Reviews

FABULOUS LISTEN TO CALM AN ANXIOUS MIND. I had something short of an anxiety attack yesterday after overdosing on COVID stories, news, and data. I listened to this book to wind down after my kids went to bed, and while attempting simple origami for the first time. It was only about an hour long, it was free through Audible's PLUS catalog (for members), and narrated by Edoardo Ballerini who had the perfect voice for it. This was my second Thich Nhat Hanh book, and I realized his last name is pronounced the same as my maiden name.

It earned 4★ since "I really liked it." It didn't earn a 5th star because it failed one of my litmus tests for non-fiction; the ideas weren't organized and/or sticky enough to remember. Whereas this author's Peace is Every Step (his most popular book, published in 1990) is written with a main theme with cohesive sections that support the theme, The Heart of Understanding (his 21st most popular book on GR, published in 1987) is just what the title says -- Commentaries. I'd say it's less cohesive, and that for me made it less memorable.

What I DID remember was the comparisons of roses to trash, this concept of "Interbeing" which I couldn't really wrap my mind around, and a discussion on emptiness (which was similar to Landmark Education). Since it is so short, I may try it again some day, or even use it to fall asleep!

In general I have found Buddhist ideas to be thought-provoking and sometimes even paradigm-shifting. The challenge I have is being able to access those ideas at my pace of life.

britlovestoread's review

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3.0

Really appreciated the parts about impermanence and emptiness and nondualism. However, I was very uncomfortable with the analysis on the prostitute vs the lady and the idea that we can free the prostitute from shame by simply saying something like, "We are One," or "We can only exist because each other exists."

This is the first I've read of Hanh's work, and I want to love Buddhist thought and a lot of it is beautiful, but I cannot shake the feeling that it is lacking when it comes to justice, and even though compassion is supposed to be central when it comes to Buddhism, I struggled to see the compassion when regarding the prostitute (or rather, the symbolism of the prostitute), but at least he had that pretty nailed down with the trees and clouds.

e11ements's review

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hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

emjuddz's review

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5.0

This book had been sitting on my shelf unread, and I finally brought it down the other day when I was in a state of intense despair. It was exactly what I needed to read, and Thich Nhat Hanh has left me feeling inspired and at peace. He had made the Heart Sutra so easy to understand and live!

tannercurtis's review against another edition

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4.0

This was an introduction for me into Buddhist thought and it was fascinating. The concepts are explained clearly and make you appreciate the complexity in the simplicity. I’ll be thinking about “interbeing” for a while to come.