Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Publisher Unknown
Description
World famous Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh has inspired millions of readers in the practice of mindful living. Never before, however, have his renowned calligraphy artworks been collected in book form. THIS MOMENT IS FULL OF WONDERS collects more than 60 full-color artworks by the beloved figure in a richly textured hardcover package. As beautiful as they are inspirational, the ink-rendered phrases offer eloquent distillations of Buddhist wisdom, such as 'Peace is every step,' 'Be free where you are,' and 'Smile to the cloud in your tea' - seemingly simple sayings that resonate with meaning. Interspersed throughout the book are iconic passages from his best-known writings, printed on semitransparent overlays that faintly obscure, then illuminate, the artworks beneath. At once a tool for personal growth and a visual treasure, THIS MOMENT IS FULL OF WONDERS will delight spiritual seekers of all backgrounds, now and for years to come.… (more)
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member Clara53
A friend who gave me this book didn't even suspect how much of a treasure such a book would be to me, but intuitively she picked it... This book takes no more than 10 min. to read - but it gives you an inspiration of a lifetime. Of course, it has to be read slowly, a page at a time, stopping at
Show More
every page to absorb its meaning. Beautifully done, the book is a collection of ZEN calligraphy phrases by one of the great Buddhist masters Thich Nhat Hanh. I know him from a wonderful breathing meditation session I heard on a CD. Here too, he talks about breathing, mindfulness, the present moment, and letting go. I know I will return to the pages of this book again and again (!). Show Less
LibraryThing member mysterymax
How disappointing! I was really looking forward to this ER selection. Why am I disappointed? The 'calligraphy' is just Englsih script written with a broad brush, nothing unusual. The 'beautiful' text, might be beautiful but it is unreadable. It is in tiny tiny print, thin lined, pale pale ink on
Show More
cream paper. I'm sending the book to a friend in the hopes that she will enjoy it. My 2.5 star rating is overly generous. Show Less
LibraryThing member kcshankd
Injunctive zen. Breathe. Listen. Go as a river. Plain advice from Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese monk that emigrated to France after the American War. Sit. Listen. Be free where you are.
LibraryThing member sullijo
I first encountered the writings of Thích Nhất Hạnh in high school when I became interested in Buddhism. This slim hardcover tome contains images of some of Thầy's English calligraphy accompanied by short selections from his writings and talks. As such, it is not meant so much to be read
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
Show More
from cover to cover; rather, the images and words are meant to be used in meditation and reflection. The selections included in the text give a good overview of the author's approach to compassionate Buddhism.Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mitchellray
This is a meditative book. Simply reading the brief sayings and short meditations brings calm to one’s being. The book can be a useful meditation tool. The succinct maxims may be employed as mantras and the written meditations as the focus for contemplation. This is a book filled with peace and
Show More
wisdom. Show Less
LibraryThing member auntmarge64
I don't remember requesting this book from Early Reviewers, but perhaps I did, since I'm interested in Buddhism and the author's name is familiar to me. But I'm clearly not the audience for whom the book was intended, which will his devotees and others who are interested in this type of simple
There is a short introduction in which the author explains his technique for producing the drawings, which includes breathing, stopping thoughts, drinking team, and adding some of the tea to his ink. He states that the ink, and the cloud which it once was, and his breathing, will all be visible to the viewer. The balance of the book consists of simple statements, each handwritten and surrounded by a hand-drawn circle and meant to be a "bell of mindfulness", to bring the reader back to the present and away from wherever the mind has been wandering. The cover illustration is a sample of what can be expected from the rest of the book.
Show More
presentation of aphorisms.There is a short introduction in which the author explains his technique for producing the drawings, which includes breathing, stopping thoughts, drinking team, and adding some of the tea to his ink. He states that the ink, and the cloud which it once was, and his breathing, will all be visible to the viewer. The balance of the book consists of simple statements, each handwritten and surrounded by a hand-drawn circle and meant to be a "bell of mindfulness", to bring the reader back to the present and away from wherever the mind has been wandering. The cover illustration is a sample of what can be expected from the rest of the book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member erlenmeyer316
If you’ve spent anytime researching or studying Zen Mindfulness, comparative religion, monasticism or non-violence you’ve probably heard of Thich Nhat Hanh (affectionately called Thay). He’s been a hugely influential, worldwide leader in all of these areas since the early 60’s.
I was
After reading a few of Thay’s books I have sort of noticed a hit and miss pattern for myself. His work is extremely accessible compared to Merton’s. It’s far less esoteric and abstract which makes the benefits of Zen Mindfulness far more approachable regardless of a person’s religious tradition or background. Thay’s approach lacks the religious overtones of other Buddhist teachers like D.T. Suzuku.
At the same time much of Thay’s work is terrible repetitive within single works and across multiple works. I can’t recall how many times I’ve read the following in Thay’s books.
Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Breathing in, I notice my breath has become deep.
Breathing out, I notice my breath has become slow.
Breathing in, I calm my body and my mind.
Breathing out, I am at ease.
Breathing in, I smile.
Breathing out, I release.
Breathing in, I got back to the present moment.
Breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment.
In, Out.
Deep. Slow.
Calm. Ease.
Smile. Release.
Present moment, Wonderful moment.
That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderful, thoughtful insides in between, but whenever anybody brings up Thay in conversation that passage pop’s into my mind. So for me Thay’s work depends on how fresh it feels v.s. over repetition of certain ideas.
