Customer Reviews

Living Buddha, Living Christ

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When you begin to read it you can see it is written by a Zen master because Thich Nhat Hanh is able to say much with few words. I am a Christian and this book introduced me to Buddhism. Nearly every sentence would cause me to stop in my tracks and think. I was introduced to many completely new ideas and philosophies through the course of this book. Although I will never be a Buddhist and I do not agree with everything Thich Nhat Hanh believes, I have a great respect for their beliefs as well as others. It also helped me to understand Christianity and Christ's message, and shaped my own beliefs. You will gain a lot of cultural and philosophical insight if you read this book.

This book was largely my introduction to Buddhism. I was a Christian who was losing my faith and became interested in Buddhism. This book helped me come to terms with the two faiths and showed me how their core teachings are compatible.

Thich Nhat Hanh's language is always compassionate and patient. He is more like a friendly uncle than a spritual master. I think that the two major themes of this book (indeed of any of his books) are love and awareness. This book will show you how to awaken both love and awareness within yourself while also helping to restore your faith while understanding the faith of others.

This is an excellent book for anyone whose mind is open and not mired in dogma. No book can convince anyone who insists on being stubbornly dogmatic. I am a Christian. I practice meditation. The objective of meditation, Christian or Buddhist, is not to empty your mind of everything. The objective is to learn to see.

Hahn does view Christ as a living person and a historical figure. In fact, he very pointedly remarks that most Christians seem to be more interested in Christian dogma than in what Christ actually did-the example he lived for all of us. By the way, "Living Christ" is part of the title.

"Traditional" Christianity has much in common with the Pharisees of Jesus' day. Now that Hanh is living and speaking in a Christ-like way, it's not surprising that he's encountering resistance, misunderstanding, and intolerance.

"Traditional" Christianity is what it is, not because of being true to itself, but because of being true to Western Civilization's ethos of valuing material things, exploiting nature, and controlling the masses for political gain. Christianity and Science (the modern religion) both struggle with the problems that arise from the presumed existence of an objective world. "Traditional" Christianity diverged from the teachings of Christ within the very first century of the Church. Hanh exposes this quite convincingly, as long as you're not afraid to see it. Some reviewers have suggested that a Buddhist such as Hanh has no authority in defining what Christianity is or what it means to be a Christian. Who does? The very labels "Buddhist" vs. "Christian" cause a divisiveness that is as unfortunate as it is unnecessary. Each one of us is a human being on a spiritual journey. Ultimate Truth is self-evident and cannot be expressed in any system of thought, language, or symbols. Does the Universe conform to a Buddhist view or a Christian view? Is a photon a wave or a particle? Authority ultimately resides with the observer.

I originally purchased the book because Elaine Pagels put her stamp of approval on it (she wrote the introduction). This is a wise and beautiful book. If you're caught up in dogma, tradition and need to be pampered and saved, this book might not be for you. If you wish to live, learn and love humanely, open your mind and look beyond the horizon, you'll enjoy this feast. I keep this book by my bedside table, close to my "YES Yoko Ono" art book, very different yet very similar books. I'm not interested in any one religion but I very much enjoy being human. Our culture and history weighs us with so much baggage. Life is full of illusion and delusion. There is a simplicity and honesty behind all that distracts and prejudices us as individuals and a culture. So much talk about "peace" and "love" yet we remain empty headed to the Truth behind our existence. This book brings what's of importance to the surface. A book to read in whole and in parts over and over again. A book of healing and awakening. No great revelations. Just you reading about you and your neighbors.

All religions have as their common thread the Golden Rule expressed in Buddhism as: "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself" and in Christianity as: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". Almost certainly, if Jesus and Buddha were to meet today they would embrace each other and tell us that we have misinterpreted their teachings by permitting or perhaps even advocating religious intolerance, religious rivalry, religious hatred, religious fanaticism and religious war. It was therefore like a breath of fresh air to discover a Buddhist monk from Vietnam who thinks, speaks and acts the Golden Rule - a man about whom Martin Luther King wrote: "I Know Thich Nhat Hanh and am privileged to call him my friend. He is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity". In 1947 in Egypt early Christian documents were discovered, believed to have been hidden after orders to destroy them as heretical were given by the archbishop of Alexandria. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with the Buddhist tradition. These long-hidden sources show that the early Christian movement contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via Christianity. Shortly after Buddha died there were two schools of Buddhism; after 400 years there were 20 schools; and today there are many more. Each is an attempt to keep the Buddhist teachings alive under new circumstances. Likewise Christianity has splintered into many groups. It is only by respecting the differences within our own church and seeing how these differences enrich one another, that we can be open to appreciating the richness and diversity of other traditions.

