Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr.

The “beautiful and wise account” of Martin Luther King Jr.

and Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, who “gave greater life to all of us through their remarkable friendship and shared vision of nonviolence” (Joan Halifax, author of Standing at the Edge).

The day after Martin Luther King Jr.

was assassinated in 1968, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a heartbroken letter to their mutual friend Raphael Gould.

He said: “I did not sleep last night.

.

.

.

They killed Martin Luther King.

They killed us.

I am afraid the root of violence is so deep in the heart and mind and manner of this society.

They killed him.

They killed my hope.

I do not know what to say.

.

.

.

He made so great an impression in me.

This morning I have the impression that I cannot bear the loss.” Only a few years earlier, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote an open letter to Martin Luther King Jr.

as part of his effort to raise awareness and bring peace in Vietnam.