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Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh
32 mindfulness practitioners around the world reflect on encountering the extraordinary teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away in January 2022, exploring themes of coming home to ourselves, healing from grief and loss, facing fear, and building community and belonging.
Some moments change our lives. We experience wonder and relief when we realize we can be okay, just as we are. How do we then integrate these transformative moments into our daily life? Tears Become Rain is a collection of such stories, with one common the teachings of mindfulness and compassion offered by the most influential meditation teacher of the past century, the Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King.
The stories encapsulate the benefits of mindfulness practice through the experiences of ordinary people from 16 countries around the world. Some of the contributors were direct students of Thich Nhat Hanh for decades and are meditation teachers in their own right, while others are relatively new on the path.
After her mother's death, Canadian author Vickie MacArthur writes poignantly of discovering a source of peace within herself at Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village monastery in France. Jamaican American English professor Camille Goodison uncovers the racism of academia and finds freedom from her toxic workplace by practicing the teachings of love and liberation as taught to her by Thich Nhat Hanh. Vietnamese doctor Huy Minh Tran shares how mindfulness helped him transform his traumatic past as a refugee so that he no longer suffers from nightmares. Norwegian Eevi Beck meditates on the teacher-student relationship and how Thich Nhat Hanh supported her marriage and then loss of her husband. For many, battling sickness, old age, and death—the death of loved ones and one's own—brings up overwhelming emotions of grief, anger, and despair but with the wisdom of Zen practice, Tears Become Rain shows again and again how people are able to find refuge from the storm in their lives and open their hearts to joy. Through sharing their stories, Tears Become Rain is both a celebration of Thich Nhat Hanh and a testament to his lasting impact on the lives of people from many walks of life.
Some moments change our lives. We experience wonder and relief when we realize we can be okay, just as we are. How do we then integrate these transformative moments into our daily life? Tears Become Rain is a collection of such stories, with one common the teachings of mindfulness and compassion offered by the most influential meditation teacher of the past century, the Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King.
The stories encapsulate the benefits of mindfulness practice through the experiences of ordinary people from 16 countries around the world. Some of the contributors were direct students of Thich Nhat Hanh for decades and are meditation teachers in their own right, while others are relatively new on the path.
After her mother's death, Canadian author Vickie MacArthur writes poignantly of discovering a source of peace within herself at Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village monastery in France. Jamaican American English professor Camille Goodison uncovers the racism of academia and finds freedom from her toxic workplace by practicing the teachings of love and liberation as taught to her by Thich Nhat Hanh. Vietnamese doctor Huy Minh Tran shares how mindfulness helped him transform his traumatic past as a refugee so that he no longer suffers from nightmares. Norwegian Eevi Beck meditates on the teacher-student relationship and how Thich Nhat Hanh supported her marriage and then loss of her husband. For many, battling sickness, old age, and death—the death of loved ones and one's own—brings up overwhelming emotions of grief, anger, and despair but with the wisdom of Zen practice, Tears Become Rain shows again and again how people are able to find refuge from the storm in their lives and open their hearts to joy. Through sharing their stories, Tears Become Rain is both a celebration of Thich Nhat Hanh and a testament to his lasting impact on the lives of people from many walks of life.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2023
18 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 1, 2025
A really beautiful collection of short stories inspired by the lessons of Thây Thich Nhat Hahn and his mindfulness teachings. This book has brought be so much comfort and has inspired me to start practicing mindfulness everyday. Although the stories can feel repetitive at times, I feel this allows for mindfulness teachings to be easily digestible for readers unfamiliar with Buddhist practices. I will definitely be returning to this book.
September 5, 2023
Tears Become Rain is a well-edited tribute to Thich Nhat Hanh and his beautiful ability to have brought happiness to so many. This collection of 32 stories resoundingly shows how a sense of belonging and being accepted for who you truly are can bring great peace into one's life. Thich Nhat Hanh's simple and profound teaching of interbeing (being connected to every sentient being and nature) transforms fear, anger and other suffering into understanding, love and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh's presence was soothing to all whom he encountered and his gaze alone opened people's hearts. How refreshing and beautiful to read such diverse accounts of how coming back to one's breath in the present moment is always available to everyone, and that allows them to touch the wonders of being alive!
January 10, 2025
A lovely reminder that simple mindfulness practices can be transformative and healing.
September 26, 2023
As a busy climate communicator and activist, as well as co-facilitator of a poetry club, it was a challenge to find time to sit down with these stories. But it is precisely because of my busyness that these teachings about mindfulness are an important reminder about how “strong habit energies”, as Chaya Ocampo Go writes about, can cause us to lose balance. I’m reminded that I can rest, return to grounding through my breath, engage in the simplicity of walking meditation, and cook, eat and wash dishes mindfully as part of self-care and “being not doing”.
I was curious to learn more about the concept of interbeing and appreciate the many stories that make references to practices that enable one to sense interconnectedness with our ancestors, the future generations, and the natural world, like being cells in one living body. Certain stories stood out for deepening my feeling of empathy for marginalized people and groups, such as Camille Goodison’s story of healing from the PTSD she developed while teaching at a violently racist workplace. Joann Malone’s story of finding peace “as one small cell in a great body of peace-makers whose work spanned centuries” was also particularly moving. I appreciate learning about the reconciliation between American and Vietnamese people that was modelled by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and reflected in stories by John Bell and others about not just working for peace but being peace.
