Thay in India

Thich Nhat Hanh
Photo of Thich Nhat Hanh taken in New Delhi during the first circle sharing with the core sangha, soon after his arrival in India in 1997

Thich Nhat Hanh, Ahimsa Trust and Thay in India: 1988, 1997 and 2008

Thay and Ahimsa Trust

Ahimsa Trust was set up in 1996 as a social, educational and cultural not for profit NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation). Ahimsa is an ancient Indian ethical precept of not causing harm by one’s body, speech and mind. It is common to Hindu, Jain and Buddha Dharmas. It was also a foundation of Gandhi Ji’s mass movement for India’s independence. He sometimes defined it to mean ‘the largest love, the greatest charity’. 

When Thay offered to come to India in 1997, Ahimsa Trust decided to host him and organise his events and outreach in India as a peacemaker, author and beloved teacher. Ahimsa continues to support and represent Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village community in India. Since 1997, an increasing number of small groups/sanghas have developed in and around Delhi, Dehradun and other parts of India who meet for regular mindfulness practice sessions.

Ahimsa arranges for the publication of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books and the dissemination of his writings in India in English and a number of local languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali. Thay very generously offers the royalties of his books published in India as a donation to Ahimsa Trust.

Thay was keen to bring back the Indian pedagogical approach of mindfulness and applied ethics into the education system globally. Ahimsa has pioneered a Mindfulness in Education movement, which is based on mental training to bring a non-judgemental moment to moment awareness of what is going on within and outside of oneself. The energy that develops through this training of the mind allows students, teachers, parents and administrators to develop a sense of well-being through social, emotional and applied ethical learning.

Ahimsa have held many retreats and workshops, many led by the Plum Village and Ahimsa monastics/teachers, linked to the WakeUp Schools movement. These have been national retreats nearly every year since 2008. In the last few years a number of the retreats for the Paramilitary Armed CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force)  and local police forces in states like Uttarakhand and Haryana have also been held. Many of the teaching tours by the monastics of the Plum Village centres have been linked to pilgrimages to the Buddhist sites. 

To help children and others experience living in an environment of mindfulness, Ahimsa is setting up the Jamun Village Mindfulness Practice Centre in the village of Rajpur near Dehradun in the Indian hill state of Uttarakhand.

Thich Nhat Hanh was keen that a Mindfulness Practice Centre in the tradition of Plum Village be set up in India. There was a search and different options were looked at, in places like Vaishali and Varanasi. It was finally decided to start in Dehradun, in the foothills of the Himalayas, as Dehradun is the educational capital of North India.

Inspired by Thay and Plum Village, Jamun Village is being developed as an educational, spiritual and socio-ecological centre; a place of refuge, training and compassionate action. There would be a living community of teachers and practitioners who will help instruct in ethical mindful living and self exploration in the context of living in harmony with oneself, others and nature. A space for right livelihood through non-violent means.

The land was blessed by Thich Nhat Hanh at the end of September 2008. Help us make this vision a reality.

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On 26th May 2021, Ahimsa Trust and the Plum Village community collaborated for Ahimsa’s 25th Buddha Purnima Anniversary. People from all over the world joined us for this beautiful commemoration. Dharma Talks, Chanting and Practices were offered by Brother Phap Lai, Brother Bao Tich, the monastics of Plum Village, Dharmacharya Shantum and volunteers of Ahimsa Trust.

https://plumvillage.org/articles/updates-from-india-celebrating-vesak-in-a-time-of-suffering/

https://plumvillage.org/articles/sharing-with-india/

Thay in India: 1988, 1997, 2008

Thich Naht Hanh visited India in 1988. He had just completed writing the biography of the Buddha titled ‘Old Path White Clouds’ and wanted to offer his gratitude to his teacher, the Buddha and visit the sites associated with his life. Thay invited 30 of his students from around the world and they spent around 35 days in India. He requested his student Shantum Seth to organise the pilgrimage.

Indian Editions of Old Path White Clouds in Hindi and English

The journey started in New Delhi with a Dharma talk and walking meditation session led by Thay at 8 Rajaji Marg at the home of Justice Leila Seth and her family. He also visited Gandhi Smriti, where Mahatma Gandhi had lived the last days of his life and been martyred.

From New Delhi the group moved to Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Patna, Vaishali, Kushinagar, Lumbini, Kapilavastu, Sarvasti and then back to New Delhi via Lucknow.

This pilgrimage was a most intimate journey with Thay and we all felt that that we were travelling with someone who knew the Buddha personally. He wanted to visit local markets, villages and feel the energy of the spaces the Buddha had inhabited. Each place we went, Thay had a child-like energy in sharing his love for his beloved teacher with the group.

At each of the sites associated with the Buddha’s life, Thay offered talks and stories, bringing the Buddha alive. Each day started with a morning meditation practice at one of the sacred sites. Everywhere we walked, we walked in mindfulness. We were walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha, both as an inner and outer journey, both in the present and historically 2,600 years ago.

