This is a handy guide for mindfulness for busy people living at full throttle in the world. It’s a gentle calling to slow down and to heed the five mindfulness training precepts which are: not to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, or take intoxicants. These are the basic ethics and morality in Buddhism.
Zen master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh outlines how we can use these principles to help ourselves in our everyday busy lives. This is a great bedside reference book to look at after you have had a really hard day, to bring things back into focus. There is a lot of insight here into how these precepts can change you inside but also could change the broader world in general.
This is a great secular, moral guideline on how we can all cultivate a more compassionate, kind and healthy way of relating to ourselves and to the world. I found this book to be really beautiful and it’s a short length and easy to get through. 4/5*
Content Catnip 
When studying yoga, he was always on the author list in my teacher trainings.
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You studied yoga? How very cool Diana, it is such an amazing skill and personal gift to have, both for giving to yourself and to others. I love yoga but I don’t do it often enough. I think you will like this one Diana if you come across it in a library or book shop somewhere, it’s very good for browsing and keeping by your bed side table.
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Yes! I studied and taught yoga for over 12 years. I’ve stepped back from teaching, mostly because I was losing my personal connection to the practice. And I agree, I will most likely add this book to my collection. ❤️
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Sounds like a really useful, practical book……but I didn’t realise that intoxicants are on the Buddhist list of no-nos. In 2012-13, I spent a lot of time with a Hanmi Buddhist group in Chelmsford, England. In a back room, where the ‘higher’ members of the order would talk, there were bottles of gin, vodka and whisky on the shelves. If my memory is correct, these were used for birthdays and other ceremonies.
My favourite legacy from this time was the Buddhist mantras that I still use. For me, it’s an infinitely more attractive religion than the Christianity available in British churches.
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That sounds like a fun way to reach enlightenment then haha. Perhaps, each form of Buddhism is different and some make allowances for people to let loose a little bit. I know what you mean about mantras, and they can be good for grounding in the breathing and the present moment. My nan taught me a few of these mantras, she is a buddhist and a Reiki practitioner.
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I agree with you about some more extreme forms of Christianity – the more judgemental forms, but I do like some forms of open and accepting Christianity, like the Quakers – they are very kind and non-judgemental and accept people of all religions to come to meetings and also people who are LGBTQI
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Good review – essence of the book captured. Sounds like the perfect book to have around the house. Only read one of Hahn’s book, 10,000 to go!
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Thanks Jeremy. Yes me too..only this one. I know what you mean, the guy has an intimidatingly long book list on various Buddhism topics, this one seemed like the most practical and accessible and as you say, a good bedside table reference thing to dip into for inspiration
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I get the feeling that everything he’s written would be worth reading, if only for a few nuggets of wisdom each time. The type of things he discusses need repeating and there’s a lot of ways to repeat them
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Yes definitely 🙂
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Thanks for the prompt, another one added to the kindle…
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No problem Terry glad to give you another one to add to your list. I have followed you back on Twitter too btw 🙂
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