Thich Nhat Hanh is not a monk who lives in a hermitage and runs away from the world. For more than 30 years he has been active in combating poverty, ignorance and disease; rescuing boat people; evacuating the wounded from combat zones; resettling refugees; helping the hungry and orphans; opposing wars; training peace and social workers; and rebuilding villages destroyed by bombs. But he has only been able to do this because of the practice of meditation - stopping, calming and looking deeply. It is only through the practice of deep looking and deep listening, that we become free, able to see the beauty and values in our own and others' tradition and that we know what we should be doing in the world.

This book is about interfaith dialogue. "In a true dialogue, both sides are willing to change. We have to appreciate that truth can be received from outside of - not only within - our own group. If we do not believe that, entering into dialogue would be a waste of time. If we think we monopolize the truth and we still organize a dialogue, it is not authentic. We have to believe that by engaging in dialogue with the other person, we have the possibility of making a change within ourselves, that we can become deeper. Dialogue is not a means for assimilation in the sense that one side expands and incorporates the other into its 'self.' Dialogue must be practiced on the basis of 'non-self.' We have to allow what is good, beautiful, and meaningful in the other's tradition to transform us. But the most basic principle of interfaith dialogue is that the dialogue must begin, first of all, within oneself. Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves."

This book is about seeking peace. "Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world. People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result." And "When there are wars within us, it will not be long before we are at war with others, even those we love. The violence, hatred, discrimination, and fear in society water the seeds of the violence, hatred, discrimination, and fear in us."

This book is about mindfulness: "In Buddhism, our effort is to practice mindfulness in each moment - to know what is going on within and all around us. When the Buddha was asked, 'Sir, what do your monks practice?' he replied, 'We sit, we walk, we eat.' The questioner continued, 'But sir, everyone sits and walks, and eats.' And the Buddha told him, 'When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.' Most of the time, we are lost in the past or carried away by future projects and concerns."

This book is about being there for others: "The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When our mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." This book is about meditation. This book is about the common ground between Christianity and Buddhism - for the author there is no conflict in having images of both Jesus and Buddha on his hermitage altar. He worships them both; he touches them both as his spiritual ancestors. This book is wisdom. There are pearls of wisdom on every page of this book for seekers of the truth.

I, like many others that I know, have become distant from the Church, Christ, Christianity and its traditions and values. I hear so many say they are practicing Catholics and attend Church every Sunday, but it appears they are no closer to Christ or the Kingdom of God than I.

Although my belief in God, the Creator, is as certain as my own existence, I have spent a significant amount of time and energy attempting to obtain the same level of comfort with Jesus as Christ our Lord. This book has made me rethink my approach in discovering/substantiating Christ. Thich Nhat Hanh, makes me realize that I may have spent too much time attempting to find evidence of Christ and not enough time living the message of Christ.

Hahn writes "it is important to look deeply into every act and every teaching of Jesus during His lifetime, and to use this as a model for our own practice. Jesus lived exactly as He taught, so studying the life of Jesus is crucial to understanding." "If you only satisfy yourself with praising a name, even the name of Jesus, it is not practicing the life of Jesus. We must practice living deeply, loving and acting with charity if we wish to truly honor Jesus." After reading this, I'm sure everyone will say "I knew that." Seems simple and it is. The problem folks have today is walking the walk. A perfect example are those priest that betrayed all of humanity by molesting children. I'm sure these priest all praised the name, but that was not enough to stop them from committing these horrible, criminal acts. A recurring message throughout the book (much too simply stated) is "Stop your talking and get to walking." If these priest would have spent more time living the life of Jesus rather than preaching about it, the outcome may have been different. [The preceding statement is not intended to spark a debate about why abusers abuse. It is made only to stress how important I feel, after reading this book, it is to practice, or live the life of Jesus.]

Hahn has encouraged and motivated me to go back to my tradition and rediscover the values that are there. I've always felt that living the life of Jesus was more important than believing in His resurrection, but it is only until reading this book that I feel comfortable with that philosophy. I did not expect a Buddhist monk to renew in me the spirit of religon, open my eyes to the life/message of Jesus or explain to me the purpose/importance of the Church and Community. Hanh has done that for me and I am grateful. Again, there is so much more to this book than what I have covered here.

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Hahn's writing is warm and inviting. I felt "good" reading this book. He does not lose the reader in jargon or in an attempt to show the reader how smart he is. His writing seems simple on the surface, but when you look deeper (one of the messages of the book) there is so much more. I have only read the book once, but know my appreciation and understanding will grow each time I read it. However, I think Thich Nhat Hanh might advise me to skip the reread and start living.

