The Art of Mindfulness

by Thich Nhat Hanh

This selection from Thich Nhat Hanh’s bestselling The Art of Power illuminates the core Buddhist concept of mindfulness for the Western readerIn The Art of Mindfulness , one of the most revered Buddhist teachers in the world, Thich Nhat Hanh delivers a life changing practice to overcome our overdriven mind, to let go of preoccupations and multitasking and focus solely on the task at hand. By devoting 100% of our attention 100% of the time on what we are doing in the moment, we can alleviate suffering, fear, and anxiety. With the energy of mindfulness and the capacity of looking deeply, we can find the insights to transform and heal any situation.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Meditation, Philosophy, Religion

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 7, 2012

About the author

Thích Nhất Hạnh was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who then lived in southwest France where he was in exile for many years. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. He was often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.

Reviews

[8th_Promise · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can say to your loved ones, “I’m here for you. Let’s embrace the pain together and transform it.” ( I really liked this quote from the book )

Thich Nhat Hanh is a pronounced teacher of peace and mindfulness. All in all this book helped me to "remember" being mindful. I gave this book 3 stars because it did not move me as much as his other book "Peace is Every Step".
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If you are wanting to get a bit deeper into your practice of mindfulness and finding peace, I recommend Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Peace is Every Step". I enjoyed the audio alot because it helped me to practice while listening.
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S/N.....the three star rating has nothing to do with the great lessons this book teaches. It was from my comparison of how further in depth it could have gotten.

[Vaishali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a breath of fresh air, Hanh gives practical exercises to return to the calm soul, the oasis of our true selves.
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"In Sanskrit, the word 'budh' means awake. A full Buddha is someone who is awake all day."

"Enlightenment and awareness are of the same substance."

"Concentrate on watering the seeds of happiness, joy, and peace."

"The first aim of the practice is to stop forgetfulness... Forgetfulness is the opposite of mindfulness. Forgetfulness means to get lost in the past, the future, to be possessed by anger, hatred, fear... When you bring in lightness, the darkness dissipates. That practice is called 'samadha'. "

"When the baby of anger is crying a lot, Mother Mindfulness is tenderness, love, care. Her power of care will calm the baby, but also look deeply to see the real causes of pain. That’s 'vipasana'. "

"Some of you may say that this is a form of suppressing our anger. No it is not! The mother does not put the hand over the mouth of her baby. The mother just takes good care of her baby's anger in the most nonviolent, most tender way possible. It cannot be described as an act of suppression."

"If you do not have enough calm, you cannot hope to have insight. You have enough mindfulness in you, but it does not have enough power to heal, to calm, and to transform. That’s why we need to practice : in order for mindfulness to become a habit energy."

"When you use mindfulness to touch your pain or anger, mindfulness begins to transform it. Mindfulness is there to take care of our pain. Even before it does anything, it has the effect of calming."

"A requirement to get married: one year of practice in order to transform the seed of suffering transmitted by parents. Otherwise, you will perpetrate the cycle of suffering."

"My actions are my only true belongings."

"We don’t cry, because we know impermanence is life. If things are not impermanent, things cannot be possible."

"Take very good care of the present moment."

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. There is no way to peace; peace is the way."

"The final destination is not so joyful; it’s your own flow.'


FIRST EXERCISE : Breathe
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"In our daily life we think too much. And because we think too much we are not truly ourselves. Our body may be here, but our mind may be elsewhere: in the past, in the future."

"Become aware of your in-breath and out-breath... Stop the thinking. You begin to be where your body is."

"Your mind and your body are reunified."

"You don't have to die in order to go into the Kingdom of God. In fact, you have to be alive to do so. You should be alive, and you should take one breath in and out, and with one foot you make a step and enter into the Kingdom of God, right now."


SECOND EXERCISE : Flower fresh
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"Breathing in, I see myself as a flower. Breathing out I feel fresh."

"When I look at a child, I see her, I see him as a flower : very fresh, very beautiful."

