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Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire
Vietnam: A Buddhist Proposal for Peace.
An interesting book written during the Vietnam War to try to bring Peace to the author's war torn country. Thich Nhat Hanh … has felt himself obliged to take an active part in his country's effort to escape destruction in a vicious power struggle between capitalism and communism. He speaks for the vast majority who know little of politics but who seek to preserve something of Vietnam's traditional identity as an Asian and largely Buddhist culture. He speaks for his people and for a renewed and engaged Buddhism.
An interesting book written during the Vietnam War to try to bring Peace to the author's war torn country. Thich Nhat Hanh … has felt himself obliged to take an active part in his country's effort to escape destruction in a vicious power struggle between capitalism and communism. He speaks for the vast majority who know little of politics but who seek to preserve something of Vietnam's traditional identity as an Asian and largely Buddhist culture. He speaks for his people and for a renewed and engaged Buddhism.
115 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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721 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 3, 2022
Quyển sách đem đến một góc rất khác về chiến tranh và xã hội Miền Nam Việt Nam những năm sáu mươi của thế kỷ XX, dưới nhận định của một Thiền Sư, một đại diện Phật Tử của quần chúng theo đạo Phật ở Việt Nam, một thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh ở tuổi 40 với ý chí dân tộc và ước mong hòa bình.
Sách viết dưới hình thức tiểu luận và tuyên cáo với tiêu chí kêu gọi sự đoàn kết dân tộc, đoàn kết các tôn giáo, tôn vinh lòng yêu nước, tự cường để Việt Nam có thể có một nền độc lập không xương máu... Sách đưa ra nhận định của tác giả (thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh) khi đang đối diện với một giai đoạn lịch sử của nước nhà đầy phức tạp và vô minh, và quan điểm về vai trò của Mỹ và các chính thể ở Việt Nam thời bấy giờ.
Nhiều thông tin thú vị về Phật Giáo Việt Nam và mối quan hệ với xã hội văn hóa người Việt từ thuở khai sinh. Những ai yêu mến thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh là một sư ông sẽ có dịp được biết thêm về thầy như một lãnh đạo tôn giáo chính trị ở những năm tuổi trẻ.
Sách viết dưới hình thức tiểu luận và tuyên cáo với tiêu chí kêu gọi sự đoàn kết dân tộc, đoàn kết các tôn giáo, tôn vinh lòng yêu nước, tự cường để Việt Nam có thể có một nền độc lập không xương máu... Sách đưa ra nhận định của tác giả (thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh) khi đang đối diện với một giai đoạn lịch sử của nước nhà đầy phức tạp và vô minh, và quan điểm về vai trò của Mỹ và các chính thể ở Việt Nam thời bấy giờ.
Nhiều thông tin thú vị về Phật Giáo Việt Nam và mối quan hệ với xã hội văn hóa người Việt từ thuở khai sinh. Những ai yêu mến thầy Thích Nhất Hạnh là một sư ông sẽ có dịp được biết thêm về thầy như một lãnh đạo tôn giáo chính trị ở những năm tuổi trẻ.
July 8, 2018
One of the most compelling and lucid reads about the Vietnam War or war in general. As a daughter of parents who lived through the consequences of the Korean War, i saw many parallels in this book. This was written during the height of the war, by a man who was seeing his country fall into dizzying and violent chaos at the hands of his own people but largely by toxic remnants of colonization and reckless western powers. There are very few historical accounts of the Korean and Vietnam war for a western audience that is written from a non-western perspective. And more rare to find writing with such such lucidity and biting precision.
October 29, 2024
Thich Nhat Hanh always making me cry in living rooms
November 10, 2018
Excellent but extremely narrow in its focus. Too narrow, I think for a modern audience as this was not written as an history book but a plea for peace in troubled times. Anyone without prior knowledge of the context of the times the book was written will find this hard to follow.
May 29, 2024
I really had to push through the first half to get to the kind of content I was looking for, the context of Buddhism during the Vietnam War and Communism. That is not to say that the first half of historical background wasn't good, just not what I was reading for. It was indeed insightful regardless.
August 16, 2018
Needs to be read twice but well worth it. Although I would have philosophical disagreements with Thich Nhat Hanh, his integrity shines through.
