Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

‘Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There’: Thich Nhat Hanh and the School of Youth for Social Service

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Learning to Stop

  • 189 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, I focus on the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and his students during the period of the Second Indochina War (1955–1975). Based on an interpretation of the Mahayana Buddhist doctrine of ‘True Self or ‘True Mind’, mindfulness for Nhat Hanh entails the combination of stopping of discursive thought and habitual reactions, and seeing the interdependent relational nature of reality beyond dominant discourses and concepts. To cultivate this mindfulness, he insists that his students take regular ‘days of mindfulness’ where they withdraw from their usual activism for meditative practices. Practitioners are then able to take action that does not recycle violence. These are the hallmarks of Nhat Hanh’s ‘engaged Buddhism’—a pedagogical program for resisting the perpetuation and effects of militarised violence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    A Sanskrit term literally meaning ‘heaps’ or ‘aggregates’, which are the constituent components of everything. The Five Skandhas are material form (rūpa), sensation (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), mental formations (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna). According to Nhat Hanh (1998a, p. 176): ‘The Five Aggregates contain everything—both inside us and outside of us, in nature and in society.’

  2. 2.

    In earlier English translations of Nhat Hanh’s writings (e.g., Nhat Hanh, 1974, 1976, 1988), ‘awareness’, ‘awareness of being’, and ‘full awareness’ were the most common renderings of the Vietnamese term tỉnh thức. This would later be translated as ‘mindfulness’.

  3. 3.

    Confusion around Nhat Hanh’s position on the war can also be seen in varied left-wing academic and activist treatments of him. For example, a 1977 pro-Hanoi editorial in the Journal of Contemporary Asia named Nhat Hanh as one of the US’s ‘secret foreign puppets and agents’, claiming that he ‘has been openly linked with well-known former CIA-sponsored Saigonese’ and ‘was himself considered to be someone deserving of US political support by US policy planners during the late 1960s’ (Caldwell et al., 1977, p. 128). At the time alleged, Nhat Hanh—already exiled from the US-backed RVN—spoke at the famed ‘International Congress on the Dialectics of Liberation’ in London in July 1967, alongside Stokely Carmichael, Herbert Marcuse, and other radical leftists.

References

  • Ahimsa Trust. (2022). Thay in India. Retrieved March 12, 2022, from https://ahimsatrust.org/thay-in-india-2008/

  • Ahimsa Trust. (n.d.). Towards a Compassionate and Healthy Society: A National Workshop for Educators in India September 26–29, 2008, Dehradun. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://ahimsatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/reportddun08.pdf

  • Allukian, M., & Atwood, P. L. (2008). The Vietnam War. In B. S. Levy & V. W. Sidel (Eds.), War and Public Health (pp. 313–336). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asselin, P. (2002). A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement. University of North Carolina Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, L. F. (2017). The Theory of Constructed Emotion: An Active Inference Account of Interoception and Categorization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(1), 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bracknell, R. (2007). Real Facts, Magic Language, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and Constitutional Authority to Commit Forces to War. New England Journal of International and Comparative Law, 13(2), 167–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, M., Fast, J., & Limqueco, P. (1977). Editorial. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 7(2), 127–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Central Intelligence Agency. (1967, May 4). Situation Appraisal of Buddhism as a Political Force During Current Election Period Extending Through September 1967. Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive (Box 09, Folder 128). Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://vva.vietnam.ttu.edu/repositories/2/digital_objects/30991

  • Chan Khong, S. [Cao Ngoc Phuong]. (2007). Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan Khong, S. (2009). The Plum Village Sangha in India: Autumn 2008. The Mindfulness Bell, 51, 56–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chemali, Z., Borba, C. P., Johnson, K., Hock, R. S., Parnarouskis, L., Henderson, D. C., & Fricchione, G. L. (2017). Humanitarian Space and Well-Being: Effectiveness of Training on a Psychosocial Intervention for Host Community-Refugee Interaction. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 33(2), 141–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chemali, Z., Smati, H., Johnson, K., Borba, C. P., & Fricchione, G. L. (2018). Reflections from the Lebanese field: “First, heal thyself”. Conflict and Health, 12(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, K. C. (1975). Hanoi’s Three Decisions and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Political Science Quarterly, 90(2), 239–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherwitz, R. A. (1978). Lyndon Johnson and the “crisis” of Tonkin Gulf: A President’s Justification of War. Western Journal of Communication, 42(2), 93–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chi-i. (1997). Stopping and Seeing: A Comprehensive Course in Buddhist Meditation (T. Cleary, Trans.). Shambhala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. (1997). Translator’s Introduction. In Chi-i. (1997). Stopping and Seeing: A Comprehensive Course in Buddhist Meditation (T. Cleary, Trans.). Shambhala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekar, P. (2020). A Bird’s Eye View of THICH NHAT HANH. Fellowship, 83(1), 12–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVido, E. (2007). “Buddhism for This World”: The Buddhist Revival in Vietnam, 1920 to 1951, and Its Legacy. In P. Taylor (Ed.), Modernity and Re-Enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam (pp. 250–296). ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVido, E. A. (2009). The Influence of Chinese Master Taixu on Buddhism in Vietnam. Journal of Global Buddhism, 10, 413–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVido, E. A. (2014). Thích Nhất Hạnh. In R. Payne (Ed.), Oxford Bibliographies: Buddhism. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0138.xml

