Kayla Turmel
Eastern Religions
Peace is Every Step Paper

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He lives in the Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region in the South of France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He has published more than 100 books. He was born in central Vietnam in 1926; At the age of 16 he entered the monastery at a Temple near Hue, Vietnam, where his primary teacher was Dhyana Master Thanh Quy Chan That. A graduate of Bao Quoc Buddhist Academy in Central Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh received training in Zen and the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was ordained as a monk in 1949. He lived through the Vietnam War, seeing all of the terrors of war. Nhat Hanh taught Buddhist psychology and Prajnaparamita literature at the Van Hanh Buddhist University, a private institution that focused on Buddhist studies, Vietnamese culture, and languages. At a meeting in April 1965 Van Hanh Union students issued a Call for Peace statement. It declared: "It is time for North and South Vietnam to find a way to stop the war and help all Vietnamese people live peacefully and with mutual respect." Nhat Hanh left for the U.S. shortly afterwards. That’s just the beginning of Thich Nhat Hanh’s life story, his life is a very active and involved one.
Nhat Hanh's novel "Peace is Every Step" is a work that centers on the concept of meditation and enlightenment. Hanh bases his discussion on Zen Buddhism, using anecdotes and personal testimonials to demonstrate meditation techniques. He urges the reader to adopt the practice of conscious breathing as a method for reminding themselves about their existences on this earth. Hanh believes that adoption of these practices will help practitioners increase the value of their relationships, obtain peace at higher levels, and increase their feeling of joy. The novel represents a personal journey for the author and serves as an instructional guide for helping others reach their own internal peace. Peace is Every Step is a personal journey through awareness in an effort to obtain the inner peace necessary to work towards peace on a worldwide scale.
In Peace is Every Step, meditation is a big part of the book which is largely incorporated into Buddhism. In Buddhism, there are 3 main elements, “To lead a moral life”, “To be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions” and “To develop wisdom and understanding.” This book really incorporates that in its pages. This book focuses almost on finding enlightenment, finding peace for you. I even saw love and compassion have to do with suffering. Compassion dealing with suffering with someone, and love is trying to take suffering away from someone.
Aesthetic elements have to deal with defined as the study of sensory or emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. Nhat Hanh shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. The emotional values in this book are huge it teaches you to deal with the challenges you face within yourself, such as your anger. This book helps you learn how to transform that anger. This book gives you a great sense of self.
I liked the book quite a bit; it was calming even reading it. It taught meditation techniques and what to do with any negative feelings. He teaches us that we can’t simply get rid of these feelings or push them aside, we have to embrace them and transform them. I really enjoyed it, and it’s teachings on love, and compassion. It gives examples of mindfulness during everyday activities such as washing the dishes, driving, answering the phone or cutting the grass. Healing is another thing that the book focuses on that was very interesting. I’d defiantly recommend this book to everyone, because this book has something to everyone to learn.