January 23, 2019
Đọc thì càng thêm hiểu vì sao không có "Lực lượng thứ 3" nào ở Miền Nam Việt Nam cả! Vì như cụ Thích viết: chúng tôi xin Liên Hợp Quốc, chúng tôi xin Mỹ.... Xin nhiều quá! Mà không ai cho cả!
May 1, 2025
There have been many writers, philosophers, and thinkers who’ve influenced my worldview, but none have had a more profound impact on me than Thich Nhat Hanh.
I first encountered Thay’s work nearly 30 years ago through Living Buddha, Living Christ. It came into my life during a time of deep personal change. The lessons were gentle, clear, and simple—yet profoundly effective. His Buddhist teachings proved durable through the changing seasons of my life. Years later, I devoted a full year to reading only his words. Once again, the experience had a marked effect. Not long after I completed that year of reading, Thay passed on.
My father was a United States Marine and a veteran of the Vietnam conflict. I grew up hearing stories of his time as a combat engineer—not tales of glory, but of pain and the anger it left behind. That anger shaped me, too, and led to struggles of my own. It’s a kind of poetic irony, then, that the voice that would ultimately bring healing to my own anguish was that of a young Buddhist exile who had also been shaped by that same war.
Though Thay often referenced his work as a peace activist during the Vietnam War, I had never sought out his writings from that specific period—until now. Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire felt like a missing piece in the bridge between my own understanding of the war and my father’s experience of it. It provided new planks—ones strong enough to carry the weight of memory, grief, and transformation.
This is one of Thay’s earliest works, and it presents a perspective I had never encountered. Rather than focusing on the binary of the United States versus North Vietnam—or communism versus democracy—this book speaks of people. Villages. Real suffering. Thay bears witness with an honest, unflinching clarity, condemning both sides for their ambitions and offering a clear, compassionate path that might have ended the war and spared countless lives.
This was a different voice from the Thay I first met. By the time I encountered him through his books, the war was long over. Yet reading this early work allowed me to hear the echoes of its pain, and to better understand the tenderness that defined the rest of his life. Once again, I found myself in awe of how someone shaped by so much horror could become such a powerful force for peace.
Thay often taught that we do not truly die—we only change form. We continue through our actions, our teachings, and the lives we touch. The war changed my father, and he changed me. The war changed Thay, and he changed me. I think of that often, especially when I feel that old, inherited rage rise in my chest, ready to spark a metaphorical war over something meaningless. In those moments, if I can pause, breathe, and hold that anger with compassion, I know that I am embodying what Thay taught. And in doing so, a part of my father’s pain is healed.
Should you read this book—a book about a war long past, from a voice that mattered then?
Yes. Especially now. I believe Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire holds deep relevance for today’s world. I would recommend it to anyone in a position of power—anyone willing to send troops into harm’s way in a foreign land. This book offers not just a historical perspective, but a deeply human one. One that could provide the pause we need to prevent great humanitarian tragedies before they begin.
I first encountered Thay’s work nearly 30 years ago through Living Buddha, Living Christ. It came into my life during a time of deep personal change. The lessons were gentle, clear, and simple—yet profoundly effective. His Buddhist teachings proved durable through the changing seasons of my life. Years later, I devoted a full year to reading only his words. Once again, the experience had a marked effect. Not long after I completed that year of reading, Thay passed on.
My father was a United States Marine and a veteran of the Vietnam conflict. I grew up hearing stories of his time as a combat engineer—not tales of glory, but of pain and the anger it left behind. That anger shaped me, too, and led to struggles of my own. It’s a kind of poetic irony, then, that the voice that would ultimately bring healing to my own anguish was that of a young Buddhist exile who had also been shaped by that same war.
Though Thay often referenced his work as a peace activist during the Vietnam War, I had never sought out his writings from that specific period—until now. Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire felt like a missing piece in the bridge between my own understanding of the war and my father’s experience of it. It provided new planks—ones strong enough to carry the weight of memory, grief, and transformation.
This is one of Thay’s earliest works, and it presents a perspective I had never encountered. Rather than focusing on the binary of the United States versus North Vietnam—or communism versus democracy—this book speaks of people. Villages. Real suffering. Thay bears witness with an honest, unflinching clarity, condemning both sides for their ambitions and offering a clear, compassionate path that might have ended the war and spared countless lives.
