Friday

Thich Nhat Hanh: The Guide to His Works

As we remember the great impact Thich Nhat Hanh had on the Buddhist community, Shambhala Publications has curated a guide to his greatest works.

In our daily lives we are often lost in thought—we lose ourselves in our plans, in our anger, in our worries. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh presents Buddhist techniques we can use to cut through the mental busyness and anxiety of daily life in order to discover the clear happiness that comes from living in the present moment.

Based on a retreat that Thich Nhat Hanh led for Westerners, this audiobook offers a treasury of simple, effective practices for cultivating mindfulness—You Are Here also offers guidance on healing emotional pain and manifesting real love and compassion in our relationships with others.

Love might not be what we think it is. We all seek the happiness that comes from loving and being loved, yet we often find ourselves dissatisfied in our relationships and unable to grasp the cause. Thich Nhat Hanh here shows the way to overcome our recurrent obstacles to love—by learning to be mindful, open, and present with ourselves and others. As he explains, “training is needed in order to love properly; and to be able to give happiness and joy, you must practice deep looking directed toward the person you love. Because if you do not understand this person, you cannot love properly. Understanding is the essence of love.”

This quintessential guide to loving also introduces the four key aspects of love described in the Buddhist tradition—loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and freedom—and describes many simple and direct ways in which we can practice authentic love in our everyday lives.

Inspiring, joyful, and deeply insightful, this deck of cards offers daily contemplations and words of wisdom from one of the most important spiritual teachers of our time.  These short teachings on mindfulness bring forth his accessible wisdom in a way that offers daily opportunities to make peace with yourself, those around you, and the earth.

Bringing the energy of true presence into our lives really does change things for the better—and all it takes is a little training. This treasury of 365 gems of daily wisdom from one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers of our age is a help and support for anyone who wants to train to meet every moment of life with 100 percent attention. Thich Nhat Hanh shows how practicing mindfulness can transform every area of our lives—and how its benefits radiate beyond us to affect others and the whole, larger world.

Since Thich Nhat Hanh’s exile from his native Vietnam in 1966, this Zen Buddhist monk has gone on to become one of the most influential and beloved spiritual masters of our age. The seeming simplicity of his words belies the power of this teaching to touch the heart and mind and to inspire spiritual practice. These selections, taken from his many published works, together make up a concise introduction to all his major themes and distill his teachings on the transformation of individuals, relationships, and society.