In my previous article, we traced Thích Nhất Hạnh’s journey after the Vietnam War, when he was already settled in France. We examined his humanitarian rescue efforts for Vietnamese boat people, who risked their lives to flee Vietnam on overcrowded, fragile vessels in rough waters. These efforts, grounded in disciplined mindfulness practice, revealed Thích Nhất Hạnh’s conviction that inner clarity and compassionate action are inseparable.
We also followed his contemplative retreat at the Sweet Potato Hermitage and the founding of Plum Village in southern France—a community where meditation permeates daily life. Since then, Plum Village has grown into a global network of monasteries and practice centers, each nurturing peace through mindful living.
Finally, we explored Thích Nhất Hạnh’s outreach to younger generations through initiatives such as Wake Up and Wake Up Schools. These efforts addressed the emotional and psychological suffering he witnessed in the West, especially among youth, and reflected his commitment to adapting Engaged Buddhism to new cultural and social contexts.
In this article, we turn to how Thích Nhất Hạnh’s teachings evolved in dialogue with Western society—and the critiques that have emerged in response.
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s engaged approach in the West
For more than four decades in exile, Thích Nhất Hạnh traveled widely, offering talks and leading retreats for people from many walks of life: prisoners, war veterans, business leaders, psychologists, scientists, police officers, and even communities in conflict, such as Israelis and Palestinians. (Chapman 2007, Plum Village n.d.)
His teachings were not confined to the meditation hall; through gentle presence and practical guidance, he brought mindfulness into spaces marked by suffering, stress, and division—always affirming that peace is possible, even in great difficulty.
Alongside his travels, Thích Nhất Hạnh wrote more than 100 books in English, many of which have been translated into other languages. These works span a wide range of topics: mindfulness practice, Buddhist sūtra commentary, interfaith dialogue, poetry, children’s stories, relationships, and ecology. His writing style is clear, poetic, and deeply accessible—inviting readers into a way of living that is grounded and compassionate.
Accordingly, scholar Christopher Queen notes that:
. . . the majority of engaged Buddhists in Asia and the West are not involved in political activism. A great many are involved in ‘service dharma’—helping the poor, ministering to the incarcerated, the dying, and the socially marginalized. In this they are no different from the teaching and medical missionaries from the Christian denominations and secular organizations such as the International Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Doctors Without Borders. Yet the Engaged Buddhists offer something not offered by the others. This is a philosophy of interdependence, impermanence, and universality which sees all people is [sic] equally subject to suffering and exploitation, and equally capable of realizing freedom and dignity. They have conceptions of loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity which are supported by specific techniques of cultivation. (Queen 2012)
As discussed in earlier articles, the realization of interbeing (interdependence), the relief of suffering, and the cultivation of compassion and love remained central to Thích Nhất Hạnh’s vision. His approach showed how mindfulness can sustain both inner transformation and outward service, weaving together personal practice and social engagement.
Criticisms of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s engaged approach in the West
As Thích Nhất Hạnh’s focus shifted from international socio-political issues during wartime Vietnam to more personal and community-based concerns in the West, he did not escape criticism.
Some critics argue that his approach “encourages a ‘quietism’ with respect to socially engaged practice in the public arena.” (Hunt-Perry & Fine 2000) In other words, they worry that his emphasis on individual and community-level practice may shift attention away from broader political activism.
Others consider it naïve and idealistic to assume that “individual transformation and even small sanghas functioning as base communities can effect real social transformation.” (Hunt-Perry & Fine 2000)
These criticisms highlight a tension at the heart of Engaged Buddhism in the West: can mindfulness and community practice, rooted in personal transformation, truly address structural forms of violence and inequality? Or does the strength of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s approach lie precisely in its refusal to separate inner change from outer action, even if its impact unfolds more subtly over time?
Responses to criticisms
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s own words offer a direct response to concerns that his adapted engaged approach risks quietism and lack of impact on social transformation. He reminded us that daily actions are inseparable from global realities:
Do our daily lives have nothing to do with our government? Please meditate on this question. We seem to believe that our daily lives have nothing to do with the situation of the world. But if we do not change our daily lives, we cannot change the world. . . . When we pick up a Sunday newspaper, we should know that in order to print that edition, which sometimes weights 10 or 12 pounds, they had to cut down a whole forest. We are destroying our Earth without knowing it. Drinking a cup of tea, picking up a newspaper, using toilet paper, all these things have to do with peace. Nonviolence can be called “awareness.” We must be aware of what we are, of who we are, and of what we are doing. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1996)
Here, individual and community-level practice is not a retreat from engagement but its foundation. Thích Nhất Hạnh explained:
If we transform our individual consciousness, we begin the process of changing the collective consciousness. Transforming the world’s consciousness is not possible without personal change. The collective is made of the individual, and the individual is made of the collective, and each and every individual has a direct effect on the collective consciousness. (Thích Nhất Hạnh 2003)
By cultivating awareness in ordinary acts, Thích Nhất Hạnh believed we begin to transform the underlying conditions that perpetuate violence and exploitation in the world.
