The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
by Thich Nhat Hanh
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Book Reviews of The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation
Book Review: Excellent book but too many notions
Summary: 4 Stars
I often repeat the excellent definition that Thich Nhat Hanh suggests for the first noble truth: Right view is the absence of views. (Alternative translations for right view are right belief, right understanding, right judgment, and right opinion -which I like a lot.) Even though as "absence of views" such definition does not appear in the Pali Canon, it is implied in many of the Buddha's discourses. Part I (The Noble Truths) and II (The Eightfold Path) are an excellent summary of Siddhattha Gautama's teachings. Part III, however, contains many "views" and it is an excellent "introduction" to how complicated and abstruse Buddhism may become. Yes, the five aggregates and the three characteristics of phenomena are instrumental in understanding the meaning of "suffering" (I prefer "disharmony") in Buddhism. But the three doors to liberation, the three bodies of the Buddha and the six paramites (among several other abstract notions) get into the optional, if not unnecessary, doctrine. Humankind needs now, more than ever, the wisdom of the Buddha's Teachings. To spread them therefore, its presentation demands simplicity and intelligibility.
Gustavo Estrada, Author of Hacia el Buda desde el occidente: Sus Ensenanzas sin mitos ni misterios
Book Review: Who can hear the Buddha sing if...?
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never met Thich Nhat Hanh, but everything on my radar screen tells me, "We got a real saint in the flesh." And a poem of his that appeared in an anthology, along with some of my own work, is one of the most sophisticated -- stunning, wonderfully shocking -- poems I have ever seen. Thus to me, if this saint wants to speak (at times) in a way that comforts the little-old-ladies in each of us...
And dear one, Thich Naht Hahn, you are most welcome to quote any time a line of Hafiz about the Buddha (which will probably satisfy any needing some R-rated talk of Truth), a line that addresses a realm which I feel many never even get close to the strength/courage to muzzle; that line which goes:
"Who can hear the Buddha sing if that dog
between your legs is barking?"
I am talking about that "canine/kennel" of the student's. I am not -- at all -- addressing this Hafiz quote to any real teacher. Though I'd bet half-baked gurus might near the finish line if they did not break any hearts via dog antics. We might have to call in the vet, neuter a few rabid gurus...
Daniel Ladinsky
Best-selling Penguin author of various divine tamperings
quote from, The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, page 298
Book Review: A gentle, humanist and revisionist introduction.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful introduction to some of the complicated and not-so-complicated tenets of Buddhism. But in some ways I agree with "Watch your step!", one of the reviewers below. Hanh's is a very personal interpretation, and one with which not all Buddhists will agree. Specifically, he takes a somewhat revisionist view of the nature of suffering and its relation to the Buddha's teaching. He writes, for example, after putting his own views across in a gentle and persuasive way, "I hope scholars and practioners will begin to accept the teaching the all things are marked by impermanence, non-self and nirvana." His substitution of "nirvana" for "suffering" there may strike some as overly revisionist. He is arguing against a long-standing interpretation, and I am persuaded by his view. Some of those thinking of buying this book, however, may not want such an individual perspective, and instead may be looking for a less critical summation of standard Buddhist teachings.
That being said, this should be the standard reference on the basics of Buddhism in English.
"What are you doing?"
Book Review: Intelligent layman's introduction
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is the cure to all those [] self-help type introductions to Buddhism you see these days. This is far from a scholalry book, only suited for dry academics, but at the same time, it doesn't pidgeon hole all of the Buddha's teachings into a few maxims for the Busy American to absorb on the way to the gym or work. I can't gaurantee that you'll become a Buddhist after reading this, or even have much desire to (I know I didn't), but I simply do not see how you can walk away from it without some insight into how you live your life. At the very least, this book will cause you to locate your own self-deprecating actions and stop them (without being new age-y, or full of [] pop psychology). At best, this will cause you to start your life along the middle path. More likely than not, though, you'll end up some where in the middle, like I did. I read this at a very hard point in my life, and I can tell you that it was one of the main reasons I was pulled out of that funk. It helped me to understand why we suffer, and how to escape the cycle of pain and humiliation. Highly Recommended.Book Review: Some good seeds of moral wisdom
Summary: 4 Stars
Thich Nhat Hanh has a gift for rendering the Buddhist religion into simple, direct and compelling language. Using analogy and a very patient method of explanation, Hanh gives the reader a great deal about Buddhism. Intellectually and morally fulfilling in many ways, this work serves as an effective introduction to the Buddhist religion. While there are some parts of the Buddhist belief and ideas that I do not share, and do not find fully compelling, there are many seeds of wisdom which people of all backgrounds and religious dispositions could find useful. My major criticism is that Hanh recounts Buddhism with somewhat obsessive preoccupation of "number schemes." This is not wholly his fault, the sutras and religion itself might be blamed. For example "the twelve turnings, the five aggregates, the three jewels, or three dharma seals. . ." - that all gets to be somewhat tedious and tiresome, frankly. In spite of this shortcoming, the strengths of the book outweigh the minuses, and I would recommend it to the beginning student of Buddhism.