The Art of Living
Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now
By Thich Nhat Hanh
Category: Mindfulness & Happiness | Reading Duration: 23 min | Rating: 4.7/5 (483 ratings)
About the Book
The Art of Living (2017) offers wisdom on how to fully experience every moment of every day. Many of us are consumed with fears or busyness that prevent us from engaging with the wonder of life. But by expanding our understanding of existence and embracing mindfulness practices, we can overcome the obstacles that stop us from truly living.
Who Should Read This?
- Stressed-out individuals longing for peace
- Ambitious people seeking stillness
- Anyone interested in Buddhism
What’s in it for me? Learn how to make the most of your life’s every moment.
No one wants to reach the end of life only to realize they haven’t fully lived. And yet our frantic lifestyles are leading us to exactly that outcome. By rushing from place to place, or by staying glued to our screens, we’re robbing ourselves of the present moment. But the present moment is all we have.
The past is behind us, and the future is yet to come. So why do we let ourselves stay busy or distracted instead of connecting with the here and now? this summary shine a light on why we engage in this hurtful behavior – and offer a new perspective on what it means to exist. They also provide mindfulness practices that can help you discover how to truly be alive.
In this summary, you’ll learn - what really makes you so busy;
- why being aimless is healthy; and
- how to reach nirvana before you die.
Chapter 1: There is no such thing as a separate self.
What is a flower made of? The obvious answer is a stem, leaves, and petals – things you can easily see. But, in reality, there’s much more to it than this. A flower is also the soil that nurtured it, the rain that watered it, and the sun that gave it light.
Even space and time are part of its existence. If you removed any of these “nonflower” elements, the flower wouldn’t exist. Humans are no different. Your body is made of trillions of nonhuman cells that keep you alive. In fact, you have the whole cosmos inside you, from the air you breathe and the food you eat to the education and culture that shape who you are. And then there are your ancestors – generations of them spanning back through time.
If you removed any of these elements from yourself, you simply wouldn’t be. The key message here is: There is no such thing as a separate "self. " Human beings are not separate entities. Instead, every person is an interbeing – a combination of elements drawn from sources that exist across time and space. Children showcase this interbeing clearly. A child won’t just look like her parents; she’ll speak and act like them, too.
Similarly, if you look at her parents, you’ll find traces of the child. So, neither the child nor her parents are a separate “self. ” They are too deeply connected to exist independently. It’s not only our genes that make us interbeings. In fact, it doesn’t even require personal contact. Just look at Zen master and author Thich Nhat Hanh.
He doesn’t have genetic children, but if you observe his students, you’ll see that they move and speak like him. Even students who have only read his books embody traces of him. If you visualize your ancestors or the presence of your teachers while you go about your daily activities, you can connect to all existence. Reminding yourself that you’re not alone can be a great comfort, no matter what you’re going through. So whether you’re washing the dishes, working on a project, or practicing a skill, you have an opportunity to acknowledge that you are part of the living, breathing cell we call the world. And not only that – the world is part of you, too.
Chapter 2: You have always existed, and you will always exist.
Imagine looking up at a cloud drifting overhead. After turning away for a moment, you look back at the sky and notice that the cloud is gone. You conclude that the cloud no longer exists. But, of course, this isn’t true.
The cloud didn’t disappear. It simply changed into something else, like mist or rain. This is in line with the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed – it can only be transformed. Similarly, a cloud can never stop being. Instead, the cloud you saw yesterday might end up being water you’ll someday drink. Putting signs on things, like calling something a “cloud” or “person,” helps us identify parts of the world.
But if the sign no longer applies, you might assume that part of the world no longer exists. That’s why, if you want to see the full nature of existence, you need to look beyond signs. Here’s the key message: You have always existed, and you will always exist. “Birth” and “death” are signs we use to mark dates on a calendar. But these signs don’t fully represent existence. Before you were born, you existed in your mother’s womb.
And before that, the elements that made you existed in the sperm and egg that joined at your conception. These elements were present in your grandparents and ancestors as well. That means there was never a time when you didn’t exist. You were just continuously transforming into who you are today. In the same way, you’ll continue to exist after your death. Although many people see death as negative, it’s just another transformation – like the cloud that becomes rain.
In fact, death is what makes life possible because it triggers the birth of a new way of being. When our lives are touched by death, we often need time to understand what that new existence is. We feel pain, but pain is present at birth too. What makes the pain bearable is the knowledge that something new has begun.
So, by looking deeply, you’ll eventually recognize the new state of existence that comes from death. Thinking of your life as a continuous transformation helps overcome the fear of death. And when you liberate yourself from the anxiety and sorrow that death might otherwise cause, you’ll no longer see the world in terms of its signs, but rather as a rich tapestry of existence.
Chapter 3: Peace is born of stillness.
Our ancestors developed the ability to run so they could escape danger and hunt animals for food. Although most humans no longer need to run in the same way to survive, the impulse to hunt is still hardwired into our cells. All that’s changed is our target. Instead of chasing wildlife, we pursue money, love, health, and even helping others.
