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Thich Nhat Hanh

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At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk's Life Kindle Edition

by Thich Nhat Hanh (Author), Jason DeAntonis (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 537 ratings

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This collection of 81 dharma stories illustrate Thich Nhat Hanh’s essential teachings on mindfulness, peace, and social engagement.

Collected here for the first time, these personal, autobiographical stories from peace activist and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh perfectly illustrate his most essential teachings. The beauty of these simple lessons is that readers do not need to be versed in meditation or Buddhist practices to find peace, sanctuary, and sustenance here.

Told with his signature clarity and humor, these stories are drawn from the long span of Thich Nhat Hanh's life, from his childhood in rural Vietnam to his years as a teenaged novice, and as a young teacher and writer in his war-torn home country. Readers will also join Nhat Hanh on his later travels around the world teaching mindfulness, making pilgrimages to sacred sites, and meeting with world leaders.

This inspiring read follows in the tradition of Zen teaching stories—dharma—that goes back at least to the time of the Buddha. Thich Nhat Hanh uses storytelling to share important teachings, insights, and life lessons. Despite his passing in 2022, hunger for his writing continues to widen and deepen as the benefits of mindfulness continue to seep into the global zeitgeist.

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193 pages
Language

English
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Parallax Press
Publication date

November 1, 2016
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47623 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal inner peace and peace on earth."—His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Beneath Thich Nhat Hanh's serene demeanor lies a courageous warrior."—Oprah Winfrey

"Followers and newcomers to Nhat Hanh’s teaching alike will find this collection inspiring for everyday practice and for social engagement in the world."—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over 7 decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than 4 million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Leaf

One day when I was a child, I looked into the water container in the front yard and I saw a very beautiful leaf at the bottom. It had so many colors. I wanted to take the leaf out and play with it. But my arm was too short to reach the bottom of the water container. So I used a stick to try to take it out. It was difficult and I became impatient. I stirred and stirred twenty or thirty times, and yet the leaf didn’t come to the surface. So I gave up and I threw away the stick. When I came back a few minutes later the leaf had come to the surface of the water, and I picked it up easily. In the few moments I had been away, the water had continued to swirl and had brought the leaf up to the surface.

This is how our unconscious mind works. When we have a problem or difficulty to solve or when we want to have more insight into a situation, our conscious mind has to entrust to the unconscious mind the task of finding the insight. The unconsciousness mind knows how to listen and collaborate with us and with our intentions. Sometimes before going to sleep you might tell your store consciousness: "Tomorrow I want to wake up at 4:30"; and tomorrow you will wake up at 4:30. To meditate you don’t only use your conscious mind, what we call in Buddhism "mind consciousness"; you also need to know how to use and trust your unconscious mind, called "store consciousness" in Buddhism. When we plant a seed in the soil, we trust the soil. Mind consciousness should plant the object of meditation into the soil of store consciousness and not wrestle with it superficially on the level of mind consciousness.

When a peace conference takes place, it must be organized in that spirit. We have to rely on the collective insight offered by the collective store consciousness of all those who are in the conference. We should know the techniques of taking care of our collective store consciousness in order to have the greatest insight possible. If we can become more civilized, our legislature will operate like that. Every member will know how to practice so that store consciousness can offer the best insight.

During the day, mind consciousness creates all the conditions for store consciousness to be able to do it; it’s by the practice of deep breathing, calming, looking deeply, and allowing ourselves to be, that we can help our store consciousness to offer the best. Not only psychotherapists, but also members of government should learn how to make good use of our unconscious mind to serve our people in our country and our world. We should all know how to practice to have more insight and to have the best kind of insight. When you offer this way to others, it needs to be based on your own experience of practice.

Kaleidoscope

When I was a child I used to enjoy playing with a kaleidoscope that I made from a tube and a few pieces of ground glass. Whenever I turned it a little bit, I saw many wonderful sights. Every time I made a small movement of my fingers, one sight would disappear and another would appear. I didn’t cry at all when the first spectacle disappeared, because I knew that nothing was lost; another beautiful sight always followed.

When we look into a kaleidoscope, we see a beautiful symmetrical image; and whenever we turn the kaleidoscope, the image disappears. Can we describe this as a birth or a death? Or is the image only a manifestation? After this manifestation there’s another manifestation that’s equally beautiful—nothing is lost at all. I have seen people die very peacefully, with a smile, because they see that birth and death are only waves on the surface of the ocean, just like the spectacle in the kaleidoscope.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01A4APOJ2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Parallax Press (November 1, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 47623 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #228,628 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #53 in Zen Buddhism (Kindle Store)
- #60 in R&B & Soul Artist Biographies
- #232 in Zen Spirituality

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Thich Nhat Hanh

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Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) was a Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, and peace activist and one of the most revered and influential spiritual teachers in the world. Born in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. His work for peace and reconciliation during the war in Vietnam moved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. In Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh founded Van Hanh Buddhist University and the School of Youth for Social Service, a corps of Buddhist peace workers. Exiled as a result of his work for peace, he continued his humanitarian efforts, rescuing boat people and helping to resettle refugees. In 1982 he established Plum Village France, the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the hub of the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Over seven decades of teaching, he published a hundred books, which have been translated into more than forty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide.

