By Daily Press staff
A transformed monk will be in the area this week to talk about his experiences in the battlefield.
Claude Anshin Thomas went to Vietnam at 18 years old, where he received numerous medals, including 27 Air Medals, a Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. He witnessed horrifying cruelty, narrowly escaped death on numerous occasions, and also was responsible for the death of several hundred Vietnamese.
Today he is a monk in the Soto Zen tradition and an active speaker and Zen teacher in the United States and Europe. He has made peace pilgrimages through war-torn regions of the world and across America. He is the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes peace and nonviolence. In his first book, he not only tells his dramatic story but also helps readers understand the seeds of their own suffering, and by so doing, allow themselves to heal.
Thomas is currently on a national speaking tour of the United States. His Los Angeles area appearances include: Noon, Thursday, Dec. 2: Free public lecture and book signing at UCLA,
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 29, 2004. Read the original PDF.