http://prince.org/msg/105/285635?&pg=1
Click here for a list of Thich Naht Hanh's "Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism."
Because I accept Buddha as inspired of God, as well as Thich Naht Hanh, I will clarify the first of his views for Latter-Day Saints.
A better understanding of Thich Naht Hanh view comes like this: word definitions are comprehensible in the human mind, but just because it logically makes sense, doesn’t mean it's an absolute truth. The universe is infinite: I understand the sentence. But do I even grasp infinity? Another example, he is a just man. I understand “man” and “just”, but do I understand perfect justice? Because Plato shows there are different levels of justice, there must be a greater justice. Thus, I have a guide to justice, but I still have yet to know absolute justice. If God exists, absolute truth exists; humans will simply never have the capacity to grasp it. That is why a smart, wise man will say to himself, “I am nothing, and I know very little.”
Also, Thich Naht Hanh doesn’t include any of the mystical elements of Buddhism in his biography on Buddha’s life Old Path White Clouds. There are a few exceptions, like the Brahmin monk prophesying Buddha’s life as a great monk. However, he excludes the traditional part of the story where Maha, an evil spirit similar to the devil, tries to destroy Buddha before his enlightenment. Why would he make a more "realistic" story? Thich Naht Hans has studied Buddhist scriptures and even translated some original texts into english, including the "New Heart Sutra", and based on those basic texts, legends aside, he wrote his biography.
When we assert as truth something that actually unsure of, we become clouded in our judgement of accepting what is real or unreal; even if it is based on things we do think we know. Would an atheist agree? What about a theist? So what are some of the things that we sometimes accept as true, which are still unsure? What are some things a Mormon accept as true, which are still unsure? How much do we understand about our own beliefs?
A few ideas are the theory of evolution, or the doctrine of the three kingdoms of glory. Both of these we assume to understand sometimes. But do we know that all of the BYU biology teachers accept evolution? Do we really understand who is going to which kingdom? Do we sometimes in our misconceptions assume a place in the celestial kingdom while another lacks certain “rights of passages”. Do we ourselves have more steps to take towards our salvation? Aren’t we all along the same trajectory, and judged according to our forward motion, rather than how many steps we’ve taken? "Ask yourself, 'am I sure?'" -Thich Naht Hanh
