The Art of Living - by Thich Nhat Hanh

About the Book

In troubled times, there is an urgency to understand ourselves and our world. We have so many questions, and they tug at us night and day, consciously and unconsciously. In this important volume Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh --- one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world today --- reveals an art of living in mindfulness that helps us answer life's deepest questions and experience the happiness and freedom we desire. Thich Nhat Hanh presents, for the first time, seven transformative meditations that open up new perspectives on our lives, our relationships and our interconnectedness with the world around us. Based on the last full talks before his sudden hospitalization, and drawing on intimate examples from his own life, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how these seven meditations can free us to live a happy, peaceful and active life, and face aging and dying with curiosity and joy and without fear. Containing the essence of the Buddha's teachings and Thich Nhat Hanh's poignant, timeless, and clarifying prose, The Art of Living provides a spiritual dimension to our lives. This is not an effort to escape life or to dwell in a place of bliss outside of this world. Instead, this path will allow us to discover where we come from and where we are going. And most of all, it will generate happiness, understanding, and love, so we can live deeply in each moment of our life, right where we are.

Book Synopsis

Meditations for profoundly reshaping our focus, mindset, and healing journey--discover the freedom and lightness that comes with leading with gratitude over fear and trauma

"The Art of Living offers an exit ramp from the madness of modern-day overdrive, and just might let us grasp the heaven on Earth." --The Chicago Tribune

A revered spiritual leader's legacy lives on in this wise and rich spiritual guide that shows us how finding true nirvana--existing deeply and peacefully every day--is more attainable than we ever imagined.

Especially in turbulent times, there is an urgency to understand ourselves and our world. In the process, hushing our internal chatter and anxieties can feel nearly impossible. We exist trapped in a cycle of worry and stress--desperately searching for a cure and for an ounce of calm. In The Art of Living, renowned Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh shows us that, often, we are in our own way, and that by changing the way we think and process our emotions and experiences can permanently change the way we find joy and meaning in our lives. Containing the essence of the Buddha's teachings and Nhat Hanh's poignant, timeless, and clarifying prose, The Art of Living provides seven transformative mediations that open new perspectives on our lives, our relationships, and our interconnectedness with the world around us.

These transformative meditations concentrate on the concepts of:

- Emptiness

- Singlessness

- Aimlessness

- Impermanence

- Non-Craving

- Letting Go

- Nirvana

Through these, Nhat Hanh describes how spirituality is not a religion. It is a path for us to generate happiness, understanding, and love, so we can live deeply in each moment of our life.

"Happiness is not something that arrives in a package in the mail. Happiness does not fall out of the sky. Happiness is something we generate with mindfulness." --Thich Nhat Hanh

From the Back Cover

In troubled times, there is an urgency to understand ourselves and our world. We have so many questions, and they tug at us night and day, consciously and unconsciously. In this important volume, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh--one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world today--reveals an art of living in mindfulness that helps us answer life's deepest questions and experience the happiness and freedom we desire.

Thich Nhat Hanh presents, for the first time, seven transformative meditations that open up new perspectives on our lives, our relationships, and our interconnectedness with the world around us. Based on the last full talks before his sudden hospitalization, and drawing on intimate examples from his own life, he shows us how these seven meditations can free us to live a happy, peaceful, and active life, and face aging and dying with curiosity and joy and without fear.

Containing the essence of the Buddha's teachings and Thich Nhat Hanh's poignant, timeless, and clarifying prose, The Art of Living provides a spiritual dimension to our lives. This is not an effort to escape life or to dwell in a place of bliss outside of this world. Instead, this path will allow us to discover where we come from and where we are going. And most of all, it will generate happiness, understanding, and love so we can live deeply in each moment of our life, right where we are.

Review Quotes

"In elegant prose, stitched with stories from his Vietnamese homeland and years in Paris, Hanh lays out wisdom from the poignant to the practical. . . . The Art of Living offers an exit ramp from the madness of modern-day overdrive, and just might let us grasp the heaven on Earth." - Chicago Tribune
Praise for Thich Nhat Hanh:
"Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most important voices of our time, and we have never needed to listen to him more than now." - Sogyal Rinpoche
"He 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
"Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize