I found this the best book on mindfulness I have read so
far... inspiring. ( )

One of those books that changed my life - even though it took a LONG TIME (for the change to happen). I've read many of Hanh's books, and treasure them. ( )

This was good and useful and I feel I should own it. It was on a list I found on the internet and appears to be a foundation book in the practice of mindfulness and meditation. What did I learn?

Breathing is important..which makes sense. Also, as I already knew, finding a place of solitude to sit and just think and experience silence is important. Finally, finding ways to detach myself from the myriad objects in my mind is not difficult and takes practice and is increasingly important to me. ( )

'The Miracle of Mindfulness is jewel of clarity, wisdom and practicality. Its gift is the transformation of 'everyday' life into an experience of joy, peace and wonder.'-Joan Borysenko, author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind

This lucid and beautifully written guide to Eastern meditation rovides Westerners with a method of learning the skills of mindfulness-of being awake and fully awaare. Modern medical developments have shown the positive effects of meditation for psychological and physical health, and the reader will need no particular religious orientation to benefit from the wisdom of this manual. Thich Nhat Hanh's gentle anecdotes and practical exercises forces the reader's attention on breathing and show that the contexts for being mindful are numerous and close at hand-washing the dishes, answering the telephone, drinking tea. His compassionate spirit and the method of meditation described here will help both beginners and advanced students arrive at greater self-understanding and peacefulness.

Thich Nhat Hanh, poet, Zen master, and chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation during the Vietnam War, was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Nobel Peace Prize. The author of Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire, A Guide to Walking Meditation, and Being Peace, Thich Nhat Hanh lives in exile in France.

Contents

Translator's Preface by Mobi Ho
One The essential discipline
Two The miracle is to walk on earth
Three A day of mindfulness
Four The pebble
Five One is all, all is one: The five aggregates
Six The almond tree in your front yard
Seven Three wondrous answers
Exercises in mindfulness
Nhat Hanh: seeing with the eyes of compassion by James Forest
Selection of Buddhist sutras

This classic text on meditation from Buddhist monk and renown peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh is just as essential and powerful as everyone says it is. Written as a long letter to a fellow monk in Vietnam from his exile in France in 1974, this is a readable mix of practical suggestions and anecdotal teachings with a grounding in traditional Buddhism. It includes exercises and advice on focusing and harnessing your breath, sitting to meditate, washing your dishes and drinking your tea, compassion for others, meditation on death, and (one of my favorites) meditation as a pebble sinking down to rest at the bottom of a pond. Emblematic of Nhat Hanh's focus on "engaged Buddhism," these mindfulness practices are done with the goal of positively affecting change in the world and with other people and not just for the benefit of the practitioner.

Mindfulness practice is mainstream to the extreme these days, and I think if you find a way of digging into meditation and mindfulness that works for you, you should go for it. While I had dabbled in meditation prior to my metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, I've been deliberately digging a little deeper and have become interested in learning more about the Buddhist foundations of the practice. This book is a must read if you are travelling down that same road, and it is one I know I'll return to often. ( )