Word: hanh
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...world-renowned Buddhist scholar, Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has become almost synonymous with the words reconciliation and healing. Exiled by both North and South in the 1960s, he focused his concepts of mindfulness and "engaged Buddhism" into retreats for American veterans struggling to build inner peace from the ravages of the Vietnam War. He's published more than 80 books, built monasteries in France and the U.S. and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr., who said his anti-war stance was inspired by the Zen master's teachings...
...Nhat Hanh has turned his attention to healing the wounds of war in his communist-run native land. But his mission faces opposition from a surprising front - fellow Vietnamese Buddhists. Last week, Nhat Hanh arrived in the former Saigon for a 10-week tour, his second in two years. His plans include a series of three-day Buddhist mass-chanting ceremonies, the first starting March 16, to pray for the dead on all sides of the Vietnam War, unprecedented "Grand Requiem" ceremonies that Nhat Hanh's followers hail as a leap forward in Communist-Buddhist relations...
...banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam sees Nhat Hanh's pilgrimage as betrayal, not breakthrough. The UBCV's two top officials, Thich Huyen Quang, and Thich Quang Do ("Thich" is an honorific held by most Vietnamese monks) have been under house arrest in their respective monasteries due to their pro-democracy stance and opposition to strict government control of religion, which was established after the communists won the war in 1975. A spokesman for the outlawed sect said he is "shocked" that Nhat Hanh is willing to work with his co-religionists' oppressors. "I believe Thich Nhat Hanh's trip...
...Tension between the government and non-state religions have risen so high that the United States last year placed Vietnam on its list of countries of particular concern for freedom of religion, along with Iran and North Korea. Leaders of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which Nhat Hanh left to form his own Zen sect, have been under house arrest for most of the last 20 years. In November, authorities sentenced a Mennonite pastor to three years in prison. Evangelical Christians in the Central Highlands have seen church leaders arrested and at least one church burned down, according...
...Nhat Hanh, with the serene attitude of a Zen master, says he's not worried about being used as a propaganda tool. "That may be possible," he allows. "But my thinking is not conditioned by these things." His goal, he says, is to allay government concerns that independent Buddhism is a threat. "In order for freedom to be possible," he says, "we should help remove fear, misunderstanding and discrimination." Dispelling decades of suspicion may be a quite a challenge, even for a Zen master...