Larry Ward, senior Buddhist teacher in the Plum Village Tradition, has died

Dr. Larry Ward, a senior teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition and co-founder of The Lotus Institute with his wife, Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward, passed away on Tuesday, August 19, as announced in a post from the Lotus Institute team:

This morning, Tuesday, August 19, our beloved teacher and wise elder, Larry Ward (True Great Sound), passed away in his home in Rhode Island. Larry had faced some health challenges recently, yet he continued to live and teach fully in each moment. He was always quick to share his morning practice of the Five Remembrances, and how he started every day, before his feet touched the ground, in contemplation of our impermanence and oneness.

Larry is a lighthouse of love, laughter, and wisdom for countless people across generations, cultures and faiths. His voice, the lion’s roar, grew even louder this year as we all faced the challenges of a world on fire. His expression of the Dharma was at once rebellious, accessible and drew on teachings across Christianity, Buddhism and beyond.

Through it all, his radiant smile, joyful belly laughs, and boundless compassion made us feel safe and at home—reminding us that we are doing our best, and that we are enough, just as we are. At Lotus, in team meetings and events, he’d always encourage us to go outside, be in the company of birds, deer, and trees, and sit in the natural wonder of this world—and try not to worry too much.

Peggy is being held in the loving care of family and friends. Please keep her in your hearts and prayers.

Soon, we will have an opportunity to gather and remember Larry and the things he loved: music, poetry, stories, and laughter. For now, we ask you to join us in providing your collective energy and support to Larry in this time of transition.

Dr. Ward was co-author with his wife of Love’s Garden: A Guide To Mindful Relationships, a subject which the two previously wrote about for Lion’s Roar and the author of America’s Racial Karma, also excerpted in Lion’s Roar. Dr. Ward, whose dharma name was “True Great Sound,” also held a PhD in Religious Studies, specializing in Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation.

Initially inspired by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Dr. Ward dedicated his life to non-violent social change and healing our collective trauma. Following Dr. King’s assassination, Dr. Ward joined the staff of the Ecumenical Institute / Institute of Cultural Affairs in 1969. As told to Tami Simon in an interview with Sounds True, during his time with the institute, Dr. Ward served in India, where he met a monk who helped him to understand the practice of meditation and mindfulness beyond the theory he had previously been studying.

From then on, he lived and worked in over 20 countries, where he was exposed to a number of contemplative traditions and gained decades of experience in organizational change and local community renewal. In, 1991 he met Thich Nhat Hanh, and his practice “became the center of his life and service.” In 1994, he was ordained as a lay minister in the Plum Village Tradition and became a dharma teacher in 2000. Ward accompanied Thich Nhat Hanh on a number of peace-building missions internationally and throughout the U.S.

Together, the Wards founded The Lotus Institute in 1996, an educational non-profit offering “practical tools and transformative experiences that heal trauma and inspire co-imagination to create the world we want.” The Lotus Institute continues to offer programming and events that combine Buddhist practices, trauma-informed teachings, and research in neuroscience and psychology.

For Lion’s Roar, Dr. Ward wrote a number of inspiring pieces on themes of hope, healing, and honoring his teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. We invite you to read a selection of them below: