Thich Nhat Hanh is dying

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh Suffers Brain Hemorrhage

Thich Nhat Hanh in Paris in 2006.

NBC,

13 November, 2014

Prominent Buddhist leader and Vietnam War opponent, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, has suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, a monastery he founded says, and is being treated at a hospital in western France.

Nhat Hanh, who rose to renown in the 1960s as an opponent of the Vietnam War, experienced the hemorrhage on Tuesday. He had already been admitted to a hospital in Bordeaux on Nov. 1 for his "fragile" health and was receiving around-the-clock care there, Plum Village said Wednesday in a statement.

"At present, Thay is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him. He is able to move his feet, hands and eyes. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible," the statement continue.

During the Vietnam-War era, Nhat Hanh, now 88, traveled to the U.S. — where he met Martin Luther King, Jr. — and Europe, urging an end to hostilities and calling for peace. He was then forced into exile for 39 years by Vietnamese officials in the north and the south, Plum Village said.

Nhat Hanh founded the Engaged Buddhism movement, has an international following and has authored many books.

A Song and Prayer for My Teacher, Thích Nhất Hạnh

Calligraphy, Breathe, by Thích Nhất Hạnh

Huffington Post,

13 November, 2014

Calligraphy, Breathe, by Thích Nhất Hạnh

FOR MY beloved teacher, Thích Nhất Hạnh, who is battling from a massive brain hemorrhage, I bow deeply in gratitude and profound love. Please recover and lead us again to the heart of compassion and light.

Thay was the first few spiritual teacher who came to us after 9/11 during our time of great despair and sorrow and he told me that like two palms of a single person, one should not strike the other hand out of anger even as that hand had hurt us. And then he lead us in a meditation of songs, breathing in and breathing out... Now, my beloved teacher, it is our term to come to you in your time of danger, fighting for your life. Please breathe and let the light of love enter your heart, your brain and dispelling all shadows from your body. You who has carried so much sadness and burden of humanity's atrocity, please take care yourself and come back. We still sorely need you. And I know what you would have done, using even this to teach us about non-attachment. But even the Buddha's half-brother, Ananda had beseech the Buddha to stay in the earth for a few more years. So, I apologize for my un-enlighten clingingness, for unlike you, my teacher, I am a mere mortal, a turtle in the mud.

Breathe

For my beloved teacher, Thay,

In an old bamboo grotto, I come upon an old friend standing still

and I pose him a question

and he whispers

Wait

Fish are sleeping in the dark spring

so I waited

it is a question about the moon

about my breath

my mouth my heart

my love the earth with its four seasons

my feet where I stand and the soft moss beneath

where my life will flow

It drains through my fingers

as thought it were amber honey

into the stream

it runs under the trees

it surges against coral reefs far away

and is gone without me

then where I stand night falls

in the heaven a splash of brazen stars appears

I've forgotten what were the questions

then as he turns toward me

His eyes luminous reflecting the moon and he smiles

And whispers breathe

I understand that I am to stay and have a cup of tea

-- by Sat Hon

From Plum Village - Enjoy this guided deep relaxation with Sister Chan Khon