Thich Nhat Hanh gives us a simply written, beautiful guidebook to Buddhism in The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. With each set of practices, we are assisted in understanding the concepts of mindfulness, as well as the seeds that manifest as good and bad feelings and events. A thorough explanation of how our mental formations and perceptions can deceive us and prevent us from feeling the ever-present and available feelings of joy and happiness is provided in this book, along with anecdotes and stories. Thich Nhat Hanh was born and raised in Viet Nam during war time and has experienced suffering like all people. However, he has learned to transform suffering into joy with simple mindfulness and the knowledge of the sources of unhappiness. He does not encourage people to become Buddhists, or to adopt a new set of religious dogmas, but instead, suggests that we stay within our own faith and simply practice with the tools that were given to us by the Buddha. He does not want to sell a religion, but instead seeks to help people, individually and collectively, learn how to find peace. Peace and joy can only come through mindfulness, and a journey through the layers of mindfulness are present in this book. The fact that joy is always available in the present moment is something that Hanh emphasizes. His preferred practice of walking meditation, breathing and practice are vehicles through which we can recognize and attain the state of paradise that otherwise seems elusive.

Hanh's simple, though not simplistic, style of writing makes it more palatable to incorporate unfamiliar terminology into our reading. Without inundating the reader with ancient and obscure Sanskrit terms, he includes them for our information, and goes on to explain them in plain English. Hanh is a master of gentle, patient prose and his writing encourages us to have faith, hope and consciousness of our selves in order to have a better life and perpetuate a better life on earth. The complexities of Buddhism are attainable and understandable within Hanh's prose, and he sheds light on the true practices of Buddhism without insisting on dogma. Reading this book makes one wish to be part of Hanh's Sangha, or practice group. He is a pure, pleasant, smiling and upbeat presence in a world of manufactured negativity and suffering. He makes it seem possible for all of us to be like him, with the proper actions and practice.