Short Journey Home - by Richard Brady (Paperback)

About the Book

"Short Journey Home presents a powerful story of transformation, rooted in the author's long-term and life-changing practice with Thich Nhat Hanh. Richard Brady guides us through his life experiences and lessons learned, offering strikingly deep and sincere accounts of: his time spent with Thich Nhat Hanh and with senior monastics, his successes and difficulties with community building, practicing with family, working with death, and sharing the practice with others. Brady skillfully grounds his stories in direct teachings offered by Thich Nhat Hanh, and he organizes these stories according to some of Thich Nhat Hanh's most powerful lessons on topics like impermanence, interbeing, and transformation. By taking these teachings to heart, practicing with them diligently, and sharing the results, Brady acts as our spiritual companion, demonstrating how the Plum Village path of practice can lead us to peace, freedom, and awakening in this present moment"--

Book Synopsis

A friend on our path of mindfulness practice, Richard Brady shares one of the first deeply personal accounts of a lay practitioner following in the steps of world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Short Journey Home presents a powerful story of transformation, rooted in the author's long-term and life-changing practice with Thich Nhat Hanh. Richard Brady guides us through his life experiences and lessons learned, offering strikingly deep and sincere accounts of:

• his time spent with Thich Nhat Hanh and with senior monastics,
• his successes and difficulties with community building,
• practicing with family,
• working with death,
• and sharing the practice with others.

Brady skillfully grounds his stories in direct teachings offered by Thich Nhat Hanh, and he organizes these stories according to some of Thich Nhat Hanh's most powerful lessons on topics like impermanence, interbeing, and transformation.

By taking these teachings to heart, practicing with them diligently, and sharing the results, Brady acts as our spiritual companion, demonstrating how the Plum Village path of practice can lead us to peace, freedom, and awakening in this present moment.

Review Quotes

"From math teacher to Buddhist Dharma teacher, fellow Quaker, Richard Brady's latest book, Short Journey Home is a lively and brilliantly written account of a life transformed. A work of imagination, generosity, and penetrating wisdom, guided over decades as a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat
Hanh and the Plum Village community, Brady's is a life well lived, saturated with keen insight, character, and boundless heart."
--Valerie Brown, Buddhist-Quaker Dharma teacher inthe Plum Village tradition, author of Hope Leans Forward and coauthor of Healing Our Way Home

"My life has been graced by spiritual teachers from a wide range of wisdom traditions. In this moving book, Richard Brady shares the story of how his life was blessed by his relationship with the great Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Richard's narrative is so vivid and vulnerable it left me feeling as if I had spent time with Thầy himself. I highly recommend this book to people of any and all backgrounds who seek to make their own 'short journey home.' I think you'll find companionship here, as I did."
--Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak, A Hidden Wholeness, and On the Brink of Everything

"Every good student tries to follow their teacher's guidance, with varying degrees of success. In this very personal book, Richard Brady shows us, with humility and loving honesty, how he took on this formidable task. Through the inspiring teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh, enriched by Judaism and Quakerism, he finds ways to plant and water the seeds of awakening in the specific circumstances of his life. His stories are unique but will resonate with all of us who have searched for the wisdom to transform our lives."
--Mirabai Bush, coauthor with Ram Dass of Walking Each Other Home and Compassion in Action

"Each story in this lovely collection is more than just a story. It is the discovery of a new insight, inviting us to awaken to our own insights on the path to freedom."
--Dzung X. Vo, MD, Author of The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skillsto Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time

"Richard Brady is both seeker and spiritual guide, one who deftly explores how Judaism, Quakerism, and his work with Thich Nat Hanh have illuminated his spirit and enabled profound transformation. His poignant narrative carries us compassionately through family drama and routine trauma, all the while expanding our understanding of his teacher and the Dharma. Brady demonstrates how and why the path is the way: The road is not always easy, but when this traveler walks it with his capacious heart, when he offers and receives the loving kindness forged in our myriad and dual roles as teachers and learners, the way home opens for author and reader alike."
--Bryan K. Garman, PhD, Head of School, Sidwell Friends School

About the Author

Richard Brady is a writer, retreat leader, and consultant for mindfulness in education. In 1989, he co-founded the Washington Mindfulness Community, a practice community in the Plum Village tradition. In 1992, he joined Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing where he was given the Dharma name True Dharma Bridge.

In 2001, Thich Nhat Hanh ordained Richard as a Dharma teacher with a focus on cultivating mindfulness in young people. That same year, Richard founded the Mindfulness in Education Network to support mindfulness in educational settings. He is the North American coordinator of the Plum Village Wake Up Schools program which supports educators sharing basic mindfulness practices in their school environments. He coordinates Wake Up Schools' Happy Teacher Sangha of the Americas which offers monthly space for teachers to practice and connect with one another.

Richard is the author of Walking the Teacher's Path with Mindfulness and coeditor of Tuning In.