Thich Nhat Hanh, who worked for decades to teach mindfulness, approached death in that same spirit

Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh praying during a three-day requiem for the souls of Vietnam War victims in 2007. Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP via Getty Images

Thich Nhat Hanh, the monk who popularized mindfulness in the West, died in the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam, on Jan. 21, 2022. He was 95.

In 2014, Thich Nhat Hanh suffered a stroke. Since then he was unable to speak or continue his teaching. In October 2018 he expressed his wish, using gestures, to return to the temple in Vietnam where he had been ordained as a young monk. Devotees from many parts of the world had continued to visit him at the temple.