Image credit: Duc (pixiduc) CC BY-SA 2.0
HUE, Vietnam – The death of Thich Nhat Hanh was reported as occurring at midnight on January 22 and was received as sad news by many within spiritual communities around the world, particularly those in Buddhist, New Age, and Pagan circles. Nhat Hanh was a giant when it came to his influence in the teachings of Buddhism which filtered into a variety of other spiritual disciplines and even flooded into mainstream society with the publication of his book, The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975, reissued in 1999).
Nhat Hanh coined the term “engaged Buddhism” and brought the ideas and practice of mindfulness to the west, especially within the U.S. While today his teachings and practices that incorporate activism are readily accepted and even embraced, this was not the case when he first introduced them in the 1960s.
The Buddhist Review, Tricycle characterized his impact in their Memoriam:
“He was arguably the most significant catalyst for the Buddhist community’s engagement with social, political, and environmental concerns. Today, this aspect of Western Buddhism is widely accepted, but when Nhat Hanh began teaching regularly in North America, activism was highly controversial in Buddhist circles, frowned upon by most Buddhist leaders, who considered it a distraction from the focus on awakening. At a time when Western Buddhism was notably parochial, Nhat Hanh’s nonsectarian view motivated many teachers to reach out and build bonds with other dharma communities and traditions.”
Nhat Hanh’s accomplishments were many and provide an exemplary example of what it means to be extraordinarily spiritual and down-to-earth ordinary at the same time by embodying the very principles he sought to teach others. He studied comparative religion at Princeton University and was invited to teach Buddhism at Columbia University a year later in 1962. As the pressure on Buddhists increased within Vietnam, Nhat Hanh moved more actively into seeking peace for his country.
His proposals for peace while his home country of Vietnam was being torn apart during the war garnered international attention and allowed him to connect with visionaries Thomas Merton, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Nhat Hanh was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by King in 1967 but due to the strict rules of the Nobel Committee, Nhat Hanh was disqualified for the award. 50 years later, in 2015, he was awarded the Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) Peace and Freedom Award, a Catholic peace award given out annually.
Nhat Hanh’s insistence to remain neutral during the war, as well as his anti-war activism, led to him being banned from both North and South Vietnam. He settled in France after being granted asylum and would go on to found what is now known as the Plum Village. He also represented the Buddhist Peace Delegation at Paris Peace Talks in 1969 which eventually resulted in the Paris Peace Accords being signed in 1973.
He has authored dozens of books on a variety of subjects that reflected his practices of mindfulness, non-violent protest and peace, and care for the planet. His principles of mindfulness have been implemented by practitioners of a variety of faiths and even those who follow none, and in many cases have become the bedrock of meditative practice in the West. His practices and beliefs led him to not just embrace interfaith dialog and interactions but to fully embody them.
Many members of the Pagan community posted on a variety of social media platforms expressing their sorrow over his passing, often quoting Nhat Hanh’s writings.
Andras Corban-Arthen of the EarthSpirit Community had this to say on Facebook:
“So sorry to hear of the death of Thich Nhat Hanh — though it was not unexpected (he was 95, and had been in frail health for several years), it is nevertheless a very sad moment. I first learned about him in the early seventies, through an essay by Thomas Merton which highlighted Nhat Hanh’s efforts to bring peace to his native Vietnam, even as violence raged all around him.
“I’ve followed Thich Nhat Hanh’s life since then, and have been very inspired by his writings and his teachings, but I was in his presence only once, at a talk he gave at the 1993 Parliament of the Word’s Religions in Chicago. The thing I remember most vividly about experiencing him in person was that he exuded serenity — a depth of inner peace that I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed in another human being. Yet, simultaneously, he also manifested a sharp sense of alertness, of poised readiness to take swift action if warranted. It was that complex blend of peace and activism that informed all of his work, that made it so important. After all, anyone who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr., had to be a very special being. Now he is everywhere. Now he is everything.”
Perhaps the best way to remember and honor Thich Nhat Hanh is with one of his own poems. In Call Me by My True Names, he writes “Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow/because even today I still arrive.” The poem, including his reading, is available at Plum Village.
Circle Sanctuary will hold its annual celebration of Imbolc on Saturday, January 29 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm (EST) online via their private YouTube channel. The event will include both pre-recorded workshops and a live workshop with Selena Fox provided the weather cooperates, and a ritual focused on the sacred flame of the season.
Those wishing to participate must register before midnight on January 27 in order to receive the invitation and link for the event.
Fox will also be offering a series of Imbolc workshops and rituals on her Circle Sanctuary Network podcasts, Nature Mystic which airs on Sundays, and Nature Spirituality on Wednesdays.
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Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) announced last week the appointment of Stacy Brooks as the new Program Coordinator for CHS. Brooks has previously served as a Community Ministry Certificate mentor and instructor.
CHS also announced two new Insight Course offerings for Spring:
“Demystifying Greek and Roman Necromancy” taught by Professor Katherine Bayne, M.A., and will explore “the Greek cult of the Dead, exorcisms, and “laying” of restless spirits, practical magic, and more.” Course begins February 20 and runs through March 19.
“The Ritual of Play and Game Design” taught by Professor James Fielder, Ph.D. and will examine “the influence of games and play on human development with emphasis on ritual, learning through gameplay storytelling, rites of passage, and the concept of the magic circle.” The course will also teach the basic principles for designing games for both secular and spiritual uses.
The winner of the CHS second annual Wendy Griffin Professor of the Year Award will be announced virtually on February 19 at 11:00 am (EST)/8:00 am (PST) in a special ceremony. The event is open to students, faculty, and friends but requires registration to receive the link for the event.
If you have an announcement that you believe would be of interest to the Pagan community at large and possibly eligible for inclusion in Pagan Community Notes, please email it to us at: pcn@wildhunt.org
The Nippon Foundation of Japan-General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) Seabed 2030 Project has discovered a “pristine” coral reef off the coast of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
The reef is roughly 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long and at a depth of 100 feet (30 m) and composed of large rose-shaped coral. The discovery made in November comes amid growing concern over the negative impacts of climate change, warming sea water, and pollution on coral reefs globally.
Researchers believe its depth has helped to protect the reef from the bleaching effect that warming sea temperatures have on coral. The bleaching occurs when waters become too warm and cause corals to expel the algae that lives within their tissue in a mutualistic relationship known as zooxanthellae. Without the algae to help the corals achieve the nutrition they require result in the death of the coral.
The Seabed 2030 Project was launched in 2017 at United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and seeks to map all of the ocean floors by 2030 and make it available to everyone.
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“Nearly” Noteworthy (!) ❤️🦄❄️
The editorial team noticed this and simply could not control ourselves from including it in today’s edition.
Someone in Lakewood dons a unicorn costume while snow blowing and this is the kind of community I want. pic.twitter.com/yYlfH42jAG
— SuzyLeeInCLE (@WeThePeopleCLE) January 23, 2022
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Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Tarot of Mystical Moments, by Catrin Welz-Stein with Lynn Araujo, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Card: King of Wands
The week ahead may very well call upon the skills of the visionary as it applies to leadership and holding the reigns of authority. Those with charisma and the ability to apply their charm when it comes to encouraging others to accept decisive change will likely take center stage.
Conversely, the lack of desire or inability to exercise such skills is liable to result in a reluctance to accept an uninspiring course and may result in an overreach of power.
Decks generously provided by Asheville Pagan Supply.
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