The Miracle of Mindfulness. Literature & Language Essay

Name__________________________________ The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Preface vii-xii
* What is the historical context of the book? That is, what was historically happening?
Initially, the book was written as a long letter to Brother Quan in the Vietnamese language in 1974. This was written during the war wherein amidst the circumstances, and it was described in the book the practices that should be done to avoid conflict and act in the spirit of awareness and reconciliation in times of trouble. With the idea of being an advantage to other countries; also, this book was agreed to be translated into English, especially during the confiscation of Buddhist publishing houses in Vietnam (Hanh, 2016).
* Who wrote it? In what language and to whom?
The Miracle of Mindfulness was written by a Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh in the Vietnamese language as a long letter to Brother Quan, a faculty of the School of Youth for Social Service(Hanh, 2016).
* See Pg. X: What did Thay (Thick Nhat Hanh) suggest how to translate the book into English?
The author suggested that to maintain and practise mindfulness, and the translator should just translate two pages per day. Editing and changes in improving the translated book are done in the evenings (Hanh, 2016).
Chapter One: The Essential Discipline
* See pg. 2: Explain how Allen “discovered a way to have a lot more time.”
Allen discovered that he could have unlimited time for himself by not dividing his time into parts with Joey, Sue, Ana, household chores, and for himself. He considered his time with Joey and Sue as his own time and found ways to be interested in what he is doing (Hanh, 2016).
* See pg. 3-5 Explain what the author means by “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.”
The author described that “washing the dishes to wash the dishes” means that one should have a complete awareness of what one is doing, which is washing the dishes. Being aware of oneself, conscious of one’s presence, breathing, and thoughts, one can realize the miracle of life even just by standing at the sink (Hanh, 2016).
* See last paragraph p.4 going to pg. 5: Explain the “problem” with thinking about the upcoming cup of tea while washing the dishes.
If one will only think about the cup of tea that one will have after washing the dishes, one would just simply hurry to complete the task just to get over with it. One would be preoccupied thinking about other things, instead of focusing on the task and appreciating the presence of life (Hanh, 2016).
* Pg. 6: Explain the advice given to Jim as a means to cope with prison.
To cope with prison, Jim was given advice of “eating a section of tangerine”, which pertains to the time they shared. This means that one should accept the reality, be aware of it, and be one with it step by step. Through this, the circumstances one is in will simply pass and be over with it in a matter of time (Hanh, 2016).
* Pg. 8, last paragraph. Attempt to answer the question raised: If you spend all day practising mindfulness, how will there ever be enough time to do all the work that needs to be done to change and to build an alternative society?
B...