FRIDAY, MARCH 27Van Hanh Buddhist Temple; chùa Vạn-hạnh

San Diego County is full enough of interesting places to keep me going out day after day to be surprised by what I find. Van Hanh Buddhist Temple at 8617 Fanita Drive in Santee was established by an expatriate Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and poet named Nhat Hanh. He joined a Zen monastery at the age of sixteen, studied Buddhism as a novice, and was ordained as a monk in 1949. He is referred to as Thich Nhat Hanh, the title Thich is used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, denoting their membership in the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. For those of us who have lived in Asia, driving up to the temple on Fanita Road is a little like going home. The temple “feels” like the best places in Southeast Asia. There is a serenity that pervades the grounds and the buildings. During the Vietnamese War Thich Nhat Hanh spent time in the U.S. raising money for refugees. Martin Luther King, Jr. was so impressed by the man that he nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

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