Path of Compassion: Stories from the Buddha's Life

by Thich Nhat Hanh, Nguyen Thi Hop (Illustrator)

Path of Compassion is a collection of key stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic Old Path White Clouds, a book celebrating its 20th publishing anniversary this year. It tells the fascinating life story of Prince Siddhartha, who left his family and renounced his carefully guarded life, and after many years of spiritual seeking became the Buddha, the Enlightened One. Far more than the description of an unusual life story, it serves as an enjoyable, compelling, and informative introduction to Buddhism by conveying its most important teachings in a compact and accessible format.Thich Nhat Hanh’s ability to show the Buddha as a person who deals with the same life issues as we do is unique and unsurpassed. Written in language accessible to readers of all ages and levels of experience Thich Nhat Hanh combines the description of the major life stages of the Buddha with his most important teachings. Reaching far beyond the biography genre Path of Compassion is a highly readable and informative introduction to Buddhism.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Personal Development

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 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

[Serena Long ﺕ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Path of Compassion, another magnificent book written by my memento mori, Thich Nhat Hanh. Well written, it takes you through the life and times of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the man who became the Buddha.
With joint palms, respectfully.
Om Mani Padme Hum.

[Trevan Klug · Rating 3 out of 5]

A narrative story following the Buddha's life from birth to death. No clue how (if at all) historically accurate it is, especially with how many miniscule details are included. But I think generally there's not much consensus to the accuracy of any of the details of his life. Sometimes a little boring and unrealistically idealistic, with lots of mystical properties and supernatural aspects surrounding the Buddha. Hence the 3 stars, but that's not to say it detracts from the work or should be any different, that's just my personal preference.

I'm glad I read this! I think the beautiful thing about Buddhism as a practice, a religion, or a philosophy, is that regardless of whether you ascribe to the more metaphysical aspects (cycle of reincarnation, nirvana breaking that cycle, etc), engaging in any number of the teachings of the Buddha improve your life and lead to a happier existence.

My view on buddhism is that when you strip away the metaphysical claims, and view nirvana/enlightenment less as an escape but more of an acceptance of our place in existence, it's an incredibly powerful philosophical approach to life.

There are a lot of parallels to notable western philosophers, especially epicureanism (in the true sense, not in the modern day view of Epicurean being maximal indulgence). True happiness and peace is about meeting the basic needs you have that if not met bring about suffering (freedom from pain, freedom from hunger, freedom from fear, etc) and then recognizing that further indulgence will only bring temporary satisfaction, but not true happiness. True happiness can only be achieved by meeting your basic needs and then reflecting on and removing self-inflicted suffering, such as yearning for perceived needs that are really unnecessary indulgence (lust, greed, envy, etc). Once you have good health, food to eat, a home to live in, and time to live and the means to do so, the rest of true happiness is primarily internal. Thus, enlightenment in my view is not finding the path to breaking free of a reincarnation cycle, but rather recognizing what brings happiness/contentment (meeting basic needs) alongside acknowledging what will not (indulgence in material and sensory pleasures) while also observing our place in the world and the reality of our existence and making peace with it.

To be clear, I think it's fine to indulge in material and sensory pleasures with the understanding that:
a) They are not the source of real happiness and only bring temporary pleasure
b) Pursuing them does not cause suffering or prevent you from meeting basic needs
c) Excess indulgence will not bring about more happiness than a little indulgence, and can often time bring about more suffering than pleasure

I digress. Good summary of Buddhist teachings. Helpful for getting an understanding of the religion, and very helpful if you take away truths and practices that will improve your own life. Love the emphasis on the practices not being any sort of truth in and of themselves, but rather an experiential process to be engaged in to observe the truth for yourself (a finger pointing to the moon is Buddhism. The moon is the goal, Buddhism is the path, but do not mistake the finger for the moon. It is a means to an end and not truth in and of itself). Cool!

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ignorance gives rise to a multitude of sorrows, confusions, and troubles. Greed, anger, arrogance, doubt, jealousy, and fear all have their roots in ignorance."

This was a good book. Probably more of a 3.5 than a real 4 star, but I'm generous that way. What I liked about this is that there was no mysticism and miracles and healing people with magic and all that crap you would have gotten in some other religious books from any background. It's nice to read about the founder of a major religion and have them be a normal human being and not the son of a god or some other random thing.

The Buddha pointed to the other side of the river and said, “Kassapa, if a person wants to cross to the other shore, what should he do?” “If the water is shallow enough, he can wade across. Otherwise he will have to swim or row a boat across.” “I agree. But what if he is unwilling to wade, swim, or row a boat? What if he just stands on this side of the river and prays to the other shore to come to him? What would you think of such a man?” “I would say he was being quite foolish!”

I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in the founding and origins of the Buddhist religion and anyone that wants to learn more about those things in particular. Now, I started an audio book by this guy and could not get through it. His accent is too thick. As much as I recommend this book, read it in actual book format or on a kindle like I did. It'll be a lot better.

[LHN · Rating 4 out of 5]

It strangely leaves me some calming moments after reading it and I felt like reluctantly getting out of a very pleasant dream after finishing it.
The language is so figurative / expressive and beautiful, which seems to transport the readers right into to scenes with lively feelings and awareness of the surrounding.
But I felt like it’s a typical Vietnamese countryside, not Indian one some thousand years ago, where Buddha was born and raised and passed away.
I wished to learn about Buddha’s life and meditation for a long time but kept delaying for some reasons. It’s a good start for my intention now.

[Aubrey Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple and beautiful telling of the life and teachings of the Buddha. It was a lovely, peaceful read.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent telling of the Buddha's life and death. Absorbing with prose and plot while remaining light hearted.

[Dawei · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's boring. I didn't learn anything in this book that I didn't already hadn't known.

[Olli Pakkanen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great and interesting. It was written in a warm, respectful, and informative way. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Buddhism and history.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say this book was amazing seems odd, since it's not the exciting rollercoaster ride I usually associate with the word "amazing." Path of Compassion is instead a calming, meaningful book that helps situate the Buddha as both a historical and transformative figure. The stories associated with the Buddha have a continually calming presence. One thing I found particularly interesting is the Buddha's "political" thoughts. These are few and far between, instead he focuses heavily on helping individuals to live presently, but one thought Americans would deem political is the responsibility of all communities to help other communities, particularly around hunger.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Buddhism, or living a more peaceful and mindful life.

[Lon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reverential treatment of the Buddha's life and teachings. Chock full of sutras and parables and poignant anecdotes. This work includes only the most compelling chapters from the comprehensive and somewhat over-long Old Path, White Clouds, resulting in a much more reader-friendly experience. This is the book I took with me to Deer Park Monastery a few weeks ago, where this work's author, Thich Nhat Hanh, led a 5 day Mindfulness retreat.

[Raymond Strodl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful and simple book takes you on the incredible journey that was the life and lessons of Prince Siddhartha Gautama the man who became the Buddha.

Well written and congruent with Buddhist teachings takes you through the life and times of the Buddha. The author provides valuable insight based on in depth knowledge and understanding. He simplifies complex ideas and teachings and makes them simple to understand.