At Peace

Picture: Martin Luther King, Thich Nhat Hahn

The Bhuddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hahn, was an example, to anyone who seeks a world in which respect and understanding are the shared values. As we witness a war in which our shared world is more vulnerable, those values are all the more valuable.

Nominated over half a century ago, for the Nobel Peace Prize, by Martin Luther King, he never received that, but no prize other than peace itself, was ever sought by this humble monk. His bravery in the face of threats, to his own life, as  critic and opponent of the regimes in Vietnam, his own country, in striving for peace, was exemplary. His work, reflected in many books, not least on mindfulness, his philosophy of life, is his legacy.

Thich Nhat Hahn was an exile from Vietnam for much of his adult life. He was allowed to go back to his country only in the most recent few years, having suffered ill health. It is there he lived out his remarkable life. He is now at peace. But he always was, in heart and mind, in word and deed.