Revered Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who helped pioneer the concept of mindfulness in the West and socially engaged Buddhism in Asia, dies at 95.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the revered Zen Buddhist monk who helped pioneer the concept of mindfulness in the West and socially engaged Buddhism in Asia, has died. He was 95.Thich Nhat Hanh espoused "engaged Buddhism" that saw him engage in anti-war activism with Martin Luther King
Born as Nguyen Xuan Bao in 1926 and ordained at age 16, Nhat Hanh distilled Buddhist teachings on compassion and suffering into easily grasped guidance over a lifetime dedicated to working for peace. Still and steadfast in his brown robes, he exuded an air of watchful, amused calm, sometimes sharing a stage with the somewhat livelier Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama.
There, he founded the Order of Interbeing, which espouses "engaged Buddhism" dedicated to nonviolence, mindfulness and social service.