From AmazonPeaceful Action, Open Heart shines 60 years of study and practice upon one of the crowning scriptures of the path of the Buddha, and is destined to be known as one of the most significant writings by Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Lotus Sutra is one of the most revered of Mahayana sacred texts and is sometimes called “the king of sutras.” Despite this fact, there are very few commentaries in English available today. Thich Nhat Hanh explores the Sutra’s main theme – that everyone has the capacity to become a Buddha, and that Buddha-nature is inherent in everything – but he also uniquely emphasizes the sutra’s insight that Buddha-nature is the basis for peaceful action. Since we all will one day become a Buddha, he says, we can use mindfulness practices right now to understand and find solutions to current world challenges. In his interpretation of the sutra, he suggests that if the practices, views, and insights of the Lotus Sutra would find application not only by individuals but also by nations, it would offer concrete solutions to transform individual suffering and the global challenges facing the world today.
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, such as the Palestinian-Israeli war, the threat of terrorism, and the degradation of our environment. In proposing radical new ways of finding peaceful solutions to universal, contemporary conflicts, he not only challenges the U.N to change from an organization to a real organism working for peace and harmony in the world, but also encourages all branches of all governments to act as Sangha. In so doing, he demonstrates the practical and direct applicability of this sacred text to today’s concerns.
This book has been re-released with a new title. The earlier hardcover edition was entitled Opening the Heart of the Cosmos.
One must assume that the publisher offered the third paragraph for purposes of expanding the potential reach of the book. While the environment is an important aspect of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching, the suggestion that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the United Nations are significant topics is unfounded, at least in the 2008 edition published under the title, Peaceful Action, Open Heart.”
I was introduced to this book in July, 2020, when Ryuei Shonin announced the creation of an Amazon Wish List for his Lotus Sutra Study program. This is the first book by Thich Nhat Hanh that I’ve read. And as with Nikkyō Niwano’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I feel a need to distance myself from some of the interpretations of Thich Nhat Hanh.
Here is an example from Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion of the Buddha’s prediction for Shariputra in Chapter 3, A Parable:
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p46-47Hearing this the Buddha said, “Shariputra, in past lives you studied and practiced with me, and I taught you the bodhisattva way. But in this lifetime you forgot it and, following the path of the shravaka, believed you had reached the final goal of your practice, nirvana. Now, through teaching this Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, I am able to reestablish you on the bodhisattva path. In the future you will become the Buddha Flower Glow (Padmaprabha) in a Buddha Land called Free of Defilements (Viraja). You will do as I do, and teach the three vehicles to guide living beings, and finally you will also teach the One Vehicle, just as I am teaching now.”
Thich Nhat Hanh book’s endnotes indicate that he is using Leon Hurvitz’s translation of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma for his English language quotes, but in this instance Thich Nhat Hanh has not only grossly paraphrased but also fabricated new text.
Here’s the relevant portion from Hurvitz:
Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, p51“Flower Glow, the Thus Come One, shall furthermore by resort to the three vehicles teach and convert the beings. Śāriputra, though the time of that buddha’s emergence shall not be an evil age, by reason of his former vow he shall preach the dharma of the three vehicles.”
Few things in the Lotus Sutra are more puzzling to me than the prediction that Śāriputra will teach the Three Vehicles even though the kalpa in which he becomes that Buddha “will not be an evil age.” If only the Buddha, as Thich Nhat Hanh erroneously inserts, had added, “finally you will also teach the One Vehicle, just as I am teaching now.” But the Buddha doesn’t say Śāriputra will ever teach the One Vehicle or the Lotus Sutra.
Before I start posting quotes here from the book I’ll be posting several articles concerning problems of one sort or another that I have with Thich Nhat Hanh interpretation.
Having said that, I should underline my overall satisfaction and favorable opinion of “Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra.”
I fully endorse this from the Introduction:
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p8This book shows how the teachings of the Sutra can help us realize the practices of mindfulness, compassion, and love for the well-being of our family, our community, our society, and the world.
And this beautiful poem by Thich Nhat Hanh:
Reciting the Lotus Sutra
At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
The sound moves the galaxies
The Earth below wakes up
In her lap suddenly flowers appear
At night as I recite the Lotus Sutra
A jeweled Stupa appears resplendent.
All over the sky bodhisattvas are seen
And Buddha’s hand is in mine.
—Thich Nhat Hanh
- Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Inside Out
- Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra
- Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Avatamsaka Sutra
- Errata
- Thich Nhat Hanh’s Practice