Zen Buddhist monk leader Thich Nhat Hanh will lead a retreat at the University of B.C. in August.

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The world's second most famous Buddhist is coming to Vancouver.

Thich Nhat Hanh, who first came into prominence for his civil disobedience against the Vietnam War, will arrive in Vancouver in early August to lead a five-day residential retreat at the University of B.C. and give a public talk.

Hanh, who is almost as well known as the Dalai Lama, is among the world's most respected meditation teachers and peace activists. He was banished from Vietnam in 1966 and not allowed to return until 2005. He is now based in France.

One if the best known spiritual teachers in the West, the monk, scholar and author is a politically and spiritually inspirational figure to many, says the book Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World (Skylight Paths).

At age 86, he continues to travel the world to advocate the principles of engaged Buddhism, which rejects self-absorbed, individualistic spirituality.

Engaged Buddhism combines meditation practice with social action and the struggle for justice and peace.

As the founder of several large monastic communities in France, New York and California, Hanh continues to advocate mindfulness, generosity, respect for life and reconciliation.

Hanh's wisdom has been hard-earned since he became a monk at age 16 in Vietnam.

As a scholar, he began teaching world religions at Princeton University in the 1960s. But when the Vietnam War broke out, he returned to Vietnam and founded a peace magazine and lobbied world leaders to stop the war.

He was the one who first convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War. After his forced exile from Vietnam, Hanh organized rescue missions for Vietnamese trying to escape political persecution. He led a Buddhist delegation in the 1970s to the talks in Paris that led to a peace accord between the U.S. and Vietnam.

Hanh - who was last in Metro Vancouver in 1987 - has been the subject of a many books and film documentaries, as well as children's books. He is the author of bestsellers such as The Art of Power, Living Buddha, Living Christ and Touching the Earth.

Meditation is not to get out of society, escape from society, but to prepare for re-entry into society. We call this 'engaged Buddhism,' Hanh writes in his book Being Peace.

When we go to a meditation centre, we may have the impression we leave everything behind - family, society and all the complications involved in them - and come as an individual in order to practise and search for peace. This is already an illusion, because in Buddhism there is no such thing as an individual.

In Vancouver, Hanh will lead a retreat for members of all faiths on the University of B.C. campus from Aug. 8 to 13. There will also be programs for children and teenagers.

The famous monk will give a public address at the Orpheum Theatre at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, titled Open Mind Open Heart: Touching the Wonders of Now.

Hanh's visit to Vancouver is sponsored by many organizations, including the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation.

For more information, visit www.tnhvancouver2011.org

dtodd@vancouversun.com

처음 베트남 전쟁에 대한 시민 불복종 운동으로 유명해진 틱낫한 선사가 밴쿠버대학에서 5일간 명상 수행을 지도하기 위해 올해 8월 초 밴쿠버에 도착할 예정이다. 달라이 라마 만큼이나 잘 알려진 선사는 가장 존경받는 국제적 명상 지도자이며 평화 운동가이다.

86세의 나이에 참여불교의 원리를 선양하고자 세계를 다니며 자기 자신에게만 몰입하는 이기적 수행을 거부하고 있다. 참여불교는 명상 수행과 사회활동, 정의와 평화를 위한 노력을 결합한다. 프랑스, 뉴욕과 캘리포니아에 있는 몇몇 큰 사원 공동체의 설립자인 선사는 생명과 화해에 대한 깨어있음, 관용, 생명존중과 화합을 지속적으로 제창한다.

그는 1960년대 학자로서 프린스턴 대학에서 세계종교를 가르치기 시작했다. 그러나 베트남 전쟁이 터지자 고국으로 돌아가 평화 잡지를 창간하고 세계 지도자들에게 전쟁 종식을 설득했다. 마틴 루터 킹을 일깨워 베트남 전쟁에 반대하도록 한 당사자이다. 베트남에서 강제 추방된 후 그는 정치적 숙청을 모면하려는 베트남인들을 위한 구출단을 만들었다. 그리고 불교 대표단을 1970년 파리회담에 보내 미국과 베트남 간 평화조약을 이루어냈다.

선사는 밴쿠버 대학 캠퍼스에서 5일간 믿음에 대해 명상 수행을 지도한다. 어린이들과 10대를 위한 프로그램도 마련되어 있다. 오펌극장에서 “열린 생각, 열린 마음과 지금 이 순간의 경이로움 느끼기”를 주제로 대중 연설이 예정되어 있다.