  • Dowler, L. (2012). Gender, Militarization and Sovereignty. Geography Compass, 6(8), 490–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enloe, C. (2016). Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link. Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forest, J. (2021). Eyes of Compassion: Learning from Thich Nhat Hanh. Orbis Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadkar-Wilcox, W. (2014). Existentialism and Intellectual Culture in South Vietnam. The Journal of Asian Studies, 73(2), 377–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaiduk, I. (2021). Turnabout? The Soviet Policy Dilemma in the Vietnamese Conflict. In L. Gardner & T. Gittinger (Eds.), Vietnam: The Early Decisions (pp. 207–219). University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganzel, B. L., Morris, P. A., & Wethington, E. (2010). Allostasis and the Human Brain: Integrating Models of Stress from the Social and Life Sciences. Psychological Review, 117(1), 134–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geyer, M. (1989). The Militarization of Europe, 1914-1945. In J. Gillis (Ed.), The Militarization of the Western World (pp. 65–102). Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, A. (2008, December 8). India’s 9/11? Not Exactly. New York Times, p. A31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldthorpe, R. (1992). Understanding the Committed Writer. In C. Howells (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Sartre (pp. 140–177). Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Goscha, C. (2016). The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam. Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassler, A. (1967). The Repressed Rebellion for Peace in Vietnam. Fellowship, 33(5), 5–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hattam, R. (2008). Socially-engaged Buddhism as a Provocation for Critical Pedagogy in Unsettling Times. In C. Eppert & S. Wang (Eds.), Crosscultural Studies in Curriculum: Eastern Thought, Educational Insights (pp. 109–136). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hecker, T., Fetz, S., Ainamani, H., & Elbert, T. (2015). The Cycle of Violence: Associations Between Exposure to Violence, Trauma-related Symptoms and Aggression—Findings from Congolese Refugees in Uganda. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(5), 448–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershock, P. D. (2005). Chan Buddhism. University of Hawaii Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J., Kim, J., Duong, J., Davis, L., Bennassar, K., & Srinivasan, M. (2022, February 8). We Are All Thay’s Continuation. Lion’s Roar. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.lionsroar.com/we-are-all-thays-continuation/

  • Jaishankar, K. (2007). India’s 26/11: From Communal Violence to Communal Terrorism to Terrorism. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 2(2), 5–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jian, C. (1995). China’s Involvement in the Vietnam War, 1964-69. China Quarterly, 142, 356–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judaken, J. (2006). Jean-Paul Sartre and the Jewish Question: Anti-antisemitism and the Politics of the French Intellectual. University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, S. B. (1998). Transformative Nonviolence: The Social Ethics of George Fox and Thich Nhat Hanh. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 18, 3–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, S. B. (2009). Socially Engaged Buddhism. University of Hawaii Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kolås, Å. (2010). The 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks: (Re-) Constructing Indian (counter-) Terrorism. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 3(1), 83–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, H., & Sengupta, S. (2008, September 13). Explosions at 5 Sites in India’s Capital Kill 18. New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/world/asia/14indiaweb.html

  • Kumar, S. (2012). The Fatal Snare of Proximity: Live Television, New Media and the Witnessing of Mumbai Attacks. South Asian History and Culture, 3(4), 532–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logevall, F. (2010). The Indochina Wars and the Cold War, 1945–1975. In M. P. Leffler & O. A. Westad (Eds.), The Cambridge History of the Cold War, vol. 2: Crises and Détente (pp. 281–304). Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Luong, H. T. (2009). Vietnamese Existential Philosophy: A Critical Appraisal [Doctoral dissertation, Temple University]. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p245801coll10/id/44747/

  • Main, J. L., & Lai, R. (2013). Introduction: Reformulating “Socially Engaged Buddhism” as an Analytical Category. The Eastern Buddhist, 44(2), 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mannathukkaren, N. (2010). Media Terror! Understanding Television and the Media in India in the Context of ‘26/11’. South Asian History and Culture, 1(3), 416–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manser, A. (1966). Sartre: A Philosophic Study. University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miguel, E., & Roland, G. (2011). The Long-Run Impact of Bombing Vietnam. Journal of Development Economics, 96(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, T. (2007). Hegel on Buddhism. Romantic Circles. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://www.romantic-circles.org/praxis/buddhism/morton/morton.html

