The Here and Now

"Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality, or race. Your true home is not an abstract idea; it is something you can touch and live in every moment."

Thích Nhất Hạnh

We honor beloved teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh, whose continuation day (birthday) is October 11th; this week he turns 95 years old. Thay, as he’s known by followers worldwide, embodies the interdependence of engaged buddhism, a practice that integrates social justice and inner peace. He played a central role in the nonviolent peace movement during the 1960s, rebuilding schools in his devastated home country and speaking out against the U.S. war in Vietnam. In 1967 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. He later co-founded Plum Village Monastery in France with Sister Chan Khong in 1982 and lived there for many years until returning to Vietnam after suffering a major stroke in 2014.