No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life

Rating:
Summary: Cut Through Fear
Review: For those of you who purchase this book with the bonus CD included along with the package, you are in luck. Thich Nhat Hanh takes us through meditation practice with the help of Sounds True, the Buddhist recording company. This CD is great to listen to when you want to set aside time for reflection, or just as a gentle reminder of the wonderful world we live in articulated through the voice of Thay. In this book Thich Nhat Hanh takes us all on the journey of discovery. We are provided with insightful commentary on this difficult subject of death from this much-loved Buddhist master; all in a language and format we can all connect ourselves to. What is to fear in death? We might become fearful that we will become "nothing." Whatever our deductions of what death is are, these are merely concepts. We fear the unknown perhaps. But the unknown is in every single moment, so breaking free from our misconceptions of death means stepping into fearlessness of life. Every moment is unknown. Death is unknown. Zero degrees is three hundred and sixty degrees. No beginning, no end. Only help all beings, it's the Great Bodhisattva Vow. Then there is no life or death, instead, only the Great Vow. Buy this book if you are troubled by death and life, it can calm the human heart. Letting you know all is well. Though everything may seem crazy and chaotic, all is well. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book from the Zen teacher
Review: People have a hard time understanding why I love and respect a monk so much. But his writings are so clear, so pure and simple, uncluttered, that they make sense just to pick up and read like a regular book. The only difference between his books and a good story_book is that his books are about your Life and they require Practice. All of which requires joy too!

This wonderful teacher talks to us in this book about emptiness, a wonderful concept we are all learning in our own time. In it, he clearly states examples of emptiness or impermanence in ways that are directly the result of his own experience and observation. One gets the sense that he has shown us some truth about death and life, and how they interlink and come together in a ballet of pictures and words. He writes with true wisdom, and the only result is, indeed, comfort.

The spiritual life requires discipline. It requires a sense of purpose, and perhaps, motivation. But one thing I know is that it is not unbearable and uncomfortable as many would have you believe. Through his unique teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us that there is no end and no beginning to things. If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, this book is as good as counseling.

Rating:
Summary: Looking deeply into death.
Review: Perhaps because I read this book shortly after the sudden, unexpected death of someone close to me, and after Thich Nhat Hanh's recent "day of mindfulness" here in Boulder, it touched me more deeply than any of Thay's previous books. In NO DEATH, NO FEAR, Thich Nhat Hanh succeeds once again at reducing a complex subject into a simple Buddhist teaching. Many of us would rather avoid the troubling subject of death. Thay observes that this is because we are afraid we will become nothing when we die. If we believe we cease to exist when we die, he says we are not looking deeply enough into death.

Death teaches us valuable lessons about impermanence and the interconnectedness (or "interbeing") of all things. In his characteristic style, the Vietnamese monk uses metaphors and simple illustrations to reveal that our human life is just a temporary manifestation, much like a wave on the ocean or a signal transformed into a song on the radio. By looking deeply into the everyday world in which we are interconnected with everything else, we may experience life without the fear of death.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: waves are water
Review: Why are we afraid? At last I have found a book that gives me a good reason not to be afraid. Thich Nhat Hahn is a very great writer, along with many other talents. He creates stories that children can enjoy but give great insight into our lives and the meaning of them.