For Thich Nhat Hanh

Tara C. Trapani

News has been traveling around the globe that Buddhist teacher and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh passed away this week at the age of 95. He touched deeply the lives of so many worldwide, including all of us here at the Forum. We have spent these last days deep in appreciation for all he brought to this world. 

His 7-day memorial ceremony is currently underway. The full memorial schedule is here, and portions of it are being live-streamed via the Lang Mai YouTube channel. Photos of the past day's ceremonies can be found here at the Plum Village Monastery site. 

Plum Village has also provided a collection of resources to assist those honoring Thay's life, individually or as a sangha or other group, including meditations, songs, a follow-along video memorial, a PDF download of a sample Zoom memorial for your sangha, and much more. 

Thay's deep connection to Mother Earth was so eloquently expressed in his Ten Love Letters to the Earth (gratitude to Emergence Magazine), a profoundly moving collection of meditations, in conversation with the Earth, our home.

For more on his passing, read his New York Times Obituary. Many more obituaries, reflections, and remembrances from around the world have been posted on the Plum Village blog
 

He will always be with us. A cloud never dies. As Thay wrote: “When conditions are sufficient, a cloud transforms into rain, snow, or hail. The cloud has never been born and it will never die. This insight of signlessness and interbeing helps us recognize that all lives continue in different forms. Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is in transformation.”

In closing, we would like to share this brief gem where Thay speaks about the Miracle of Walking on the Earth (from Plum Village Monastery and the Omega Institute).