The life of famed Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh: First look at ‘Walk With Me’

The first trailer for "Walk With Me", a documentary about the world renowned Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, was released on Tuesday by WestEnd Films.

With unprecedented access, "Walk With Me" is "a meditative and intimate insight into a community of Buddhist monks and nuns who have given up all their possessions, left their homes and parted with their life savings for one common purpose – to practice of the art of mindfulness and the teachings" of Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, according to the official of the documentary.

The video begins with the voice of the Oscar-nominated, Emmy Award winner Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the role of the film’s narrator.

The trailer offers the first look at the journey made by film-makers Marc J Francis and Max Pugh who followed Thich Nhat Hanh into the depths of winter in a monastery in France, then traveling to Europe and North America; from Vancouver to Mississippi, New York, Washington, San Diego and London.

“Walk With Me – On The Road With Thich Nhat Hanh” is slated for release later this year.

Thich Nhat Hanh became a monk at the age of 23. He is considered the second most influential Buddhist leader in the West, after Dalai Lama.

In the 1960s he spearheaded a movement of Buddhists in South Vietnam that called for a negotiated end to the Vietnam War. He left Vietnam in 1966 and has lived in France for years. 

He is also a poet, and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, and is the author of more than 100 books, including the best-selling The Miracle of Mindfulness.