Who Is Thich Nhat Hanh?

After visiting the U.S. and Europe in 1966 on a peace mission, Thich Nhat Hanh was banned from returning to Vietnam in 1966.

In his subsequent travels to the U.S., he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and helped to galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thich Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks. In 1982 he founded Plum Village, a Buddhist community in exile in France, where he continues his work to alleviate the suffering of refugees, boat people, political prisoners, and hungry families in Vietnam and throughout the Third World. He has also received recognition for his work with Vietnam veterans, meditation retreats, and his prolific writings on meditation, mindfulness, and peace. He has published some 85 titles of accessible poems, prose, and prayers, with more than 40 in English, including the best selling Call Me by My True Names, Peace Is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace, Living Buddha Living Christ, Teachings on Love, The Path of Emancipation, and Anger. In September 2001, just a few days after the suicide terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he addressed the issues of non-violence and forgiveness in a memorable speech at Riverside Church in New York City. In September of 2003, he addressed members of the US Congress, leading them through a two-day retreat.

Thanks to Plum Villiage Practice Center for the above information