Spring 2007 Tour  Vietnam with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

The photos included in the albums below cover March 12 through April 8, 2007 of The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and his International Buddhist Entourage of Plum Village Sangha.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and 100 monks and nuns were the key part of the recent Plum Village Entourage to Vietnam - a group of about 200 people that traveled to major population and spiritual centers in Vietnam. There was a continually changing 100 or so lay students who follow Plum Village practices that were included on the tour also. These participants represented about 35 countries in the world.

The group visited many temples, monasteries and villages, and organized activities and talks to promote unity and decrease suffering. Everyday there were opportunities for visits to nearby pagodas, villages, and historically, culturally and scenically interesting places to contact more people, to learn more about life in Vietnam today, and share the peaceful practices of Plum Village.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh gave several talks each week; some were open to all, some to monks and nuns only and a few were special presentations for officials. Talks were mostly in Vietnamese, and all talks including simultaneous translations to  French,  English and Vietnamese, as appropriate for the audience.

Jim and Chau joined the tour on March 13, and attended events until April 8. We participated in all the activities and were involved in some organizing efforts for lay people. Thay (Thay means Teacher in Vietnamese, a friendly way to refer to the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh) handled questions and answers sessions. He demonstrated his wisdom, clarity and courage in his answers to some very difficult and controversial questions.

I will add photos here as I have time to assemble them into groups related to events.