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bupdaddy's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not in a place to objectively review this - I read this book because I'm processing a loss right now, and it's helped a lot.
leandro_ferreira_2's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
2.0
It's the first time I skim a book but, at halfway through it, it had to be done. Waayyy to repetitive. There is good advice and examples to follow but it is too much spirituality for me also. At one point I just wonder if I am not wise enough to wrap my head around this (wich may be true) or if this is a bunch of spiritual bullsh*t "to sell" an utopic ideology, and perhaps it is a bit of both.
averyblue's review against another edition
4.0
A calming, patient explanation of life and death from the eyes of a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. Complex ideas are made very easy to follow and have definitely changed how I perceive my life.
davenash's review against another edition
4.0
I first met Thay in an intro to Thomas Merton book. Thay lived a remarkable life and this is a good summary of his teachings on death and fear.
I’d you don’t read it this is my favorite quote
“Please take a pen and a sheet of paper. Go to the foot of a tree or to your writing desk, and make a list of all the things that can make you happy right now: the clouds in the sky, the flowers in the garden, the children playing, the fact that you have met the practice of mindfulness, your beloved ones sitting in the next room, your two eyes in good condition. The list is endless.”
I’d you don’t read it this is my favorite quote
“Please take a pen and a sheet of paper. Go to the foot of a tree or to your writing desk, and make a list of all the things that can make you happy right now: the clouds in the sky, the flowers in the garden, the children playing, the fact that you have met the practice of mindfulness, your beloved ones sitting in the next room, your two eyes in good condition. The list is endless.”
adavidgraham's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
brontherun's review against another edition
3.0
Thich Nhat Hanh is a well respected teacher and prolific author. This is the second of his works I've explored, and I found it helpful, as it deals with attachment, letting go, and what we keep from our encounters with others. Particularly poignant (to me) are his wisdom on mothers: "We all lose our mothers. But if you know how to practice, when the time comes for the separation, you will not suffer too much. You will very quickly realize that your mother is always alive within you."
What surprised me about this work is the way he regularly pulls in Christian, Jewish, and other religious beliefs, as well as scientific thoughts into his practice and his understanding of the bodhisattva, dharma, and tonglen. He unites the physical and the spirtual world, as in the spirit is in each cell, while at the same time releasing their dependency on each other as the spirit neither is born nor dies. The no death, no fear title of this work is the result. We manifest, and then we change. We are likely manifested elsewhere. The conclusion I came to was that if one is a patient and practiced student, you may be able to find the changed manifestation.
In his words, "Your spiritual ancestors are in you, because what you are by nature and what you are by nurture cannot be separated. Nurturing transforms your inherited nature." With that in mind, it seems we practice both to nurture ourselves and others towards no death, no fear.
What surprised me about this work is the way he regularly pulls in Christian, Jewish, and other religious beliefs, as well as scientific thoughts into his practice and his understanding of the bodhisattva, dharma, and tonglen. He unites the physical and the spirtual world, as in the spirit is in each cell, while at the same time releasing their dependency on each other as the spirit neither is born nor dies. The no death, no fear title of this work is the result. We manifest, and then we change. We are likely manifested elsewhere. The conclusion I came to was that if one is a patient and practiced student, you may be able to find the changed manifestation.
In his words, "Your spiritual ancestors are in you, because what you are by nature and what you are by nurture cannot be separated. Nurturing transforms your inherited nature." With that in mind, it seems we practice both to nurture ourselves and others towards no death, no fear.
magsr6's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
pipn_t's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Good book, a bit tough in a few spot but mostly the philosophy is laid out very clearly.