Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thích Nhất Hạnh belongs in a different category from most names I write about; he was less a public figure than a moral compass. A Vietnamese Zen monk who preached peace through the chaos of war, he became the wellspring of engaged Buddhism and founded the Plum Village tradition. What moves me is his gift for translation, taking profound teaching and distilling it into something as simple as paying attention to your own breath. He answered violence with stillness and tried to change the world through calm rather than rage. In that quiet I sense genuine, unshakable strength.

Name (English)

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Name (Japanese)

ティク・ナット・ハン

Reading

てぃく・なっと・はん

Born

October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Tiger

Origin

Huế, Vietnam

Occupation

Buddhist monk / poet / peace activist / writer / monk

University

Princeton University

Awards & achievements

• honorary doctor of the University of Hong Kong

• Official sitehttps://www.thich-nhat-hanh.fr/
• Xhttps://x.com/thichnhathanh
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch%20Nh%E1%BA%A5t%20H%E1%BA%A1nh
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8A%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q310913

Tags

• Buddhist monk
• poet
• peace activist

Last updated

2026-06-17

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.