Creating True Peace
Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World
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4.8 • 10 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Creating True Peace is both a profound work of spiritual guidance and a practical blueprint for peaceful inner change and global change. It is Thich Nhat Hanh's answer to our deep-rooted crisis of violence and our feelings of helplessness, victimization, and fear.
As a world-renowned writer, scholar, spiritual leader, and Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh was one of the most visible, revered activists for peace and Engaged Buddhism—the practice he created that combines mindful living and social action. Having lived through two wars in his native Vietnam, he works to prevent conflict of all kinds— from the internal violence of individual thoughts to interpersonal and international aggression.
Now, in perhaps his most important work, Thich Nhat Hanh uses a beautiful blend of visionary insight, inspiring stories of peacemaking, and a combination of meditation practices and instruction to show us how to take Right Action. A book for people of all faiths, it is a magnum opus—a compendium of peace practices that can help anyone practice nonviolent thought and behavior, even in the midst of world upheaval.
More than any of his previous books, Creating True Peace tells stories of Thich Nhat Hanh and his students practicing peace during wartime. These demonstrate that violence is an outmoded response we can no longer afford. The simple, but powerful daily actions and everyday interactions that Thich Nhat Hanh recommends can root out violence where it lives in our hearts and minds and help us discover the power to create peace at every level of life—personal, family, neighborhood, community, state, nation, and world.
Whether dealing with extreme emotions and challenging situations or managing interpersonal and international conflicts, Thich Nhat Hanh relied on the 2,600-year-old traditional wisdom and scholarship of the Buddha, as well as other great scriptures. He teaches us to look more deeply into our thoughts and lives so that we can know what to do and what not to do to transform them into something better. With a combination of courage, sweetness, and candor, he tells us that we can make a difference; we are not helpless; we can create peace here and now. Creating True Peace shows us how.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If Vietnamese Zen monk and peace activist Nhat Hanh has said the same thing over and over again, it's because his message can't be restated too often in a violent world: peace can be found in every step, every breath. Nhat Hanh's books, many of which are transcriptions of talks, have ranged widely, from poetry to Buddhist commentaries to reflections on Jesus. This newest is filled with meditations and practices for individuals and families; since relatively few people choose monasticism as a lifestyle, the practice of household peace through deep listening and loving speech is eminently useable. Moreover, as Nhat Hanh shows in his stories and examples of working with people in conflict, such techniques underlie peace in the political arena as well. Like the Dalai Lama, Nhat Hanh possesses an extraordinary ability to speak simply about complex Buddhist teachings such as the true, transient nature of existence and how to act mindfully and compassionately in light of that view. His simplicity goes hand in hand with a challenging austerity, counseling against the consumption of things that lead to unmindfulness, like alcohol or "toxic" media products that feed inner "seeds," or tendencies, toward violence. Written in Nhat Hanh's characteristically soothing way, this is a practical and basic book of his profound and comprehensive teachings, especially for families with children.
Customer Reviews
Creating True Peace
Thich Nhat Hanh lucidly explains the depth and the nature of peace, both in ourselves and throughout the world. Beautifully written, this book is an extremely useful tool in the quest for peace and happiness in ourselves and throughout society.
Deeply meditative and moving
This book creeps up on the reader in power and depth.