In Rajgir, the first three monastics in the Order of Interbeing were ordained on Vulture Peak. They included Sister Chan Khong and Sister Annabel. Five people received 14 Mindfulness Trainings and some the 5 Mindfulness Trainings, including Shantum, Thay’s Indian student who had organised the whole journey.


After Sr. Chan Khong, Sr. Chan Duc and Sr. Chan Vi’s ordination on Vulture Peak, 1988

After the pilgrimage in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Southern Nepal, the whole group visited the ancient and exquisite rock cut Buddhist caves at Ajanta in Central India.

Thereafter, Thay led a three day retreat organised by the TBMSG, ( Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana) headed by Dhammachari Lokamitra, at their retreat centre near the second century BCE Bhaja Caves with followers of Dr Ambedkar, before returning to Plum Village

Thich Nhat Hanh returned to India in 1997 and this trip was organised by Shantum and Gitanjali Seth, under the auspices of Ahimsa Trust.

Thay teaching under a Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi temple, Bodh Gaya

On this visit, he had a historic meeting with Mr. K.R. Narayanan (then Vice President of India, who later became the President) on ethics and its links to politics. Soon thereafter a Committee on Ethics was set up in the Indian Parliament, by Mr Narayanan who was the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. While in Delhi, Thay also spoke at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation on ‘Worlds in Harmony’. The session was chaired by Dr. Abid Hussain, former Ambassador to the USA from India and the hall was packed by the many of the ‘elite’ of India. He also spoke at the India International Centre, introduced by the scholar and Founder Trustee of the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts, Ms. Kapila Vatsayan Thay also visited Gandhi Smriti and the Jain bird hospital and released some healed birds, symbolising compassionate action and the principles of Ahimsa shared by both the Jains and Buddhists. Thich Naht Hanh then visited some of the Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda with his small group of monastics and lay people. 

Thay and Shantum holding hands with the beggar girl, Sunita, while Sister Dinh Nghiem provides shade.

It was on this trip to India that Thich Nhat Hanh’s book ‘Old Path White Clouds’ was first published in Hindi, ‘Jahan Jahan Charan Pare Gautam Ke’ by Hind Pocket books. Thay then offered the Indian imprint of the Hindi and English copy of the book to the Bodhi Tree. He also planted a Banyan tree at the Root Institute run by the FPMT ( Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) in Bodhgaya.  At the time Kabir Saxena was looking after the Institute The group then proceeded to Kolkata and Thay offered a public talk to the corporate community under the auspices of the Ladies Study group, at the Birla Mandir. At the time Rita Dalmia was the President.

Thich Nhat Hanh offering a talk at the Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkata on 16th November, 1997

Thay and the group then moved to Chennai for a five day retreat which was held at the Theosophical Society. This retreat was organised by Ms Prema Srinivasan of the TVS family and was attended by hundreds of people from different walks of life, including many students of Krishnamurti.  The entire visit of Thay in 1997 has been beautifully captured by Thomas Lüchinger in his documentary ‘Steps of Mindfulness’.
Thich Nhat Hanh attracted national attention during his visit to India in 2008 as he encouraged efforts to bring mindfulness into the mainstream. Details of many of the events are here. Ahimsa Trust again organised this visit to let Thich Nhat Hanh carry his message of contemplation and engagement to a broad spectrum of society, twelve years after his previous visit. To reach as many people as possible, Thich Nhat Hanh offered special sessions for educators, the media, scholars, business leaders, parliamentarians, doctors, religious leaders and children, besides the general public in conferences, public events, and retreats. He also reached out to many disadvantaged people of India, including Dalits in Nagpur and youthful Shakyas in Sankasiya. A Lotus for you…A Buddha to be Film made from the 2008 visit of Thay to India, for Indian National TV, Doordarshan, Prasar Bharti. Directed by Aradhana Seth. Produced by Rajiv Mehrotra/PSBT. The Indian Government recognised Thich Nhat Hanh as a global peace icon, author, poet, and international statesman and invited him as a State Guest under the Distinguished Visitors Programme of the ICCR (Indian Council of Cultural Relations). 

Thay leading walking meditation on Raj Path from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, New Delhi, 2008

He was asked to deliver the Gandhi Memorial Lecture at Gandhi Smriti and to address Parliament by the Speaker of the time, Mr. Somnath Chaterjee. Among the audience were some of the most powerful people of the Indian political establishment. The theme of his address was ‘Leading with courage and compassion’. He stressed the need for members of Parliament to develop deep listening skills and a compassionate approach to conflict resolution. He suggested practical ways Parliamentarians could begin these practices at home with their immediate families. As an example of interconnectedness and spontaneous compassion, Thay shared a story about his hands in which one hand accidentally hurt the other while hammering a nail. The automatic response of one hand was to hold the hurt one to comfort it and nurse it away from its pain.

Transmitting the 14 Mindfulness Trainings on Vulture Peak, Rajgir, 2008