Archive · 26 Jan 2026
Thich Nhat Hanh honored Martin Luther King Jr's dream
Thich Nhat Hanh was a wise Buddhist monk who became friends with Martin Luther King Jr. King asked Hanh to help build a 'beloved community' where people live in peace and love.
Hanh worked hard to make this dream come true.
He taught people to be kind, listen carefully, and take care of each other.
He even started special places called monasteries where people could learn to live better lives.
Hanh and King believed that love and understanding can make the world a better place.
On Martin Luther King Jr Day, we remember their friendship and the important work they did together.
Thich Nhat Hanh was invited by Martin Luther King Jr to continue his work on building the 'beloved community'.
Hanh developed the doctrine of 'engaged Buddhism', which focuses on relieving suffering in the world.
King nominated Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace activism during the Vietnam War.
Hanh established the Plum Village monastery in 1982, which has since grown into a global community.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings, created by Hanh, provide a practical path to living a life based in love and compassion.
- Who
- Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, and Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights leader
- What
- Thich Nhat Hanh devoted his life to continuing Martin Luther King Jr's dream of building the 'beloved community'
- When
- Throughout his life, with significant events occurring in the 1960s and beyond
- Where
- Globally, with a focus on Vietnam and the United States
- Why
- To promote peace, nonviolence, freedom, love, and justice, and to relieve suffering in the world
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet, and mindfulness teacher
- Martin Luther King Jr
- Civil rights leader who invited Hanh to continue his work
- Beloved Community
- Global community committed to peace, nonviolence, freedom, love, and justice
- Engaged Buddhism
- Doctrine that working to relieve suffering is enlightenment
- Five Mindfulness Trainings
- Updated, secular precepts for living a life based in love and compassion
- Plum Village
- Monastery established by Hanh and Sister Chan Khong in 1982
- Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
- King nominated Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize
- School of Youth for Social Services
- Founded by Hanh in the 1960s to help those affected by the Vietnam War