Thich Nhat Hanh's attempt to portray the commonality between Christianity and Buddhism is sometimes awkward and utilizes Gnostic Gospel text that may not be accepted by more conservative or fundamentalist Christians. (I would highly recommend Elaine Pagels' "The Gnostic Gospels" as a quick introduction to the Gnostic Christians) However, it does make a number of excellent observations of the parallels of the teachings of Jesus and Buddha and begs the question of what the meeting of these to men would be like if they were able to meet in person. Thây's plea to release ourselves from our notions and concepts and to look open mindedly at all faiths is much needed in our fragmented world. This book helps one to see through much of the dogma and doctrine that perpetuates the mythology of terminal uniqueness and guides us gently to a better understanding of both Buddhist and Christian traditions. I would also recommend highly Thich Nhat Hanh's "Going Home, Jesus and Buddha as Brothers".

Thich Nhat Hanh is a living Buddha. Let's get that straight.

However, he tends to repeat his message (often verbatim) from one book to the next. If you know his work, you'll recognize a lot of it here.


On the other hand, if you haven't read him before, then this is a good place to start. It is an admirable attempt at ecumenicalism.

Another caveat: the Christianity that he discusses is not the sort much practiced. That's his point, in part: it should be more practiced. Fair enough, he's right about that. But he tends to cite the Christian mystics with whom he feels most affinity (Thomas Merton, especially) and ignore how most people view Christianity.

In short, if you are a Christian, you should read this book to get another take on your religion. If you are a Buddhist familiar with Thay Hanh's writings, however, you won't find out much about Christianity as it is practiced, and you'll already be familiar with much of what he says about Buddhism.

Although this book is hindered in the beginning by various saccharine comments about how life can be beautiful when one discovers an Ultimate truth, Thay (as Hanh is known to his friends and admirers) quickly falls into an appropriately pragmatic guide book for bridging the gap between the seemingly disparate worlds of Buddhism and Christianity.

I, as a Catholic who is currently making the oft-painful jump from that worldview to Buddhism, was concerned at charges I'd heard that Thay delves too much into criticism of Christianity and that he is not ecumenical enough. However, I discovered that the concerns he raised about how Christians see the world (especially the "one true way to God" conundrum) were handled delicately by Thay as he demonstrated that some Christians precepts were just as important to him as a Buddhist as the basic tenets of his own worlview. He knows Christianity as well as he knows Buddhism, and it is in this fact that he proves that "knowledge is power". In fact, the questions he raises about Christianity are legitimate concerns that Christians should face on their own.

The acknowledgement that people find peace in both Buddhism and Chritianity is to me one of the most pleasing aspects of the book. I cite a story from the book, in which Thay eases the alarm a Christian friend has about experiencing a "fruit salad" of beliefs. He says, simply, "Fruit salad can be delicious!" It is this emphasis on dialogue and compassion for the "other side" that I found refreshing in this book.

Oil and water meet in this book. This is a stimulating and provocative book written by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who attempts, in good will and world peace, to bring Buddhism and Christianity into a harmonious relation.

Thich Nhat Hanh hopes that, if people would look at what these faiths have in common, there could be tolerance and acceptance of each other.

To bring harmony to these two religious belief systems is no small task, and only someone with a large amount of both faith and love would attempt this. Christianity and Buddhism are diametrically opposed: Faith in God. Faith in Self. So acknowledges Hanh when he says, "In Christianity faith means trust in God, in Buddhism faith means confidence in our ability to wake up our deepest capacity."

But then, Hanh has a large amount of both faith and love, and he is no ordinary Vietnamese Buddhist monk. He has been engaged in peace works for almost 40 years. In 1966 he came to the United States and met with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to protest the war in Vietnam. Pushing forward in his belief in peace, he went on to develop The Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith peace organization, with members like Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Merton and Father Daniel Berrigan. Through his life, and with the contact of many strong Christians, he converted to dualism of beliefs.

"On the altar in my hermitage in France are images of Buddha and Jesus and I touch them both," Hanh says. He believes that ignorance brings bondage and disparity, but understanding of another brings liberation and "unlocks the door to the prison of suffering."

He acknowledges as a Buddhist monk that Buddhism does not hold to the belief of God and he recognizes that Christianity is not a religion of believers in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And in his own, very unique way, he believes too. Especially important to him is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Hanh describes his understanding of Jesus Christ as "one through whom the divine was manifested" but not the only expression of the divine, "it is said that there are 84,000 Dharma doors, doors of teaching . . . it would not be very Buddhist to say that yours is the only door."

In addition to highlighting concepts of Buddhism, Hanh offers Christians a new prism, a new angle from which to look at Jesus, the Holy Spirit, their Christian faith and those of other faiths. He says, "If you satisfy yourself only with praising the name of Jesus, it is not practicing the life of Jesus. We must practice living deeply, lovingly and acting with charity if we wish to truly honor Jesus."

Living Buddha. Living Christ is not a primer on either Buddhism or Christianity but rather a compilation of the two by a Buddhist monk who understands where these two great religions can touch and sometimes even dance. Though Hanh never gets the oil-and-water to mix, he does get them to complement each other. This in itself is a great achievement. An index would have greatly assisted in making this a good reference book as well. Recommended.