Part of a series on Zen
Main articles Zen Chinese Chán Japanese Zen Zen in the USA Category: Zen Buddhism
Persons Classic Chinese Chán Bodhidharma Huineng Mazu Linji (Rinzai) Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Traditional Japanese Zen Dogen Hakuin Modern Rinzai Soyen Shaku D.T. Suzuki Soen Nakagawa Modern Soto Kodo Sawaki Muho Noelke Shunryu Suzuki Taizan Maezumi Dennis Genpo Merzel Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle Robert Aitken Philip Kapleau Germany Zen Karlfried Graf Dürckheim Korean Seon Jinul Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thich Nhat Hanh Category: Zen Buddhists
Chinese Chán Chinese Chán East Mountain Teaching Mazu's Hongzhou school The Five Houses of Chán
Japanese Zen Japanese Zen Extinct Schools Daruma school Fuke Niō Zen Contemporary Schools Sōtō Rinzai Ōbaku Sanbo Kyodan FAS Society Academic Zen Kyoto School
Korean Seon Historical Nine mountain schools Contemporary Taego Order Jogye Order
USA Zen White Plum Asanga
Doctrinal Background Buddha-nature Yogacara Sunyata
Influential Sutras Zen and Sutras Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra Diamond Sūtra Heart Sūtra Vimalakirti Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Śūraṅgama Sūtra Category: Zen texts
Teachings Ten Ox-Herding Pictures Silent illumination Five ranks of Tozan Sudden Enlightenment Kensho Satori Three mysterious Gates Four Ways of Knowing
Practice Zazen / Shikantaza Kōan practice Sesshin Zazenkai Ango
Titles Novice Unsui Jyukai Attendants Jikijitsu Jisha Priest Oshō Teacher Sensei Roshi Zen master Institutional organisation Zen ranks and hierarchy Dharma transmission
Temples Soto Temples Eihei-ji Sōji-ji Antai-ji Main Rinzai Temples Myōshin-ji Daitoku-ji Tōfuku-ji
Zen Literature Classic Two Entrances and Four Practices Hui-neng's Platform Sūtra Faith in mind Sandokai Transmission of the Lamp Mumonkan Shobogenzo Modern Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Three Pillars of Zen Critical Zen at War Category: Zen texts
Cultural Influence Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Related Schools of Buddhism Hua-yen Tiantai Pure Land Buddhism
Academic Research Heinrich Dumoulin Masao Abe Steven Heine
Buddhism General Buddhism Mahāyāna Buddhism Indian Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Category: Buddhism
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Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th c., sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorization to teach and transmit the tradition themselves.

China[link]

Until the Tang Dynasty, the term "Chánshī" (禅师; Dhyana Master) was regularly used only for a monk who was a master of chan, or meditation, versus those who specialized in Dharma (scriptural teachings) and Vinaya (discipline and moral precepts).^[1] For example, this included several important figures who were later not considered to be part of the "Chán school" per se, such as Tiantai Master Zhiyi.

In modern China, most temples belong to the Chán school in name, but also embrace other teachings including those of Tiantai, Pure Land, Huayan, and Yogacara schools, often under the umbrella term "Chinese Buddhism" (中国佛教). While some see this as a move towards inclusion of various schools, it was quite likely that this was already the norm for the past 1000 years, since the Song Dynasty. In Chinese Buddhism, neither the majority of monastics nor lay people are formally tied to a given "school" of Buddhist practice (which is somewhat different to the situation in Japan.) It is only those senior and experienced practitioners who receive such transmission into the Chán school. In China, the term "Chán" (禪), being simply one of many terms for forms of meditation, is not limited to the Chán school alone.

While there are no official organizations to regulate the use of honorary titles such as this, "chánshī" is used as a title of respect for an adept, typically a monk, who specializes in Chán. "Chánzōng Dàshī" (禅宗大师; Great Master of the Chán School) is a similar and more specific honorary term, though rather rare.

