Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

By Vo Thanh   January 10, 2023 | 07:37 pm PT
More than 1,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and followers gathered at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue to commemorate Thich Nhat Hanh who passed away a year ago.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Followers pray after finishing a meditation walk around Tu Hieu Temple in the central town of Hue on Tuesday.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk with global influence, passed away at the temple, where he had been living, on January 22 at the age of 95.

Born in Hue, Tu Hieu was where he had embarked on his monastic path in 1942.

In October 2018 he returned to the temple after being hospitalized in France for four and a half months with a stroke, and stayed there until he died.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

A foreigner chants and gestures to indicate a lotus flower during the meditation walk.

Before he passed away, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote: "If one day I die, don't build me any tomb or tower. It'll cost money, it'll cost people's land, and our people are still very poor. Cremate me. Take my ashes to Plum Village monasteries around the world and scatter them on your meditation walk roads so that every day I am still with you on our walking meditation."

His wish was fulfilled.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Sister Chan Khong, 85, who worked closely with Thich Nhat Hanh since the earliest days of establishing the monastic organization Plum Village, walks into the meditation hall.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Monks and nuns get ready for a ritual to commemorate the Zen Master.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Followers pray along with the monks.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Monks and nuns at the meditation hall, which has an altar for Thich Nhat Hanh.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

The offerings are simple vegetarian dishes, redolent of the simple lifestyle of the late Zen Master.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

The Most Venerable Thich Chi Thang pours tea during the ceremony.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s 1st death anniversary marked in Hue

Thich Chi Thang in front of another altar in a house next to the meditation hall.

Considered the second most influential Buddhist leader in the world after the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh studied and practiced Zen Buddhism from 1942.

He became a monk at the age of 23 after studying Buddhism for seven years.

He left Vietnam in 1966 and lived in Plum Village in southern France for decades, traveling regularly throughout North America and Europe to give lectures on mindfulness and peace.

His key teaching was that through mindfulness people can learn to live happily in the present, which is the only way to truly develop peace, both within oneself and in the world outside.

For many decades he promoted "engaged Buddhism," which focuses on humans' active role in facilitating change.

 
 
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