“Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth… This is the real message of love.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Teachings on Love
born in Thừa Thiên Huế , Viet Nam October 11, 1926
gender: male
website: http://www.plumvillage.org/
genre: Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism, Zen
influences: Zen Buddhism, Maman S. Mahayana
Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who now lives in southwest 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.
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.
His best-selling books include Happiness and Being Peace.
poet4justicedotwordpressdotcom 
October 11, 1926: Happy 87th birthday, Thích Nhất Hạnh! The influential Buddhist monk, writer, and peace activist was exiled from his native Vietnam for years. He took refuge in the south of France, where he still lives.
I like the Cosmos bit.
“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh
Thank you for posting and noting the birth celebrations of this remarkable man. He has been a great influence in my life for many years.
My pleasure. You might like this: “For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Being Peace
I do, thank you.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Love him and his message.
Me, too. 🙂
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh