Thich Nhat Hahn said this. His lineage stretches back to the first teacher in Viet-Nam, Tang-Hor, in the years 200-250. Thang-Hor went to study in China and came back with his simple teaching called "throw away." "Throw away" is stronger than release or letting-go. Throw away all notions of self and other. Become less arrogant. Throw away all notions of life-span, of birth, of death. All this is the foundation of fear. Not who am I, but rather what am I? I am this body. This body is me. Throw away the extremes, the extreme notions of birth, of death, of being, of non-being, of same-ness, of other-ness, of coming, of going.
Today about 1,800 years later, Thich Nhat Han's famous words are "Peace is every step."
When Imamura-san and Kenji-san went to Viet-Nam, they carried a scroll with these words brushed by our youngest student. At that time Yui was eight years old and her words in Japanese were "Ho-Ho-Kore- Heiwa."
And they carried the permission certificate for Thu-san to teach Cha-do. And they carried a letter to all the people of Viet-Nam, expressing my deep apology for the terrible things done to ordinary children and women and men by my generation during the Viet-Nam War. And they carried "KOSMOS" chawan and they offered the first "Bowl of Tea for Peace into the Four Directions."
This was the beginning of the story of a tea-bowl on a mission of peace in the world.
Thich Nhat Hahn's root temple in Viet-Nam is Tu-Hieu-Pagoda. www.findingkatherine.com