Summary Of Being Peace By Thich Nhat Han

Giulia Bulone

TRS 265

Being peace book report

Being at peace can have a different meaning to everyone. We can be at peace with ourselves, our neighbors and even the events that are taking place in the world. In this book, Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, he attempts to explains to us all the aspects that peace can create for us. No matter if we receive the good or the bad that comes alone with peace, there is always a lesson to be learned. The book is comprised of many of his teaching about peace and the Buddhist lifestyle. The book offers a clear and enjoyable way to comprehend the steps it takes to acquire peace in a personal or even global way. The potential peace that can be brought into this world first has

to start with the individual.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s goal is to change the world into a better place.

He visions of a better place is not an in the sense of a utopia, but he wishes to see the people in this world to be more understanding and compassionate to one another. The author realizes that people have countless emotions and even indicates that it is okay to feel angry and to suffer sometimes. What he is trying to get teach is how to minimize and overcome those negative feels. For him, he feels the best way to overcome these emotions and to have a smile on the face and that the individual has to be at peace with themselves and of course, to meditate. Smiling, such a basic concept. Yet, many of us overlook this exercise to bring peace into our lives. We sometimes feel as though it is easier to hold on tight to anger instead of simply just letting

go.
The author also goes on to explain that we all have a Buddha inside of us, we just have to learn how to incorporate Buddha into our everyday lives. But we cannot rely on Buddha if we do not allow Buddha to rely on us. The same goes for interaction with others. We cannot allow others to only help us without giving anything in return, we must know how to give back and appreciate what is done for us. In order to find peace, the author states that as a Buddhist one must let go of their feelings and personal views. We cannot analyze actions and affairs in an individual way. We must be able to understand without our path to peace being blocked by bias views. By not taking one side of an any disagreement, you are able to react and understand each side of the situation. By doing this you are able to open up the eyes of the arguers to what the other side is feeling. Once this is done peace can be brought to this situation and realize why the other side acted the way they did. We have to become one with another man. Instead of taking things out and solving a problem in a human way, sometimes we feel a though the only solution is violence. The best example of this is war. During time of war we feel a though we can trust nobody but ourselves. But, if we used all the time we spent fighting and talked out a negotiation, so many lives could be saved and so much more peace can be brought to the world.
If we know something needs changing, instead of ignoring it we can take it upon ourselves and bring peace.

There are some people out there in this world that can easily turn a blind eye to the chaos that goes on all around the world and even in their own backyards. We need to learn how to in a sense be the hero. One my favorite quotes by Mahatma Gandhi relates well with this topic. The quote goes like this, “be the change that you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi). We have to take things for a negative to a positive without hesitation. To be a part of the peace movement we have to have peace not wish to obtain it. How can you fight for peace without love? Not one individual wishes to bring their children into a world full of hate. The author suggests to do everything for the next generation. Regardless if you are expecting a child or not you have to act in such a way that they follow in your footsteps. Peace can be passed down from generation to generation if it is practice in the house hold. We have to be in touch with ourselves so we can then be in touch with others. You cannot love another if you do not know how to love

yourself.
In his final chapter, “Meditation in daily life”, the author get a very powerful message across. He teaches us the way to properly mediate. It may seem straight forward, you breathe a couple of times and clear the mind, but it is so much more than that. You have to be fully aware of what is going on around you and try to come to peace with all of that during your time of meditation. Yet, you cannot try and meditate with the mind full of anger and anxiety. During your meditation time a major key is to keep a smile on your face. As one continues to read the rest of the chapter, you can sense all of his teaching coming back into full rotation. Everything has a purpose and sometime they can overlap into another lesson to be learned. If an individual wish to have success, they much first learn how to let go of what is holding them back. Then we are free to concentrate. During meditation, concentration is a must. We can then see the problem that we have been focusing on break apart and find the answer for preventing it. One line that the author uses is, “I saw a car from New York with a bumper sticker, ‘let peace being with me.’ That’s correct. And let me begin with peace. That is also correct. (113). This quote makes the reader really have a jaw dropping moment. The way we can fix civilization is to take a deep breath, whether it be walking or sitting, and just meditate. Find the Buddha in you.