Prominent Buddhist leader and Vietnam War opponent, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, has suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, a monastery he founded says, and is being treated at a hospital in western France.

Nhat Hanh, who rose to renown in the 1960s as an opponent of the Vietnam War, experienced the hemorrhage on Tuesday. He had already been admitted to a hospital in Bordeaux on Nov. 1 for his "fragile" health and was receiving around-the-clock care there, Plum Village said Wednesday in a statement.

"At present, Thay is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him. He is able to move his feet, hands and eyes. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible," the statement continued.

During the Vietnam-War era, Nhat Hanh, now 88, traveled to the U.S. where he met Martin Luther King, Jr. and Europe, urging an end to hostilities and calling for peace. He was then forced into exile for 39 years by Vietnamese officials in the north and the south, Plum Village said.

Nhat Hanh founded the Engaged Buddhism movement, has an international following and has authored many books.

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

First published November 13 2014, 4:19 PM

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Zen Master Nhat Hanh Suffers Brain Hemorrhage

Thich Nhat Hanh was hospitalized this week following a brain hemmorhage. The globally reknowned spiritual leader is "very responsive" but still under intensive care, according to a statement made by his followers.

Who is Thich Nhat Hanh?

Thich Nhat Hanh, or Thy, is an 88-year-old Buddhist monk who is considered to be the worlds most influential Buddhist leader, aside from the Dalai Lama. He is a Zen master, teacher, poet, author and peace activist. He was born in Vietnam in 1926 and was ordained as a novice monk at age 16. Thy is largely credited for bringing Buddhism to the West, according to the BBC.

What are his teachings?

Through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment -- the only way to truly develop peace, both in ones self and in the world, according to Thys website. He has written over 100 publications on meditation, mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism -- a movement he coined during the Vietnam War, in which Buddhists actively apply their meditation and mindfulness practice to situations of social, political, economic and environmental suffering. The Dalai Lama wrote the foreword to Thys book Peace is Every Step, in which he wrote [Thy] shows us how to use the benefits of mindfulness and concentration to transform and heal difficult psychological states. He shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on Earth.

How did he rise to prominence?

After a few years of studying and teaching Buddhism at Princeton and Columbia universities in the United States, Thy returned to Vietnam to pioneer the Buddhist peace effort in the mid-1960s, when the Viet Cong insurgency had intensified and the war grew to full scale. In 1966, Thy left Vietnam for the West once again, but this time to call for peace and an end to the Vietnam War. On his trip in the United States, he met and befriended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967, writing: I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam, King wrote in a letter to the Nobel Institute dated Jan. 25, 1967. Here is an apostle of peace and non-violence, cruelly separated from his own people while they are oppressed by a vicious war which has grown to threaten the sanity and security of the entire world, King wrote, referring to the fact that Thy was barred from returning to Vietnam by both the non-Communist and Communist. He has been living in exile for the last 39 years. Thy continued his teachings and eventually founded Plum Village near Paris, the largest and most active Buddhist monastery in the West. Nearly 8,000 people visit Plum Village each year. Today, Thy has established six monasteries, dozens of mindfulness practice centers in Europe and the United States and over a thousand local practice communities, according to the Plum Village website.

Where is he now?

Thy was hospitalized after suffering a severe brain hemorrhage on Tuesday, Nov. 11, in France. He is currently receiving 24-hour intensive care, according to a press release from Plum Villages Monastic Dharma Teacher Council. Thy is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him, the council stated. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible. Thy had previously been hospitalized in Bordeaux on Nov. 1.

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Who Is Thich Nhat Hanh? Zen Master Suffers Brain Hemorrhage