Thich Nhat Hanh is an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist monk, as well as a teacher, author, poet, and peace activist. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 for his efforts to reconcile North and South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Hanh was part of a movement called "engaged Buddhism", which combines traditional practices with nonviolent civil disobedience, and he was exiled by both the Communist and non-Communist governments. He is a respected writer and scholar, and founded a retreat in France called Plum Village. Hanh has written several books, including The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: An Introduction to Buddhism, Peace Is Every Step, and Living… Buddha, Living Christ.
Roshi Philip Kapleau, founder of the Rochester Zen Center, has studied and taught Zen for more than 50 years, after first encountering Zen Buddhism while a reporter at the war crimes trials in Japan in 1946. While there he met D. T. Suzuki and in 1950 began to study Buddhist philosophy, completing over sixteen years of study and practice in both Japan and America. Roshi Kapleau lives in Rochester.