Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Dimension

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Wonderful. I've been listening to Thich Nhat Hanh most nights before sleep for about 2 weeks now. I can say that I have been so relaxed and have had no trouble remembering my dreams... this tells me that my mind is becoming more free and clear. I would recommend this "retreat at home" to anyone, even those not interested in Buddhism will reap benefits.

Written by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, nominated for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr., The Ultimate Dimension is an audio book on CD that examines two classical Buddhist texts, the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. From essential Buddhist principles to wondrous interconnection of all that exists, to the "ultimate dimension" that is the infinite realm beyond birth and death, The Ultimate Dimension reminds listeners of the Lotus Sutra's promise - that regardless of one's traditions or background, all beings share the potential to become enlightened. A compassionate, profound audiobook with a quintessential Buddhist message of wisdom, understanding, and learning to open oneself to a higher way.

This is a very good alternative to reading Thich Nhat Hanh's books.(we student of his call him Thay, pronounced like "tie," which mean teacher in Vietnamese) The best way to learn from Thay is to be in his prsense, which I have had the pleasure to do once this past summer. Just being in his presence and the presence of the monastics exudes peace. The next best thing is to listen to a retreat like this one on CD or even watch a DVD of his. Because his voice and smile helps relay this peace so well. I highly recommned this series.

For me the Ultimate DImension is an interesting listening experience and it gives a nearly perfect picture of one man's practice and views of Buddhism. But it dwells too much in his interpretation of what the Buddha's sutras mean and not quite enough on quoting the sutras and letting the listener/reader distill the lessons for themselves.

I would be more pleased if Hahn intermixed the Buddha's actual words with his discussions of how they can be internalized and implemented in practice but throughout the entire 6 CD collection there is little of this.

If the reader/listener is intimately familiar with the Lotus Sutra and other Buddhist texts then this advanced retreat would be a perfect addition to his or her collection. But if not then it is quite like looking at the reflection of a beautiful scene and not the scene itself.

One humble opinion.

I recommend anything from Thich Nhat Hanh. I have read (and listened to) many of Thich's books and they are all great. One would be hard pressed to find a better, more succinct teacher of the wonderful truths of spirituality. He seems to distill and capture the pure essence of Buddhism and convey it in a very accessible way. Thich Nhat Hanh Talks in this book about an ultimate reality; a reality that exists beyond the conditioned mind in the here and now. He says that this reality is accessible to everyone who practices mindfulness meditation. This book is sure to please anyone interested in spiritual matters.
Andrew M.

Ultimate Dimension is a recording of a retreat on a more advanced topic. It is interesting but I think Present Moment retreat is better. It is more basic and a better quality recording.

The Present Moment: A Retreat on the Practice of Mindfulness

I'm not a Buddhist and I know very little about it. Thich Nnat Hanh is a very dilligent and creative teacher. This is useful for anyone that wants to decrease the suffering and increase the peace and happiness in their life.