This is the best book I have read on Mindfulness (although I haven’t read very widely it’s true).  Actually reading the back cover again it’s not surprising that this is such a good book.  This Vietnamese Buddhist monk is a Zen Master, a nominee for the Noble Peace Prize and this book collects all of his mindfulness practices developed over his 60 years as a monk.  Wow!  It’s quite a lot to take in in one go.

Mindfulness practices are simply practices that bring the mind back to the body, to be more fully alive, such as Mindful Eating.

This book also includes mindfulness exercises on walking, working, preparing and sharing tea, even a really wonderful exercise to help dissolve family arguments called “The Cake In The Refrigerator” (this is my kind of exercise!) and some of these exercises are collected into ways that they can be practised; as a group, with children, or alone, even talking on the telephone.

Once again I just have to say how accessible I find this man’s work.  From my limited reading I understand that he revolutionised the concept of being a monk or a nun from isolated practice to working with communities, teaching and sharing compassion, and he really is a wonderful teacher.