Synopsis:
Best known for his Buddhist teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh has lived in exile from his native Vietnam since 1966. These remarkable early journals reveal not only an exquisite portrait of the Zen master as a young man, but the emergence of a great poet and literary voice of Vietnam. From his years as a student and teaching assistant at Princeton and Columbia, to his efforts to negotiate peace and a better life for the Vietnamese, Fragrant Palm Leaves offers an elegant and profound glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world's most beloved spiritual teachers.
Review:
To many of his readers, Thich Nhat Hanh is a great inspiration, a model of both spiritual maturity and social responsibility. But his personal life has been a closed book--until now. Fragrant Palm Leaves is the first publication of Thich Nhat Hanh's journals, in this case, those centering around the most decisive period in his life. A young monk in a Zen Buddhist lineage, Nhat Hanh had aspirations of developing a Buddhism that was meaningful in the lives of everyday Vietnamese. The chaos of the Vietnam War ironically offered him the chance to move beyond the strictures of the conservative Buddhist establishment and initiate experimental villages as well as a university, but the same war also forced him from his homeland. In entries written in both Vietnam and America, we see an already seasoned Nhat Hanh thinking through the politics of his tradition, his close friendships and alliances, the future of Buddhism, and the way to bring peace to a war-ravaged time. We also witness his glimmerings of enlightenment and are treated to lyrical passages on the interbeing of all things. Fragrant Palm Leaves is a rare glimpse at a great human being in the making. --Brian Bruya
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