However, the more common term when addressing a Buddhist master is "Shīfu" (师父; Master), which is also used for any monk as a matter of respect. However, strictly speaking, this term which includes the relational term for "father" (父), refers more to one's own teacher or preceptor. The term "Făshī" (法师), meaning "Dharma teacher", is more generic, and is used both by lay Buddhists and also by Buddhists monastics themselves. The general term "Lǎoshī" (老师; Teacher) is also used to address a master as one's teacher, but this term is a general one, so much so that it is used for a teacher of any subject.

Japan[link]

There is no standard official title for "Zen Master" across the various Zen traditions in Japan. Various titles may be used:

• The term "sensei" (simply "teacher") is often applied in addressing the Zen teacher or "master".
• "Roshi" ("old teacher") is traditionally an honorific title given to older monks and Zen teachers in Japan, though both "sensei" and "roshi" have come to denote official or semi-official ranks within some Zen schools in Japan, the United States and Europe.
• The term "oshō" ("virtuous monk") is sometimes used.

Sōtō[link]

In Sōtō Zen, the title "Dai-Osho" is the highest priestly rank in a clear monastic hierarchy. It is only surpassed by "Zenji" which is only applied to Dōgen and Keizan (the founders of the school), and to the current or former abbots of the two head temples of the sect.^[2][3] To supervise training monks, further qualifications are required:

The relatively low status of dharma transmission means that in and of itself it does not qualify one to accept students or to train disciples. According to the regulations, Zen students should be supervised only by a teacher who has attained supervisory certification (i.e. sanzen dōjō shike status), that is, someone who in the popular literature might be called a Zen master. To attain supervisory certification requires not just high ecclesiastical grades and dharma seniority but also at least three years' experience as an assistent supervisor at a specially designated training hall (tokubetsu sōdō), during which time one undergoes an apprenticeship.^[4]

Rinzai[link]

In Rinzai too, further training is needed to be qualified as a supervisor. The common transmission does not include inka shōmei. Ideally inka shōmei is "the formal recognition of Zen's deepest realisation"^[5], but practically it is being used for the transmission of the "true lineage" of the masters (shike) of the training halls.^[6] Training halls are temples which are authorised for further training after being qualified as a temple priest.

There are only about fifty^{[web 1]} to hunderd of such inka shōmei-bearers in Japan:

In Rinzai Zen, it is relatively easy to say who is a roshi and who is not. Anyone who is authorized by another roshi (i.e. his teacher) is a roshi. This authorization (officially the "inka-shômei" document) is documented on a piece of paper, that is why it is also called colloquially "ichi-mai", that is "one sheet (of paper)". The transmission is totally vertical from teacher to student, no peer control is involved. That means that the Rinzai sect has no means to control who is made a roshi and who is not. Inspite of that, the number of Rinzai roshis is relatively low, maybe around 50 or so.^{[web 1]}

The shike is not married. He...

[H]as the prestige and generally owns the respect of being a true Zen master, a living symbol of the Zen monastic tradition, the quintessence of Zen virtues ideally incarnating wisdom, spirituality, strict discipline, individuality, and yet gentle social personality.^[7]

The shike is also the head of the sect (subschool of the Rinzai-school, with it's own headtemple). He appoints and dismisses the priests, and appoints the titles in the ranking system.^[8] Yet, "the position as abbot [at Myōshinji] is based on election, each elected period lasting four years".^[9]

Korea[link]

Sunim is the Korean title for a Buddhist monk or Buddhist nun of any tradition, and does not denote any specific rank or qualification. It is considered respectful to refer to senior monks or nuns in Korea as Kun sunim, and this polite way of expressing the title can also denote some sort of realization on the part of the individual being addressed. In most Korean temples, a middle-aged monk assumes the role of a juji sunim, who serves administrative functions. The eldest sunim is typically seen as a symbolic leader of the younger sunims. In the Kwan Um School of Zen, founded by Korean Zen teacher Seung Sahn in America and Europe, a Zen master can be referred to as a Soen Sa Nim ("Soen" or "Son" being Korean for Chan, or Zen) — although this term usually is used only in reference to Seung Sahn himself (usually with the honorific "Dae", meaning "great" - as in "Dae Soen Sa Nim").^[10][11][12]

