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Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World

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To some peace and nonviolence are synonymous with frailty and submissiveness; yet not to our beloved Thich Nhat Hanh. For him, to practice peace, to make peace alive within us, is synonymous with cultivating understanding, love, and compassion - even in the face of misunderstanding and war. He reiterates that practicing peace, especially in times of war, takes above all: courage. Thich Nhat Hanh should know, for he's survived 3 wars, harassment, and more than 30 years in separation from his native homeland of Vietnam.

This book stems from his experiences as a Buddhist monk striving towards peace, who happens to have written over 100 books and is a world leader when it comes to speaking out against violence and war. The range of lives he`s touched with his message, from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, is absolutely staggering. Thay's writings always have a no-nonsense and functional characteristic to them. Many of the practices you'll find in this particular work are lessons he has sharpened in his monastic living community in France - Plum Village. He is at the forefront of "socially engaged" Buddhism, viewing meditation and social activism as being on the same ticket.

War and peace are both within us, like that cliché symbol we are familiar with from the east of the yin and the yang; a prospect he touches on in his world famous poem, "Call Me By My True Names." Those of us familiar with Nhat Hanh's works probably notice a core theme which breathes through all of his works: practicing peace not just towards all beings, but likewise with our emotions and inner struggling. In this book he does not shy away from criticizing the Unites States and it's present actions in the world, mentioning the United Nations , "each of us depends on the well-being of the entire human population." This is Thich Nhat Hanh at his very best, and it's my hope every reader will encounter this truly magnificent work.

Once again Thich Nhat Hanh has provided a very practical guide to bringing about peace in our lives. As the title says first we must end violence in ourselves, then our families, our communities and finally the world. The book is filled with concrete suggestions for what we can do to reach these goals and examples of how these methods have worked for others. It is a book filled with a simple wisdom that can't be challenged. Along with the books, ANGER: WISDOM FOR COOLING THE FLAMES and NO DEATH, NO FEAR, Thich Nhat Hanh has given us three jewels which will help us live better, happier lives and bring us closer to the end of our own suffering.

If you are one of those who feels you never have a moment's peace, then it's obvious that you need to simplify your life. While Thich Nhat Hanh is considered the world's foremost peace activist, he is perhaps its foremost simplicity activist as well and a prime example that simplicity engenders peace. He is a simple monk who leads a plain and simple life and writes the same way. I have always admired his style for its ease and clarity in pointing to the plain truths behind the often didactic tenants of Buddhism. Using very clear and yet subtle metaphors and personal anecdotes, he points to the basic truths beyond the dicotomies of the sutras and koans. In fact, many academicians, scholars and Buddhist teachers would do well to emulate his style. Because Nhat Hanh's writing is so simplistic, many pass off his ideas as being too naïve. After all, how can anyone ever hope to achieve world peace? But Nhat Hanh's writing is deceptive in its subtlety. In his newest book, CREATING TRUE PEACE: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World , Nhat Hanh teaches how the seed of peace planted within one individual with proper nurturing can bloom into a peaceful family and then a peaceful community and later a peaceful country, and finally turn the entire world into a garden of peace.

CREATING TRUE PEACE is a compilation of his teachings from other works such as Peace Is Every Step, Miracle of Mindfulness, and Interbeing to name a few. As usual, he uses metaphors, personal anecdotes, commentaries and meditations, many from past lectures and texts, to show us how such an improbable task is truly possible. He discusses his usual topics: breathing, sitting and walking meditation, the five mindfulness trainings, listening and more. But unlike some of his earlier works, this one presents practical, step-by-step methods for getting along with oneself, one's mate and children, one's neighbors and co-workers and one's country as well as a Manifesto for World Peace and some previously unpublished mindfulness trainings, which Nhat Hanh has developed over the years.

Although his writing is simplistic that doesn't mean it should be taken literally. One still must find one's own path through the violence that exists in the world today. He uses the metaphor of a lotus that grows in mud to show how the practice of acceptance can lead to peace even in a world of turmoil and upheaval. .Nhat Hanh believes the seed of peace begins with mindfulness. Especially, we need to be mindful consumers. We must watch for the consumption of that which leads to unmindfulness like alcohol or violence in the media. However, even these remain open to interpretation. I doubt if Nhat Hanh would seriously tell us to avoid Shakespeare's Macbeth or even Kubrick's classic Clockwork Orange.

I was particularly fascinated by Nhat Hanh's discourse on Interbeing. Here, he turns to the insect kingdom for his analogy, relating the interaction of worker bees to the shared unconsciousness that connects us all. My fascination stemmed from having written a screenplay, in which one of the character's uses the same analogy when explaining a supernatural cataclysm that is starting to destroy our hive mind and leaving in its path only mankind's sense of individuality - The Root of All Evil.

Speaking of writing and other forms of creativity, you may find some of Nhat Hanh's methods particularly helpful in those areas. I adapted a couple of his techniques to overcome writer's block. But you must be careful. You might get so creative that you won't leave time for anything else, which is probably why this review is rather lengthy. But his techniques do work.

I cannot praise this book or author enough. It and he are truly inspirational.

Thich Nhat Hanh is an incredible teacher who writes clearly and provides personal short stories as examples to leave the reader with lucid understanding of the message of placing yourself in the other person's shoes. Listening, speaking kindly, and taking the time to become calm, and to mindfully resolve suffering and conflict in a peaceful and lasting manner.

He encourages us to practice Mindfulness meditation and to inter-be and create a special safe room in your homes as a sanctuary for peace, calmness, mindfulness, and resolution of conflict.

On page 172 in the author's own words, he says:

"We need to look deeply to see what we are now doing with our lives. We let individualism prevail in the twentieth century, and frankly we have made a mess out of it. We must begin anew for the twenty first century; we need a new different direction. We can no longer continue to destroy ourselves and the planet we live on. With determination we can abandon the cult of individualism and the self, and act and live in harmony in the spirit of interbeing.
The sangha, the spiritual community, is our new direction, and sangha building is the noblest task we have before us. To build a sangha, we have to learn to open ourselves to each other and to share our experiences, insights, time, and love. The sangha must be our refuge for all of us in this new century."

This author spends absolutely no time trying to convert anyone to his religion. Instead he spends his life promoting non-violent co-existence methods and a vision of appreciation of the miracle of all life.

This is a book of hope and understanding. Buy it now and you will be so happy that you did.

Creating true peace is one of those books that you can read with time. No need to hurry. The entire book radiates serenity, as do all Thich Nhat Hanh's books anyway.

I especially admire his simple ways of confronting us with our behavior, and his encouragements to evaluate the way we treat ourselves and those around us.

Mindfulness is a simple concept, yet so easy to deviate from in our daily activities. Reading this and other books from Thich Nhat Hanh helps you to refocus on the things that are really important.

A strong work for those who seek tranquility in a hectic society.

Reading Thich Nhat Hahn I get slightly embarrassed at how tenderly he talks. He talks that way even to pushy, arrogant, or hostile people. The way he writes exposes all my egotistical rage over the past. I gotta wonder what sort of dude speaks so tenderly to everybody he meets.

After over 50 years of teaching, I suppose Thich is mainly repeating himself. I mean, how many ways can one man say: "The antidote to violence and hatred is compassion. There is no other medicine. Unfortunately, compassion is not available in drugstores. You have to generate the nectar of compassion in your heart." He's still telling us how. His stories from the Vietnam wars and from veterans of those wars still make me weep.

Thich is like a grandfather who makes people feel at home. He makes seeking peace feel like a vocation I was born with. Maybe it's our real vocation, and no external factor can take it away.

This book is a great book, whether you are into the Buddhist beliefs or not. It teaches so much about relationships, understanding others and being able to calm ourselves when needed. It teaches how to deal with anger with our children, spouses, or anyone. It can help in you home as well as in a work environment. It can create peace in our lives, calmness, less stress, which I believe would help just about anyone. I would recommend you read it with an open mind and heart and you will get something out of it. I believe there is something for everyone.

I can't remember ever being so inspired and moved by a book. The lessons learned in the text are simple and will change how you look at life and all of its challenges. I for one feel that I can effect a truly positive change in my life and those around me because of the simple teachings in this book. This is a must read for all it will open your eyes and heart.

Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He guides the reader of this new book how to go about getting rid of the violence he holds inside. As in his book, ANGER, he tells how anger and unhappiness can consume you. Violence is an outmoded response we can no longer afford politically and in daily life with family and friends (we usually tend to lash out and hurt the people we love the most).

Walking can calm our feelings and help us recover out peace. Walk to release your anger and pain. It calms negative feelings, helps you to get in touch with positive elements within and around you. Walking outdoors increases our happiness, peace, and harmony.

He tells us that we can each make a difference by being compassionate and not overbearing toward others; we are not helpless by any means. In our community, where the bigwigs hold sway and money is everything, we need to seek peace but not accept repression. Each individual is precious in God's grace -- I hope Tristan had a peaceful transition. He was a good-looking young man.

We can all work on inner change in personal lives, but global changes are in the hands of politicians, the leaders. So many are inexperienced and unsuited to lead anybody; others are corrupt. As in the movie, 'Kingdom of Heaven,' we will have to hope that God is on our side.

The best feature of this book is the emphasis it makes on being present and mindful in a relationship, especially relationships with loved ones. It is true that authentic peace begins with the individual, and can only be present when the "ego," the "me" in all of its separatist activities is absent. I think it was misleading to suggest that both ego and peace can coexist, since the very nature of the undeveloped self is to behave in divisive fashion. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks from the Buddhist tradition, and like all spiritual traditions, it can only take one so far. A great teacher once said that an ounce of falsehood can spoil a thousand pounds of truth, and although this book is well-intentioned, I believe it is of limited value. If you have a family, then by all means, read it, but for consistent truth, I suggest reading Eckhart Tolle's, Power of Now, and/or exploring the many great works of Guy Finley and J. Krishnamurti. Once the ego has been transcended, there is no longer a need to "cultivate" anything because true peace will emanate naturally from being.