In the 1960s, Thich Nhat Hanh founded a School of Youth for Social Service in Vietnam. The school's members practised "engaged Buddhism" and helped to rebuild bombed villages, teach children and organize cooperatives during the Vietnam War. This book was first written as a letter to the School after Thich Nhat Hanh's exile to France. Thich Nhat Hanh, poet, Zen master and chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation during the Vietnam War was nominated by Dr Martin Luther King Jr for the Nobel Peace Prize.