How to Relax – Thich Nhat Hanh: Review and Summary

This book, the fifth in the best-selling Mindfulness Essentials series, takes readers back to the fundamentals of mindfulness practice and is written by world-renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. When we relax, we “become calm water, and we will reflect reality as it is,” according to Thich Nhat Hanh. The picture we reflect will be warped if we are not at peace.

It is not reality when our imaginations distort the vision, and it leads to a great deal of sorrow. To achieve the peace and happiness that result in improved personal well-being, relaxation is necessary. How to Relax contains meditations that can help you feel the advantages of relaxation wherever you are.

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It covers topics such as healing, respite from constant thoughts, converting unwanted sounds, isolation, being at peace, and more. Research shows that meditation significantly improves longevity, overall health, and well-being.

About the Author

Born in Vietnam in 1926, Thich Nhat Hanh became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. He taught for seven decades, publishing more than 100 books that have sold over four million copies in the United States alone.

He was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for advocating for peace, and his teachings on Buddhism as a means of bringing about social and political change are credited with introducing the mindfulness movement to Western culture.

Hanh founded the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, which is currently the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the hub of an expanding global community of mindfulness practice centres. He died in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.

Review

The Mindfulness Essentials has been included on the New York Times extended bestseller list, the Boston Globe bestseller list, the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller list, the NPR bestseller list, and the LA Times bestseller list.

The monk who taught mindfulness to the world.
TIME

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The relationship between inner peace and world peace is demonstrated by Thich Nhat Hanh.
According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man because he is pious and modest. He is a scholar with a vast amount of intelligence. If his peaceful intentions were implemented, they would create a monument to humanity, ecumenism, and universal brotherhood.
Martin Luther King Jr.

How to Relax challenges our fast-paced culture’s seeming incapacity to pause and appreciate the little things in life. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, we can centre ourselves and meditate anywhere—in front of the TV, in our office seats, or even on a packed train—by incorporating mindfulness and appreciation into our daily lives through his simple teaching methods and straightforward delivery.

Summary

It might be difficult to discover inner peace in our fast-paced environment. Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh examines mindfulness-based methods for fostering calm and renewal in his book How to Relax.

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Thich Nhat Hanh walks the reader through the process of learning how to relax and decompress by using techniques like body scans, mindful breathing, and using your senses to focus on the present. In order to experience joy, he also talks on the need of letting go of attachments and relying on a network of support.

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