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Opening the Heart of the Cosmos: Insights on the Lotus Sutra Hardcover – October 28, 2003

by Thich Nhat Hanh (Author)

4.8 50 ratings

Stamped with his signature depth of vision, lucidity, and clarity, Thich Nhat Hanh's insights based on the wisdom of the Lotus Sutra invoke a wide range of contemporary topics and concerns. He demonstrates the practical and direct applicability of Buddhist teachings to today's issues, from the Palestinian-Israeli tragedy to the threat of terrorism and the degradation of our environment.

Opening the Heart of the Cosmos shines sixty years of study and practice upon one of the crowning scriptures of the path of the Buddha. It is destined to be known as one of the most significant writings by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Print length

216 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Parallax Press
Publication date

October 28, 2003
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

1888375337
ISBN-13

978-1888375336
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Parallax Press (October 28, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1888375337
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1888375336
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,982,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,597 in Zen Spirituality

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Thich Nhat Hanh

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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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Paula M. Toth

Revelation

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2023

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This is a practice of a lifetime! This book comes to me at just the right time in my life after 25 years of meditation and study, I have long felt Buddha Nature was the true face of all existence. Here is the confirmation!

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Incantessimo

Excellent, easy to read commentary on important sutra

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2004

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In this book, Nhat Hanh turns his eye towards the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important sutras for Mahayana Buddhists. Despite its importance, the Lotus Sutra is very difficult to read straight-out, although good translations exist (see Hurvitz and the recent edition "The Threefold Lotus Sutra" put out by Kosei). Just diving into a translation may leave you feeling a bit confused, and some early commentaries are just as inaccessible to beginners.
Hence the value of this book. Placing the Lotus sutra in its historical context (around the time when Mahayana Buddhism was just emerging, and had to distinguish itself from non-Mahayana schools, which it terms "Hinayana" or "Lesser Vehicle"), Nhat Hanh illuminates why this sutra is so important and revelational. In short, this is the sutra in which it was firmly proclaimed that _everyone_ could become a fully enlightened buddha.
Previously, the primary goal of early Buddhism had been to become a saint ("arhat"), liberated from samsara, with the joy of nirvana, but not an actual buddha oneself. Moreover, this path was restricted to renunciant monks, and not open to everyone. In this sutra, the Buddha proclaims that he taught this as a skillful means, because if he had said right away that people could attain buddhahood, no one would believe it. Now, however, the time being right, and people having understood the basics of the Four Noble Truths, etc., he could give this profound teaching. All the teachings and vehicles (Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, Bodhisattvayana, etc.) point to the one single vehicle: the buddhayana, the path to full buddhahood for all sentinent beings.
Because the language of the sutra itself is quite difficult and full of very elaborate imagery that can confuse or mystify the reader, the commentary provided in this book by Nhat Hanh is essential to clarifying the points and getting at the essence of what the sutra is saying. He explains how one can read the sutra along two dimensions -- the historical dimension, and the ultimate dimension. If one does not read it in such a way, and takes everything as literal (historical), it will result in a whole lot of confusion.
So, this book is for students of Buddhism who are interested in reading some actual sutras, but who are not so intellectually hard-core that they feel they are "above" reading this commetnary by a monk who seems, on the surface, very simple and non-academic. (Actually, he is a great scholar himself -- see "The Heart of the Buddha's Understanding" for the best introduction to Mahayana Buddhism around). Note that this book does _not_ contain the actual text of the Lotus Sutra, which is very long. Find one of the translations (noted above) and read it along with this commentary, and you will find it very beneficial, I am sure!
Enjoy.

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Doug M

Excellent, approachable commentaries on the sutra

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2009

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I've read the Lotus Sutra a number of times over the years, but found it's vivid, bombastic language and metaphors difficult to understand. The importance of the Lotus Sutra to East Asian Buddhism is easy to underestimate, so I am really glad I read Thich Nhat Hanh's commentaries. The commentaries do not contain a copy of the Lotus Sutra itself, though it does delve into each chapter with a summary and important points to note. For me, I read them concurrently with Bunno Kato's translation of the Lotus Sutra, chapter by chapter, and it helped immensely, especially in the later chapters of the Sutra, which delve into difficult teachings, and stories of various Bodhisattvas.

The commentaries take a somewhat unusual approach to group certain disparate chapters into a single commentary if they have a common theme, while some chapters, such as the 25th chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva span several chapters. This can be confusing initially, especially if like me, you are trying to read chapter by chapter, but I think Thich Nhat Hanh's approach has a good flow overall, and really gets the message of the Sutra across to readers. I really found myself appreciating the Sutra a lot more than I did before.

Given that the sutra plays such an integral part culturally and religiously in East Asian Buddhism (including Zen, Pure Land, esoteric Buddhism and so on), it's worth the time and effort to explore the teaching and absorb some of the metaphors and similes. I believe it helps demystify some aspects East Asian Buddhism and culture.

9 people found this helpful

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D. Williams

An excellent and classic Zen Buddhist book for one's collection

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2022

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For me a practicing Zen Buddhist practitioner since 1986, I found this book a classic and helpful in an easy way to understand the teaching and importance of the Lotus Sutra. The author writes in a way that is easy to understand and apply the teachings to one's life. One can't go wrong with this book particularly if they are looking to better understand and experience the Lotus Sutra.

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andiecho

So Beautiful wonderful and profound teaching

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2017

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So Beautiful wonderful and profound teaching
Thank you for Dear Thay to convey this profound message to us with such a easy way.

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2017

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Highly Recommended! Easy to read and understand. Insights and teachings you only get from a few Buddhist teachers, my favourite Thich's book so far.
A must for Nirvana seekers.

2 people found this helpful

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Barbara J. Crowley

Wonderful book. The first of many of the Thich ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2015

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Wonderful book. The first of many of the Thich Nhat Hang books I have read. Borrowed from the library the first time I read it, but had to buy it so I could read it again and again.

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J. O. Williams

A must read companion to the Lotus Sutra

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2007

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If you really want to read and understand the Lotus Sutra on a deeper level I highly recommend this commentary of Thay's(Thich Nhat Hanh). For the actual Sutra this is a good translation: The Lotus Sutra

7 people found this helpful

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