  • Nguyen, T. T., & Hoàng, T. T. (Eds.). (2008). The History of Buddhism in Vietnam. CRVP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1966, June 9). A Buddhist Poet in Vietnam. New York Review of Books. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1966/06/09/a-buddhist-poet-in-vietnam/

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1974). Zen Keys (A. Low & J. Low, Trans.). Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1976). The Miracle of Being Awake. Buddhist Publication Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1987). Being Peace. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1988). The Sun my Heart. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1990). Peace Is Every Step. Rider.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1993). Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1998a). The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. Broadway Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (1998b). Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (3rd ed.). Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (2003). Creating True Peace. Rider.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (2007). Chanting from the Heart: Buddhist Ceremonies and Daily Practices. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (2008). History of Engaged Buddhism: A Dharma Talk by Thich Nhat Hanh - Hanoi, Vietnam, May 6–7, 2008. Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 6(3), 29–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (2015). Inside the Now: Meditations on Time. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T. (2016). At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk’s Life. .

    Google Scholar 

  • Nhat Hanh, T., & Berrigan, D. (1975/2001). The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward A Buddhist-Christian Awareness. Orbis Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noor, S. (2007). Pakistan-India Relations and Terrorism. Pakistan. Horizon, 60(2), 65–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2008, December 4). India: Global Optimism, Local Fears. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2008/12/04/india/

  • Plum Village. (n.d.). Thich Nhat Hanh: Extended Bibliography. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://plumvillage.org/thich-nhat-hanh/biography/thich-nhat-hanh-full-biography/

  • Raffone, A., & Srinivasan, N. (2017). Mindfulness and Cognitive Functions: Toward a Unifying Neurocognitive Framework. Mindfulness, 8(1), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray, H. P., & Mishra, S. (2010). Travels by Leaders: India and Vietnam. Research and Information System for Developing Countries. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://aic.ris.org.in/sites/aic.ris.org.in/files/2021-09/Working%20Paper%20No%2010-min.pdf

  • Reive, C. (2019). The Biological Measurements of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction: A Systematic Review. Explore, 15(4), 295–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, A. (2009). Pak-India Relations: The Monster in the Mirror. Policy Perspectives, 6(1), 129–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sapolsky, R. (2017). Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartre, J. P. (1948/1993). What Is Literature? Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • School of Youth for Social Service. (ca. 1966–1975). School of Youth for Social Service, Vietnam [Brochure]. Retrieved May 12, 2022, from https://plumvillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SYSS-brochure-ALL-pages.pdf

  • Smail, D. L. (2012). Neuroscience and the Dialectics of History. Análise Social, 205, 894–909.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, M. (2014). Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness in and Out of the Classroom. Parallax Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan, M. (2021). Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a Catalyst for Climate Action. Kosmos: Journal for Global Transformation. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/sel-catalyst-climate-action/

  • Srinivasan, M. (n.d.). About. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.meenasrinivasan.com/about

  • Stellman, J. M., Stellman, S. D., Christian, R., Weber, T., & Tomasallo, C. (2003). The Extent and Patterns of Usage of Agent Orange and Other Herbicides in Vietnam. Nature, 422(6933), 681–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subrahmanian, V. S., Mannes, A., Roul, A., & Raghavan, R. K. (2013). Indian Mujahideen: Terrorism, Security, and Computation. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, P. L. (2007). Ch’an and Chih-kuan: T’ien-t’ai Chih-i’s View of ‘Zen’ and the Practice of the Lotus Sutra. 天台学報, 143–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarocco, F. (2008). Lost in Translation? The “Treatise on the Mahāyāna Awakening of Faith (Dasheng qixin lun)” and Its Modern Readings. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 71(2), 323–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Transformative Educational Leadership. (2002). The TEL Fellowship 2022-23. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://fellowship2022.teleadership.org/

  • Transformative Educational Leadership. (n.d.). About. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://www.teleadership.org/about-1

  • Turley, W. S. (2008). The Second Indochina War: A Concise Political and Military History. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valente, M. (2016, February 2). Mindfulness in Times of War: The School of Youth for Social Service. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://eccemarco.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/mindfulness-in-times-of-war-the-school-of-youth-for-social-service/

  • Wadwha, S. (n.d.). The Opening of Gaffar Market, Delhi. Indian Memory Project. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.indianmemoryproject.com/129/

  • Williams, P. (2009). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yadav, S., & Bhatia, R. (2008, September 14). 5 Blasts in Delhi, 25 dead. The Tribune, Chandigarh. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080914/main1.htm

  • Yamanouchi, M. (1969). Nonviolence in South Vietnam. Fellowship, 35(7), 32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Žižek, S. (2008). Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. Picador.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Remy Y. S. Low

Authors
  1. Remy Y. S. Low
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Remy Y. S. Low .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Low, R.Y.S. (2023). ‘Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There’: Thich Nhat Hanh and the School of Youth for Social Service. In: Learning to Stop. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28722-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28722-0_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-28721-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-28722-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation