Answers from the Heart

We all share the experience of carrying with us the one question that has always seemingly stood in the way of the next step in our personal development, the development of our spiritual practice, or our understanding of ourselves. Answers from the Heartcollects 50 of these most important and heartfelt questions posed to Thich Nhat Hanh by participants in his retreats and from his students, and offers his personal, heartfelt, and often surprising answers.
These exchanges offer an accessible way into Buddhist teachings and often mix practical immediately applicable suggestions with ideas for further study and contemplation. The conversations also provide a lively glimpse into the connection between students and their teacher.
Answers from the Heart's six thematic sections -- Daily Life, Living and Dying, Engaged Buddhism, Mindfulness Practice, Family and Relationships, and Children's Questions, make the book easily accessible for those new to Buddhism as well as for more experienced practitioners. Thich Nhat Hanh's answers condense Buddhist wisdom of 2500 years into individual answers that shine with diamond-like clarity and summarize Thich Nhat Hanh's own insight based on his lifetime of practice.

Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.