Buddhist monk visits USD

PLNU students joined approximately 3,700 people to listen to Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh at the University of San Diego last Tuesday. Nhat Hanh is not just any Buddhist monk. He is one of the world’s leading peace activists, and in his 81 years, he has published more than 80 works, including 40 works in English.

“Here you have one of the great contemporary thinkers on issues facing our world, especially on war and peace issues and environmental issues,” said history professor William Wood, who attended the event.

Nhat Hanh’s address took place in the Jenny Craig Pavilion as part of USD’s 18th annual Social Issues Conference. The conference’s theme this year was “Walking together in Peace.”

Nhat Hanh spoke to the crowd in his quiet, lyrical voice, frequently taking pauses to allow audience members to process and be mindful of their breathing. Mindful breathing is central to Nhat Hanh’s teaching, and he believes that quieting inner turmoil is the key to ending the turmoil in the world.

“I thought it was interesting what he said about the verse, ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’” said senior Aaron Hale, who had not heard of Thich Nhat Hanh before attending the event. “He draws parallels to it with the three Buddhist concepts of mindfulness, concentration and insight.”

Nhat Hanh spent the ‘60s in Vietnam, his homeland, establishing schools and aid centers to help war victims and promote peace. In 1966, Nhat Hanh visited the United States as the chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation. This visit not only compelled Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace prize, but caused both the north and south Vietnamese governments to exile Nhat Hanh for being either pro-American or a communist.

“His crime was that he refused to take sides, because he shared the suffering of people on both sides,” said Sister Barbara Quinn, director of USD’s Center for Christian Spirituality, at the event.

After being exiled, Nhat Hanh founded a monastery in southern France. He invites people of any faith and any calling to come and practice Buddhist breathing techniques and arrive at a place of resolution and understanding. In his Tuesday address, he described his efforts to bring groups of Israelis and Palestinians together at his retreat. The three-week time of contemplation and sharing promotes understanding between the two groups.

“Understanding is the key to love,” said Nhat Hanh. The two groups leave understanding each other, returning to their countries to be seeds of peace.
In his book Living Buddha, Living Christ, Nhat Hanh presents similarities between Buddhist spiritualism and the life of Christ. He promotes understanding between the two faiths and a willingness to work together for the perpetuation of peace.

“I am interested in how [Buddhists] unite with one another on issues of justice and peace,” said Jamie Gates, sociology professor and director of PLNU’s Center for Justice and Reconciliation.

Nhat Hanh presents more to Christians than simply issues of social justice. He encourages productive ways to approach the spiritual life.

“He tells us…that Jesus’ teachings must be actually practiced, with Jesus as the concrete model of the kind of life he teaches. Christianity is a living tradition not only of particular beliefs, important as they are, but of everyday practice and lives well lived,” said theology professor Michael Lodahl in an e-mail.

During his final statements on Tuesday, Hanh summed up his teachings by saying that, “peace in your heart is the foundation for peace in the world.”

For Hanh, individuals can proactively respond to the suffering in the world. He and his followers take the insights they learn from meditation and apply it to social, political and economic issues of injustice.

“He really believes that peace starts with the individual.” said senior Anna Runion. “I am skeptical about it, but I am also challenged and inspired by it.”