Marilyn J. Rivers writes about healing from childhood trauma and healing as a healer. A common theme in these stories is the power of these individual transformations rippling out from the Plum Village tradition of practice into communities at large and the world, for which I’m grateful.
I was curious to learn more about the concept of interbeing and appreciate the many stories that make references to practices that enable one to sense interconnectedness with our ancestors, the future generations, and the natural world, like being cells in one living body. Certain stories stood out for deepening my feeling of empathy for marginalized people and groups, such as Camille Goodison’s story of healing from the PTSD she developed while teaching at a violently racist workplace. Joann Malone’s story of finding peace “as one small cell in a great body of peace-makers whose work spanned centuries” was also particularly moving. I appreciate learning about the reconciliation between American and Vietnamese people that was modelled by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and reflected in stories by John Bell and others about not just working for peace but being peace.
Marilyn J. Rivers writes about healing from childhood trauma and healing as a healer. A common theme in these stories is the power of these individual transformations rippling out from the Plum Village tradition of practice into communities at large and the world, for which I’m grateful.
September 16, 2023
It isn't often that one comes across a book that speaks to the mind and the soul. This is such a book. From the moment I opened it and read the introduction, I felt as if I had become part of a river of love, peace, and acceptance.
The stories are intensely personal. They reach out and touch your heart. It's hard to imagine the kind of connection that one can make as a reader with the strangers who wrote the stories. This book connects the reader on so many levels that it is hard to fathom. All of the stories, no matter how difficult are filled with the peace that comes from knowing a small shift in perspective makes the difference between pain and knowledge.
It's a beautiful book I will return to again and again.
The stories are intensely personal. They reach out and touch your heart. It's hard to imagine the kind of connection that one can make as a reader with the strangers who wrote the stories. This book connects the reader on so many levels that it is hard to fathom. All of the stories, no matter how difficult are filled with the peace that comes from knowing a small shift in perspective makes the difference between pain and knowledge.
It's a beautiful book I will return to again and again.
December 11, 2023
This book offers a gamut of life-altering experiences through stories of people traversing through grief, sorrow, seeds of joy, death, belonging to community, humanity and much more. While reading this classic collection of stories, I came to know about people and their plights and sufferings and how they dealt with it with the help of teachings of great Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh.
The book circulates his teachings through the stories of his students and his books. I liked all stories as they were short to read and gave me time to cogitate properly. However, I was fascinated by the story of James who was saddened by the suicide of one of his family members. When he approaches Thich Nhat Hanh, the monk clears his saddened mind by explaining the concept of seeds of joy and sorrow within us. It is a great learning. We all have seeds that could bend us in either situation. Some stories were short and straightforward while many of them were subtle but delivered a strong message in the lives of the authors. The book is a compilation of stories across the world those who benefited from the lessons of mindfulness and compassion from Thich Nhat Hanh.
Simple and effective stories that stand as guiding elements to our troubled lives – this book will embrace you to better cope up with your suffering, grief, and recover you from all unwanted fear, anxiety, and insecurity that have been overwhelming you. The book brims with stories that will serve as a valuable companion on the journey towards a more abundant and fulfilling life.
The book circulates his teachings through the stories of his students and his books. I liked all stories as they were short to read and gave me time to cogitate properly. However, I was fascinated by the story of James who was saddened by the suicide of one of his family members. When he approaches Thich Nhat Hanh, the monk clears his saddened mind by explaining the concept of seeds of joy and sorrow within us. It is a great learning. We all have seeds that could bend us in either situation. Some stories were short and straightforward while many of them were subtle but delivered a strong message in the lives of the authors. The book is a compilation of stories across the world those who benefited from the lessons of mindfulness and compassion from Thich Nhat Hanh.
Simple and effective stories that stand as guiding elements to our troubled lives – this book will embrace you to better cope up with your suffering, grief, and recover you from all unwanted fear, anxiety, and insecurity that have been overwhelming you. The book brims with stories that will serve as a valuable companion on the journey towards a more abundant and fulfilling life.
August 24, 2023
What an interesting treat for the soul. While I’m familiar with meditation, I was not familiar with the Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn. This collection of first-person, intimate stories was shared with such authenticity that the reader feels drawn into the power of this practice. While each story is individual and unique, there is a sense of collective and communal humanity – that each of us has challenges and joys in life, and that this approach to mindfulness fosters our own healing and our ability to thrive.
September 19, 2024
I think these Buddhists are on to something...
December 27, 2025
Lovely collection and very inspiring.
August 28, 2023
A "must read" collection of thirty-two stories from meditators whose lives have been deeply impacted by Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings. The people come from 16 countries, including Germany, Vietnam, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, the UK, Columbia, and the US. Each has a unique tale of their journey from suffering to a community of practice that transforms their lives. No experience with Buddhism is necessary to be drawn into these inspiring stories full of hope in our troubled world.
Tears Become Rain is available October 10, 2023 from your local bookstore, Bookshop.com, Penguin/Random House, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sources. Order your copy NOW!
Tears Become Rain is available October 10, 2023 from your local bookstore, Bookshop.com, Penguin/Random House, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sources. Order your copy NOW!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews