​About Thich Nhat Hanh

Zen Master, poet, peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh was born in central Vietnam in 1926 and joined the monkhood at the age of 16. In Saigon in the early 1960's, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS), a grass roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, resettled homeless families, and organized agricultural cooperatives. Rallying some 10,000 student volunteers, the SYSS based its work on the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. Despite government denunciation of his activity, Nhat Hanh also founded a Buddhist University, a publishing house, and an influential peace activist magazine in Vietnam.

Exiled from Vietnam, he traveled to the U.S. where he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and so helped galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently, Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

Often referred to as the most beloved Buddhist teacher in the West, Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and practices appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds. Nhat Hanh offers a practice of "mindfulness" that is beneficial for people of all faiths, by helping us resist and transform the speed and violence of our modern society. His life and teachings have deeply influenced millions of people, including scores of luminaries in different fields: politician Jerry Brown, civil rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr., eco-activist Joanna Macy, and Catholic mystic Thomas Merton - to name a few.

Thich Nhat Hanh is affectionately referred to as "Thay" (Vietnamese for teacher) by his many students. He has published more than 100 titles, including more than 40 in English: Peace is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace and many more. His books are published by Parallax Press.

On 11 November 2014, a month after his 89th birthday, and following several months of rapidly declining health, Thich Nhat Hanh suffered a severe stroke. In January 2016, after over a year of intensive rehabilitation, Thay returned to his hermitage at Plum Village. Although he is still unable to speak, and is mostly paralysed on the right side, he continues to offer his peaceful, serene and valiant presence to his community in Plum Village, participating in walking meditations, mindful meals, sitting meditations, celebrations and ceremonies as far as his health allows. Click here for more information about Thay's current health.​

Our Facilitator: Jonathan Prescott

Jon came to practice from a Quaker background after discovering Thich Nhat Hanh's books in the mid-90's. Mindfulness Community of Puget Sound was the first Buddhist Practice Center he visited and that's where he stayed. He was a student of Eileen Kiera for 16 years and worked closely with her developing Mountain Lamp, in the North Cascades.  Jon took the 5 Mindfulness Trainings with Sister Anabel in 2003 (Source of Clear Sky) and was ordained in the Order of Interbeing in March of 2005 (True Recollection of Radiance.) Jon's work and practice inter-are: He served as a hospice, cancer-care, and hospital chaplain and now runs Wise Caregiving, a non-profit dedicated to helping people become open-hearted, sustainable caregivers.  He currently serves Sanghas in Anacortes, Guemes Island, and Seattle, local churches with interim pastoral care, and individuals with spiritual direction.

Jon’s career as a hospice, cancer-care and hospital Chaplain, along with his spiritual practice as an ordained student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, gives him a unique perspective on how to thrive within the helping professions.  His trainings help people learn the arts of listening, balance, boundaries, and presence as a therapeutic tool.

During Jon’s 35-year spiritual practice, he’s utilized his natural warmth and calmness to lead and serve many organizations, including The Mountain Lamp Community, North Pacific Yearly Meeting, Eastside Friends Meeting, Mindfulness Community of Puget Sound, Deer Park Monastery and The Island Sangha.  He currently enjoys being a voice of clarity and compassion on medical ethics committees.

At home in the San Juan Islands of Washington, Jonathan relishes the peaceful solitude of his small farm.  He balances end of life work with a contemplative practice of meditation, retreat and connection to nature.

Jonathan is the author of The Road To Freedom: Learning to Drive with Joy and Kindness.   

​Sangha Officers

President:  Sandy Farrell
Secretary: Sue Jones
Treasurer:  Peggy Doyle
Communications Coordinator: Sandra Starbuck
Publicity/Membership: Margot Knuth