Thích Nhat Hạnh, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, founder of the largest monastic order in the West and proponent of mindfulness, has died. He was exiled from his homeland and lived for most of his later life at the Plum Village Monastery in southwest France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks; and writing many books and poetry. After a 39-year exile, he was permitted to visit Vietnam in 2005 and returned three years ago to spend his remaining days at his “root temple” there. He was active in the peace movement and deep ecology, promoting nonviolent solutions to conflict and raising awareness of the interconnectedness of all elements in nature. Within Buddhism he was seen as second only to the Dalai Lama.
He was born 11 October 1926, with a fair-minded and harmony-seeking Libra Sun and Venus; with his Sun in a confident trine to Jupiter and an intense square to Pluto. He had three planets in Water signs, too wide to be a Grand Trine, but he obviously had a healing and creative touch. His Saturn trine Uranus would give him the ability to institute positive change while hanging on to the best of the old ways. What dominated his chart was a Fixed Grand Square giving him endurance. The Queen, David Attenborough, Mel Brooks and Tony Bennett also born in 1926, share the same extraordinary ability to persevere over extended periods.
He knew real hardship with his Mars opposition Saturn and his Saturn trine Pluto but managed to rise above suffering to offer his gifts of insight.
His healer/victim 12th harmonic was strong; as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H; and his global fame 22nd harmonic.
Quotes:
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
“You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.”