Books on the Practice

A Curated List of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Books

While we are blessed to have such an extensive library of Thay’s teachings, each one offering insights that can help liberate us from suffering and cultivate joy, the following list is a selection of titles that resonated especially deeply with our Sangha siblings. If you are new to the Plum Village Buddhist tradition, these titles might be a good place to start exploring Thay’s teachings. If you are already familiar with Thay’s teachings, there might be a new title or two on here that can help you walk the path of freedom. 

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 eyes of the Buddha himself.  

No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life

In No Death, No Fear, the acclaimed teacher and poet Thích Nhất Hạnh examines our concepts of death, fear, and the very nature of existence. Through Zen parables, guided meditations, and personal stories, he explodes traditional myths of how we live and die, showing us a way to live a life unfettered by fear. 

The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now

In this important volume Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh reveals an art of living in mindfulness that helps us answer life’s deepest questions and experience the happiness and freedom we desire. Thích Nhất Hạnh presents seven transformative meditations that open up new perspectives on our lives, our relationships and our interconnectedness with the world around us. Based on the last full talks before his sudden hospitalization, and drawing on intimate examples from his own life, Thích Nhất Hạnh shows us how these seven meditations can free us to live a happy, peaceful and active life, and face aging and dying with curiosity and joy and without fear.

No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

The secret to happiness is to acknowledge and transform suffering, not to run away from it. In No Mud, No Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh offers practices and inspiration to transform suffering and find true joy. 

Essential Writings

Zen master, poet, monk and peace advocate, Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who lived in exile in France for over 30 years. Through his writings and retreats he has helped countless people of all religious backgrounds to live mindfully in the present moment, to uproot sources of anger and distrust, and to achieve relationships of love and understanding. This book features Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Essential Writings.

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, now revised with added material and new insights, Thích Nhất Hạnh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha’s teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives. Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike.

Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness

Transformation and Healing contains the teachings from The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness are fundamental to the practice of meditation, and constitute the foundation of all mindfulness practice. The Sutra has been studied, practiced and handed down with special care from generation to generation for 2,500 years. In his commentaries Thich Nhat Hanh guides the reader to an understanding of the fundamental basis of the Buddhist practice and encourages application in daily life.

Awakening the Heart: Essential Buddhist Sutras and Commentaries

Awakening of the Heart is a comprehensive, single volume collection of the Buddha’s key sutras, translated with contemporary commentary by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh. Awakening of the Heart captures the heart of Buddhist wisdom and Thích Nhất Hạnh’s unique talent to make the Buddha’s teachings accessible and applicable to our daily lives and times. This is a wonderful gift for anyone looking to deepen their practice and understanding of the teachings, as well as a unique resource to understand the fundamentals of Buddhism from its source. 

Being Peace

One of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s first books published in the United States, Being Peace was intended for peace activists and as a commentary on the peace movement of the time. Now translated into more than 30 languages and with half a million copies sold, it has since become an indispensable guide for anyone concerned about the state of the world and the quality of our lives. Thầy’s message of “being peace in order to make more peace” is more relevant than ever. Being Peace contains Thích Nhất Hạnh’s key practices and is filled with practical suggestions for how to create a more peaceful world “right in the moment we are alive.” Many of the hallmarks of Thích Nhất Hạnh appear here for the first time, in his trademark clear and steady style.

Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices

Thich Nhat Hanh’s central teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live in the present moment instead of in the past and in the future. It’s only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world. Now, for the first time, all of Thich Nhat Hanh’s key practices are collected in one accessible and easy-to-use volume. Happiness is structured to introduce those new to Buddhist teachings as well as for more experienced practitioners, Happiness is the quintessential resource of mindfulness practices. Integrating these practices into daily life allows the reader to begin to cultivate peace and joy within him/herself, leading to solidity and freedom from fear, misunderstanding, and suffering. 

Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

With exquisite simplicity, Buddhist monk and Vietnam refugee Thích Nhất Hạnh gives tools and advice for transforming relationships, focusing energy, and rejuvenating those parts of ourselves that have been laid waste by anger. His extraordinary wisdom can transform your life and the lives of the people you love, and in the words of Thích Nhất Hạnh, can give each reader the power “to change everything.” 

Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

Fear is destructive, a pervasive problem we all face. Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, scholar,  peace activist, and one of the foremost spiritual leaders in the world—a gifted teacher who was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—Thích Nhất Hạnh has written a powerful and practical strategic guide to overcoming our debilitating uncertainties and personal terrors 

Additional Titles

Below are some other titles written by some of Thich Nhat Hanh’s disciples that continue his wisdom in such a beautiful way.

Calm in the Storm: Zen Ways to Cultivate Stability in an Anxious World by Brother Phap Huu and Jo Confino

In an age marked by climate anxiety, social fragmentation, and unrelenting pressure to perform, Calm in the Storm is a much-needed anchor. This deeply compassionate guide invites readers to cultivate inner stability in a world that often feels on the brink. Rather than offering quick fixes or bypassing pain, Zen teacher Brother Pháp Hữu and sustainability expert Jo Confino draw on timeless teachings to help readers meet the chaos of modern life with grounded presence and resilience. 

Nothing to It: Ten Ways to Be at Home with Yourself by Brother Phap Hai

In Nothing To It, Brother Phap Hai brings his characteristic warmth and humor to explore the many different gates to transformation offered by Buddhism. A gate is a teaching, practice, or way of looking at things. Each gate is an invitation to consider a new frame of reference through which we can consider our situation, an opportunity to look at things differently. Readers who enjoyed Bhante Gunaratana’s Mindfulness in Plain English will delight in this new explanation from the Australian-born senior monk of Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California. 

We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption by Kaira Jewel Lingo

We all go through times when it feels like the ground is being pulled out from under us. What we relied on as steady and solid may change or even appear to vanish. Not only are loss and separation painful, but even positive changes can cause great stress. Yet life is full of change: birth, death, marriage, divorce; a new relationship; losing or starting a job; beginning a new phase in life or ending one. Change is stressful, even when it is much desired or anticipated—the unknown can feel scary and threatening. In We Were Made for These Times, experienced mindfulness teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo imparts accessible advice on navigating difficult times of transition, drawing on Buddhist teachings on impermanence to help you establish equanimity and resilience. 

The Eight Realizations of Great Beings: Essential Buddhist Wisdom for Realizing Your Full Potential by Brother Phap Hai

A Buddhist monk’s pithy guide to the Buddha’s instructions for greatness, The Eight Realizations of Great Beings assures us that anyone, anywhere can walk the path of mindfulness, and embody the powerful insights that make us “great.” The Buddha essentially says, “If you would like to be enlightened, take on these eight subjects for meditation and apply their corresponding insights to your daily life. Then you will realize the path for yourself.” Brother Phap Hai’s lively, down-to-earth explanation of spirituality’s original self-help manual makes this an essential read for all seeking to unlock the important things in life.

Parallax Press

Parallax Press  is the publishing house of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc. (formerly known as the Unified Buddhist Church), a registered 501(c)3 organization. 

Parallax Press publishes books and media on the art of mindful living and Engaged Buddhism. Committed to offering teachings that help transform suffering and injustice, their aspiration is to contribute to collective insight, awakening and bringing about a more joyful, healthy, and compassionate society.

A nonprofit publisher cofounded by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh and Arnold Kotler in 1986, it was established with the publication of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s book Being Peace. 

Their bestselling books have sold more than 100,000 copies and are available in 35 languages in countries around the world, with each title focused on nourishing happiness and showing the connection between the inner and outer work for peace and an ethical, sustainable, and beautiful way of life.

The Mindfulness Bell

The Mindfulness Bell, created and distributed by Parallax Press, is a journal of the art of mindful living.

The Mindfulness Bell is an inspiration and teaching resource for those practicing mindfulness in daily life. Each issue features a teaching by our teacher, Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Giving

Parallax Press’s ongoing Prison Practitioner Book Program provides free books to people who would otherwise find it difficult or impossible to obtain access to materials on mindfulness, compassion, transformation, healing, and freedom. They have been sending books and issues of The Mindfulness Bell to schools, community projects, and prisons for over 25 years. When buying directly from Parallax Press, you help them continue to publish essential teachings and pass the jewels of mindfulness to more people who need access to them.

Shopping

In addition to modern pieces, Parallax also offers traditional Buddhist texts, calligraphies, journals, cards, calendars, clothing and meditation supplies.

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