The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Kingdom of God is a reality that can be touched in everyday life. “We all have the ability to walk in the kingdom of God, to walk in the Pure Land of Buddha every day.” “You allow yourself to rest, to heal, to calm.” “Breathing in, repeat in the here, in the here, Breathing out – in the now, in the now.” We need to be 100 percent present in every moment of our daily life – this is mindfulness and is the essence of true Buddhist meditation. Sitting is for the pleasure of sitting, walking is for the pleasure of walking, and eating is for the pleasure of eating. “The Buddha said, ‘My practice is the practice of non-practice.’” When we do sitting or walking meditation we should be resting. The author informs us of the importance of resting. There are four sections – mindfulness, enlightenment, emotions and relationships, and peace. It is a tiny book, which is not very practical for reading, but then again it is really a practical size to put in your pocket and carry around with you. This is a wonderful book, as are all this master’s books. Some of these spoke to me with greater meaning, in other words, and when I feel my good friend anger coming on, I might need a rereading of a certain part or two. Me, I'll keep it for occasional pep talks. You begin to put together Thich Nhat Hanh's world view as seen through the lens of Buddhism. Definitely, the 'expressionism' of these small bursts go from colorful dots to a fuller picture as you read. Thus, all of his excerpts fit nicely under these categories.Ĭan you judge a book AS a book when it is set up like this? I suppose, but I'd rather just compliment it as an overview, knowing some will find it perfect and others dissatisfying for that exact reason. You get excerpts-all two to three pages-from all of the venerated Vietnamese monk's books (or at least a whole bunch of them).Įditor Melvin McLeod chose to divide the book into four sections: Mindfulness, Enlightenment, Emotions and Relationships, and Peace. The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh, turns out, is a Reader's Digest Abridged (or Buddhism for Dummies, maybe) way to cheat. And maybe you've been overwhelmed by the question of which one to choose. Maybe, like me, you've taken a glance at the Thich Nhat Hanh shelf (bowing under the weight of its enlightenment) at the bookstore.

The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh by Thich Nhat Hanh