Drawn from more than twenty of his books, these are the essential writings of one of the most beloved and influential spiritual figures of our day, Thich Nhat Hanh:

• Author of 40 books in English, including bestsellers
  Peace Is Every Step and Living Buddha, Living Christ
• 1.5 million copies of his books in print
• Translated into 22 languages

“He has immense presence and both personal and Buddhist authority. If there is a candidate for ‘Living Buddha’ on earth today, it is Thich Nhat Hanh.”—Richard Baker

“Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal, inner peace, and peace on earth.”—His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“Thich Nhat Hanh is more my brother than many who are nearer to me in race and nationality, because he and I see things in exactly the same way.”—Thomas Merton

“I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam....His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Seeds of Happiness How can we live so that the seeds of happiness in us are watered every day? That is the cultivation of joy, the practice of love. We can practice these things easily when we have the energy of mindfulness. But without mindfulness, how can we see the beautiful rice fields? How can we feel the delightful rain?....Mindfulness helps us regain the paradise we thought we had lost.

The Spirit of Dialogue We have to believe that by engaging in dialogue with the other person, we have the possibility of making a change within ourselves, that we can become deeper. We have to allow what is good, beautiful, and meaningful in the other’s tradition to transform us.

Christians and Buddhists During the time of the Buddha, the aim of the practice of many people was to be born and to live together with Brahma. It was similar to the Christian practice of wanting to go to Heaven to be with God. If we want to share one teaching of the Buddha with our Christian friends, it would be the same: “God is love, compassion, joy, and impartiality.”

Zen master, monk, poet, and peace advocate, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who has lived in exile in France for the past thirty years. Through his writings and retreats he has helped innumerable people of all religious backgrounds to live mindfully in the present moment, to uproot sources of anger and distrust, and to achieve relationships of love and understanding.