Calming the Fearful Mind: A Zen Response to Terrorism

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Overview

In a time of terrorism and uncertainty, how can any of us feel truly safe? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh looks at the real roots of terrorism and fear and offers the way out: a path of compassion and open-heartedness. In this unique book, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that we will only be safe when we acknowledge our real enemies, not other human beings, but our own ignorance, discrimination, fear, craving, and violence. With clarity and gentleness, Nhat Hanh offers step-by-step instructions for calming the mind and looking deeply into our own misperceptions. His own generosity of spirit and love for all beings models a path out of uncertainty and towards peace. By calming our minds and looking deeply into our hearts, will we have the insight to identify the roots of terrorism. Only with the practice of compassion, deep listening, and mindful communication can terrorism be transformed and uprooted.

Calming the Fearful Mind offers key teachings designed to help heal the misunderstanding, fear, and hatred that divide us as individuals, groups, and nations. An invaluable book for anyone who has wondered how to deal with anger and the desire for retaliation. Calming the Fearful Mind is, ultimately, a book about finding peace. It takes Thich Nhat Hanh’s signature mindfulness practices and reveals how they can help us address our most challenging and most deeply rooted fears.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935209072
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	09/09/2001
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	130
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.

Editorial Reviews

"I've spent a lot of time studying military affairs and this is one of the best and most balanced—as well as realistic—Buddhist treatments of military issues I've seen. I think Thay's combination of dharma and real world understanding is almost unparalleled in the Buddhist world."
—Melvin McLeod, Shambhala Sun

"Compassionate and illuminating...an inspiring collection."
—Spirituality and Health, September 2005

"Thich Nhat Hanh is a master of living peace. This book reveals the secrets to liberating ourselves from fear. Outstanding!" —Arun Gandhi, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

From the Publisher