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No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering Paperback – December 2, 2014
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Thich Nhat Hanh acknowledges that because suffering can feel so bad, we try to run away from it or cover it up by consuming. We find something to eat or turn on the television. But unless we’re able to face our suffering, we can’t be present and available to life, and happiness will continue to elude us.
Nhat Hanh shares how the practices of stopping, mindful breathing, and deep concentration can generate the energy of mindfulness within our daily lives. With that energy, we can embrace pain and calm it down, instantly bringing a measure of freedom and a clearer mind.
No Mud, No Lotus introduces ways to be in touch with suffering without being overwhelmed by it. "When we know how to suffer," Nhat Hanh says, "we suffer much, much less." With his signature clarity and sense of joy, Thich Nhat Hanh helps us recognize the wonders inside us and around us that we tend to take for granted and teaches us the art of happiness.
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherParallax Press
- Publication dateDecember 2, 2014
- Dimensions5.38 x 0.33 x 8 inches
- ISBN-101937006859
- ISBN-13978-1937006853
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Editorial Reviews
Review
—H.H. The Dalai Lama
"Regardless of what spiritual or religious beliefs you might hold, this little book holds the promise that we can blossom as human beings if we recognize the growth that can come from the “mud” in our lives."
—Orange County Health Psychologists
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The process of healing begins when we breathe in. There is no way to healing; healing is the way. When we breathe in mindfully, we bring our mind home to our body and there is a reunification of body and mind. That can happen in just a few seconds.
When we bring our mind home to our body, we stop our thinking. There is always a mental discourse going on in our mind, which can carry us away from the here and the now. Thinking can be productive, but most of our thinking is not productive. You may be lost in your thinking. Also your regret and sorrow about the past can stop, as well as your fear, worries, and uncertainty about the future. So just breathing in mindfully brings you a lot of freedom. In just a few seconds you get freedom from the past, from the future, from your thinking and your projects.
If you continue to breathe in and out in awareness, you can maintain that state of freedom. If you have to make a decision, it's much better to make a decision when you are free, rather than to make a decision under the influence of your fear, anger, regret, and worries. Freedom is possible. And freedom is obtained when you begin to breathe in mindfully.
It's difficult for healing to take place when we’re under pressure, tension, and stress in our body and mind. There’s always a kind of energy pushing us to run. Many of us believe that happiness is not possible here and now. Most of us believe that happiness is possible in the future, so we try to run into the future and get some conditions of happiness that we don’t have in the here and the now. According to the teaching and practice offered by the Buddha, we already have enough or more than enough conditions to be happy in the here and the now. If you breathe in and bring your mind home to your body, you'll be established in the present moment and you'll recognize the many conditions of happiness that you already have.
Releasing Tension in the Body
The first domain of mindfulness is the breath and the body. Being aware of our in-breath and out-breath is a very simple exercise, but the effect is very great. It can stop our thinking, worries, and fears, and it brings us a lot of freedom. When we focus our attention on our in-breath and out-breath, not only can we enjoy our breathing, but we are established in the here and the now, we can be in touch with many wonders of life within and around us, and the process of healing can start. Next we become aware of the whole body and release the tension in the body. While taking care of the body we produce freedom and joy, because body is linked to mind.
Not Running Away from Pain
Most of us don’t want to be with our pain. We’re afraid of being overwhelmed by it, so we stry to run away from our pain. There’s loneliness, fear, anger, and despair in us so we don't feel it’s pleasant to go home to ourselves and encounter these energies. Most of us try to cover up by consuming. We look for something to eat or we turn on the television. Even if the program isn’t interesting we don’t have the courage to turn it off because we don’t want to go back and encounter the pain inside. The marketplace provides us with many items to help us to cover the suffering inside.
According to this teaching and practice, we should try to go home and take care of the pain. There is a way to go home without fear of being overwhelmed by the pain and that is by generating the energy of mindfulness. With the energy of mindfulness you go home to the pain and embrace it, the way a mother holds her baby when it suffers. So the mother represents the energy of mindfulness, and the baby our painful feeling. If we are a beginner in the practice, we may borrow that energy from our brothers and sisters in the practice. "Dear Sangha, here is my pain, here is my sorrow. Please help embrace it for me." Everyone will be breathing in and out and supporting you in recognizing and embracing the pain inside. That’s why practicing with a Sangha is much easier. The sangha can generate a powerful collective energy of mindfulness that can help you to recognize and embrace your pain. Later on you can do it for yourself when you have got some relief.
