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Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha [Paperback]

Thich Nhat Hanh
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 1, 1991
Drawn from original sources, Old Path White Clouds is the beautiful classic recounting of the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha over the course of eighty years. It is retold alternately through the eyes of Svasti, the buffalo boy who provided kusa grass for the Buddha's enlightenment cushion, and the Buddha himself.

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, has drawn from 24 Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources to create this highly acessible retelling of the story of the Buddha. The simple style is engaging, leading the reader through events in the Buddha's life while taking care to present and reinforce the central meaning and tone of his teaching. This is not a scholarly study but rather a heartfelt interpretation that draws on important sources. The result is a beautiful and contemporary book that can offer an attractive introduction for those new to the subject as well as many bright moments for serious students of Buddhism. Recommended for college and public libraries.
- Mark Woodhouse, Gannett- Tripp Lib., Elmira Coll., N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'The Buddha was the source. Venerable Svasti and the young buffalo boys were rivers that flowed from the source. Wherever the rivers flowed, the Buddha would be there.' In Old Path White Clouds, scholar, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh retells the story of the Buddha in his own inimitably beautiful style. He draws upon Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese sources to trace the Buddha's life slowly and gently through the course of eighty years. Seen partly through the eyes of the Buddha himself and partly through those of Svasti, the buffalo boy, Old Path White Clouds brings the Buddha closer to us as we journey with him on his path to enlightenment and nirvana. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 600 pages
  • Publisher: Parallax Press; First edition (May 1, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0938077260
  • ISBN-13: 978-0938077268
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.8 x 9.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk, a renowned Zen master, a poet, and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, and is the author of many books, including the best-selling The Miracle of Mindfulness.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
101 of 102 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Thich Nhat Hanh's masterpiece! September 3, 2000
Format:Paperback
If you read only one book on Buddhism, let it be this one. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the world's great teachers, and this life of Shakyamuni Buddha is his masterpiece. Every chapter is a perfect gem, every idea put forth bears witness not only to the noblest spiritual tradition, but to the purity of heart of its author. I have read this book many times over; it has never failed to move me, never ceased to nourish within me immense avenues of hope and understanding. I think it is an extraordinary literary accomplishment, however efficacious its spiritual impact. Conversely, it is clear that it derives at least some of its literary merit from the profundity of the ideals which it transmits. It is a clear, often surprising, reverent and humane book, a classic of religious literature in the finest tradition of a universal humanist aesthetic. The breadth of Nhat Hanh's gifts is apparent from the outset; the chapters on young Gautama's princely early life, his marriage, the nascent inward understanding that is his even before taking up the search for life's hidden meaning, are so exquisitely composed that one finds oneself already in possession of the truth to come, already one knows intimately the thirst that takes the Buddha from the life he has known and loved, against the wishes of his father's heart, against his love for and committment toward his own wife and child. This is literature of an everlasting kind. The art of narrative found here really has no equal in all of contemporary religious literature. Beautifully delicate line drawings accompany every chapter like a faint temple bell, the language is as constant and profound as a child's, able to encompass the sophisticated searching of the most ardent doubter and the simple heart of the believer alike. It is a truly great book. Art of this kind is surely what Gutenburg's invention was intended for. A perfect treasure. Read it, and live.
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Biography of the Buddha July 27, 2002
By Jisetsu
Format:Paperback
Old Path White Clouds
Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Drawings by Nguyen Thi Hop

This beautiful book is perhaps the best biography of the Buddha available in English. Comparisons with Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha are probably inevitable because both books employ a lyrical, literary style, but actually this book is quite different. Hesse's novel is an exploration of Siddhartha's motivations and the search that led to his enlightenment; Thich Nhat Hanh's book is a biography covering all eighty years of the Buddha's life based on Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources, which are assiduously notated in the book's appendix.

The story throughout is told very simply and in a tone that may be described as devotional. Chapters are short and usually illustrate a particular concept or event, and the text throughout is illustrated with many beautiful drawings. It is not a short book but its structure and style maintain the reader's interest over the course of story, and one may be tempted to say that it reads like a novel.

