Thich Nhat Hanh was born Nguyen Xuan Bao in central Vietnam in
1926. At the age of 16 he entered the monastery at Tu Hieu Temple
near Hue, Vietnam, where his primary teacher was Dhyana
(Meditation) Master Thanh Quy Chan That [1] [2]. Thich Nhat Hanh
underwent a thorough training in Zen and the Mahayana school of
Buddhism and received full ordination as a monk in 1949. Zen Master
Thich Nhat Hanh is now recognized as the spiritual head of that
same Tu Hieu Temple [3] as Elder of the Tu Hieu branch of the 8th
generation of the Lieu Quan lineage in the 42nd generation of the
Lam Te Dhyana school (Lin Chi Chan in Chinese or Rinzai Zen in
Japanese)[4]. Thầy ("teacher" in Vietnamese) Thich Nhat Hanh has
combined his deep knowledge of a variety of traditional Zen
teaching methods with methods from Theravada Buddhism and ideas
from Western psychology to form his approach to modern Zen
practice. Thich Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the
development of a western Zen.
In 1956 he was named Editor-in-Chief of Vietnamese Buddhism, the
periodical of the All Vietnam Buddhist Association. In following
years he founded La Boi Press, Van Hanh Buddhist University in
Saigon, and the "School of Youth for Social Service," a corps of
Buddhist peaceworkers aiding peasants who were caught between
warring groups in Vietnam.
In 1960, Thich Nhat Hanh came to the U.S. to study comparative
religion at Princeton University, and he was subsequently appointed
lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. By then, he had gained
strong proficiency in French, Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Japanese,
and English, apart from his native Vietnamese. In 1963 he returned
to Vietnam to aid his fellow monks in their non-violent peace
efforts.
On May 1st, 1966 at Tu Hieu Temple Thich Nhat Hanh received Dharma
transmission, permission to teach as a Zen master, from his old
teacher, Thay Chan That [5]. Ten days later Thich Nhat Hanh
returned to the US to lead a symposium in Vietnamese Buddhism at
Cornell University.
The Unified Buddhist Church was established by Thich Nhat Hanh and
others in Vietnam in the 1960's and in the United States in 1997.
The Unified Buddhist Church is the legally recognized governance
body for Plum Village in France; for Maple Forest Monastery and
Green Mountain Dharma Center in Vermont; and, since March, 1999,
for the Community of Mindful Living, Parallax Press, and Deer Park
Monastery in California. [6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh