A book cover with the title being peace.

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh 2020

Thich Nhat Hanh who died in January of this year at the age of 95 was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who achieved fame as the author of more than 100 titles in English and the founder of the Plum Village Tradition of Zen, the main activist Buddhist sect.

This book provides a simply written, basic description of how to apply Buddhist principles of mindfulness to the problems of this world—war, poverty, interpersonal conflict.  Having read many books on Buddhism and mindfulness/meditation, I find that every author tells basically the same story—awake, be aware, live in the moment, find peace among the chaos, attend to the breath as a way of focus, be kind and compassionate.  Hanh does the same but writes less about the practical ‘how’ of mindfulness and more about the reasons ‘why’.

My goal in reading any book about meditation/mindfulness is not to once again try to remember the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings or the Eight Virtues, etc (the meditation gurus are very big on assigning numerical values to their theories and practices!), but rather, to emerge from the reading experience with at least one new idea.  In the case of this book, there were two memorable take-aways.  The first was the very first sentence in the book where Hanh wrote, “Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, and the eyes of a baby.”  Several pages later, he wrote a short poem to be recited while breathing and smiling:  “Breathing in, I calm my body./Breathing out, I smile./Dwelling in the present moment/I know this is a wonderful moment.”  

When an author who has touched me dies, I try to read one of their books within a few months of their death.  This book, with a foreword by Jane Goodell in this new edition,  was a worthwhile addition to my meditation practice and a fitting tribute to this fine man.  Hanh had a stroke 8 years before he died and was unable to speak during that time.  Shortly after his stroke, he wrote instructions for how he wished his death to be managed by the monastery where he lived as follows:  I have a disciple in Vietnam who wants to build a stupa for my ashes when I die. He and others want to put a plaque with the words, “Here lies my beloved teacher.” I told them not to waste the temple land…I suggested that, if they still insist on building a stupa, they have the plaque say, I am not in here. But in case people don’t get it, they could add a second plaque, I am not out there either. If still people don’t understand, then you can write on the third and last plaque, I may be found in your way of breathing and walking.