The Power of Nonviolence: Lessons from the Lives of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr.

In “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,” Martin Luther King Jr. said that there are three words for love in the Greek language: eros, philia, and agape (8). Eros is associated with romance and beauty (King 8). Beyond that, it is a “yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine” (King 8). Philia is defined as an affectionateness between friends. It is reciprocal in nature (King 8).

Unlike eros and philia, agape means to love all of humanity (King 8). It is love for the sake of love. There is no expectation of a return. Everyone is cherished, even if they are full of prejudice, hatred, and ignorance (King 8). For theologians, “it is the love of God working in the lives of men” (King 8).

In the spirit of agape, King said that “We rise to the position of loving the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed he does” (8).

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist and poet, wrote a similar sentiment to the School of Youth for Social Service, a relief organization that he founded, dedicated to the “principles of non-violence and compassionate action” (Hạnh). During the Vietnam War, social workers in his organization were risking their lives for those suffering from poverty and war. Some of them were tortured and killed for…