But in our effort to achieve these goals, we sacrifice the wonders of the present moment because our eyes are fixed on the future. We tell ourselves that there’s a reward for all our effort – that one day we’ll reach our version of heaven and be happy. But heaven is already available to us. And if we stopped running, we could enjoy it right now. The key message here is: Peace is born of stillness. If you’re constantly rushing around, or endlessly searching for something you think you don’t have, you’re not free to embrace the wonder of the present moment.
Instead of connecting with the joy of being alive, right here and now, your mind is buzzing with plans and tasks. Being in this constant state of longing prevents you from feeling at peace. To free yourself from this, practice aimlessness, a Buddhist technique of grounding yourself firmly in the moment. Aimlessness doesn’t mean you’re doing nothing. It’s a state where you let go of the desire to chase after objects or goals. Without an “aim” to chase, you’re free to be still and engage deeply with the present.
That stillness will bring you peace. It will also open your eyes to the wonder of being alive. Training yourself to stay present in the moment fills your life with joy. It also increases the quality of the lives around you. When you’re in a state of aimlessness, you’re no longer driven by the anxiety to achieve a goal. Instead, you can pay attention to your surroundings.
This will make you motivated by compassion and understanding rather than fear or greed. In this newly awakened mindset, peace restores the energy that you would otherwise have lost to busyness. That gives your wisdom and compassion the opportunity to grow.
Chapter 4: Impermanence is a blessing.
As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “You can never bathe in the same river twice. ” The water you first swam in will have moved on by the time you come back for a second dip. Similarly, you’re not the same person you were yesterday because cells in your body have died and been replaced. People tend to fear change.
We think it signals difficult times, forgetting that it also has the potential to bring happiness. Thanks to change, diseases are cured and tyrannical regimes come to an end. Even in terrible times like war, when it seems like there’s no end in sight, we can take comfort in knowing that nothing lasts forever. Here’s the key message: Impermanence is a blessing. The human body is incredible, an organism capable of wonders. It can walk and talk, think and feel.
But there will come a time when it won’t be able to do these things. Knowing that your body will one day turn into dust can help you appreciate what a gift it is. Accepting this natural transition can also help you value the present moment even more. Impermanence doesn’t just apply to physical objects. It also applies to thoughts and feelings. Because your inner landscape is constantly shifting, the “you” in this moment isn’t the same as the “you” from a moment ago.
This means that your pain and fears are impermanent, too. Knowing this will help you face difficult feelings with courage. You can be confident that, at some point, those feelings will shift. Our internal impermanence creates an opportunity for positive change. If you imagine your inner landscape as a garden, and yourself as the gardener, you can choose the aspects of yourself you want to cultivate and those you want to weed out. If you nurture the seeds of peace and happiness, these qualities will flourish in your life.
Without change, there’d be no progress. The seed would never grow into a plant, and the child would never become an adult. And while we all have seeds in our gardens that aren’t positive, like anger and fear, we can choose not to grow those characteristics. If we instead focus on developing positive traits, impermanence changes us for the better.
Chapter 5: To regain freedom, you must let go of your cravings.
Picture a fish swimming in a river and coming upon a delicious piece of bait. The fish, of course, snaps up the bait in an instant, without realizing there’s a hook inside. And just like that, the fish has lost its freedom. Cravings are just like that fish bait.
They resemble everything we dream of, but we can’t see how deeply they hook us. And instead of making us happy, all they ultimately do is cause suffering. So, if we want to feel content, we have to stop chasing the bait. The key message here is: To regain freedom, you must let go of your cravings. Everybody has cravings. The feeling of wanting something can be traced back to our deep fears of dying, which came to us in the moment of our birth.
Suddenly, our mother stopped providing us with oxygen – and we had to breathe for ourselves. This original fear for our survival stays with us as infants, so we find ways to convince adults to care for us. But even when we become capable grown-ups, the fear doesn’t go away. We long for connection, and fear abandonment, so we seek out intimate relationships to make us feel less alone. But if these aren’t accompanied by love, we end up feeling even more isolated. The difficulty with cravings is that they don’t fulfill you, even if you get exactly what you desire.
You’ll crave something more or something new, meaning you’ll never be satisfied. And so, with your eye on the prize, you’ll stop valuing life in the present moment. To free yourself from this damaging pattern, you need to let go of what you crave. Start by reflecting deeply on your situation so you can pinpoint what it is that you’re craving. For example, it might be a particular job. This represents your bait.
Next, honestly explore your craving to see if there’s a hook – something that will steal your freedom, like having to work long hours or be exposed to high levels of stress. Finally, reflect on whether that hook represents any danger to you. For instance, what impact will that job have on your health and relationships? Understanding the suffering a craving can cause is often enough incentive to let it go.
Chapter 6: You can’t live in the moment unless you face your suffering.