The length of the book is due to the fact that beyond being a history of the life of the Buddha, it is an exposition of his teachings, which are presented clearly and with increasing depth as the story of the foundation of the Sangha unfolds. Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike will benefit from this summation of the many concepts inherent in the Buddhist tradition, presented as they were to Buddha's first disciples.

One of the most interesting aspects of the story for this reader was to see clearly how the teachings of the Buddha were encapsulated from the very beginning as a monastic tradition. For Western Buddhists, who for the most part are lay practitioners, this monastic foundation is something to be clearly understood as one one tries to formulate one's own practice which is inevitably a compromise with the way of life originally presented by the Buddha.

Highly recommended.

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Why didn't I read this sooner? September 8, 2005
Format:Paperback
A couple of years ago on retreat I asked a nun from Plum Village what her favorite Thich Nhat Hahn title would be. She named this hefty tome which I purchased but did not read for quite awhile, assuming that it would be tedious and difficult going. (I have no idea why, none of Thay's books are anything but lovely and engaging...) What a wonderful surprise I received as I started reading vignette after vignette from the Buddha's life. In breathtakingly beautiful prose, Thay brings this great historical figure to life in a way that just makes you wish you had been there. The stories also explain and illustrate some of the more esoteric teachings in ways that are simple and easy to grasp, especially for those of us not raised in this tradition. Don't be put off by the size of the book as I was. Keep it on your bedstand and read a few stories a night. You'll be sorry when you are done!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Very simple and interesting way of learning about the Buddha's...
I like Thich Nhat Tanh's way of explaining complex things in so easy to understand words. I really loved this book and learned a lot of Buddha and his practice. Read more
Published 5 days ago by M. martin Gomez
5.0 out of 5 stars Brings alive Buddha and Dharma
This beautiful book brings the Buddha and his teachings to life. I often use it in my classes as an introduction to dharma. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Barbara Brodsky
5.0 out of 5 stars a creative masterpiece
This is some of Thich Nhat Hanh's finest writing (and that is high praise in of itself). I have found this book to be a true jewel in that it conveys many of the most important... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Paul Hixson
4.0 out of 5 stars easy read...interesting
A big and heavy book...Finally purchased via Amazon so reading from the IPAD. This book is very calming for me. Lots of things to think about as you read. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Judith O Szeto
5.0 out of 5 stars OLD PATH WHITE CLOUDS is the ONE book to read on Buddhist philosophy!
Highly recommended! I purchased 3 extra copies of this beautiful book, to send to friends and colleagues, for their enlightenment, and for a wonderful read.
Published 29 days ago by E. English
5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable reading
I feel peaceful when reading Thay's books especially this one. Read, learn and practice Buddhism one day at a time. There is no hurry.
Published 2 months ago by R. Pham
5.0 out of 5 stars Beatuiful
It is based on the sutras, yet it gives a humane and practice oriented rendering of the Buddhas life. Profound and simple, again, Thich Nhat Hanh.
Published 3 months ago by Daniela Labra Cardero
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
I really like Thich's books. I've read several stories on Siddhartha but this held my attention and taught me a lot.
Published 3 months ago by Cheryl
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
This is a truly great book offering an expanded biography of the Buddha. It is very readable, the major teachings are presented, as well as a history of his life and the beginning... Read more
Published 3 months ago by John C. Karl
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, gentle and wonderful
Despite its large size of content I read this book over a weekend, unable to put it down. Its gentle writing style echoed the voice of the Buddha in a simple, direct and accessable... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kyle J. Parker
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There is no end and beginning of life.
Yes! And, beyond what we know as life, we are constantly being transformed into and out of "inanimate" material and energy, too! I loved reading Old Path White Clouds, and how TNH portrayed the Buddha as so human. And yet so peaceful. Enlightened. May we all learn the truth of... Read more
Feb 25, 2010 by James McMahon |  See all 2 posts
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