The Peace of Thay

Yesterday Thich Nhat Hanh died. The news of his death was like a meditation gong that called me back to the center of who I am … who we are. That center is peace.

Strangely I have been thinking about him quite a bit recently. Now it feels like a premonition.  A couple of weeks ago I pulled his book Living Buddha, Living Christ off the shelf to reread. It has been occupying my coffee table ever since. Occasionally I pick it up and read a section. It reinforces my understanding that the message of Buddha and the message of Christ are very similar.

The spiritual peace taught by Thay (as Nhat Hanh was called) and Christ (as Jesus was called) is much needed in today’s world, especially in the United States. There is a great deal of anger and fear in American society. There is fear of COVID and fear of vaccines for COVID. Political fear is felt by both the right and the left.

Unresolved fear can be expressed in violence. Murder rates have increased during the pandemic. People buy weapons out of fear. People feel like their bodies and their rights are under attack, and they respond in kind to protect themselves. 

A Christmas photo posted by friends shows a group of seven children with aggressive expressions dressed in camo and brandishing toy guns. A family militia. The parents said that it was cute. One viewer commented “God’s little army.”  I look at that photo and I see fear, anger and endorsement of violence.

People wield conspiracy theories like weapons on social media. They fire off verbal attacks toward those who disagree with them. This is emotional and psychological violence. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that it is the spiritual equivalent of murder. He explains, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."

When I listen to neighbors’ angry rants, I feel the fear in their hearts. Thich Nhat Hanh says, “When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”

My seminary psychology professor taught that fear results in anger, which can result in violence. Political fear, if unaddressed, results in political violence. If the fear felt by Americans is not addressed on a spiritual level, it could bring in an end to our experiment in democracy.

As I wrote in my last post, I have resolved this year to live in faith not fear. The death of Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me of that commitment. There are too many patriots and culture warriors, and not enough peace pilgrims and advocates for nonviolence. I have concluded that the best way to bring about peace is to live peace.

When my mind is tempted to enter into the fray of divisiveness, I remember that is the highway of the crowd that leads to death. Jesus calls us to the narrow way that leads to life. 

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” I choose the beautiful path. I choose peace. And although it is winter in America, I am expecting flowers.