The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation [Paperback]

Thich Nhat Hanh (Author), Vo-Dihn Mai (Illustrator), Mobi Ho (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness--being awake and fully aware. From washing the dishes to answering the phone to peeling an orange, he reminds us that each moment holds within it an opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Miracle of Mindfulness is a sly commentary on the Anapanasati Sutra, the Sutra on Breath to Maintain Mindfulness. "Sly" because it doesn't read like a dry commentary at all. One of Thich Nhat Hanh's most popular books, Miracle of Mindfulness is about how to take hold of your consciousness and keep it alive to the present reality, whether eating a tangerine, playing with your children, or washing the dishes. A world-renowned Zen master, Nhat Hanh weaves practical instruction with anecdotes and other stories to show how the meditative mind can be achieved at all times and how it can help us all "reveal and heal." Nhat Hanh is a master at helping us find a calm refuge within ourselves and teaching us how to reach out from there to the rest of the world. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

One of the best available introductions to the wisdom and beauty of meditation practice. --New Age Journal

"Thich Nhat Hanh's ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

"He has immense presence and both personal and Buddhist authority. If there is a candidate for 'Living Buddha' on earth today, it is Thich Nhat Hanh." --Roshi Richard Baker, author of Original Mind: The Practice of Zen in the West

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Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; 1st edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807012394
• ISBN-13: 978-0807012390
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism
  • #74 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

237 of 240 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible Mindfulness for Anyone, April 30, 2001

By 

Missing in Action (Idaho Falls, Idaho USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (Hardcover)

This little treatise is nothing less than a handbook for more effective, more joyful living. Thich Nhat Hanh has a beautifully simple, wonderfully direct manner of communicating the need to live mindfully, and using the practice of meditation as a means for becoming more mindful. Living in exile in Paris, this humble Vietnamese monk has worked tirelessly for decades, living his religion of compassion for the poor and orphaned in his native Vietnam. He is a living testament to the power of mindful living.

In addition to being a treat for your mind, Thich Nhat Hanh provides a number of exercises that help the student of meditation begin the process of focusing and concentrating on the moment at hand. It is a book that will be especially of value to those who are just beginning to meditate, (which is where I find myself), though I expect that as with most things written by wise people, the experienced student of meditation will find much of value as well.

This is not a book about Buddhism. It draws very heavily on the path to enlightenment that the Buddha taught as his fourth Noble Truth, but this book is first and foremost about mindful living. In that sense, it is completely accessible to the Christian, Jewish, agnostic or anyone else who recognizes the power of meditation in acheiving a degree of personal enlightenment. Thich Nhat Hanh has written extensively on the relationship between the principles taught by the Buddha and Jesus, and he is ever mindful of the needs of his Christian/Western audience as well as that of his Buddhist audience. Regardless of your religious orientation, you will find this little book to be an effective guide to living mindfully, completely and with joy.

242 of 253 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Sensical, and Sensational!, September 5, 2000

By 

Bill Butler "Bill Butler" (Tarzana, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (Hardcover)

I remember when I was a student at the Dharmadhatu Center of Los Angeles. The rules were to simply meditate and that was it! The same with Hindu Yoga. The same with all Eastern paths. Then I stumbled on this book. It was wonderful. Did you know that you can put in as little as 10 minutes a day of sitting meditation and then apply this mindfulness of breath to "washing the dishes"? Later, apply mindfulness (being aware) to taking a bath. To eating. Well, you will meditate now for 1 hour a day. In fact, Buddhist Masters state that minfulness in daily life is more important than the actual sitting meditation! Buy this book and become a 16-hour a day meditator. Doing "TV meditation", "conversation meditation", "telephone meditation", "cooking meditation". you name it. Nhat Hanh gives a variety of sitting meditations. Pick the one that feels right. Then do the meditation in daily life. Right now, I am doing "write a review meditation". I wasn't at first. But I am presently. The feel of everything that is happening in the present. Good luck.

125 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Miracle of Mindlessness, February 10, 2001

By 

James Altucher "James Altucher" (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (Hardcover)

In the past year my marriage has had problems, I've lost tons of money and I've had a non-stop cold/toothache. I was the reverse of mindfullness. Everywhere I looked I saw people who were smiling and I couldn't understand what inner resources they had that would allow them to do it. I started to meditate but it was difficult. I dubbed myself 'the worse meditator'. I couldn't focus at all. I was constantly adding up the numbers in my various accounts and trying to figure to figure out how get above zero. This book was incredible for me. It put new light in the definition of 'practice'. Meditation is just practice for post-meditation. Suddenly, everything became a meditation. Watching tv. Driving a car. Typing on the computer. Writing an amazon review. I'm still pretty crappy at meditating. But now I'm having more fun doing everything else thanks to this book.