietnamese Zen master, poet, scholar and peace activist, and one of the most loved teachers of mindfulness in the world. Known to his students as Thay, meaning teacher, he showed how simple practices such as mindful breathing and walking can bring peace into everyday life, and he founded the Plum Village community in France. [1]
Who is Thich Nhat Hanh?
Thich Nhat Hanh was born in central Vietnam in 1926 and entered Tu Hieu Temple in Hue as a novice monk at the age of 16. [1] As a young monk he worked to make Buddhism relevant to the challenges of modern life, an approach he called Engaged Buddhism, which he described in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. [1]
In 1961 he went to the United States to study at Princeton Theological Seminary and later taught at Columbia University. Back in Vietnam he founded the School of Youth for Social Service, Van Hanh Buddhist University, La Boi Press and, in 1966, the Order of Interbeing. [1] That year he met Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1967 nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize and called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence”. [1]
Because of his peace work he spent 39 years in exile. He led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks in 1969, established the Sweet Potato community near Paris in 1975, and in 1982 founded Plum Village in south-west France, which grew into a large international practice centre. [1] He taught the Five Mindfulness Trainings, inspired the Wake Up movement for young people, and wrote more than 100 books. [1]
After a severe stroke in November 2014 he continued to teach through his presence. In 2018 he returned to Tu Hieu Temple, where he passed away peacefully on 22 January 2022. His community of more than 700 monastic disciples in 11 monasteries continues his work today. [1]
His teaching in brief
- Come back to your breath. Mindful breathing brings body and mind together in the present moment.
- Walk in peace. Walking meditation turns every step into a chance to arrive in the here and now.
- Practise in daily life. Washing dishes, drinking tea or answering the phone can all be mindful moments.
- Listen deeply, speak lovingly. Compassionate listening and loving speech heal relationships.
- See interbeing. Everything is connected; caring for yourself and caring for the world go together.
At a glance
Born: 1926, central Vietnam
Died: 22 January 2022, Tu Hieu Temple, Hue
Known as: Thay (teacher)
Founded: Order of Interbeing (1966), Plum Village (1982)
Community: Plum Village
Good fit if
You want a gentle, practical way into mindfulness, you like simple practices you can use while walking, eating or working, or you are looking for a calm, compassionate approach to stress and relationships.
Our take
A warm, practical teacher whose simple instructions on breathing, walking and listening have helped millions. Start with a short walking meditation video, then read Peace Is Every Step.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s core teachings
Thay taught that mindfulness is something you can practise anywhere, at any time. Tap a card to read more.
Mindful breathing
For Thich Nhat Hanh, the breath is the bridge between body and mind. Simply noticing “breathing in, I know I am breathing in; breathing out, I know I am breathing out” brings you back to the present moment, where life is actually happening.
You can try this right now: take three slow breaths and give each one your full attention. Plum Village communities often use a small bell as a reminder to pause and breathe in this way. [2]
Walking meditation
Walking meditation is one of the best-known Plum Village practices. You walk slowly and with ease, coordinating your steps with your breath, enjoying each step rather than rushing to arrive somewhere else. Thay often taught that with every step you can “arrive” in the here and now.
You can practise it anywhere: between meetings, in a park or simply from your car to your front door. The short videos on this page show how.
Deep listening and loving speech
Thay taught that compassionate listening has one purpose: to help the other person suffer less. You listen without interrupting or judging, and when you speak, you choose words that are truthful and kind. These practices are central to how he taught people to heal relationships and resolve conflict.
Our guide to mindfulness in relationships explores how these ideas can help at home.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings
The Five Mindfulness Trainings are Plum Village’s guidelines for living with care: reverence for life, true happiness, true love, loving speech and deep listening, and nourishment and healing. They are offered as a practice rather than as rules, and people of any background can explore them. [1]
Interbeing and Engaged Buddhism
Interbeing is Thay’s word for the way everything is connected. A sheet of paper contains the cloud, the rain and the tree that made it. Seeing this helps us care for ourselves, each other and the earth.
He also taught that mindfulness should lead to action. In his words: “Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. With mindfulness we know what to do and what not to do to help.” [1]
Videos with Thich Nhat Hanh
Hand-picked and checked one by one: short teachings from Thay, a biographical documentary and longer conversations.
Start here
Short teachings
Documentary and talks
Articles about Thich Nhat Hanh
Books by Thich Nhat Hanh
Thay wrote more than 100 books. These are some of the most popular places to start.
Buy Peace Is Every Step in your country: US · UK · Canada · Australia · India.
Retreats, apps and free resources
Plum Village has practice centres and local communities (sanghas) in many countries; the Plum Village website lists retreats and ways to practise online. [2]
What the Research Shows
Thay’s teaching sits within a wider family of mindfulness and meditation practices that researchers have studied in many trials.
- Stress and wellbeing. A systematic review and meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine found that mindfulness meditation programmes showed moderate evidence of improving anxiety, depression and pain. [3]
- Mainstream view. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health summarises research on meditation and mindfulness for a range of health concerns and notes they are generally considered safe for healthy people. [4]
Frequently asked questions
Who was Thich Nhat Hanh?
A Vietnamese Zen master, poet and peace activist (1926 to 2022) who taught mindfulness around the world and founded Plum Village in France.
What does Thay mean?
Thay is Vietnamese for teacher. It is how his students affectionately referred to him.
What is Engaged Buddhism?
Thich Nhat Hanh’s term for bringing mindfulness and compassion into action to help relieve suffering in society.
What is Plum Village?
A mindfulness practice centre he founded in south-west France in 1982, now an international community with monasteries and practice centres.
Did Martin Luther King Jr. nominate Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Yes. Dr King nominated him in 1967.
What is the best Thich Nhat Hanh book to start with?
Many people start with Peace Is Every Step or The Miracle of Mindfulness, both short and practical.
When did Thich Nhat Hanh die?
He passed away peacefully on 22 January 2022 at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam.
Sources
- Plum Village: Thich Nhat Hanh, Biography
- Plum Village
- Goyal et al., Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis, JAMA Internal Medicine 2014
- NCCIH (US National Institutes of Health): Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety
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