Thich Naht Hahn and His Life
             Thich Naht Hahn is wonderful Buddhist monk and a great asset to the Buddhist religion. He has had and is having an interesting life. He is known for many things. These include he talks during the Vietnam War for peace, organizing help for villages, instituting schools for youths, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. Thich Naht Hahn has one of the most amazing backgrounds that lead up to the legacy of this Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
             Thich Naht Hahn has been living in exile from his native land of Vietnam since he was forty years old. In 1966, he was banned by both the non-Communist and Communist governments for his role in undermining the violence he saw affecting his people. He has been a Buddhist monk since he was 16 years old, he earned a reputation as a respected writer, scholar, and leader. He is known as Thay ("Teacher") to his followers. He has headed a movement known as "Engaged Buddhism," which involved traditional meditative practices with active nonviolent civil disobedience. This movement lays behind the establishment of the most influential center of Buddhist studies in Saigon, the An Quang Pagoda. He has also set up relief organizations to rebuild destroyed villages, instituted the School of Youth for Social Service (a Peace Corps of sorts for Buddhists peace makers), 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 made him known around the world (Jones p.262)
             Thich Nhat Hahn is a Zen Buddhist monk, scholar, poet, and political figure from Vietnam: He actively opposed the war in Vietnam. Because of this he came to the United States in 1966 as a spokesman for monks who felt that reconciliation was possible in Vietnam, if the United States stopped its war effort against Vietnam. This was first of many humanitaria...