Thich Nhat Hanh Taught Us to Live In Midair

The Zen Buddhist monk, who died last Saturday, is even more relevant in these deeply frightening times.

This person has much better posture than I do. Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

There was a time in my life — late June or early July of 2012, in the weeks following the worst depressive episode I’ve ever experienced — where the only thing I could do was sit on the beach, breathe, and read Thich Nhat Hanh. I’ve thought of that time often, in the pandemic, and his death last Saturday at the age of 95 has made the memory more pressing. Nhat Hanh, a world-renowned Zen Buddhist, was a great teacher for uncertain and frightening times.

Thich Nhat Hanh was more than the cuddly, commodified “spiritual” figure he’s sometimes made out to be. He rose to prominence protesting the war in Vietnam. His ideas about nonviolence influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., who nominated him for a Nobel peace prize in 1967, saying that “I do not personally know of anyone more worthy than this gentle monk from Vietnam.” He was a profound influence on the great Black feminist bell hooks: “His work was ever-present in my work,” hooks wrote.

So, no: Thich Nhat Hanh’s spirituality was never the fluffy, healing-crystal, pay-$2,000-for-a-retreat-to-heal-your-past-life-trauma kind, although late in his life, when you could find cute little books full of his…