Practicing mindful walking, mindful breathing, you generate the energy of mindfulness. With that energy you recognize the painful feeling in you and you embrace it tenderly. You lullaby and calm the painful feeling.
Handling Strong Emotions
Most young people haven’t learned how to handle a strong emotion, like anger, fear, or despair. So they believe that the only way to end the suffering is to kill themselves or kill someone else. We as parents or teachers can master the practice of handling strong emotions so we can transmit it to the young people.
When a strong emotion comes, we should stop whatever we’re doing and take care of it. The practice is simple. Lie down, you put your hand on your belly, and begin to breathe. You may also do this while sitting in an upright position. Stop the thinking. Don’t allow your awareness to be on the level of the mind. Bring your mind down to the level of your abdomen. When you look at a tree in a storm, if you focus your attention on the top of the tree, it seems the tree is so vulnerable and fragile and could be broken at any time. But when you direct your attention down to the trunk of the tree, you see that the tree is deeply rooted in the soil and can withstand the storm. Your belly is the trunk of the tree and your mind is the top of the tree. In the time of a strong emotion we have to bring our mind down to our trunk, our abdomen, and focus all our attention on the rise and fall of the abdomen. Breathing in, notice the rising of your abdomen. Breathing out, notice the falling of your abdomen. Breathe deeply, and focus your attention only on your in-breath and out-breath. If you’re aware of anything, it's that an emotion is just an emotion and that you’re much much more than one emotion. You are body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. The territory of your being is large. One emotion is nothing. An emotion comes, stays for a while, and then it goes away. Tell the young person: "Why should you die just because of one emotion? You can learn now how to handle a strong emotion. Then later on when a strong emotion comes again, you'll be able to handle it.”
We shouldn’t wait until the strong emotion comes to begin learning. It may be too late. The emotion will carry you away. So we have to begin the practice today, the practice of deep breathing, stopping our thinking, and just focusing our attention on the rising and falling of our abdomen. As we continue the breathing, the emotion will not be able to push us to do something destructive. When you survive the emotion, you will have confidence that you can handle it the next time. Even if your child is only five or seven, he or she can have a strong emotion. Take his hand and say, "Darling, let's breathe together. Breathing in, you know your belly is rising," and you create something like a guided meditation and the child will follow you. You can channel to the child your energy of mindfulness. Teachers can also do this in school.
We are much more than one emotion. Emotion is something impermanent. It comes and goes. If during the time of the emotion, you have that insight, it will save you. If you can remind the young person of that insight, you save his or her life.
The Art of Suffering
When we practice mindful deep breathing like that for a few weeks, it will become a habit. And when a painful feeling or emotion arises, we’ll remember to practice, and we will very easily handle a strong emotion or a painful feeling. This is the art of suffering. There are exercises to create happiness; that is the art of happiness. And there are exercises for handling suffering; that is the art of suffering. When you know how to suffer, you suffer much much less. And you can make good use of your suffering in order to create understanding and compassion.
Does the Buddha Suffer?
When I was a young monk, I believed that after enlightenment the Buddha didn’t suffer anymore. So I naively wondered, "What’s the use of becoming a Buddha if you continue to suffer?" The Buddha did suffer, because he had a body, feelings, perceptions, just like all of us. Sometimes he had a headache or suffered from rheumatism. If he happened to eat something that wasn’t well cooked, he might have idigestive problems. So he suffered physically. And when he saw the suffering of his disciples or when one of his beloved disciples died, of course he suffered. How can you not suffer when a dear disciple has just died? The Buddha was not a stone. He was a human being. But because the Buddha had a lot of insight, wisdom, and compassion, he suffered much less. He knew how to suffer. We have learned that if we know how to suffer, we will suffer much less. This is a very important lesson.
The second question I had was, "Why did the Buddha continue practicing sitting meditation and walking meditation after enlightenment? He was already a Buddha, so why did he need to practice?" When I grew up I discovered the answer. Happiness is impermanent, like everything else. And in order for happiness to last you have to learn how to feed your happiness. Because nothing can survive without food, so your happiness can die if you don't know how to nourish it.
