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Claude AnShin Thomas: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace

Vietnam veteran, Zen monk, peace activist, and author Claude AnShin Thomas will speak at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Friday, March 11, at 7 p.m.

At a time when American soldiers are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, injured in both body and soul, Claude AnShin Thomas’ experience of serving in Vietnam and returning home is especially relevant. He asks us to look at war and understand that it is actually the collective expression of individual suffering, and that only through our personal actions and insights can we hope to end war.  

 “... as I pieced together the shrapnel of my life and discovered the heart that had been shattered by combat, I discovered that there is no justified killing, no clear separation between good and bad violence, and no rectitude in war. War is just the acting out of suffering,” Claude writes in the preface of his recently published spiritual odyssey, “At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace.”   

Claude AnShin Thomas volunteered for active duty at the age of 18 and served as a crew chief on assault helicopters in Vietnam. By the end of his tour, he had been awarded numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. Upon returning home, like many Vietnam veterans, he continued to live in a state of war. He struggled for years with drug and alcohol addiction, isolation, severe post-traumatic stress, and even homelessness. Years later, in 1990, when he attended a meditation retreat for veterans offered by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, his life was transformed.

Thomas writes, “At the retreat, Thich Nhat Hanh said to us, ‘You veterans are the light at the tip of the candle. You burn hot and bright. You understand deeply the nature of suffering.’ He ... told us that we deserved to be listened to, deserved to be understood. He said we represented a powerful force for healing in the world.”

Today, Claude Anshin Thomas is a Zen monk, a teacher, and a peace activist in Europe and the United States.  He is also the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes peace and nonviolence. “At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace” (Shambhala Publications 2004) is his first book.

As Thomas journeys far and near, he offers timeless teachings on how to heal emotional suffering, as well as practical guidance in using mindfulness and compassion to transform our lives. He shares his inspiring spiritual odyssey from the horrors of combat to the discovery of the Buddhist path to healing. “Everyone,” Thomas reminds us, “has their Vietnam. Everyone has their war. May we embark together on a pilgrimage of ending these wars and truly living peace.”

Thomas’ speech at the First Unitarian Society March 11 is co-sponsored by Buddhist Peace Fellowship Madison and First Unitarian Society Peace and Justice Committee. The talk is free and open to the public. Thomas’ travel expenses will be gratefully accepted.  

For further information, contact Kathy Derene of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship at 233-4118 or kathy@derene.com.

You may also hear Claude AnShin Thomas on WORT (89.9 FM) this Friday, March 11, from noon-12:30 p.m. on “A Public Affair” with host Diane Farsetta.