A Long Journey Home

It was a homecoming more fitting for royalty or a rock star than a monk. The 1,000 or more devotees who waited in the chilly dawn at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport clutched bouquets of flowers, sang songs, and jostled for a better view. For a bunch of Buddhists, they were pushy: when Thich Nhat Hanh finally stepped out of immigration, they surged forward with a force that crushed people against doors and tore sandals, hats and gloves off dozens of others. "I touched him! I touched him!" shouted one woman, who then burst into tears.

Buddhist leader Thich...