Suffering and Happiness Inter-are
There is a deep connection between suffering and happiness. Happiness and suffering inter-are. They’re like the left and the right of this sheet of paper. The left is not the right, but without the right, the left cannot be. You cannot remove the left from the right. They inter-are. They cannot be by themselves alone. They have to inter-be with each other. That is the teaching of interbeing. You cannot be by yourself alone, you have to inter-be with everything else.
This flower is teaching us interbeing. She is giving a Dharma talk. If you look deeply into a flower you see that a flower is made only of non-flower elements. In this flower there is a cloud. A cloud is not a flower. But without a cloud, a flower cannot be. There is no rain and no flower can grow. You don't have to be a poet in order to see a cloud floating in a flower. It's really there. And there is sunshine. Sunshine is not flower, but without sunshine no flower is possible. Anmd if we continue to look, we see many other things like the earth and the minerals. Without them a flower cannot be.
So it is true that a flower is made only of non-flower elements. A flower cannot be by herself alone. A flower can only inter-be with non-flower elements. You cannot remove the sunshine, the soil, and the cloud from the flower.
The same thing is true with suffering and happiness. When you grow lotus flowers you know that lotus flowers need to grow in mud. You can’t grow lotus on marble. When you look into the lotus flower you see the mud inside. Smile to the mud in the lotus.
We know that happiness is made of non-happiness elements. Happiness is a kind of flower. She is made of non-happiness elements. It's like a lotus is made of non-lotus elements, including the mud.
The Goodness of Suffering
When we get in touch with suffering, understanding will arise. Understanding suffering will bring about compassion. It’s understanding and compassion that can heal you, that can make a person happy, that can make a person a real human being. A human being without understanding and compassion cannot be a happy person. Without compassion and understanding you are utterly alone, cut off. You can’t relate to other human beings. Understanding and compassion are possible only when you come in touch with suffering. Without the mud, there is no lotus flower. Without suffering, there can be no understanding and compassion. You can make good use of suffering to generate these two energies. Understanding means first of all to understand sufferingthe suffering inside and then the suffering of others. It with the mud of suffering that we can create the lotus of understanding and compassion. No mud, no lotus. This is very clear.
Product details
- Publisher : Parallax Press; 1st edition (December 2, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1937006859
- ISBN-13 : 978-1937006853
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.38 x 0.33 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Zen Spirituality
- #4 in Zen Philosophy (Books)
- #23 in Meditation (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022) was a Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, and peace activist and one of the most revered and influential spiritual teachers in the world. Born in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. His work for peace and reconciliation during the war in Vietnam moved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. In Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh founded Van Hanh Buddhist University and the School of Youth for Social Service, a corps of Buddhist peace workers. Exiled as a result of his work for peace, he continued his humanitarian efforts, rescuing boat people and helping to resettle refugees. In 1982 he established Plum Village France, the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the hub of the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Over seven decades of teaching, he published a hundred books, which have been translated into more than forty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide.
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Customers find the book easy to read and simple to understand. They find the meditation ideas useful and sensible. The book helps them accept suffering and painful situations as a way to bring the fruit of transformation. Many describe it as powerful and effective. Readers appreciate the fast-paced yet peaceful pacing. They mention the breathing exercises, walking meditation, and mantras are all covered. Opinions differ on the length - some find it short and sweet, while others say it's a great long read to bring your focus into view.
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Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They appreciate the simple writings that touch their minds deeply. The language is clear and effective, making it a good place to start for anyone.
"...Han has a tremendous gift for presenting complex concepts with delightful simplicity...." Read more
"...But I think it’s really most effective when you read and digest and put the teachings into practice." Read more
"...The breathing practices are easy to understand and follow...." Read more
"This book is awesome! Highly recommend!" Read more
Customers find the meditation ideas in the book useful and helpful. They say it opens their minds to a way of living in the now. The book teaches them to live a peaceful and happy life without having to change their habits. Readers appreciate the simple yet profound lessons, saying the book is transformative and inspiring.
