How to use ancient Buddhist teachings to solve modern problems.
Born in Hue, Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist Zen Master, poet, scholar and human rights activist. In 1967, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. He founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, the School of Youth and Social Service and the Plum Village Buddhist community and meditation centre in France, where he lived for many years. He is the author of many acclaimed books including Peace is Every Step, Old Path White Clouds and Fear, which have sold millions of copies around the world. He lives at the Tu Hieu Temple in Vietnam where he was first ordained when he was sixteen years old.
``Next time you are caught in a traffic jam . . . sit back and smile . . . a smile of compassion and loving kindness.'' While such sappy Zen advice from a Buddhist monk, a Vietnamese resident in France following his exile in 1966, could send Western seekers of enlightenment into overdrive, fortunately most of the suggestions offered in this slim guidebook are of more substance. In a series of vignettes and short passages, e.g., ``Cooking Our Potatoes,'' Nhat Hanh outlines techniques for living mindfullly, that is, in the present. Emphasizing that all things are interconnected on personal and political levels, he notes, for example, that the wealth of one society is based on the poverty of others. This book of illuminating reminders bids us to reorient the way we look at the world, turning away from a goal-driven, me-first modality toward a humanitarian perspective. (Feb.)
This is a very worthwhile book. It can change individual lives and the life of our society
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