Scholars Patricia Hunt-Perry and Lyn Fine also think that Thích Nhất Hạnh’s adapted approach in the West is a necessary foundation for wider social transformation:
Thích Nhất Hạnh—in looking deeply at the root of violence, loneliness, materialism, and sorrow in Western society—has correctly seen that individual and family healing is a necessary link to cultural and political transformation. We believe that changes in public policy can indeed be advanced as socially engaged activists strengthen their individual and collective practice of mindfulness as a foundation for their activism. Peacemaking from this perspective is an all-inclusive, living activity that enters all levels of existence from the so-called internal, to family interactions, to movement-building in order to forge beneficial public policy and transform consciousness. (Hunt-Perry & Fine 2000)
Therefore, while his direct involvement in social causes may have lessened, Thích Nhất Hạnh continued to be a global thinker attuned to social concerns. (King 2001)
Taken together, the turn toward individual and community-level practice is a deliberate strategy to cultivate the roots of social change, beginning with the transformation of consciousness itself.
The deterioration of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s health
In November 2014, shortly after his 88th birthday, Thích Nhất Hạnh suffered a serious stroke. He was hospitalized in France for nearly five months and later traveled to the US for about six months of further treatment. Returning to Plum Village France in January 2016, he remained there until the end of the year. (Plum Village 2014, 2015b, 2015c, 2016a)
During my four-month PhD fieldwork at Plum Village from April to July 2016, I witnessed firsthand how he continued to teach despite his condition. The stroke had left him paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak. Yet his presence remained powerful and inspiring, demonstrating what he had long taught: that teaching happens not only through words but through one’s way of being. As he himself had explained before his stroke:
“In Buddhism we see that teaching is done not only by talking, but also by living your own life. Your life is the teaching, is the message . . . I’ll continue to teach, if not by Dharma talks then in my way of sitting, eating, smiling, and interacting with the Sangha . . .” (Plum Village 2015a)
In my observations at Plum Village, I often saw him emerge in his wheelchair to be with the community. These moments, though silent, carried profound teaching power. Through interviews with retreatants, I discovered how deeply his peaceful presence affected them—a subject I will explore in detail in future articles.
Final years and return to Vietnam
In December 2016, seeking an environment more conducive to his recovery, Thích Nhất Hạnh relocated to Thai Plum Village (in Thailand). The following year, he made a brief return to Vietnam—his fourth visit since exile. (Plum Village 2016b, 2017)
After spending time in Thai Plum Village until November 2018, he made a final journey back to Vietnam. He chose to reside at his “root temple,” Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, with the intention of spending his remaining days there. (Plum Village 2018) He passed away on 22 January 2022 at the age of 95.
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s passing at Từ Hiếu Temple, where he had first ordained, was regarded as a return to his spiritual roots and marked the closing of a life devoted to peace, mindfulness, and Engaged Buddhism.
Conclusion
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s journey from peace work during wartime Vietnam to establishing global mindfulness communities reveals the evolution of his engaged Buddhist approach. While his early work responded to immediate humanitarian crises, his later teachings in the West addressed different forms of suffering through mindful living and community practice. This shift was not an abandonment of engagement but a deepening of it—showing how personal transformation and social change are inseparable.
His response to critics demonstrated this interconnection: seemingly simple acts, such as mindful breathing or drinking tea, became opportunities to address global issues of peace and environmental preservation. Even after losing his ability to speak, he continued teaching through presence alone, embodying his core message that mindful living itself is social action.
Thích Nhất Hạnh’s adapted approach in Western contexts showed how Buddhist practice could meet the changing needs of different societies while maintaining its essential focus on relieving suffering. His legacy offers a model for how ancient wisdom traditions can engage meaningfully with contemporary challenges, transforming both individuals and communities in the process.
References
Chapman, John. 2007. “The 2005 pilgrimage and return to Vietnam of exiled Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh.” In P. Taylor (Ed.), Modernity and Re-enchantment: Religion in Post-revolutionary Vietnam (pp. 297–341). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Hunt-Perry, Patricia. & Fine, Lyn. 2000. “All Buddhism is engaged: Thích Nhất Hạnh and the Order of Interbeing.” In C. S. Queen (Ed.), Engaged Buddhism in the West (pp. 35–66). Boston: Wisdom Publications.
King, Robert. 2001. Thomas Merton and Thích Nhất Hạnh: Engaged Spirituality in an Age of Globalization. New York: Continuum.
Plum Village. n.d. Key teachings. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/key-teachings/
Plum Village. 2014. Announcing that our Beloved Teacher has suffered a stroke. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/our-beloved-teacher-in-hospital/
Plum Village. 2015a. Thầy’s recovery continues in Plum Village. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/an-update-on-thays-health-28th-june-2015/
Plum Village. 2015b. Thầy has travelled to San Francisco for treatment. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/an-update-on-thays-health-14th-july-2015/
Plum Village. 2015c. Thầy returns to Plum Village. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/an-update-on-thays-health-6th-april-2015/
Plum Village. 2016a. Thầy returns to France. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/an-update-on-thays-health-8th-january-2016/
Plum Village. 2016b. Thích Nhất Hạnh arrives in Thailand. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/thich-nhat-hanh-in-thailand/
Plum Village. 2017. Thầy visits Vietnam for a few days. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/thich-nhat-hanh-arrives-in-vietnam/
Plum Village. 2018. Thích Nhất Hạnh returns home. Retrieved from https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/thich-nhat-hanhs-health/thich-nhat-hanh-returns-to-vietnam/
Queen, Christopher. 2012. Engaged Buddhism as a Unifying Philosophy. Paper presented at the The 2nd International Association of Buddhist Universities Conference Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Main Campus Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 1996. “Please call me by my true names.” In A. Kotler (Ed.), Engaged Buddhist Reader: Ten Years of Engaged Buddhist Publishing (pp. 104-110). Berkeley, California: Parallax Press.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2003. Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World. London: Rider.
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