Explore the Zen Master’s open letters on community-building and current affairs, including remarkable messages to Martin Luther King Jr., President G.W. Bush, and to a young man on Death Row in the U.S.
Thay’s letter to Root Temple Descendants, October 2018
This letter sets out Thay’s intention in returning to Vietnam for his final chapter. Although Thay can no longer write or dictate, he used gestures to indicate his intention, and the letter was drafted…
Thich Nhat Hanh’s statement on Climate Change for the United Nations
In 2014, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) approached Thich Nhat Hanh as
Connecting to Our Root Teacher, the Buddha
Thay wrote this letter in autumn 2014, as his health was weakening. He teaches us how to keep our practice authentic and alive, and see the Buddha not as a God, but as our very…
Thich Nhat Hanh’s Speech at the Vatican, December 2, 2014
On December 2, 2014, a delegation of monks and nuns from Plum Village travelled to the Vatican to represent Th
New Designs for Monastic Robes
From the hospital in Agen, Thay writes to his monastic students recommending they design new robes for working meditation, sports and swimming, and sustainable unisex canvas shoes.
Sangha Building: our noblest career
In this teaching just before his stroke, Thay emphasises that no studies, ceremonies, or personal enlightenments are more noble than the practice of sangha-building and nurturing collective awakening.
New Heart Sutra translation by Thich Nhat Hanh
On 11th September Thay completed a profound and beautiful new English translation of the Heart Sutra, one of t
囚人への手紙
3月12日、アメリカのジョージア州ジャクソンの死刑囚ダニエルという青年を支援しているザカリー・クロウから、タイの手元へ一通の手紙が届きました。ザカリーさんとダニエルさんはマインドフルネスの実践や、タイの著書『仏陀の教えの
Message to Friends in Japan
Words of comfort from Thay to his friends in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011.
Bat Nha: a Koan
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s compassionate response to the persecution of his students in Vietnam “
Bat Nha: The Indestructible Seed of Awakening
Fragrant Source Inner Monastery The last days of 2009 To my Bat Nha children, I know that in these moments, yo
Bat Nha: Rekindling the Sacred Fire
Thay’s letter to the Bat Nha Monastics, continued. Blue Cliff MonasteryOctober 21, 2009 Yesterday, in the Grea
Bat Nha: Magical Sound of the Sitar
Thay is continuing to write a letter to you from the hermitage Thach Lang in Blue Cliff Monastery. It is Octob
Bat Nha: Diamond Body
Blue Cliff, October 7th, 2009 To my Bat Nha Children, I write “my Bat Nha children” and not “my children in Ba
A Young Monastic’s Dream
My dear students, near and far, In the Daily Chanting book, there is a chant that I really liked when I was a
Seeing Thay in the Sangha
This letter was written by Thay in 2009, after he was urgently hospitalized with a serious lung infection, in
Thay Misses The Sangha
Dear Friends and Co-practitioners at the Retreat One Buddha is Not Enough, Estes Park, CO. My dear friends, I
The Mountain Cliff Robe
European Institute of Applied Buddhism Waldbroel, Germany 2009 Last night while sleeping here Thầy had a dream
Sitting Still, Imperturbable
Sitting Still Hut, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village July 20, 2009 To my students in Bat Nha, Tu Hieu and everywhere,
The Toadskin Hut and Paths of Legend
Thay wrote this end-of-year letter addressed to all of his students about the Toadskin Hut, the hermit of Stil
Letter to the CEO of KFC
Thay wrote this letter to David Novak, the CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken, in 2008.
Letter to Tommy in Prison
Thay replies to a prisoner who wrote to him sharing about his mindfulness practice. He asked for Thay’s advice on how to handle his strong emotions when violently provoked and challenged by other prisoners.
Comments on Tibet
When the Plum Village delegation led by Thich Nhat Hanh landed in Rome in March 2008 for fourteen days of
Sitting in the Autumn Breeze: Thay’s Blue Cliff Letter, 2007
In this landmark letter, Thay announces that his monastic community is turning vegan, to protect the planet and stop contributing to climate change.
Call for a Collective Awakening: Speech to UNESCO
Thich Nhat Hanh gave this speech at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, October 7, 2006 Ten years ago, I was ask
Letter to President G.W.Bush
A handwritten letter to President Bush inviting him to open his heart to the deaths taking place in the Middle East.
Embracing our pain: comments on 2004 Asia Tsunami
Paris, France — The whole human race is in mourning … Over the past days I have offered incen
Thich Nhat Hanh address to US Congress, September 10, 2003
Thich Nhat Hanh gave a lecture titled Leading with Courage and Compassion at the Library of Congress
Giving back to our motherland
Writing from exile in Paris in 1974, Thay wrote these words of encouragement and inspiration to his social workers back in Vietnam, dreaming of creating a village and practice center together.
Letter after hearing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote this letter to his friend Raphael (Ray) Gould, the morning after receiving the news of t
A Proposal for Peace: 1 June, 1966
Published in Thich Nhat Hanh, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993) This statement
In Search of the Enemy of Man
Thay’s first letter to the Rev. Martin Luther King, sent on June 1, 1965. This was the start of their correspondence and friendship, and they met for the first time in Chicago one year…