Western culture[link]

"Zen master" has been used to refer to individuals hailing from any number of countries and traditions. It is not an exact translation of any title from the countries from which Zen traditions emanate, where titles vary widely, even in different traditions from the same country. Its usage has diminished among contemporary American Zen teachers and practitioners.

The term has entered popular culture and has been used to refer to any number of public figures in sports and entertainment, denoting a person who demonstrates detachment and control in stressful situations. It was sometimes adopted by figures in the spiritual counterculture of the 1970's and 1980's who had little or no actual Zen training ("Zen Master Rama," "Osho",) presumably to generate positive associations or legitimacy.

See also[link]

• Jisha
• Jikijitsu
• Sensei
• Oshō
• Zen ranks and hierarchy

Notes[link]

References[link]

Web References[link]

External links[link]

• Muho Noelke: What does it take to become a full-fledged Sōtō-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal? Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

Thích Nhất Hạnh
Thich Nhat Hanh in Paris in 2006.
Religion	Zen (Thiền) Buddhist
School	Lâm Tế Dhyana (Línjìchánzōng) Founder of the Order of Interbeing
Lineage	42nd generation (Lâm Tế) 8th generation (Liễu Quán)
Other name(s)	Thầy (teacher)
Personal
Born	(1926-10-11) October 11, 1926 (age 85) Tha Tien, Quang Ngai province, Vietnam
Senior posting
Based in	Plum Village (Lang Mai)
Title	Thiền Sư (Zen master)
Religious career
Teacher	Thích Chân Thật

Part of a series on Zen
Main articles Zen Chinese Chán Japanese Zen Zen in the USA Category: Zen Buddhism
Persons Classic Chinese Chán Bodhidharma Huineng Mazu Linji (Rinzai) Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Traditional Japanese Zen Dogen Hakuin Modern Rinzai Soyen Shaku D.T. Suzuki Soen Nakagawa Modern Soto Kodo Sawaki Muho Noelke Shunryu Suzuki Taizan Maezumi Dennis Genpo Merzel Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle Robert Aitken Philip Kapleau Germany Zen Karlfried Graf Dürckheim Korean Seon Jinul Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thich Nhat Hanh Category: Zen Buddhists
Chinese Chán Chinese Chán East Mountain Teaching Mazu's Hongzhou school The Five Houses of Chán
Japanese Zen Japanese Zen Extinct Schools Daruma school Fuke Niō Zen Contemporary Schools Sōtō Rinzai Ōbaku Sanbo Kyodan FAS Society Academic Zen Kyoto School
Korean Seon Historical Nine mountain schools Contemporary Taego Order Jogye Order
USA Zen White Plum Asanga
Doctrinal Background Buddha-nature Yogacara Sunyata
Influential Sutras Zen and Sutras Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra Diamond Sūtra Heart Sūtra Vimalakirti Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Śūraṅgama Sūtra Category: Zen texts
Teachings Ten Ox-Herding Pictures Silent illumination Five ranks of Tozan Sudden Enlightenment Kensho Satori Three mysterious Gates Four Ways of Knowing
Practice Zazen / Shikantaza Kōan practice Sesshin Zazenkai Ango
Titles Novice Unsui Jyukai Attendants Jikijitsu Jisha Priest Oshō Teacher Sensei Roshi Zen master Institutional organisation Zen ranks and hierarchy Dharma transmission
Temples Soto Temples Eihei-ji Sōji-ji Antai-ji Main Rinzai Temples Myōshin-ji Daitoku-ji Tōfuku-ji
Zen Literature Classic Two Entrances and Four Practices Hui-neng's Platform Sūtra Faith in mind Sandokai Transmission of the Lamp Mumonkan Shobogenzo Modern Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Three Pillars of Zen Critical Zen at War Category: Zen texts
Cultural Influence Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Related Schools of Buddhism Hua-yen Tiantai Pure Land Buddhism
Academic Research Heinrich Dumoulin Masao Abe Steven Heine
Buddhism General Buddhism Mahāyāna Buddhism Indian Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Category: Buddhism
view talk edit

