The phrase “this book could change your life” is much over used in Publishers’ press releases and on jacket blurbs, but there are books that do change lives – not in all cases in the spectacular fashion that some books may claim, but in more gentle, subtle ways. Peace is Every Step is such a gentle book, and certainly the Buddhist perspective from which it is written is one that has improved, changed, even saved a good few lives!
In the rush of modern life, particularly in the West, and now in the fast becoming Westernized eastern nations, human beings have largely forgotten how to live in the moment and to access the peace that can be found in each moment – we tend to dwell on the past, or our minds rush headlong into the future, making plans that might or might come to fruition, reacting to things that might happen or might never happen, trying to avoid things we don’t want to happen – or if we can’t avoid them, we at least try to avoid thinking about them! Modern life itself is unstable, unpredictable, and is full of unsatisfactoriness which makes us suffer – stress, anger, need, hate, greed, seem to persist long after we have solved most of the practical problems that living in the world presents. In this book, Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Master, monk, peace activist and poet, shows us how we can make use of the situations and circumstances that normally leave us feeling stressed, antagonised and negative. Through the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, we can learn to live and find joy and peace in each moment, and grow from the manure, as it were, of our problems and negativity.
Although it is written by a Buddhist monk, and essentially draws on the Buddhist principle of mindfulness, Peace is Every Step does not attempt to draw the reader into Buddhism, but concentrates on helping readers live in the moment and be happier people – both for their own sakes and the sake of others. In deceptively simple language, Thich Nhat Hanh describes mindfulness techniques for dealing with anger and the like, as well as every day situations that might normally have us stressed – the ringing of a telephone, for example, is a reminder to breathe and come back to ourselves, if only for a moment; washing the dishes is an opportunity to revel in the sensations of warm water and to living fully in the moment.
We crave so much what is outside ourselves, he says – but we can enjoy a view of the sky from pretty much anywhere, and can return to the simply beauty of ourselves by using conscious breathing wherever we are – finding the meditative peace that we may or may not also find on the meditation cushion.
All in all this book was a breath of fresh air at a difficult time in my life, and the exercises and outlook certainly helped me. It’s the kind of book I will read again before passing on so somebody else can benefit. Thich Nhat Hanh has written other books which I will be looking at, as this book was very easy to read, and did not get heavy or lecturing despite having a very profound, albeit very simple, message to offer.
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Happiness – everyone is searching for it, but how do we know that so few find it, truly? Probably by the continuous flow of self help books that reach the bestseller lists – achieve happiness through diet, image, riches, friends, travel, hypnosis, etc etc. Still more we look at the addictions around us and see people trying to gain happiness through drink, drugs, sex, power… The list goes on. In a world of truly happy human beings, there would perhaps be less conflict, less trouble. It is probably a tragedy in some ways that the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness, co-authored with Howard C. Cutler, has sold so many copies and spawned a series of such books! For it speaks of so many who come searching, who have not yet found deep, lasting happiness, who still search for it and perhaps pick up this book. Then again, those who read the book cannot fail to have their lives touched in subtle ways, helping not only them, but having knock on effects on others they encounter. One thing is certain – there is suffering (and that is one of the Buddha’s 4 Noble Truths) – but the fact that there is suffering also means an end to suffering, and in its place happiness, some kind of liberation.
The Art of Happiness is subtitled “A Handbook For Living” – but don’t expect 10 practical tips for getting through your day or for dealing with road rage! The authors, rather, take us through an organic journey of discussions and observations, experiences and considerations, giving rather a general direction which we may or may not choose to follow. As with much of Buddhism, there is no right or wrong, merely the observation that certain actions lead to suffering and some do not. As probably the most famous Buddhist in the world, and an accomplised and learned man, the Dalai Lama could hide his message in lots of esoteric language and rituals; he is instead very human, bringing some of his Buddhist ideals and principles to us in very human and very accessible ways. In reading the book we gather the general guiding principles that lead away from suffering and towards our true purpose and birthright – the striving for, the right to be happy.
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The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is an amazing person, and for a student of Buddhism, his summation of that religion when asked as “My religion is kindness” is a great inspiration. I would really recommend that you look into Buddhism if you haven’t already done so – I believe it has a lot to teach us about how to live happily 
But The Universe in a Single Atom is not entirely about Buddhism – it is rather, an example of one of the world’s great spiritual leaders, leader of an ancient tradition, tackling some very modern days issues which are often outside the remit of religion: namely, science. In my previous review I looked at Fritjof Capra’s Tao of Physics, and the Dalai Lama’s book sees this great man bringing science and sprituality together in a religio-political context, comparing ancient Buddhist science with the modern quantum physics. Apart from anything else, this book shows what a learned and yet open-minded man he is, and his compassion and loving kindess for all of humanity shines through – Buddhism is not a system which judges or discriminates. The book looks at plenty of modern day scientific problems and paradoxes, and the Dalai Lama is very open minded about these, acknowledging how much science has changed since the time of the Buddha, and also how science has served humanity.
But his message is a serious one – in a world where science has cured many of our immediate wants, and to all intents and purposes given us in the West everything we need, people are less happy than ever! For both myself and the Dalai Lama, this is indicative that material wants are not our only wants – which is why he argues for a compassionate approach to science in this interesting and accessible book. In a world where science and technology increasingly makes leaps which are almost beyond comprehension, it is important to remember that these leaps are supposed to serve us and make our lives better – yet science has many double edged swords, for example the nuclear bomb and genetic engineering. The Dalai Lama urges us collectively as a species to ensure that science continues to serve humanity – and not the other way around!
A very interesting, thought provoking and accessible work, the Universe in a Single Atom is written with sensitivity and compassion, as you would expect from one of the world’s great spiritual teachers.
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Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics is a seminal work and can now be considered a modern classic. I recently re-read this book and can recommend it to anyone who is looking to reconcile the seemingly opposite worlds of modern science and spirituality – there are many such books now, but I think many of them owe a great debt to Capra’s work!
For as long as I can remember, I have been looking for ways of integrating the many ways there are of looking at the world into some kind of coherent whole (a bit like my own personal grand unified theory of everything!) – and along the way I have come across eastern spirituality which fascinates me, and quantum physics, which also fascinates me. In my world view, any philosophy, explanation or theory of existence and humanity which leaves out quantum physics and the mysterious makeup of the Universe that science is unravelling, is just a tad blinkered. And science itself is similarly blinkered I would say if it ignores some of the lessons that spirituality has to offer. It is therefore fascinating to read this book and discover that the ancient eastern spiritual knowledge has much to share with the world of modern physics! While Capra does not go into the why’s of these similarities, he offers a very detailed study of the similarities between the two ways of thinking which allow the reader to formulate their own questions – and it is my belief that, perhaps, the universe is trying to tell us something
The book opens beautifully with an account of Capra witnessing what he pictured as a gigantic cosmic Dance of Shiva, and how this prompted some of the motivation to write the book. And we are then treated to a detailed study of how both schools of thought – Eastern Spirituality and Modern Physics – appear to point to the same “Truth” – that everything is interconnected, in a state of flux, co-dependent, knowable and yet elusive.
The book was first written in 1975, and in those days books were not subject to the dumbing down of some more modern releases, so in parts readers might find it heavy going, I certainly did, especially as my grasp of mathematics is not great, and some sections go into physics quite a lot. But this is a failing on my part and not the author’s and the more I read the book, the more I understand. It is certainly a beautiful book, and well worth reading, definitely one of those books that will irreversibly change the way you look at the world and yourself in the grand scheme of things.
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