By Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
At midnight on January 22, 2022, the great Buddhist teacher Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh passed away at his home monastery in Hue, Vietnam, at the age of 95. We at Buddhist Global Relief celebrate his lifelong teachings and applaud his role as one of the most prominent architects of modern Engaged Buddhism, a tradition followed by BGR.
Through his life, work, writings, and teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh—affectionately known as Thay—underscored the close connection between the inward dimension of our lives and the broader dimensions of the societies in which we live. His vision joined the personal and the social, the individual and the communal, stressing that the achievement of peace and social justice requires a transformation in our inner depths as much as in the outer structures of society. He saw the Buddha’s teachings as offering a key to the kind of transformation needed. He particularly taught that mindfulness of our bodies, our breath, and our minds is the means, not only to inner peace, but to dispelling the shadows of distrust, conflict, hate, and violence that envelop the world today.
Buddhist Global Relief strives to apply Thay’s life-long message by addressing the sufferings of people around the world afflicted with poverty, hunger, and oppression. While upholding the inner cultivation of mindfulness, loving-kindness, and compassion, we attempt to give concrete expression to these noble values by offering a helping hand to countless neglected brothers and sisters around the world, giving them the chance to live with purpose and dignity. As Thay often taught, we live in a state of “interbeing,” in inextricable connection with each other. Our work of compassion flows from a vivid recognition of this truth.
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is the founder and chair of BGR.