"We are born as flowers, but if we don’t know how to take care of our flowers, our flowers may be tired and wilt."

"When you breathe in deeply, you make every cell become fresh again for your sake."

"If you are grouchy, if you are irritated, people around you cannot be happy. Therefore practice becoming a flower again."


THIRD EXERCISE : Mountain Solid
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"Breathing in I see myself as a mountain, breathing out I feel solid."

"In the lotus position you find yourself quite stable, solid.

"The stability of the body will help bring about the stability of the mind."

"From time to time a very strong emotion overwhelms us. That emotion can be anger, or fear, or despair. We feel we may die. This is too bad, because we are more than our emotion; we are more solid than we may think... Therefore practicing being stable like a mountain is helpful."


FOURTH EXERCISE : Water Reflected
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"Breathing in I see myself as still water, breathing out I reflect things as they are."

"When you breathe out in that calmness, you do not distort things."

"When we are not calm, we distort things. You cannot receive the truth."

"Suppose the moon wants to reflect herself in the water of your pond, but the water of your pond is not calm. How can the full moon reflect itself in you? It’s not the fault of the moon, it is the fault of the water."

** Because the water of our mind is not still, that is why we are not able to receive the truth from the cosmos.


FIFTH EXERCISE : Space free
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"Breathing in I see myself as space, breathing out I feel free."

"If you do not have space around you, you cannot move. Therefore if you want to be happy, we should allow ourselves some space around and also space inside."

"The refreshing mood of Buddha is traveling in the sky of utmost emptiness. The Buddha has a lot of space inside and outside, and therefore he can be happy."

"This practice is to bring space into you and around you."


Components of Love :
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Maitreyi - Unconditional love and friendship
Karuna - Understand his/her needs and suffering


HOW TO QUARREL WITH A LOVER :
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“Suppose your partner says something that hurts you, makes you suffer a lot? You are advised to practice breathing in and out to calm yourself. You practice everyday. Of course you have to tell him or her that you suffer…. what is it that hurt you very much. You should tell him or her with the kind of language that will not hurt him or her. When you have calmed yourself down and are capable of saying something calm, you tell him or her this :

'Darling, what you said there hurt me very deeply. I suffer a lot. I wish we will be able to talk it over this weekend.'

Don’t talk right now. It’s very risky for you to bring it up and talk. Use Friday night to diffuse all bombs within yourself, small and large. Saturday and Sunday will be more enjoyable if you do the transformation Friday night.

And if he invites you to talk now, refuse! That is the secret.”


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[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the audio version. I'm taking away many new techniques and perspectives.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book as an ebook download to my Nook. It is a lecture, so to speak, by Thich Nhat Hanh and I was glad to be able to listen to him because I really got a sense of the author, you could tell when he was smiling or thought something was a bit humorous and you could hear him pause to be thoughtful over choosing his words. Also, the audience responded to his words with laughter and approval. The sound of the bell reminds one to breathe and to practise what he is explaining. My favorite principle was the Hug meditation. I think he was a little tongue-in-cheek about the Hug meditation, but I took some time to think about it...how easy it is to accept a hug in a very shallow way, simply respond, pat the hugger on the back and be on our way. Some of us know the value of a real hug, that is not rushed, and that chemistry that we feel when we slow down, give and accept the affection with openness. More mindful after listening to this book.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, direct, eminently useful.

[One · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book of his. Always worth reading. It's straight forward with offering advice and guidance on living with mindfulness.

[Navya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this! It is a very simple, but very useful look at mindfulness.

