Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, dies at 95

(CNN) — Thich Nhat Hanh, a leading Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist and leading voice in opposition to the Vietnam War, has died at the Tu Hieu temple in Hue, Vietnam, at the age of 95, Plum Village announced Friday. monastic organization he founded, on his website.

Thich Nhat Hanh traveled to the United States in 1961 to teach Comparative Religion at Princeton University and later in the decade lectured at Cornell and Columbia, where he continued to spread his message of peace and pressure Western leaders to put end the Vietnam War, Plum Village said.

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, calling him an “apostle of peace and nonviolence” in the nomination letter. However, no Nobel was awarded that year.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s mission to oppose the war caused both North and South Vietnam to deny him the right to return to either side of the divided country. He was exiled for 39 years and was only allowed to return to his homeland in 2005.