This was a different voice from the Thay I first met. By the time I encountered him through his books, the war was long over. Yet reading this early work allowed me to hear the echoes of its pain, and to better understand the tenderness that defined the rest of his life. Once again, I found myself in awe of how someone shaped by so much horror could become such a powerful force for peace.
Thay often taught that we do not truly die—we only change form. We continue through our actions, our teachings, and the lives we touch. The war changed my father, and he changed me. The war changed Thay, and he changed me. I think of that often, especially when I feel that old, inherited rage rise in my chest, ready to spark a metaphorical war over something meaningless. In those moments, if I can pause, breathe, and hold that anger with compassion, I know that I am embodying what Thay taught. And in doing so, a part of my father’s pain is healed.
Should you read this book—a book about a war long past, from a voice that mattered then?
Yes. Especially now. I believe Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire holds deep relevance for today’s world. I would recommend it to anyone in a position of power—anyone willing to send troops into harm’s way in a foreign land. This book offers not just a historical perspective, but a deeply human one. One that could provide the pause we need to prevent great humanitarian tragedies before they begin.
August 26, 2025
This book is a very important one as Thich Nhat Hanh takes us through a concise history of Vietnam and struggle with French colonialism. This perfectly sets the stage for his analysis on the Vietnamese war and the role of the US as the ultimate power in the region.
My western eduction failed to describe and explain the Vietnam war as anything other than the US helping Vietnam fend off the Communists. It was always pitched as America being the supporter of democracy and freedom across the world. This book does a great deal of work to undo that false notion. It convincingly establishes this as one of the many theatres of war between the US and the Communist Bloc.
The truth as revealed in this book is that the National Liberation Front (NLF) was more a nationalistic movement than a Communist one. The goal was the freedom of the Vietnamese people to self determination. This however runs contrary to the US’s goals as it installed favourable government to accomplish its foreign policy goals. Leaving the peasants to not only experience a lack of representation, but instead an increasing amount of anti-US sentiment. This entirely is as a result of the inherent contradiction between the US’s public policy and how they were conducting themselves in the region.
This book is one that deprograms the American propaganda that we are exposed to. It tackles the issue in a comprehensive way and proposes well thought out real solutions. A staged cease-fire and end of hostilities was a realistic and practical path to self determination for the Vietnamese people.
The book and appendices put us in the time period where Thich embarks at great personal risk to appeal to the world for the sake of his people. It takes you through the conflict, explaining the historical, religious, cultural, and social context of Vietnam. It is both concise and informative.
I highly recommend this book as it frames the true and hidden history of the US and its foreign wars on the lives of citizens. We must take seriously the motivations of our governments in interventions. We must also consider how our media and systems of education wash away the state violence that is committed in the name of democracy and freedom.
This book makes clear what is between the lines and cuts deeply into American exceptionalism. This book can tell us a lot about our world today and the conflicts that we find our governments drawn into.
My western eduction failed to describe and explain the Vietnam war as anything other than the US helping Vietnam fend off the Communists. It was always pitched as America being the supporter of democracy and freedom across the world. This book does a great deal of work to undo that false notion. It convincingly establishes this as one of the many theatres of war between the US and the Communist Bloc.
The truth as revealed in this book is that the National Liberation Front (NLF) was more a nationalistic movement than a Communist one. The goal was the freedom of the Vietnamese people to self determination. This however runs contrary to the US’s goals as it installed favourable government to accomplish its foreign policy goals. Leaving the peasants to not only experience a lack of representation, but instead an increasing amount of anti-US sentiment. This entirely is as a result of the inherent contradiction between the US’s public policy and how they were conducting themselves in the region.
This book is one that deprograms the American propaganda that we are exposed to. It tackles the issue in a comprehensive way and proposes well thought out real solutions. A staged cease-fire and end of hostilities was a realistic and practical path to self determination for the Vietnamese people.
The book and appendices put us in the time period where Thich embarks at great personal risk to appeal to the world for the sake of his people. It takes you through the conflict, explaining the historical, religious, cultural, and social context of Vietnam. It is both concise and informative.
I highly recommend this book as it frames the true and hidden history of the US and its foreign wars on the lives of citizens. We must take seriously the motivations of our governments in interventions. We must also consider how our media and systems of education wash away the state violence that is committed in the name of democracy and freedom.
This book makes clear what is between the lines and cuts deeply into American exceptionalism. This book can tell us a lot about our world today and the conflicts that we find our governments drawn into.
January 3, 2024
The history is not new, but I appreciate the point of view Thich Nhat Hanh offered in the book. His wisdom is demonstrated in how he traces the history of religion in Vietnam and how the Western and Catholics fails to gain influence in Vietnam due to their ignorance of Vietnamese culture and traditions - Buddhism is not merely about ideology, it is formless but pervasive and has so long been part of the nations that it has a strong association with nationalism.
I was surprised when he reveals most people do not fully understand or support Communism during the war. Nevertheless, they have no other options if they want to end the war than to support the National Liberation Front.
The master’s wisdom is fully demonstrated through his call for peace and formation of a democracy party in Vietnam, which means the United States allows Vietnam to decide her own destiny.
Thich Nhat Hanh viewpoint is really “out of this nightmare”, demonstrate the spirit of tolerance, openness of Buddhism and most importantly: his satori (insight), conform and offer hope in the realities of injustice and cruelty.
I was surprised when he reveals most people do not fully understand or support Communism during the war. Nevertheless, they have no other options if they want to end the war than to support the National Liberation Front.
The master’s wisdom is fully demonstrated through his call for peace and formation of a democracy party in Vietnam, which means the United States allows Vietnam to decide her own destiny.
Thich Nhat Hanh viewpoint is really “out of this nightmare”, demonstrate the spirit of tolerance, openness of Buddhism and most importantly: his satori (insight), conform and offer hope in the realities of injustice and cruelty.
April 22, 2023
This is definitely an interesting book with perspective only a local ( non-westerner ) can have.
I have surely heard of all the human tragedies as a result of Vietnam war. But, I have never thought about economic implications of the war. For example, only a handful connected with American war machine makes a ton of money and the rest of Vietnamese people suffered, A LOT. "A girl sell herself for the price of bread."
Not only that, landlords want to rent only to foreigners, Taxidrivers only want to cater to foreigners because they can charge more. Perhaps this is one of those times where Laissez-fair won't have worked.
I have surely heard of all the human tragedies as a result of Vietnam war. But, I have never thought about economic implications of the war. For example, only a handful connected with American war machine makes a ton of money and the rest of Vietnamese people suffered, A LOT. "A girl sell herself for the price of bread."
Not only that, landlords want to rent only to foreigners, Taxidrivers only want to cater to foreigners because they can charge more. Perhaps this is one of those times where Laissez-fair won't have worked.
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August 21, 2024Thich Nhat Hanh undoubtably comes from a place of good will but unfortunately his lack of knowledge of the political economy and his own ideological framework led to an uncritical stance. The text made excuses for capitalist and imperialist forces, dumbed down peasants, and had a one dimensional (maybe even 'nondimensional') understanding of communism (the closest thing to any demonstration of understanding being the footnote on p78).
April 6, 2025
Except for the intro by Thomas Merton, I found the book extremely dull and I skimmed to the end. I suspect that during the height of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, this book would've been meaningful. It's basically a Wikipedia entry about Vietnam's Buddhist history. Thich Nhat Hanh fans can skip this without worrying you've missed a forgotten gem.
October 23, 2025
I am using this book for an essay about Buddhist in Vietnam and this is an amazing source offering insight from someone involved in the struggle at the time. It helped me see things from a non-western prospective, and it is unique because my copy was published in 1967, making it a piece from the time.
April 22, 2023
Powerful insights into the roots of conflict and how peace can emerge if there is deep contextual understanding and courage. A real eye opener.
August 21, 2023
If all you can do is use your voice, then you should use it. Thank you Thay for speaking endlessly for peace.
October 30, 2024
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February 12, 2017
A very different book than what he has published in the last 30 years, this is a political and philosophical discussion of the complex history and struggle for peace in Vietnam. Detailed information about the involvement of Catholic, Buddhist, Communist, and American involvement in political and social unrest in Vietnam. An urgent call for peace, I believe this may have been his first book published in English. A good historical and philosophical read.
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