Customer Reviews

Our Appointment with Life: Discourse on Living Happily in the Present Moment

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't be fooled by the thinness of this book, because it is packed with wisdom presented in an easily absorbed manner. The simplicity of Thich Nhat Hanh's commentary on this sutra makes its meaning so crystal clear, reading this was like experiencing an epiphany. It provides more information on mindfulness, and as a novice, the more concrete the information the better, and this has been the best so far. Perhaps the best guide I have found for instruction on how to live in the here and now and how important the present is to our future. We are how we are because of how we lived in the past, so we must pay critical attention to the present to ensure our futures are happy ones, because the now will turn into the future.

Our Appointment With Life: Discourse On Living Happily In The Present Moment is a splendid and "reader friendly" translation and commentary on the Sutra on "Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone" and one of the earliest teachings of the Buddha on living fully in the present moment. "To live alone" means to live in mindfulness: to let go of the past and the future, and to look deeply and discover the true nature of all that is taking place in the present moment. It does not mean isolating from society, but to know what to do and what not to do to be of help with people. Our Appointment With Life is a welcome addition to library of Buddhist studies available to the Western reader.

I like TNH and I believe in supporting the Buddhist press. That said, this is a poorly written, repetitive, rip-off of a book. Its scant 54 pages contain the poem/teaching noted in another's review 3 times. The premise of the book can be stated in a simple paragraph.

Simplicity is a hallmark of TNH's style. And there are other texts written by him which are clear, gorgeously-written and inspiring. I highly recommend "The Path of Emancipation." Read slowly, it is bound to put you in a meditative state.

"Our Appointment with Life" is not a bad book. It is just very thin and more of a disappointment than an appointment for it's $9.95 cost.

This is a short book on Buddhist Sutras relating to living in the present moment. The first half are the Sutras, the second half of the book is how to relate and implement them into your daily life.

I have often found myself "stuck" in a mental rut thinking about the past or having anxiety about the future, as I'm sure most people have. This book has some gem quotes to live by. For example: "Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has yet to come. Look deeply at life as it is in the very here and now..."

I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in Buddhism. Thich Nhat Hanh has a very relatable writing style.

Anything this author writes is worth reading and holding on to for insight and inspiration. I pick it up when I need a teacher in my life and then I, as a student, am ready to recieve the lesson.

This book is a detailed but single purposed elaboration of the following message of the Buddha.

Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.
We must be diligent today.
To wait until tomorrow is too late.
Death comes unexpectedly.
How can we bargain with it?
The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day "one who knows the better way to live alone."

When a person lives in this way, he has no hesitation in his heart. He gives up all anxieties and regrets, lets go of all binding desires, and cuts the fetters which prevent him from being free.

Meaningful and well written! That's for sure. The drawback: US$8.00 is far too expensive for a 54 page book, given the author's popularity that guarantees a good sales quantity.

Turning to Thich Nhat Hanh when entering the Lenten season of sacrifice, a Christian will discover many anxiety-freeing thoughts on "our appointment with life." In my eightieth year I find these words from the *Great Reverence Sutra* helpful: "If (we) do not practice diligently, how can (we) overcome death?"

Thich Nhat Hanh is the revered leader of retreats and prolific writer who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. His discourses make an understanding of Buddhism seem accessible . . . With patience. The Buddha lived in 500 B.C. and the searching continues today.

A Zen Buddhist does not employ exclamation points in writing (or living?) although entire meditations could be considered as exclamatory statements. They require a listening mind & posture. Thinking about the Zen approach to *aloneness* is helpful, as are the words of St. Paul: "Not that I have already obtained, yet I press on." This first day of Lent 2006 finds Reviewer mcHAIKU choosing to devote the coming days to listening, but lacking the close proximity of Thich Nhat Hanh. the written word will be my Teacher.

Sent this to my daughter who is away out of state for college. She liked it.

This is a good book, some parts are a bit repetitious of other Thich Nhat Hanh books. This is a short read.