In war-torn Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh founds the Order of Interbeing and teaches an engaged Buddhism that carries meditation into relief work and peace activism; exiled for his peace work, he builds Plum Village in France and becomes one of the teachers who carries Zen and mindfulness to the West.
Tagged: Buddhist Mahayana Secular Buddhism Zen
The Event
- Date
- 1966 (approximate)
- Also called
- Engaged Buddhism
- Era
- Modern; Standard periodization of Buddhist history
- Location
- Saigon; today Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Traditions
- Buddhism
- Streams
- Zen, Mahayana, Secular Buddhism
- Key figures
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- Key texts
- Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire (1967)
Primary Sources
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire
Secondary Sources
- Lopez, The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History and Teachings (HarperOne, 2001)
- Snelling, The Buddhist Handbook (Inner Traditions, 1998)
Provenance: HIST-0436; confidence 0.85; accessed 2026-10-27.
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