Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh describes his ascent into Buddhism as beginning with him seeing a depiction of the Buddha on the front of a magazine cover. At a time of great suffering for himself he saw how peaceful and serene the Buddha appeared and thought to himself, "I want to be like that".

For Thich Nhat Hanh it was a simple thought that led him to change his life, and the lives of so many others throughout the world.

A few years ago I was standing with my wife at the bookstore, we were going to look for books on raising children because we were thinking of starting a family. For some reason right next to the pregnancy and child rearing books there was the section on self-help books. While my wife was reading I momentarily looked over and picked out a random book, 'No Death, No Fear'. The title intrigued me. I thought "hey, that sounds like a good idea.".

My wife is Vietnamese, with some exposure to Vietnamese names I did at least recognize that Thich Nhat Hanh may in fact have been Vietnamese. I asked my wife and she confirmed. I started flipping through the pages and soon found tears in my eyes as his words of poetic compassion filled my heart. The very essence of his message is a healing peace that is difficult to explain. I showed the book to my wife and she was very interested and so we bought that book.

And so with that moment came a great change in my life - a definite change in my spiritual path from waning Catholic to Buddhist. It has been a bumpy ride - not for any fault of Nhat Hanh's, but more because my own ignorance has blinded me in the path.

But it was Nhat Hanh's own peaceful voice that gave me faith that the answers I was seeking were waiting to be found. While I typically arrogantly jump to conclusions and cynically assume that the answers will fall short, it was just his voice that kept me going. His words, his poetry, his intellect, his message all told me that he knew something that allowed him to be at peace. It was the first time I had really felt a true faith in someone I did not know. Perhaps this is how people felt when they first heard Jesus preach?

It has only been relatively recently that I have discovered the poetic beauty and practical compassion of Mahayana Buddhism and of Thich Nhat Hanh's own Engaged Buddhism.

In true interbeing fashion, the things that led me to the book - my wife, the decision to have a family and the causes of that, the fact my wife is vietnamese, the fact that 'no fear' appealed to me - it is humbling to know that all of these things which originated outside of 'me' brought the book to me, and that in itself is confirmation of the teachings of the Buddha.

I cannoy say enough about how truly wonderful and Holy Thich Nhat Hanh is. His striving to bring religions and people together, not just through speech but through practical means - his retreats for Palestinians and Israelis, his published books on bringing together Christians and Buddhists. Every word, every utterance, each thought he has seems to be for promoting peace and happiness in this world. He truly is the Buddha incarnate.

And we are so blessed to have him as our teacher.