No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

came quickly, just started reading but seems to be a good companion book to Siddhartha

Good book. Good message

An excellent read by Thich Nath Hanh!!!

Thich Nhat Hanh explains how suffering is an integral part of being human and how it can be transformed into happiness. Running away from it is counterintuitive. Through mindfulness, we can navigate through it without getting overwhelmed. First, we need to accept its existence by taking mindful breaths that bring our minds home to our body. In this way, our mind stops rambling. Then, to make the transformation easier, we understand the root cause of our suffering by examining ourselves first. The pain of our ancestors is ours,too, so if we heal ourselves, we are also healing them. Breathing exercises are the main practices to transform suffering into happiness. These breathing exercises are included in the last part of the book. Thic Nhat Hanh also offers how to handle life's small and big sufferings and how to sustain happiness. I enjoyed reading this book. It is a short book but packed with thought-provoking nuggets on suffering, happiness, and life. The breathing practices are easy to understand and follow. I recommend it to those who are interested in the power of breathing and the art of transforming suffering into happiness.

"Oh my happiness, oh my happiness." - Badhiya My first TNH book I read years ago was "The Miracle of Mindfulness," which I would also recommend. In that book, he emphasized concentration and single-mindedness even when doing such a mundane chore as dishes. The message runs deeper and proves that this simple and mindful tasks of attention while washing the dishes applies to all areas of our lives. You learn to live each minute of life, fully experiencing each moment. Breathing and stepping in the right direction. In the "Lotus in the Mud" we learn how to suffer (you can't avoid it). We can't simply be happy all the time, and sometimes we feel we are failing at happiness. Happiness and suffering are two sides of the proverbial coin and you cannot have spiritual currency without this fact. Poet William Blake said, "Friendship is true opposition." What he meant is life requires opposites to progress. I recall mythologist Joseph Campbell's blunt, simple and sagely advice, "As you proceed through life, following your own path, birds will shit on you. Don't bother to brush it off." Life will throw a lot of mud on you, but the Lotus is always there too. "Release your cows," your fears, your arrows. Let go. TNH illustrates that it is possible to get stuck in the mud of life. It's easy enough to notice mud all over you at all times and you project that onto everything else in the world, thus exaggerating your pain. But you must remember that it is transitory and the mud of life is necessary for the Lotus to blossom. Learn to invite the bell (explained in the book). When we invite the bell, we pause. We listen to the voice of our heart. We return to our center. Note the subtitle of this book: "The Art of Transforming Suffering." You will learn how to transform your suffering into happiness, but like all art you will have to work at it. This book helps with exercises, mantras and daily practices to find peace. Whatever hardship you are going through, I wish you peace.

One of his very best. I read the section "Ease" every day. It's the perfect instruction with examples on how to stop worrying about little things that will probably never happen, and focus on the here and now. This is a replacement copy, I read my first one so many times that it started falling apart. He is by far the best spiritual writer.

I first purchased this book in September of 2020. I don’t even remember how it found me. My first time reading through was so slow. I would read a chapter and set it down. And every time I came back to the next chapter it was exactly the words I needed to hear in that moment. I have read, and reread, and shared this book so many times since then. This is the 10th physical copy I’ve purchased (I also own it on Kindle and Audible), because it’s just so good I keep giving my copy away! The book itself is a short read, I once read the book in its entirety on a 2 hour commute (excluding the practices in the back). But I think it’s really most effective when you read and digest and put the teachings into practice.

A powerful and enlightening read. I love how thich Naht Hanh's books always bring a sense of peace and presence tp my daily life. It's like a direct transmission of wisdom. This one is extremely grounding. You should read it.