Thích Nhất Hạnh ( listen; born October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who now lives in France where he was in exile for many years. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan.^[1] He is often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.

In the early 1960s, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS) in Saigon. This grassroots relief organization rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools, established medical centers, and resettled families left homeless during the Vietnam War.^[2] He traveled to the U.S. to study at Princeton University, and later to lecture at Cornell University and Columbia University. His focus at the time was to urge the U.S. government to withdraw from Vietnam. He urged Martin Luther King, Jr. to publicly oppose the Vietnam War; King nominated Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in January 1967. He created the Order of Interbeing in 1966, establishing monastic and practice centers around the world. In 1973, the Vietnamese government denied Nhat Hanh permission to return to Vietnam and he went into exile in France. From 1976 to 1977 he led efforts to rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam.

Nhất Hạnh has become an important influence in the development of Western Buddhism.^[3][4] His teachings and practices aim to appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds, intending to offer mindfulness practices for more Western sensibilities. He lives in the Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region in the South of France,^[2] travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term Engaged Buddhism in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire.^[5] A long-term exile, he was given permission to make his first return trip to Vietnam in 2005 and has returned regularly since.^[6] He was awarded the Courage of Conscience award in 1991.^[7]

Nhất Hạnh has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. A journal for the Order of Interbeing, The Mindfulness Bell, is published quarterly which includes a Dharma talk by him. Nhat Hanh continues to be active in the peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict.^[8] He has also been featured in many films, including The Power of Forgiveness showcased at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival.^[9]

Biography[link]

Thich Nhat Hanh in Vught, the Netherlands, 2006

Born as Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Nhất Hạnh was born in the city of Quảng Ngãi in Central Vietnam (Thừa Thiên) in 1926. At the age of 16 he entered the monastery at Từ Hiếu Temple near Huế, Vietnam, where his primary teacher was Dhyana (meditation Zen) Master Thanh Quý Chân Thật.^[1][10][11] A graduate of Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh received training in Zen and the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was ordained as a monk in 1949.^[5]

In 1956, he was named editor-in-chief of Vietnamese Buddhism, the periodical of the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association (Giáo Hội Phật Giáo Việt Nam Thống Nhất). In the following years he founded Lá Bối Press, the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, and the School of Youth for Social Service (SYSS), a neutral corps of Buddhist peaceworkers who went into rural areas to establish schools, build healthcare clinics, and help re-build villages.^[2]

Nhat Hanh is now recognized as a Dharmacharya and as the spiritual head of the Từ Hiếu Temple and associated monasteries.^[1][12] On May 1, 1966 at Từ Hiếu Temple, Thich Nhat Hanh received the "lamp transmission", making him a Dharmacharya or Dharma Teacher, from Master Chân Thật.^[1]

During the Vietnam War[link]

In 1960, Nhat Hanh came to the U.S. to study comparative religion at Princeton University, subsequently being appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. By then he had gained fluency in French, Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Japanese and English, in addition to his native Vietnamese. In 1963, he returned to Vietnam to aid his fellow monks in their non-violent peace efforts.