I was actually very interested in this particular book because it was something that seemed really new and innovative for Thay’s type of literature. The focus would be on his artwork, Zen Calligraphy, rather than his teachings. I was previously unaware of what Zen calligraphy was or even that Thay was a practitioner. Unfortunately it disappointed me on both fronts.
This Moment is Full of Wonders is divided into five sections, each focusing on a different aspect of mindfulness like conscious breathing, mindful walking, and being present. Each section contains around ten to fifteen examples of Thay’s calligraphy and a paragraph pertaining to that chapter’s topic. Understandably the calligraphic images are short, pithy, Zen mantras like “Peace in myself, Peace in the World” and “The Moment is Now.” That written sections are very, very brief and are taken from transcripts from some of Thay’s Dharma Talks. Unfortunately they were mostly the types of Thay-ism that he repeats ad nauseum in a lot of his works.
What was strange to me is that this book isn’t really about Zen Caligraphy at all. The introduction offers no background information about what Zen Caligraphy is or entails. There are no images or discussion of the tools and processes of Zen Caligraphy or even a picture of Thay practicing the art. (I had to get on YouTube for that.) When I finished this book down I didn’t know or appreciate anything more about the history, process, purpose, benefits, or art of Zen Caligraphy or Zen Buddhism. It’s regrettable because without some of those insights I found the art form to be a bit dull and boring on it’s own.
I can’t recommend this book to anybody unless they are already knowledgeable and interested in Zen Caligraphy or are Thay completists. Honestly if you are a person that desires to read or collect Thay’s work this one is skippable. In my opinion it was clearly thrown together by a publisher without any real thought or goal in mind besides shipping a few units. I think you can gain as much, if not more, than this book offers by spending a few minutes on YouTube or Wikipedia.
I was
Show More
introduced to Thay via Thomas Merton who was also an influential Catholic Monk from my home state of Kentucky. He and Thay worked together to spread a message of non-violence during the Vietnam War. They also co-authored some books and gave lectures illuminating the roads for religious dialogue between Christian and Buddhist monastics. Since both men spoke directly to things that were important me from two traditions that I find helpful I added Thay to my list of authors to read.After reading a few of Thay’s books I have sort of noticed a hit and miss pattern for myself. His work is extremely accessible compared to Merton’s. It’s far less esoteric and abstract which makes the benefits of Zen Mindfulness far more approachable regardless of a person’s religious tradition or background. Thay’s approach lacks the religious overtones of other Buddhist teachers like D.T. Suzuku.
At the same time much of Thay’s work is terrible repetitive within single works and across multiple works. I can’t recall how many times I’ve read the following in Thay’s books.
Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Breathing in, I notice my breath has become deep.
Breathing out, I notice my breath has become slow.
Breathing in, I calm my body and my mind.
Breathing out, I am at ease.
Breathing in, I smile.
Breathing out, I release.
Breathing in, I got back to the present moment.
Breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment.
In, Out.
Deep. Slow.
Calm. Ease.
Smile. Release.
Present moment, Wonderful moment.
That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderful, thoughtful insides in between, but whenever anybody brings up Thay in conversation that passage pop’s into my mind. So for me Thay’s work depends on how fresh it feels v.s. over repetition of certain ideas.
I was actually very interested in this particular book because it was something that seemed really new and innovative for Thay’s type of literature. The focus would be on his artwork, Zen Calligraphy, rather than his teachings. I was previously unaware of what Zen calligraphy was or even that Thay was a practitioner. Unfortunately it disappointed me on both fronts.
This Moment is Full of Wonders is divided into five sections, each focusing on a different aspect of mindfulness like conscious breathing, mindful walking, and being present. Each section contains around ten to fifteen examples of Thay’s calligraphy and a paragraph pertaining to that chapter’s topic. Understandably the calligraphic images are short, pithy, Zen mantras like “Peace in myself, Peace in the World” and “The Moment is Now.” That written sections are very, very brief and are taken from transcripts from some of Thay’s Dharma Talks. Unfortunately they were mostly the types of Thay-ism that he repeats ad nauseum in a lot of his works.
What was strange to me is that this book isn’t really about Zen Caligraphy at all. The introduction offers no background information about what Zen Caligraphy is or entails. There are no images or discussion of the tools and processes of Zen Caligraphy or even a picture of Thay practicing the art. (I had to get on YouTube for that.) When I finished this book down I didn’t know or appreciate anything more about the history, process, purpose, benefits, or art of Zen Caligraphy or Zen Buddhism. It’s regrettable because without some of those insights I found the art form to be a bit dull and boring on it’s own.
I can’t recommend this book to anybody unless they are already knowledgeable and interested in Zen Caligraphy or are Thay completists. Honestly if you are a person that desires to read or collect Thay’s work this one is skippable. In my opinion it was clearly thrown together by a publisher without any real thought or goal in mind besides shipping a few units. I think you can gain as much, if not more, than this book offers by spending a few minutes on YouTube or Wikipedia.
Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
Thich Nhat Hanh takes simple meditative thoughts and uses calligraphy to express them in this beautiful gift book. Every stroke is both purposeless and purposeful. The thoughts are there to read and reread in all their complex simplicity. Lovely.
LibraryThing member FranklyMyDarling
This Moment is Full of Wonders could be described as a small coffee table book. It's perfect to pick up and randomly dip into. It radiates positive energy. The binding is lovely, as well.
LibraryThing member elenchus
A quick read, this first reading necessary I think to allow me to dip into it, focus on one or a few pages, and reflect in meditation. Closer in character to a reference book than to a novel or essay, then, not really intended to be read front to back or even linearly. We'll see if I find a means
Show More
for incorporating it into my meditation practise. Show Less