Buddhist Monk Teaches Zen Approach to Terrorism

Thich Nhat Hanh is a renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist teacher who has written numerous books, created 800 meditation groups in two dozen countries, led retreats for U.S. political leaders and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in January for a three-month retreat, he said, he was pulled aside for an hour. Security guards searched his bags, read through his private letters and asked a fellow monk whether he had ever made bombs, he said.

“The war on terrorism has forced us to look at everyone as a potential terrorist,” Nhat Hanh said in a recent interview at his organization’s Deer Park Monastery in Escondido. “When the culture goes like that, it goes wrong, because you don’t have much chance to discover the good things in people. In fact, we are trying to look for the negative things ... and that is very depressing.”

To help Americans heal their trauma, anger and fear stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Buddhist monk has decided to spend his annual winter retreat in the United States for the first time in what he calls “a peace offering to America.”

With about 250 fellow monks and nuns also visiting Deer Park, Nhat Hanh plans to present a series of public lectures, retreats and other events over the next month. The activities are aimed at sharing what he calls Buddhist mindfulness training -- how to cultivate peace and calm in daily life through deep breathing, slowing down and living fully in the present.

Nhat Hanh is scheduled to deliver a lecture at 2 p.m. Sunday at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center on the theme “Creating True Peace: Transforming Violence in Ourselves, Our Families and Society.”

The frail, soft-spoken monk, 77, who was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 and lives at his Plum Village monastery in France, will also present two unusual gatherings during his time here. From March 19 to March 21, Nhat Hanh -- a poet and writer -- will offer a retreat for creative artists on how to work peacefully in the entertainment industry. The retreat stemmed from a request by a Hollywood producer for techniques to deal with the jealousy, anxiety and loneliness in the business.

A second retreat scheduled for March 25-27 will offer mindfulness training for ethnic minorities. In addition, the monastics plan an “alms round” procession next Saturday at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. This follows an ancient practice in which monks and nuns travel by foot to give teachings and receive food and other offerings in exchange.

Details and costs of the events are available at www.esangha.org.

“We believe the presence of a community practicing mindfulness and compassion might have a good effect on this land and this people,” Nhat Hanh said.

The monk is no stranger to America. In 1966, in the early years of the Vietnam War, he was in Washington presenting a peace proposal when he learned that he would be banned from returning by South Vietnam. The same peace efforts led King to nominate him for the Nobel.

Since then, Nhat Hanh has lived in France, but frequently travels here to teach.

Last year, he gave a talk at the Library of Congress and led a weekend retreat for members of Congress sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) was among those who attended to seek techniques relieving the crushing pressures of political work.

Today, she said, she continues to use the techniques, adding the element of mindfulness to her regular morning walks.

“It had an impact on me that is lasting,” said Capps, a Lutheran. “We can learn so much from other traditions.”

Nhat Hanh said he had urged political leaders to seek approaches other than violence to the war on terrorism. The topic seemed to weigh heavily on his mind at Deer Park, a 400-acre sanctuary of rolling hills and oak trees that opened four years ago.

In outspoken remarks, Nhat Hanh said the U.S. war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq had backfired, creating more enemies of America; and that evangelical Christian leaders who demonized Islam were contradicting the Gospel’s spirit of compassion. He also said U.S. church leaders were not speaking out clearly about the nation’s escalating military spending.

Sipping tea, the monk said Buddhist teaching encouraged people to reach out to those perceived as enemies with “deep listening and loving speech.” Rather than demonize the terrorists, he said, he would like to understand them. “You must have hated us a lot.... Tell us why. Have we tried to destroy you as a people, as a religion, as a culture?” he said he would ask.

“Maybe they have misunderstood us. In that case we can try to correct their perceptions,” he said. “To correct their perceptions is much better than to drop bombs on them.”

If that strikes some as naive, Nhat Hanh said he had seen miracles from such approaches between sworn enemies.

For the past several years, he said, he has brought groups of Israelis and Palestinians to Plum Village for retreats. In the beginning, he said, the two groups are usually unable even to look one another in the eye. But, calmed by daily meditation and encouraged to share their stories of suffering without blame, the two groups usually ended up transformed, he said.

On other topics, the monk also called for reconciliation within the Vietnamese American community, which is deeply divided over the recent decision by former South Vietnam Premier Nguyen Cao Ky to return for a visit to his homeland. Ky, who lives in Hacienda Heights, has been denounced as a traitor by many in Southern California’s staunchly anti-Communist Vietnamese community.

But Nhat Hanh asserted that even Communist Party leaders in Vietnam no longer believe in the ideology.

Nhat Hanh is still waiting to go home.

Although he launched a high-profile campaign four years ago to persuade the Vietnamese government to allow him to visit and teach, he has not yet received permission.

His books and tapes are still confiscated, he said, even though they are freely sold in China and other Communist nations.

“It’s funny Premier Ky can go home but a monk like me cannot go home,” he said. “I can wait. I have a lot of patience.”