Scattered Memories

Published here for the first time, these fifty poems, explore his journey from young boy in Vietnam to being a leader in Thich Nhat Hanh's monastic community. The early poems reflect childhood memories of war and destruction yet are also full of romantic and poetic imagery. His later poems convey a profound wisdom and spaciousness of heart. A Zen Master in his own right, he led a life committed to cultivating great compassion and liberation through inner discovery. Light in spirit, loving, and wise, sometimes strict, and often humorous, these poems perfectly capture Giac Thanh's clarity, wisdom, and kindness.

Giac Thanh was born in 1947 in Vietnam and passed away October 2001 at Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA. Ordained as a monk at age 20, in 1967, he received the Dharma name Giac Thanh (Awakening Sound). In 1971 he went to Van Hanh University to further his studies in Buddhism. He left Vietnam as a boat person in 1981 and came to the US in 1982. In 1999 he became the first abbot of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA.