Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

What a glorious jacket! It's befitting of the Buddhist Zen master, poet and scholar who is one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world. Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet has at its core the simplest of Buddhist solutions: We take care of what we love, so loving the earth with all our hearts is what's required to save the planet, and ourselves.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“When you wake up and you see that the Earth is not just the environment, the Earth is us, you touch the nature of interbeing. And at that moment you can have real communication with the Earth… We have to wake up together. And if we wake up together, then we have a chance. Our way of living our life and planning our future has led us into this situation. And now we need to look deeply to find a way out, not only as individuals, but as a collective, a species.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

We face a potent intersection of crises: ecological destruction, rising inequality, racial injustice, and the lasting impacts of a devastating pandemic. The situation is beyond urgent. To face these challenges, we need to find ways to strengthen our clarity, compassion, and courage to act.

Beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is blazingly clear: there’s one thing we all have the power to change, which can make all the difference, and that is our mind. Our way of looking, seeing, and thinking determines every choice we make, the everyday actions we take or avoid, how we relate to those we love or oppose, and how we react in a crisis.

Mindfulness and the radical insights of Zen meditation can give us the strength and clarity we need to help create a regenerative world in which all life is respected. Filled with Thich Nhat Hanh’s inspiring meditations, Zen stories and experiences from his own activism, as well as commentary from Sister True Dedication, one of his students Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet shows us a new way of seeing and living that can bring healing and harmony to ourselves, our relationships, and the Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062954794
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	660,622
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned Buddhist Zen master, poet, author, scholar, and activist for social change, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was the author of many bestselling books, including the classics Peace Is Every Step and The Art of Living. Through his books and retreats at the monasteries he has founded in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia, he became a pre-eminent figure in contemporary Buddhism, offering teachings that are both deeply rooted in ancient wisdom and accessible to all. 

Sister Chan Khong is Thich Nhat Hanh’s most senior monastic disciple and lifelong collaborator. A leading force in his engaged Buddhism programs and humanitarian projects, her books include Learning True Love and Beginning Anew.

Sister True Dedication is a former journalist and monastic Dharma Teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Table of Contents

Preface v

Introduction 1

Part 1 Radical Insight: A New Way of Seeing 7

Part 2 The Action Dimension: A New Way of Living 79

Reverence for Life: Non-Violence Is a Path, Not a Tactic 93

Deep Simplicity: You Are Enough 121

Right Fuel: Guard Your Mind, Nurture Your Aspiration 151

Brave Dialogue: The Power of Listening 187

True Love: Is It the Real Thing? 225

Part 3 Communities of Resistance: A New Way of Being Together 257

Epilogue 297

Afterword: You Are the Future 303

Acknowledgments 306

About the Authors 309

Editorial Reviews

08/23/2021

Nhat Hanh (How to Relax), a prominent Buddhist monk and peace activist, who has written extensively on topics such as mindfulness, love, and creating peaceful communities, collects many of those teachings focused on finding calm and an optimistic way forward amidst the anxieties of climate change. With Sister True Dedication, a longtime acolyte, editing the essays and adding personal commentary, the book alternates between Buddhist parables, personal insights, and examples of the monk’s teachings applied in difficult situations, such as a police officer showing compassion in a tense situation. Though many of the essays don’t apply directly to climate change, the book encourages simple, non-consumptive lifestyles; respect for nature; and compassionate community-building—both as techniques for building a life of devotion and for combating environmental destruction. For instance, Nhat Hanh rails against the over-borrowing of modern societies as a large-scale form of change: “That is the miracle of mindfulness, concentration, and insight: realizing we can be happy with the conditions that are already available, that we don’t need to strive to get more, exploiting the planet as we do so.” Nhat Hanh’s empowering voice and example will be valuable to those seeking wisdom in a frenetic, threatened world. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

It can be tough to keep a positive attitude and feel hopeful. In this book, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh applies Buddhist wisdom to everyday life to help readers make peace with their place in the world and give them the tools to accept circumstances beyond their control.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

Vietnamese poet, scholar, peace activist, and Zen master Nhat Hanh (Peace Is Every Breath) has been a Buddhist monk for nearly eight decades and has developed keen insight into approaches for living a better life. In his latest book, Nhat Hanh proposes ways to think about the myriad challenges facing the planet and to strengthen one's own "clarity, compassion, and the courage to act." The central concept is that making positive change in the world requires individuals to first change their own habitual negative ways of thinking. The bulk of the material is derived from Nhat Hanh's Zen teachings, with sources in his writings, speeches, interviews, and Q&A sessions (edited here by his students, with notable commentary from Sister True Dedication). The book presents Nhat Hanh's Five Mindfulness Trainings in a non-sectarian manner, so they can be applied universally. VERDICT General readers will benefit from Nhat Hanh's focus on mindfulness and positive at the individual level. Recommended for anyone wanting a better world for future generations.—Gary Medina, El Camino Coll., Torrance, CA

Library Journal

It can be tough to keep a positive attitude and feel hopeful. In this book, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh applies Buddhist wisdom to everyday life to help readers make peace with their place in the world and give them the tools to accept circumstances beyond their control.

Booklist

It can be tough to keep a positive attitude and feel hopeful. In this book, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh applies Buddhist wisdom to everyday life to help readers make peace with their place in the world and give them the tools to accept circumstances beyond their control.

Booklist