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Atreya

Love the autobiographical writing

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023

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(Thay) Thich Nhat Hanh has been one of my favorite teachers. I especially love this book because he teaches mindfulness via his autobiography. He is one of the clearest teachers of our time. This book makes his teachings all the more accessible and enjoyable!

2 people found this helpful

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Nomi Redding

A Gift from Our Teacher

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2017

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This is a wonderful book-each essay, which to some extent are ordered chronologically from Thay's lived experience, is complete in itself. Together they provide both personal insights and guides to a mindful life. Wherever we are geographically in the world or in the various decades of our life, his words are inspirational and nourishing. However difficult life may be, hope resides in every moment.

4 people found this helpful

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charley nesmith

It’s Thay. Every book is awesome

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2023

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I love him and have almost every book he’s ever written. I’m working on getting them all

2 people found this helpful

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loop trail

Some new material, older material serves as a great reminder of our journey with Thay.

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2017

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As always a great read from Thay. Obviously this material was written prior to his CVA and some of it is indeed from other publications of his, but that being said it is a wonderful reminder of the things he has taught those of us who have read most of his work. Highly recommended for newcomers and Thay followers alike.

8 people found this helpful

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Matthew

Beautiful Thoughts and Stories

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2020

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I only recently discovered this beautiful person and can not recommend his books and teachings enough. He’s helped me to cope with extreme difficulty and inspires me to live in the present moment.

One person found this helpful

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Real Happy

His books have been a refuge

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018

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Thich Nhat Hanh’s books have been a refuge for me for many years. I’m not sure how many of his books I’ve read so far, but it must be dozens at least. I still treasure his insights and coaching on how to embrace this human experience.

In this particular book, he shares personal experiences along with his thoughts on many of life’s challenges. I can’t say this strongly enough, but he just seems to talk to me.

On more than one occasion, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about meeting and working with Thomas Merton. I especially like the talk called Closing the Door, which talks about learning how to be mindful in all that we do. Thich Nhat Hanh told this story to Thomas Merton, and Thomas used that story and told that same story to fellow followers and monks that he was working with.

Thich Nhat Hanh also told a story about washing dishes and how being mindful and being in the moment changes the whole perception of how you feel about washing dishes. If one is not in the moment the task becomes uncomfortable, because their thinking about the past or the future and not experiencing the moment. I know I’m not sharing the true depth of this story, but I want to encourage you to take a look at this story.

In addition, one of his essays within this book is titled “The Times of India.” In this essay he describes a different way of reporting news that needs to be considered. A terrible event or booming happened in Mumbai, and Thich Nhat Hanh talks about a new way of sharing this information to the public so that it doesn’t cause any more anger or violence.

He shares that it needs to be communicated in such a way that it doesn’t make matters worse. Empathy might be a good place to start. Let’s try to understand the cause and take appropriate action so not to enflame the disenfranchised to be victims and exacerbate matters even further.

If we’re passionate and caring the assailant loses some power and this could change the whole dynamics of these events. I know I’m not doing this essays any justice, so please read the book to get a true picture of what I’m talking about.

17 people found this helpful

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Hal

Food for the soul

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2022

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A wonderful read with lots of practical suggestions on how to improve your world. The challenge is putting them into daily use. First step is to be mindful and breathe. Repeat.

One person found this helpful

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Cedric A. Harmon

Sustenance for trying times

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017

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Each page overflowed with gentle. wise and accessible story and steps to enrich consciousness. Nothing so academic as to be beyond comprehension. I related to this writing at the level of the heart --- I believe others will too.

3 people found this helpful

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Richa

Thought Provoking and Super Inspiring

Reviewed in India on February 24, 2020

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Its a beautiful book by a beautiful soul. Not a mere autobiographical account, the book has various soul touching lessons and incidents from the Monk's life. The book is divided into various phases of life and its very inspiring to read how he tackled difficult times of war and exile. The illustrations are equally beautiful as the words.

One person found this helpful

rr

Meraviglioso

Reviewed in Italy on May 18, 2019

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Come tutti i libri di Thich Nhat Hahn, è colmo di luminosa lievità e, al tempo stesso, profondo e toccante. In questo caso si tratta di momenti di vita narrati con gli occhi di chi è in grado di vedere la bellezza ovunque. Thich Nhat Hahn è un vero Maestro di pace, capace di insegnare con la vita.

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Bui Huu Tuong

Bewertung

Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2019

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Ein gutes Buch

One person found this helpful

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