Though the Vietnam government has made no public comment on his return, several high officials have come to see him privately and pay their respects. The United States ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel Kritenbrink, visited soon after his return and called it an honor to see him in person.
Recently, nine United States senators visited Mr. Nhat Hanh, in what some of them described later as a very emotional meeting. “It was way beyond a political experience,” Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who led the delegation, said by telephone. “It was very much a religious experience.”
Another senator in the group, the New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall, said he participated in a workshop with Mr. Nhat Hanh in 2003 as a member of the House of Representatives, and that he had been meditating daily ever since.
(read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/16/world/asia/thich-nhat-hanh-vietnam.html )