Claude AnShin Thomas went to Vietnam at the age of eighteen, where he received numerous awards and decorations for his military service. Today he is a monk in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition and an active speaker and Zen teacher in the United States and Europe.Claude AnShin is the author of the award-winning memoir At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace and Bringing Meditation to Life: 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice. He is also the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes nonviolence and healing after trauma. He is also the abbot and guiding teacher of the Magnolia Zen Center in Mary Esther, Florida.