And it goes without saying, but I would like to say it nonetheless, that Thich Nhat Hanh is a great teacher. This book is especially great at giving straightforward exercises and smart metaphors to break down concepts that I have personally struggled with in a mindfulness journey

[Luciana Vichino · Rating 5 out of 5]

O texto é em realidade o capítulo de um seus livros (The art of power) e merece a leitura. O autor consegue se comunicar de maneira fácil e torna o texto interessante trazendo a prática para a vida diária.
Pode ser lido e aproveitado por quem já estuda o tema e também por quem nunca ouviu falar sobre o assunto.
Estar 100% presente no que se faz é uma prática para a vida toda que está cada vez mais complicada pelo mundo como tem sido construído até aqui. De qualquer forma, acho que a tentativa vale muito a pena.

[Fred Leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

I have this short but powerful read into the art of mindfulness. The methods explained in the book work to give you peace in your life through practicing mindful breathing.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

He is an incredible writer here focusing on what can clearly be considered a lifesaving topic.

[George Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short simple profound and life changing.

[John McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

To look into yourself, to live in the moment, isn't very hard if you just start. The Art of Mindfulness is a start, pure an simple.

John

[Nezar Hafez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book open wide doors for your mind to explore new opportunities on healing it self from life stresses by practicing some kind of technics in controlling your breath.

[Ashley Duryea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mindfulness is so important to peace and happiness and I think Thich Hanh gives some practical tips to help.

[Alice Qi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am truly not mindful enough to read such a book. But it did give me something to aspire to.

[Esha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your pain is a baby and mindfulness it's mother.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quick read and refresher.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't stress enough the importance of mindfulness. Lots of great ideas from this master.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the book, it was in a taped lecture format. It was short and to the point. It was my first time with any of Hanh's work or perspective so I found it interesting.

Vaishali Joglekar's review from June 2016 is an excellent summary of the lectures.

Key take aways from the work for me were:
-Breathing in life
-Be Present in the Moment
-Engage with and let go of your anger
-You are responsible for your actions and feelings

I liked the stories he told to illustrate his points. Like learning how to hug people when he came to the USA.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I experienced this as an audio book, and I highly recommend this format. This is a great primer on meditation and living with awareness of the world around you. One great lesson from this book is about presence - being fully present with the person you're interacting with. Some people are naturally good at being fully present, but this book shows that it's a skill that can be practiced and perfected like any other skill.

I listen to this book about once per month.

[Polina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was glad to find a summary format book on Thich Nhat Hanh's practice of mindfulness since I want to read a million other things as well as his works, but somehow this brief summary felt really scewed towards business people (perhaps that's the idea behind HarperOne Select) and just didn't leave me with a good impression, nor led me to want to read the full book.

[Izzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pick this because my mind couldnt seem to relax since last year. I like this book and the idea of mindfulness. Its kind a new subject to me, of course. But unfortunately, I have to read this in one sitting because I need to return it back to library. Hahaha. May be I'll borrow it once again, to read it more thoroughly.

[Chuckl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the comparison and explanations. The most interesting being the concept not of perfection that is important; the concept of mindfulness and action accordingly be a constant practice. So staying with the practice is more important than perfecting it.

[Alex Linschoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extract from other books by Thích Nhất Hạnh and it's very short at that, but nevertheless it's a useful reminder.

[hemant · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for practising mindfulness.

The book is simple and direct. Useful for a practitioner of meditation. However I feel the book "power of Now" describes this subject in much more detail.

[Cecy Covarrubias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, very simple powerful teachings...be here and now, practice mindfulness of everything you do. Be kind with your body, mind and other human beings, animals, minerals, do things with love and compassion among various others basic things...isn't this beautiful?!

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short. A quick intro to the author's Five Practices of Mindfulness. The first 3 seem easy to follow, the last 2 for me would be more difficult. The author has written a lot of books about living a better, fuller, more mindful life. Not sure if I'll read any others.

[Nethra Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love listening to Thich Nhat Hanh and this was another beautiful compilation. I especially loved how he said for the moon to shine in water, the water has to be still. Its water's responsibility, not the moon's!

[Lisa Celaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but too short. Looking forward to read other titles.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very brief work on mindfulness. It mostly talks about five mindfulness exercises. There were a few items of food for thought.