No Death, No Fear; Being Peace; & Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

The first of Thich Nhat Hahn's books I read was No Death, No Fear.

This is from the very beginning of the inside front flap, but so far it's one of my favorite parts.

There is a story about a Zen master whose monastery was overrun by marauding soldiers. When the Zen master did not appear frightened, the soldiers' captain said, "Don't you know who I am? I could run my sword through you and not think twice about it." The Zen master replied, "Don't you know who I am? You could run your sword through me and I wouldn't think twice about it."

When I showed the book to a friend, he said it didn't seem like the sort of thing I would buy. I felt a little put out by that, and at the time I wasn't sure exactly why, but I've worked it out now. The subtitle of the book is "Comforting Wisdom for Life," which sounds much fluffier than it is, and much like some of the self-help books I dislike. (I can't stand fluffy.)

I finished Being Peace. It's a good book. I liked No Death, No Fear a little better, but this was good.

I have just begun to seriously study Buddhism. I've believed in many of the precepts for a long time, and I find that there isn't much in the books that is new to me. It's strange to read it, and have what I've believed be affirmed. And there are parts with which I don't quite agree...a few things about sex, and food, for example.

But then, I don't want to be a monk.

I still don't think of it as a religion, not as I practice it. But if Buddhism is as these books describe it, I have been a devout practitioner for a while now. It's becoming more important to me to be able to talk about it.

I've always found that what Thich Nhat Hahn writes is true, that anger evaporates in the face of understanding. I really can't be angry when I understand that the reason someone has hurt me is beyond their control, or they had good reasons that I can understand and support.

In Peace is Every Step, he writes a lot about being present, being mindful, simply being part of your environment. It sounds fluffy, which I hate, but I'm able to deal with it because at the bottom of it, Thich Nhat Hahn's mindful meditation on the cycles of life is compatible with physics and ecology. It works for me.

I just got The Art of Power in today's mail, and I'm very excited about reading it. I'm certain it's going to be a lot different than most books with "power" in the title.

Comments

Buddhism and Thought

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Thank you for these reviews. I've been thinking about Buddhism recently, considering learning more about it (if I should), and learning about these books is very helpful.

[b-writes.livejournal.com]

There is something sort of amazing about Thich Nhat Hahn, isn't there? I've read a lot of Buddhist writers, but he's just...transcendant.

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

Someone recommended Pema Chodron to me, and I tried reading one of her books, but her focus didn't quite work for me.

I've been told that Thich Nhat Hahn's Buddhism is a very particular kind of Vietnamese Buddhism (as opposed to some universal Buddhist doctrine), but it really works for me. His words resonate with my way of thinking--as if he knows how I need to be instructed.

[b-writes.livejournal.com]

I haven't read anything by her.

Wikipedia calls it Engaged Buddhism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism) Vietnamese Buddhism is unique, in and of itself, IIRC-- every Buddhism-adopting culture pretty much has its own traditions. They're one of the more gender-neutral traditions, too.

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. It's the humanism that calls to me.