Books

Thread and Nectar

Thread and Nectar is a meditation on ways other-than-human presences—insect, bird, mammal, plant—penetrate and sustain human awareness, often mirrored in the work of human hands such as sewing, paper folding, or cooking. These poems are also a call to recognize and protect fragile webs of life damaged by war, climate change, and environmental degradation. This is a collection woven of curiosity, wonder, and care.

The Bee Maker

The year is 2036. Honeybees are nearly extinct. The world’s crops are disappearing and a young boy’s life hangs in the balance. When Melissa Bùi’s origami opens a time portal to Ancient Crete and connects her to a young athlete named Amethea, she has a chance to save both bees and boy. But she may risk blinking out of existence like the quarks her scientist father studies.

Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962-1966

Fragrant Palm Leaves reveals a vulnerable and questioning young man, a student and teaching assistant at Princeton and Columbia Universities from 1962-1963, reflecting on the many difficulties he and his fellow monks faced at home trying to make Buddhism relevant to the people’s needs. We also follow Thich Nhat Hanh as he returns to Vietnam in 1964 and helps establish the movement known as “engaged Buddhism” – starting self-help villages, a new university, a Buddhist order, and many other efforts for peace. Fragrant Palm Leaves is regarded by many Vietnamese as Thich Nhat Hanh’s most endearing book. This extraordinary translation offers Western readers a glimpse into another time and into the mind of a great thinker and activist. It gives a model of how to live fully, with awareness, during a time of challenge and upheaval.

Hermitage Among the Clouds: An Historical Novel of Fourteenth Century Vietnam

Hermitage Among the Clouds tells the story of the fourteenth century Princess Amazing Jewel, the daughter of one of Vietnam’s greatest historical Zen master kings. This beautifully written story expresses the suffering caused by war and conflict, the transformative potential of a commitment to practicing peace and building reconciliation, and the simple beauty of a spiritual life. Thich Nhat Hanh gives us a window into Vietnam’s past and at the same time, offers compelling insights about contemporary Southeast Asia and the world.

Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

Old Path White Clouds presents the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha. Drawn directly from 24 Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources, and retold by Thich Nhat Hanh in his inimitably beautiful style, this book traces the Buddha’s life slowly and gently over the course of 80 years, partly through the eyes of Svasti, the buffalo boy, and partly through the yes of the Buddha himself. Old Path White Clouds is destined to become a classic of religious literature.

The Stone Boy and Other Stories

In The Stone Boy and Other Stories, Thich Nhat Hanh’s collection of short fiction, the well known Zen monk and peace activist explores Buddhist themes of love and compassion while introducing the reader to the treasures of Vietnamese culture.

A previous edition was titled Moon Bamboo. Translated by Mobi Warren, Vo-Dinh Mai, Dinh Nghiêm, Thich Phap Canh, and Tue Nghiêm.

Eyes of Compassion: Learning from Thich Nhat Hanh

Today, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the world’s most influential and revered spiritual teachers. When Jim Forest met him in the mid-1960s, he was a little-known Vietnamese Zen monk, touring the United States on behalf of the cause of peace in his homeland. Jim, a Catholic peacemaker, was asked to accompany him on his travels and speaking engagements. From that beginning emerged a friendship over many decades, in which Jim learned through conversations and daily life about Nhat Hanh’s spiritual teachings on “mindfulness,” “interbeing,” and the inner peace that is necessary for promoting world peace. Jim Forest’s intimate portrait, which includes photos and other illustrations, is a unique introduction to the life and teachings of a modern spiritual master.