Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation - the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and Other Basic Teachings

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What should we think when on the one hand Buddhism tells us that life is suffering and on the other we are told to enjoy life's every moment? Loved around the world for his simple, straightforward explanations of Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh has finally turned his hand to the very core of Buddhism and conundrums such as this. In the traditional way, Thich Nhat Hanh takes up the core teachings one by one--the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-Arising--but his approach is as fresh as a soft breeze through a plum orchard. For illustration, he dips into the vast stores of Buddhist literature right alongside contemporary anecdotes, pointing out subtleties that can get glossed over in other popular introductions. He also includes three short but key sutras, essential source teachings from which all Buddhism flows. Studying the basics of Buddhism under Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is like learning basketball from Michael Jordan. --Brian Bruya


From Publishers Weekly
Thich Nhat Hanh's introduction begins with the Turning the Dharma Wheel Sutra, the classic tale of Buddha's announcement in the Deer Park of his awakening. Nhat Hanh then proceeds through a series of laundry-list definitions of core Buddhist terminology: Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Path, The Three Dharma Seals, The Three Doors of Liberation, The Twelve Links of Causation, The Three Jewels, The Six Harmonies, The Five Powers, The Five Wonderful Precepts and The Four Immeasurable Minds. Despite the tedium of the list, Nhat Hanh does present Buddhism as way of thinking and a well-traveled path toward enlightenment. Buddhism, he teaches, is not only about the individual's attainment of enlightenment but also about the community, past and present, which has fostered the possibility of an individual's enlightenment. As an introduction to Buddhism, this is a masterful inventory of the basic accouterments of a well-furnished Buddhist life. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"Thich Nhat Hanh writes with the voice of the Buddha."
--Sogyal Rinpoche

"If there is a candidate for 'Living Buddha' on earth today, it is Thich Nhat Hanh."
--Richard Baker-roshi

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

"Thich Nhat Hanh is a real poet."
--Robert Lowell


Review
"Thich Nhat Hanh writes with the voice of the Buddha."
--Sogyal Rinpoche

"If there is a candidate for 'Living Buddha' on earth today, it is Thich Nhat Hanh."
--Richard Baker-roshi

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

"Thich Nhat Hanh is a real poet."
--Robert Lowell


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In The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha's teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives. With poetry and clarity, Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy—all qualities of enlightenment. Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike.


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