Thich Nhat Hahn

Thich Nhat Hahn is a contemporary Buddhist Poet. He has sought to offer what he calls "engaged Buddhism" to people from all over the world. His poetry appeals to both Buddhist and non Buddhist readers, it has helped him gain a reputation for being a soft spoken advocate of peace.

Disappearance
by Thich Nhat Hahn


The leaf tips bendunder the weight of dew.
Fruits are ripeningin Earth's early morning.
Daffodils light up in the sun.
The curtain of cloud at the gatewayof the garden path begins to shift:
have pity for childhood,
the way of illusion.
Late at night,the candle gutters.
In some distant desert,
a flower opens.And somewhere else,
a cold asterthat never knew a cassava patchor gardens of areca palms,
never knew the joy of life,
at that instant disappears-man's eternal yearning.

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I have been looking for you,
World Honored One,
since I was a little child.With my first breath,
I heard your call,
and began to look for you,
Blessed One.
I've walked so many perilous paths,
confronted so many dangers,endured despair,
fear, hopes, and memories.
I've trekked to the farthest regions,
immense and wild,
sailed the vast oceans,
traversed the highest summits,
lost among the clouds.I've lain dead,
utterly alone,
on the sands of ancient deserts.
I've held in my heart so many tears of stone.

Blessed One,
I've dreamed of drinking dewdropsthat sparkle with the light of far-off galaxies.
I've left footprints on celestial mountainsand screamed from the depths of Avici Hell, exhausted,
crazed with despairbecause I was so hungry, so thirsty.
For millions of lifetimes,
I've longed to see you,
but didn't know where to look.Yet,
I've always felt your presence with a mysterious certainty.
I know that for thousands of lifetimes,
you and I have been one,
and the distance between us is only a flash of though.
Just yesterday while walking alone,
I saw the old path strewn with Autumn leaves,
and the brilliant moon,
hanging over the gate,
suddenly appeared like the image of an old friend.
And all the stars confirmed that you were there!
All night,
the rain of compassion continued to fall,
while lightning flashed through my windowand a great storm arose,
as if Earth and Sky were in battle.
Finally in me the rain stopped, the clouds parted.
The moon returned,
shining peacefully,
calming Earth and Sky.
Looking into the mirror of the moon,
suddenlyI saw myself,
and I saw you smiling,
Blessed One.
How strange!
The moon of freedom has returned to me,
everything I thought I had lost.
From that moment on,and in each moment that followed,
I saw that nothing had gone.
There is nothing that should be restored.
Every flower, every stone,
and every leaf recognize me.Wherever I turn,
I see you smilingthe smile of no-birth and no-death.
The smile I received while looking at the mirror of the moon.
I see you sitting there,
solid as Mount Meru,
calm as my own breath,
sitting as though no raging fire storm ever occurred,
sitting in complete peace and freedom.
At last I have found you,
Blessed One,
and I have found myself.
There I sit.The deep blue sky,
the snow-capped mountains painted against the horizon,
and the shining red sun sing with joy.
You, Blessed One,
are my first love.
The love that is always present,
always pure,
and freshly new.
And I shall never need a love that will be called “last.”
You are the source of well-being flowing through numberless troubled lives,
the water from you spiritual stream always pure,
as it was in the beginning.
You are the source of peace,solidity, and inner freedom.
You are the Buddha,
the Tathagata.
With my one-pointed mindI vow to nourish your solidity and freedom in myselfso I can offer solidity and freedom to countless others,
now and forever.

- Thich Naht Hahn
From " Call me by my true names"

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Thich Nhat Hahn

View: Thich Nhat Hanh Poems
Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Naught-Han) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. During the war in Vietnam, he worked tirelessly for reconciliation between North and South Vietnam. His lifelong efforts to generate peace moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. He lives in exile in a small community in France where he teaches, writes, gardens, and works to help refugees worldwide. He has conducted many mindfulness retreats in Europe and North America helping veterans, children, environmentalists, psychotherapists, artists and many thousands of individuals seeking peace in their hearts, and in their world.

"Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive. " Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh has been living in exile from his native Vietnam since the age of forty. In that year of 1966, he was banned by both the non-Communist and Communist governments for his role in undermining the violence he saw affecting his people. A Buddhist monk since the age of sixteen, Tha^y ("teacher," as he is commonly known to followers) earned a reputation as a respected writer, scholar, and leader. He championed a movement known as "engaged Buddhism," which intertwined traditional meditative practices with active nonviolent civil disobedience. This movement lay behind the establishment of the most influential center of Buddhist studies in Saigon, the An Quang Pagoda. He also set up relief organizations to rebuild destroyed villages, instituted the School of Youth for Social Service (a Peace Corps of sorts for Buddhist peace workers), founded a peace magazine, and urged world leaders to use nonviolence as a tool. Although his struggle for cooperation meant he had to relinquish a homeland, it won him accolades around the world.
When Thich Nhat Hanh left Vietnam, he embarked on a mission to spread Buddhist thought around the globe. In 1966, when Thây came to the United States for the first of many humanitarian visits, the territory was not completely new to him: he had experienced American culture before as a student at Princeton, and more recently as a professor at Columbia. The Fellowship of Reconciliation and Cornell invited Tha^y to speak on behalf of Buddhist monks, and he offered an enlightened view on ways to end the Vietnam conflict. He spoke on college campuses, met with administration officials, and impressed social dignitaries. The following year, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the same honor. Hanh's Buddhist delegation to the Paris peace talks resulted in accords between North Vietnam and the United States, but his pacifist efforts did not end with the war. He also helped organize rescue missions well into the 1970's for Vietnamese trying to escape from political oppression. Even after the political stabilization of Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh has not been allowed to return home. The government still sees him as a threat-ironic, when one considers the subjects of his teachings: respect for life, generosity, responsible sexual behavior, loving communication, and cultivation of a healthful life style.

Tha^y now lives in southwestern France, where he founded a retreat center twelve years ago. At the center, Plum Village, he continues to teach, write, and garden. Plum Village houses only thirty monks, nuns, and laypeople, but thousands from around the globe call it home. Accommodation is readily available for short-term visitors seeking spiritual relief, for refugees in transit, or for activists in need of inspiration. Thich Nhat Hanh gathers people of diverse nationalities, races, religions, and sexes in order to expose them to mindfulness-taking care in the present moment, being profoundly aware and appreciative of life.

Despite the fact that Tha^y is nearing seventy, his strength as a world leader and spiritual guide grows. He has written more than seventy-five books of prose, poetry, and prayers. Most of his works have been geared toward the Buddhist reader, yet his teachings appeal to a wide audience. For at least a decade, Thich Nhat Hanh has visited the United States every other year; he draws more and more people with each tour, Christian, Jewish, atheist, and Zen Buddhist alike. His philosophy is not limited to preexistent religious structures, but speaks to the individual's desire for wholeness and inner calm. In 1993, he drew a crowd of some 1,200 people at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, led a retreat of 500 people in upstate New York, and assembled 300 people in West Virginia. His popularity in the United States inspired the mayor of Berkeley, California, to name a day in his honor and the Mayor of New York City declared a Day of Reconciliation during his 1993 visit. Clearly, Thich Nhat Hanh is a human link with a prophetic past, a soft-spoken advocate of peace, Buddhist community, and the average American citizen.
Web Source: http://www.seaox.com/

Links

Plum Village - Buddhist Community of Thich Nhat Hanh
Community of Mindful Living - Organisation promoting works of Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh at Amazon.com
Poems By Thich Nhat Hanh
Buddhist Poets
Spiritual Poets
Contemporary Spiritual Poets

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