Writers as World Changers: Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindful Writing for Peaceful People and Communities
"Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world." — Thich Nhat Hahn
In our age of instant communication and reactive responses, when words are often weapons and reflective silence can feel like a distant dream, Thich Nhat Hanh offers us a different way. His writing shows us that the most revolutionary act is to slow down, breathe deeply, and always choose our words with the same care we would use to soothe a baby or help a friend in need. His books “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching”, as well as the many videos there are of him speaking, were a big part of my early forays into finding a more peaceful way of being with myself and in the world.
His teachings remind us that peace begins with how we speak to ourselves and others, extends to how and what we write, and ripples out to transform the people they reach. He showed us that mindful writing and living is a pathway to healing ourselves and our world.
Born Nguyen Xuan Bao in central Vietnam in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh entered Từ Hiếu Temple as a novice monk at sixteen. During the Vietnam War, in response to the suffering around him, he founded the School of Youth for Social Service, training young people to rebuild bombed villages, set up schools and medical centres, and resettle homeless families. His way of using mindfulness practices and the Dharma teachings became known as “Engaged Buddhism” and today engaged Buddhists prioritise practical action to alleviate suffering in communities all over the world.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s writing began as an act of resistance. In 1967, he published "Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire," explaining the war from a Vietnamese Buddhist perspective to Western audiences. The book was both a cry for peace and a bridge between worlds, written with such clarity and compassion that it moved Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize.
That same year, both the South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese governments banned him from returning home, as his message of reconciliation was seen as threatening to both sides. He would spend thirty-nine years in exile, mostly in France at Plum Village, the monastery and retreat center he founded.
During these decades of exile, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote prolifically and has published over 100 titles in English, including manuals on meditation, mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism, poems, children’s stories, and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. His words reached millions, including me at a time when my mind felt out of my control as repressed memories of childhood abuse emerged and I tried to navigate an increasingly volatile relationship with my mother.
He returned to Vietnam in 2018 and died there in 2022 at age ninety-five. But the writings he left behind continue to offer what he always promised: a way to transform suffering into understanding, anger into compassion, and conflict into peace.
The Power of His Approach
Thich Nhat Hanh's writing was transformative because it embodied the very peace it taught. His power lay in several key elements:
Radical Simplicity: He could distill profound spiritual truths into simple language. "Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile," contains entire philosophies of healing. He understood that complexity often obscures truth rather than revealing it.
Present-Moment Awareness: His words invited readers into the here and now showing us that mindfulness is available to all. "The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion," he wrote, and his voice shining through in his writing made readers feel this truth in their bodies.
Practical Spirituality: He never separated spiritual insight from daily life. He wrote about washing dishes, drinking tea, walking, and breathing, all as doorways to awareness. Showing us that every moment contains the potential for beauty and awakening if we give it our full attention.
Compassionate Understanding: Even when writing about war, injustice, and suffering, his words carried no trace of anger or hatred. He wrote about everyone with the same loving-kindness no matter what they had done, demonstrating that true strength lies not in conquering others but in understanding, and forgiving, them.
Bridge-Building Language: He wrote for audiences across cultures, religions, and backgrounds, finding the universal human connections beneath surface differences: “We are all the leaves of one tree. We are all the waves of one sea."
Lessons for Mindful Writers
Thich Nhat Hanh's approach offers profound guidance for us as mindful writers seeking to create positive change with our words:
Write from Stillness: Before putting words on the page, Thich Nhat Hanh would sit in meditation, allowing his mind to settle like sediment in a glass of water. When we write from agitation, anger or vengeance, our words carry that energy. When we write from peace, our words become instruments of healing.
Choose Words Like Medicine: He taught that words have the power to heal or harm, and that we must choose them with care. Before publishing, ask: "Will these words increase understanding or create more division? Will they heal wounds, reopen them or create new ones?"
Write to Transform: His goal was never to showcase his knowledge but to help readers experience transformation by showing themselves and others understanding and loving kindness.
Embody Your Message: Thich Nhat Hanh's writing was powerful because his life exemplified his teachings. Readers can sense the authenticity. When our words align with our actions, they carry special power to inspire change.
“Our own life has to be our message.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindful Writing Exercise
For the next week, practice Thich Nhat Hanh's approach to mindful observation and writing. Each day, choose one ordinary activity — doing the washing up or laundry, drinking coffee, walking to the shop, or preparing dinner.
Perform this activity with complete presence, as if it were the most important thing in the world. Notice:
The physical sensations involved
Your breath during the activity
Any emotions or thoughts that arise
The interconnections you observe (how many hands brought you this cup of coffee? How many elements from nature are present?)
After completing the activity mindfully, write about it. Describe the actions and explore what you discovered. How did full attention transform this ordinary moment? What wisdom emerged from presence?
Write in Thich Nhat Hanh's style:
Use simple, clear language
Include practical guidance others could follow
Find the universal truth within your specific experience
Let peace and gratitude infuse your words
At the end of the week, read through your seven pieces. Notice how mindful attention to ordinary moments can generate profound insights for both yourself and your readers.
Additional exercises:
Write a letter to someone you're in conflict with, using only words that could increase understanding between you and move you towards peace.
Practice deep listening to someone in your life, then write about what you learned.
Write about a difficult emotion (anger, fear, grief) from a place of loving acceptance rather than resistance.
Community Connection
Thich Nhat Hanh believed that individual transformation and collective healing are inseparable. Our mindful writing practice benefits us and it ripples outward to touch everyone who reads our words.
Journal your responses to these questions:
How does the intention behind your writing affect readers?
What ordinary moments in your life contain wisdom worth sharing?
How can you write about difficult topics and people while maintaining compassion for all involved?
What would change in your writing if you approached each piece as a way to bring more peace and compassion to the world?
I'd love to hear what you discover. Do share in the comments if you feel able to, or reply to the email.
Remember Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching: "If you want to take care of tomorrow, you have to take care of today. If you want peace in the world, you have to be peace in the world." The same is true of our writing — if we want our words to bring peace to others, we must write from a place of peace within ourselves.
"Writing is a practice of meditation for me. When I write, I try to maintain mindfulness. I breathe consciously while writing. I am aware of my in-breath and out-breath. I know that if I do not breathe consciously, I cannot write anything that is beautiful or meaningful."
— Thich Nhat Hanh
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Writers as World Changers post. Please do share it with anyone you feel would enjoy it too. I’d love to know what you think so please do get in touch and let me know. Next month, we’re looking at Maya Angelou.
With love,
Write with me
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Amanda, I love TNH too. But please note that he didn’t sit down and write most of his books. Like many books by Buddhist teachers, they were written by his students. They are transcriptions of his teachings compiled into book form.
Ah Amanda, so good to know you are also a follower of Thay, I sit in meditation with him every morning through the Plum Village app and it continues to sooth and guide me. Never before had I heard someone say in meditataion: Enjoy! or Smile!! And that is so much the ethos of Plum Village - Smile to your suffering and look deeply... what is it really about? Thank you for a beautiful post.