Nhat Hanh taught Buddhist psychology and Prajnaparamita literature at the Van Hanh Buddhist University, a private institution that focused on Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. At a meeting in April 1965 Van Hanh Union students issued a Call for Peace statement. It declared: "It is time for North and South Vietnam to find a way to stop the war and help all Vietnamese people live peacefully and with mutual respect." Nhat Hanh left for the U.S. shortly afterwards, leaving Sister Chan Khong in charge of the SYSS. Van Hanh University was taken over by one of the Chancellors who wished to sever ties with Thich Nhat Hanh and the SYSS, accusing Chan Khong of being a communist. From that point the SYSS struggled to raise funds and faced attacks on its members. The SYSS persisted in their relief efforts without taking sides in the conflict.^[5]

Nhat Hanh returned to the US in 1966 to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at Cornell University and to continue his work for peace. He had written a letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965 entitled: "In Search of the Enemy of Man". It was during his 1966 stay in the U.S. that Thich Nhat Hanh met with Martin Luther King, Jr. and urged him to publicly denounce the Vietnam War.^[13] In 1967, Dr. King gave a famous speech at the Riverside Church in New York City, his first to publicly question the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.^[14] Later that year Dr. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination Dr. King said, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity".^[15] The fact that King had revealed the candidate he had chosen to nominate and had made a "strong request" to the prize committee, was in sharp violation of the Nobel traditions and protocol.^[16][17] The committee did not make an award that year.

In 1969, Nhat Hanh was the delegate for the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace talks. When the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973, the South Vietnamese government denied Thich Nhat Hanh permission to return to Vietnam and he went into exile in France. From 1976-1977 he led efforts to help rescue Vietnamese boat people in the Gulf of Siam, eventually stopping under pressure from the governments of Thailand and Singapore.^[18]

Establishing the Order of Interbeing[link]

Deer Park Monastery in California

Nhat Hanh created the Order of Inter-Being in 1966. He heads this monastic and lay group, teaching Five Mindfulness Trainings and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. In 1969, Nhat Hanh established the Unified Buddhist Church (Église Bouddhique Unifiée) in France (not a part of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam). In 1975, he formed the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Center. The center grew and in 1982 he and his colleague Sister Chân Không founded Plum Village Buddhist Center (Làng Mai), a monastery and Practice Center in the Dordogne in the south of France.^[2] The Unified Buddhist Church is the legally recognized governing body for Plum Village (Làng Mai) in France, for Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, the Community of Mindful Living, Parallax Press, Deer Park Monastery in California, and the Magnolia Village in Batesville, Mississippi.^[19]

He established two monasteries in Vietnam, at the original Từ Hiếu Temple near Huế and at Prajna Temple in the central highlands. Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing have established monasteries and Dharma centers in the United States at Deer Park Monastery (Tu Viện Lộc Uyển) in Escondido, California, Maple Forest Monastery (Tu Viện Rừng Phong) and Green Mountain Dharma Center (Ðạo Tràng Thanh Sơn) in Vermont both of which closed in 2007 and moved to the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, and Magnolia Village Practice Center (Đạo Tràng Mộc Lan) in Mississippi. These monasteries are open to the public during much of the year and provide on-going retreats for lay people. The Order of Interbeing also holds retreats for specific groups of lay people, such as families, teenagers, veterans, the entertainment industry, members of Congress, law enforcement officers and people of color.^{[20][21][22][23][24]} He conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles in 2005, and again in 2007.^[25]

Notable students of Thich Nhat Hanh include: Skip Ewing founder of the Nashville Mindfulness Center, Natalie Goldberg author and teacher, Joan Halifax founder of the Upaya Institute, Stephanie Kaza environmentalist, Sister Chan Khong Dharma teacher, Noah Levine author, Albert Low Zen teacher and author, Joanna Macy environmentalist and author, Caitriona Reed Dharma teacher and co-founder of Manzanita Village Retreat Center, Leila Seth author and Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and Pritam Singh real estate developer and editor of several of Nhat Hanh's books.

Return to Vietnam[link]

Nhat Hanh during a ceremony in Da Nang on his 2007 trip to Vietnam

In 2005, following lengthy negotiations, Nhat Hanh was given permission from the Vietnamese government to return for a visit. He was also allowed to teach there, publish four of his books in Vietnamese, and travel the country with monastic and lay members of his Order, including a return to his root temple, Tu Hieu Temple in Huế.^[6][26] The trip was not without controversy. Thich Vien Dinh, writing on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (considered illegal by the Vietnamese government), called for Nhat Hanh to make a statement against the Vietnam government's poor record on religious freedom. Thich Vien Dinh feared that the trip would be used as propaganda by the Vietnamese government, suggesting to the world that religious freedom is improving there, while abuses continue.^[27][28][29]

Despite the controversy, Nhat Hanh again returned to Vietnam in 2007, while two senior officials of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) remained under house arrest. The Unified Buddhist Church called Nhat Hanh's visit a betrayal, symbolizing Nhat Hanh's willingness to work with his co-religionists' oppressors. Vo Van Ai, a spokesman for the UBCV said "I believe Thich Nhat Hanh's trip is manipulated by the Hanoi government to hide its repression of the Unified Buddhist Church and create a false impression of religious freedom in Vietnam." ^[30] The Plum Village Website states that the three goals of his 2007 trip back to Vietnam were to support new monastics in his Order; to organize and conduct "Great Chanting Ceremonies" intended to help heal remaining wounds from the Vietnam War; and to lead retreats for monastics and lay people. The chanting ceremonies were originally called "Grand Requiem for Praying Equally for All to Untie the Knots of Unjust Suffering", but Vietnamese officials objected, saying it was unacceptable for the government to "equally" pray for soldiers in the South Vietnamese army or U.S. soldiers. Nhat Hanh agreed to change the name to "Grand Requiem For Praying".^[30] He has returned regularly since.

Approach[link]

Nhat Hanh's approach has been to combine a variety of traditional Zen teachings with insights from other Mahayana Buddhist traditions, methods from Theravada Buddhism, and ideas from Western psychology—to offer a modern light on meditation practice. Hanh's presentation of the Prajñāpāramitā in terms of "interbeing" has doctrinal antecedents in the Huayan school of thought,^[31] which "is often said to provide a philosophical foundation" for Zen.^[32]

Nhat Hanh has also been a leader in the Engaged Buddhism movement (he coined the term), promoting the individual's active role in creating change. He cites the 13th-century Vietnamese King Trần Nhân Tông with the origination of the concept. Trần Nhân Tông abdicated his throne to become a monk, and founded the Vietnamese Buddhist school in the Bamboo Forest tradition.

Names applied to him[link]

Nhat Hanh at Hue City airport on his 2007 trip to Vietnam (aged 80)

The Vietnamese name Thích (釋) is from "Thích Ca" or "Thích Già" (釋迦), means "of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan."^[1] All Buddhist monks and nuns within the East Asian tradition of Mahayana and Zen adopt this name as their "family" name or surname implying that their first family is the Buddhist community. In many Buddhist traditions, there are a progression of names that a person can receive. The first, the lineage name, is given when a person takes refuge in the Three Jewels. Thich Nhat Hanh's lineage name is Trừng Quang. The next is a Dharma name, given when a person, lay or monastic, takes additional vows or when one is ordained as a monastic. Thich Nhat Hanh's Dharma name is Phung Xuan. Additionally, Dharma titles are sometimes given, and Thich Nhat Hanh's Dharma title is "Nhat Hanh".^[1]

Neither Nhất (一) nor Hạnh (行)—which approximate the roles of middle name or intercalary name and given name, respectively, when referring to him in English—was part of his name at birth. Nhất (一) means "one", implying "first-class", or "of best quality", in English; Hạnh (行) means "move", implying "right conduct" or "good nature." Thích Nhất Hạnh has translated his Dharma names as Nhất = One, and Hạnh = Action. Vietnamese names follow this naming convention, placing the family or surname first, then the middle or intercalary name which often refers to the person's position in the family or generation, followed by the given name.^[33]