"...is by far a book anyone looking to change their thinking and find peace should read. It is must have." Read more
"Thich Nhat Han has a tremendous gift for presenting complex concepts with delightful simplicity...." Read more
"...a short book but packed with thought-provoking nuggets on suffering, happiness, and life. The breathing practices are easy to understand and follow...." Read more
"...Thich Nhat Hanh’s insights on turning pain into growth are incredibly inspiring...." Read more
Customers find the book helpful in accepting suffering and painful situations as a way to bring transformation. They say it's a great book for anyone suffering or trying to make sense of a difficult situation. The book helps them understand and embrace their suffering, leading to a more peaceful and compassionate life. Readers mention it's an essential tool in helping them deal with the pain and suffering that comes from just living.
"...but packed with thought-provoking nuggets on suffering, happiness, and life. The breathing practices are easy to understand and follow...." Read more
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"...sensible suggestions to receptive minds as to how to really surrender grief and sorrow, upset, anxiety, anger to New Tools for managing, and..." Read more
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Customers find the book helpful and effective. They say it's simple yet powerful, with practical applications and great techniques for living a full life. The book provides a good overview of practice and offers practical advice for living a full and meaningful life.
"...Way to live and perform miracles each day." Read more
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Customers appreciate the book's pacing. They find it fast-paced yet contemplative, with a steady and peaceful pace that reminds them to slow down and think about their thoughts and actions. The phrasing is soothing and gentle, making it a great positive message to start any day. Overall, customers describe the book as a state-of-the-art meditation book that is highly respected throughout the world.
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"...Just the pacing of his phrasing is soothing in itself; meanwhile the content is simplistic in its messaging: be aware, and be mindful...." Read more
"...for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King and is very respected throughout the world...." Read more
Customers enjoy the breathing exercises in the book. They find the exercises helpful for focusing on their breath and being present. The book helps them connect with their breath and feel more connected to themselves.
"...It is a practical guide to using meditation and breath work in every day life to keep yourself grounded despite suffering." Read more
"...Overall, I find the book useful and now I always remember to be present by breathing consciously." Read more
"Some great breathing exercises" Read more
"...Breathing exercises, walking meditation and mantras are all covered, albeit briefly...." Read more
Customers have different views on the book length. Some find it short and sweet, saying it's a great read to bring focus into view. Others appreciate the simple yet powerful content.
"...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)...." Read more
"...I enjoyed reading this book. It is a short book but packed with thought-provoking nuggets on suffering, happiness, and life...." Read more
"...The book is short, but I like this because it's a type of book that you get more out of it through further readings...." Read more
"This is a short book, but take your time reading it, so to let it sink it and practice" Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2024This is by far a book anyone looking to change their thinking and find peace should read. It is must have.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2024Thich Nhat Han has a tremendous gift for presenting complex concepts with delightful simplicity.
The title "No Mud, No Lotus" says it all, but one of my favorite parts of the book is his elucidation of the mantra, "You are partly right."
- Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2024I 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.
5.0 out of 5 stars This book can change your lifeI 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!
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2024
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.
Images in this review - Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2022Thich 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.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024This is a short book, but take your time reading it, so to let it sink it and practice
- Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2024"No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering" is a life-changer! Thich Nhat Hanh’s insights on turning pain into growth are incredibly inspiring. His gentle wisdom and practical advice helped me find peace and resilience. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to navigate life's challenges with grace.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2024This is the 3rd book I've read by Thich Nhat Hanh. I enjoy his books. If I start to feel lost in everyday life, his words help me find myself
- Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017"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.
Top reviews from other countries
- ReerieReviewed in Canada on January 11, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ.
It is Thich Nhat Hahn... amazing and wise man nothing else needs to be said.
- Mauro CavinaReviewed in Brazil on July 12, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading, deep wisdom.
Thich Nhat Hanh has the hability of making meditation and mindfulness concepts easy to understand and practice.
It is a valuable reading.
- KeerthivasanReviewed in India on October 24, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy the suffering
The book teaches how to manage each one's suffering. The guidelines provided in the book helps us to understand and manage their personal's sufferings.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Sweden on March 4, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book.
I bought this book after reading the rave reviews here on Amazon. It's great! Helpful in understanding suffering and how to process it. Thank you!
- Silvia ReyesReviewed in Mexico on June 27, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Loved it, a new way of knowing how to meditate and here yourself and im applying it to my family.