In this Buddhist perspective on resolving conflict, global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh demonstrates how a real peace process is based on spiritual, not political strength. Inspired by an ongoing Buddhist retreat project for Palestinians and Israelis, Peace Begins Here offers practical ways to handle our strong emotions and misperceptions and provides a possible way out of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Peace Begins Here features stories from individual Palestinians and Israelis, as well as examples from Thich Nhat Hanh’s life, including his experience with nonviolent action during the war in Vietnam and its aftermath. Highlights include personal stories from participants in the peace retreats and Thich Nhat Hanh’s collected practices for peace, including deep listening, deep relaxation, mindful walking, mindful eating, and loving speech.
"The road map to peace is not created by governments but by people who are able to be truly present with each other, practicing deep listening and empathy for the suffering of others. Thich Nhat Hanh has brought Palestinians and Israelis to Plum Village, France, for retreats where they begin their own peace process. This paperback outlines some of the practices they tried and is spiced with stories from participants in these retreats. Thich Nhat Hanh adds his thoughts about cultivating the seeds of peace, dealing with anger, fostering reconciliation, walking the path of nonviolent resistance, and creating a people's peace treaty." —Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
"Peace Begins Here is a guide. It offers instruction in core practices such as mindful eating, walking, and speaking and in the more challenging processes such as deep listening, taking care of our feelings, beginning anew, and use of a personal peace treaty. Sprinkled throughout this hope-filled book are the voices of Palestinians and Israelis who have chosen to take steps toward their own peace, who have chosen to listen and speak with compassion, who have stopped watering the seeds of despair and anger and stepped instead toward reconciliation." —Lois Schlegel, The Mindfulness Bell
THICH NHAT HANH is one of the most revered and influential spiritual teachers in the world today. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he has published more than 100 books, which have sold more than five 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 mindfulness to the West. In 1982 he established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe. He lives in Hue in Central Vietnam.
In this Buddhist perspective on resolving conflict, global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh demonstrates how a real peace process is based on spiritual, not political strength. Inspired by an ongoing Buddhist retreat project for Palestinians and Israelis, Peace Begins Here offers practical ways to handle our strong emotions and misperceptions and provides a possible way out of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Peace Begins Here features stories from individual Palestinians and Israelis, as well as examples from Thich Nhat Hanh’s life, including his experience with nonviolent action during the war in Vietnam and its aftermath. Highlights include personal stories from participants in the peace retreats and Thich Nhat Hanh’s collected practices for peace, including deep listening, deep relaxation, mindful walking, mindful eating, and loving speech.
Praise
"The road map to peace is not created by governments but by people who are able to be truly present with each other, practicing deep listening and empathy for the suffering of others. Thich Nhat Hanh has brought Palestinians and Israelis to Plum Village, France, for retreats where they begin their own peace process. This paperback outlines some of the practices they tried and is spiced with stories from participants in these retreats. Thich Nhat Hanh adds his thoughts about cultivating the seeds of peace, dealing with anger, fostering reconciliation, walking the path of nonviolent resistance, and creating a people's peace treaty." —Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
"Peace Begins Here is a guide. It offers instruction in core practices such as mindful eating, walking, and speaking and in the more challenging processes such as deep listening, taking care of our feelings, beginning anew, and use of a personal peace treaty. Sprinkled throughout this hope-filled book are the voices of Palestinians and Israelis who have chosen to take steps toward their own peace, who have chosen to listen and speak with compassion, who have stopped watering the seeds of despair and anger and stepped instead toward reconciliation." —Lois Schlegel, The Mindfulness Bell
Author
THICH NHAT HANH is one of the most revered and influential spiritual teachers in the world today. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he has published more than 100 books, which have sold more than five 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 mindfulness to the West. In 1982 he established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe. He lives in Hue in Central Vietnam.