(Hue) Thousands of people flocked to the cradle of Vietnamese Buddhism on Sunday to pay homage to Thich Nhat Hanh, an important figure of this religion in the world, considered in the West as the father of “mindfulness”.
Posted at 12:24 a.m.
Accompanied by chants, monks carry the body covered with a yellow cloth and decorative umbrellas through a mourning crowd in the temple of Hue.
As the scent of incense wafts through the air, the remains are placed in a wooden coffin and placed in a room decorated with yellow flowers.
The monks, dressed in brown and yellow robes, recite prayers. The faithful are dressed in grey.
The Zen master, perceived as the second most influential person in Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the Tu Hieu pagoda in the city of Hue.
In exile for having called for an end to the war in Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh lived nearly several decades in exile, including 39 years in France.
KHAM PHOTO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The Zen master, perceived as the second most influential person in Buddhism after the Dalai Lama, died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the Tu Hieu pagoda in the city of Hue.
Author of a hundred books on meditation and mindfulness, he organized retreats all over the world.
Tran Dinh Huong, 46, came from Hanoi to pay homage to the monk.
“I read several of his books and his words helped me a lot when I was not well or when I encountered difficulties,” she says. “I think Vietnam and the world won’t have such a great teacher for a very long time.”
Originally from Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Nhat said he was deeply upset to have seen the remains.
“I admire him for his simple and modest life,” he explains.
After decades of exile advocating religious freedom and peace around the world, Thich Nhat Hanh was allowed to return to his native country in 2018, but he remained under the surveillance of plainclothes police.
His messages have not always gone down well, as authorities in communist, predominantly Buddhist Vietnam distrust organized religion: in 2009, its followers were driven from their temple in southern Lam Dong province by a hostile crowd.
However, the newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan, considered the voice of the Ministry of Public Security, published a glowing tribute to the writer, poet, scholar, historian and peace activist on Sunday.
“Monk Thich Nhat Hanh of Plum Village [centre bouddhiste dans le sud-ouest de la France] was a spiritual teacher who exerted a deep and widespread influence throughout the world,” the article points out.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s coffin is to remain on display for a week before a cremation ceremony next Saturday.