Thich Nhat Hanh presents Zen as nothing other than the living expression of the Buddha’s foundational insights, rather than a separate or esoteric stream. Zen, in his account, is the concrete enactment of the Four Noble Truths: it trains practitioners to recognize suffering, to see clearly its roots in ignorance and craving, to taste the peace of its cessation, and to walk the path that makes this peace stable and enduring. The familiar Zen disciplines of sitting meditation, mindful breathing, and mindful walking are treated as direct applications of the Noble Eightfold Path, especially right mindfulness, right concentration, and right view. Ethical conduct and compassionate engagement are not adjuncts but integral dimensions of this path, shaping how insight is brought into speech, action, and livelihood.

At the doctrinal level, he consistently interprets Zen teachings through the lens of dependent origination, non-self, and emptiness. The Zen language of “interbeing” and interconnectedness is presented as an experiential doorway into the classical teaching of dependent origination, where no phenomenon exists in isolation. Likewise, the Zen emphasis on dissolving fixed concepts and ego-centered views is aligned with the realization of emptiness—not as nihilism, but as the absence of inherent, separate existence. This non-conceptual, direct way of knowing, sometimes expressed in Zen as “not depending on words and letters,” is portrayed as faithful to the insight that ultimate reality cannot be fully captured by conceptual thought, even though doctrines remain indispensable as skillful means.

Mindfulness stands at the heart of this synthesis. Zen meditation is shown to embody the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, making present-moment awareness the means by which impermanence, suffering, and non-self are directly observed rather than merely believed. In this light, everyday activities—such as breathing, walking, or washing dishes—become occasions for realizing the same truths the Buddha taught, moment by moment. The Middle Way appears here not only as a doctrinal principle but as the balanced, unforced quality of Zen practice itself, avoiding both rigid asceticism and heedless indulgence.

Finally, Thich Nhat Hanh underscores that authentic Zen practice is inseparable from the traditional refuges and ideals of Buddhism. Taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is understood as grounding one’s life in awakening, teaching, and community, rather than as a mere ritual formula. The bodhisattva spirit of Zen—uniting wisdom that “sees things as they are” with active compassion—is presented as the natural flowering of insight into suffering, interdependence, and emptiness. In this way, Zen appears as a refined method for realizing the very same core doctrines that have defined Buddhism from its earliest formulations.