Hundreds Walk Mindfully "In the Footsteps of Thay" in New York City
On Saturday, April 25, 2026, more than two hundred lay friends and monastics from Deer Park, Magnolia Grove, and Blue Cliff Monasteries came together in New York City for a rainy morning of walking meditation down the newly renamed Thich Nhat Hanh Way.
Photo Credit: Caroline Mardok
On Saturday, April 25, 2026, more than two hundred lay friends and monastics from Deer Park, Magnolia Grove, and Blue Cliff Monasteries came together in New York City for a rainy morning of walking meditation. With each mindful step, we walked through the city in the living continuation of our teacher’s path.
This was also a Peace Walk, an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Thầy, retracing the path he once took during his time as a student and teacher at Union Theological Seminary (UTS) and Columbia University. Together, we followed the newly named Thích Nhất Hạnh Way, honoring his presence, his courage, and his enduring message of peace.
We began at the Carl Schurz Memorial in Morningside Park, breathing and arriving fully in the present moment. From there, we walked in silence up West 116th Street to Philosophy Hall, just outside the Columbia campus. Continuing along Amsterdam Avenue and the north side of West 114th Street, we made our way to Riverside Park, then gently down to West 108th Street, and finally up to West 109th Street—now lovingly named Thích Nhất Hạnh Way.
HISTORY & IMPORTANCE OF THIS WALK:
Thích Nhất Hạnh (Thầy) lived at 306 West 109th Street from 1962 to 1963 while studying and teaching at Union Theological Seminary (UTS) and Columbia University. This period marked a formative chapter in his life as a young scholar, teacher, and activist.
At that time, Thầy became an active spokesperson for the Buddhist Peace Movement in Vietnam. With the help of friends, he translated and circulated documents to delegations at the United Nations, wrote to American newspapers, gave lectures and interviews, and worked to call attention to the repression of Buddhists and the violation of human rights in Vietnam.
One day, Thầy saw in The New York Times the photograph of the Venerable Thích Quảng Đức self-immolating in the middle of a street in Saigon. He remembered having known Thầy Quảng Đức personally, including their time together at Long Vĩnh Temple in Sài Gòn. By August, as more monks and nuns self-immolated and as more than a thousand monastics were arrested, imprisoned, or disappeared, Thầy was in a state of intense suffering. He practiced walking meditation for several days in Riverside Park.
Finally, he decided that within seven days he too would self-immolate, in order to mobilize the peace movement in the United States. He arranged everything to do this.
On the afternoon of August 25, 1963, Thầy walked through the streets with the awareness that within a week he would no longer be walking there. He walked with clear awareness and saw life with all its wonders. In Thầy’s memoir, he writes he “walked on the Earth but felt as if he were walking on clouds.”
The next morning, Thầy met Professor Friess at Columbia University. When the professor asked about Vietnam, Thầy told him everything. After a long silence, the professor asked what Thầy planned to do. Thầy could not reveal his intention. Professor Friess then gently reminded him that his presence in the United States was already a way to help his fellow monks and nuns in Vietnam, because many of them were now in prison and could no longer speak for themselves. The professor lightly touched Thầy’s shoulder and went into his office.
Thầy returned to his desk, took his letters, and walked home while reflecting deeply. When he reached 109th Street, he decided to abandon the idea of self-immolation. He saw that he had his own way to serve the Dharma and the world.
In this moment, he chose not to offer his life through one final act of protest. He chose to continue offering his life through speaking, writing, organizing, practicing, and helping the world hear the suffering of Vietnam.
That quiet decision in New York rippled outward into history. He went on to become a global voice for peace, influencing figures like Martin Luther King Jr., who later nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The recent naming of “Thích Nhất Hạnh Way” at Broadway and West 109th Street is deeply symbolic. It marks not just where he lived but where he chose life.
We went as a river to walk in the footsteps of Thầy, remembering our teacher and the message he’s imparted to us - that each mindful step can be an act of peace. Together, as a sangha, we nourished peace in each step, embodying the teachings and presence of Thầy here and now.