When a newborn baby cries, his mother will hurry to the crib and gently take him in her arms. This very act of holding the baby eases his suffering, even though his mother doesn’t yet know the cause of his pain. If the baby’s mother left him alone as he cried, he would only become more upset. The pain we carry is like that baby – it’s crying out for comfort.
But unlike a loving mother, we often turn our back on it. Instead of tending to our pain, we distract ourselves with busyness. We use our phones, our work, and our cravings to block out the sound of our pain. But the only way we can heal ourselves is by lovingly embracing what we feel. Here’s the key message: You can’t live in the moment unless you face your suffering. Healing is a transformative act that will restore peace and happiness in your life.
But healing can only happen if you’re fully present and looking honestly at your pain. Often, the reason you can’t do this is because you’re overwhelmed by circumstances or feelings that are blocking your access to the moment. For instance, you may have become trapped by work, a hectic lifestyle, sorrow, anger, or a neglected relationship. Or you may have been enticed by a craving – like money, power, or food. All these distractions mask the pain that yearns for comfort. To free yourself and begin the healing process, start by meditating on what’s stopping you from being in the moment.
Ask yourself where these barriers came from and why they exist. Next, reflect on your priorities. Is the thing that’s holding you back more important than being fully alive? Knowing that your highest priority is to live deeply will help you let go of distractions. Once you’re free from them, you can work toward healing by acknowledging and feeling your pain. There are many different ways you can embrace pain; writing, drawing, or listening to music are just a few.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes poetry to explore his pain. Or he recalls a positive memory that brings him comfort, like thinking about his favorite cedar trees or the laughter of a child. Doing these things will remind you that the world is still filled with wonder, even in the moment of your suffering.
Chapter 7: Nirvana isn’t a destination you reach after death; it’s a state of life.
When Thich Nhat Hanh was in Kuala Lumpur on a teaching tour, he saw billboards advertising a company called Nirvana, which provided Buddhist funeral services. He didn’t think it was a good choice of name because the Buddha never associated nirvana with death. Western Buddhist scholars have misleadingly defined nirvana as the eternal death that occurs after the final cycle of reincarnation. But this definition doesn’t align with the Buddha’s teachings; you can’t have eternal death if existence is continuous.
Instead, the Buddha described nirvana as the pleasant feeling you experience when your afflictions are eased – like the relief you feel after you pull a thorn from your foot. It’s not a prize you get when life ends. It’s a state available to everyone, every day. The key message here is: Nirvana isn’t a destination you reach after death; it’s a state of life. Every human carries an internal fire burning on anxiety, cravings, and regret. But by transforming these difficult feelings through meditation, you can experience peace.
This state is nirvana. You can experience nirvana in small doses throughout your day. Recognizing the continuation of all existence is one way to reach it since this eases the fear of death. When you meditate on the world from the perspective of continuous being, you can let go of the limitations of signs like “life” and “death,” knowing that they don’t represent reality. This will bring you peace. The notion that nirvana is a reward makes many people feel they aren’t enlightened enough to experience it.
But this isn’t true. Even after the Buddha was enlightened, he was still human. He still suffered from pain, hunger, cold, and fatigue. He also experienced emotions, like every human does. But he was able to reach nirvana because he knew how to handle his suffering. When you do the same, you’ll reach nirvana, too.
Suffering isn’t something you overcome just once. It will always be part of existence, so you’ll always need to face it and use meditation to transform it. But with suffering comes awakening. When you look into the heart of your suffering and change its fire into sweet relief, you enter nirvana.
Final summary
The key message in this summary: Being truly alive means living in the moment. But living in the here and now is challenging. Cravings and ambitions can prevent it. And if you’re suffering from difficult emotions, you’ll want to shy away from the present or mask your feelings with busyness because facing them seems too hard.
But when you find the courage to be still and embrace your pain, you begin to heal and free yourself from the distractions that steal your peace. This allows you to connect deeply with the wonder of your life, exactly as it unfolds. Actionable advice: Use breathing meditation to overcome restlessness. If you’re constantly rushing from one activity to the next, get into the habit of asking yourself what’s motivating your actions. For instance, as you reach for the TV remote, ask yourself if you really want to watch a certain program – or whether you’re just looking for an easy escape. If you’re trying to mask suffering by watching TV, focus on your breathing and embrace how you feel.
Use the moment to reconnect with the world around you, remembering that you are deeply supported because you are not alone.
Often, poor communication is the root cause of an unsuccessful relationship. When we don’t communicate mindfully with others, we can’t nourish the connections we have. But you can learn how to interact in a loving and compassionate way that also fosters your well-being. To find out how, check out the chapters to The Art of Communicating.
About the Author
Thich Nhat Hahn was a Buddhist monk, peace activist, and the author of over 100 books. His titles, including the best seller Anger, range from manuals on meditation to children’s stories and poetry. In 1967, Thich Nhat Hahn was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr.