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Deeper Meaning

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I am a Catholic and this book helps me to understand the true meaning of my faith. Shows you how much we have in common. What does it mean to live a peaceful life with yourself, nature and your surrounding.

hard work, good stuff

Customer Rating:
The book is well written, a bit repetitive. The comparison of Buddha and Jesus Christ has some merit. That which he advises the reader to do sounds simple but in fact, it would take 20 years to become a good monk of either faith.

who can argue with the content of this book?

Customer Rating:
Loved the book's content - did not like the binding. One of those books that does not open easily. If there were a different version of this book, I might recommend trying that.

Illuminating

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As with his other works, Hahn's thoughts are always illuminating. I use illuminating in a very deliberate manner: he helps show us the way but is not the way(as the Buddha said, my finger may point you to the moon but my finger is not the moon). The ways of thinking expoused by both belief systems work best when they are lived. And that's his Big Idea: it is living the precepts, not thinking about them or even believing them, which is what matters. When they are lived, that is true prayer. He suggests how to do so. The book is an extended meditaion on this core idea. Good intro by Pagels.

Two Different Religions-Same Message

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In this short and effectual book, Thich Nat Hahn draws substantial paralells between two completely different religions from different spheres. He is asking us to look at the similarities rather than the differences. He is asking for inter-faith cooperation and communication. And, he is asking for tolerance and compassion, which Buddhism and Christianity, Hahn supposes, ask of us.
He also seems to be asking the narrowness and exclusivity that can be in Christianity, to create a space and a tolerance for other religions. But he says this on subtle levels, and with a consciousness that both religions are equally vital. At one point he states "It is not only true that Christians need Jesus, but Jesus needs Christians also for His energy to continue in this world" (p.73).
He is speaking of an aliveness that is dynamic in the practice of ones' faith. It is directly experiential. It is about bringing the presence of our minds, hearts, Holy Spirit, or however one chooses to frame it, directly into a practice such as a prayer or meditation.
He states this from a spiritual standpoint, not an intellectual one. He states it within a context of a mystic, not orthodox.
The reader may complain that he reframes Christianity in Buddhist terms. However, this is what is to be expected from a devout Buddhist.
He has opened his mind to creating a dialogue between two religions which seem to be at odds with each other, to effectively create peace, love, compassion, and harmony in the world. I believe this is what both Buddha and Jesus came here to teach.