Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
41st out of 409 books
—
464 voters
Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
Drawn from original sources, Old Path White Clouds is the beautiful classic recounting of the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha over the course of eighty years. It is retold alternately through the eyes of Svasti, the buffalo boy who provided kusa grass for the Buddha's enlightenment cushion, and the Buddha himself.
Paperback, 600 pages
Published
May 1st 1991
by Parallax Press
(first published 1990)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,722)
Apr 18, 2008
Patrick
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the life and teachings of Buddha
Recommended to Patrick by:
Reno Buddhist Church reading group
I just finished this reading this book as a participant in the every-other-Wednesday reading/discussion group at the Reno Buddhist Church. If you pick up a copy, don't be intimidated by the book's hefty size; it's written in an easy, flowing style and you will move through it quickly.
A thorough retelling of the story of the life Siddhartha Gautama (better known to most people as the Buddha), the book is highly enjoyable if the reader already has a basic understanding of Buddhist philosophy and s...more
A thorough retelling of the story of the life Siddhartha Gautama (better known to most people as the Buddha), the book is highly enjoyable if the reader already has a basic understanding of Buddhist philosophy and s...more
Personally, the best written recount of the buddha's life.
Beautiful, clear and simple writing without missing out on the important sutras and key essence of what buddhism is all about.
I have attended Thich Nhat Nanh's retreat and enjoyed it thoroughly. He also mentioned in his website that " I knew that the readers would have much happiness while reading the book because I had so much happiness while writing it"
Indeed I felt light and happy reading the book. Its simple yet deep. It deserves a s...more
Beautiful, clear and simple writing without missing out on the important sutras and key essence of what buddhism is all about.
I have attended Thich Nhat Nanh's retreat and enjoyed it thoroughly. He also mentioned in his website that " I knew that the readers would have much happiness while reading the book because I had so much happiness while writing it"
Indeed I felt light and happy reading the book. Its simple yet deep. It deserves a s...more
Sep 29, 2010
Frightful_elk
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
20-c,
asian,
buddhist,
contemporary,
eastern-ish,
history,
life-story,
philosophy,
religion,
spiritual
This is the life-story of the Buddha, as interpreted from the ancient texts by modern master Thich Nhat Hanh.
It's highly readable, colourful, engaging and very comprehensive, including most of the stories that have come down to us.
My objection is that is is also a highly romanticised account, Thich Nhat Hanh leaves out the miracles but he writes of a god not a man, he has felt the need to polish all the Buddha's questionable actions even those from before his enlightenment!
The canon's prejudice...more
It's highly readable, colourful, engaging and very comprehensive, including most of the stories that have come down to us.
My objection is that is is also a highly romanticised account, Thich Nhat Hanh leaves out the miracles but he writes of a god not a man, he has felt the need to polish all the Buddha's questionable actions even those from before his enlightenment!
The canon's prejudice...more
The story of the Buddha, through a couple of narratives - one that of the cowherd turned monk Svasti, and the other, probably that of Buddha himself, which moves back and forth to also tell us about Siddhartha's early life, before and during his enlightenment. The book also lays a lot of stress on the teaching of the Tathagata, while also documenting the political and socio-cultural milieu that existed across the 80 years that the Buddha lived.
The book, drawn from over 24 sources across multiple...more
The book, drawn from over 24 sources across multiple...more
A painstaking, devout and absorbing account of the life and times of Gautama the Buddha, Old Path White Clouds is a book unlike any other that I have read. Thich Nhat Hanh makes Buddhism accessible to millions of readers in a form that they can comprehend. I will admit that the book has a slow pace and can sometimes be hard to plough through, but that's a lesson in itself - once you adopt a calm and meditative approach to it, the experience of reading this book and immersing oneself in the teach...more
"La cronaca sublime della vita del Principe Siddhārta, colui che divenne l'Illuminato, il Buddha, colui che per primo riconobbe e sconfisse la legge del divenire fermando la ruota del samsara, colui che indicò agli esseri viventi la via della pace e della liberazione".
Thich Nhat Hanh, monaco zen vietnamita, racconta con una prosa scorrevole e molto piacevole, la vita di Siddhārtha Gautama, il Buddha storico, basandosi sui testi canonici cinesi e pali. Le vicende sono incentrate sull'evoluzione s...more
Thich Nhat Hanh, monaco zen vietnamita, racconta con una prosa scorrevole e molto piacevole, la vita di Siddhārtha Gautama, il Buddha storico, basandosi sui testi canonici cinesi e pali. Le vicende sono incentrate sull'evoluzione s...more
Old Path WHite Clouds is more than a biography of the Buddha. It is a window to his teachings, life, awakening and struggle as a spiritual leader. Hanh has, in very simple language, brought forth the teachings and core lessons of Buddha. His focus is on taking his readers through the life of the Buddha. As a reader, you flow with the story, making perfect sense of every progress that Siddhartha fashions in his spiritual journey. The second half of the book is especially intriguing as it is reple...more
I picked this book up from the store without even researching it. It's wonderful so far - a "novelistic" approach to the Buddha's life and teaching, told from the perspective of a young buffalo boy named Svasti. Written by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, it somehow manages to be charming and full of vibrant personality while still explaining very well the teachings. Thich Nhat Hanh presents the Buddha not as a stoic and silent being, but as a human who grows in his concern for the root of all suffer...more
A very beautiful book retelling the Buddha's life story and his teachings.
The language is very simple, but really stunningly beautiful. It captured my heart right away. The story is told through the eyes of a young buffalo boy who ends up becoming a monk, and through the eyes of the Buddha himself. His teachings are recounted and explained various times, and you get a good impression of what they were, even if you don't understand all of them.
I'm having a little trouble of expressing just how m...more
The language is very simple, but really stunningly beautiful. It captured my heart right away. The story is told through the eyes of a young buffalo boy who ends up becoming a monk, and through the eyes of the Buddha himself. His teachings are recounted and explained various times, and you get a good impression of what they were, even if you don't understand all of them.
I'm having a little trouble of expressing just how m...more
This very long book (almost 600 pages) is best read slowly, in small bits, over time. I have great admiration for Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, and I am a student of Buddhism, so the book was particularly interesting to me. I saw how many present day practices -- such as walking meditation and bowing with hands together in the form of a lotus blossom -- started way back in the Buddha's time. I particularly loved some of the stories of the individual followers of "the Way" such as...more
This book sparked my Buddhist phase. It took me a long time to get into the book at first because the pace is exceedingly slow. It is definitely not a casual read. However, as I read along, it ultimately gave me a fascinating look into the spiritual development of the Buddha. This was the first book about religion that I read and thought "Hey, this really makes sense. This is sort of what I have thought all along."
In the end, however, there were two problems that ended my Buddhist phase.
The fi...more
In the end, however, there were two problems that ended my Buddhist phase.
The fi...more
Well-crafted story of the life of the Buddha, with Thich Nhat Hanh's personal sentimentality lightly seasoned throughout. Each chapter is brief to encapsulate an event or teaching, and is given a synopsis in the back, with footnotes citing reference to suttas and sutras from several Buddhist traditions. Excellent resource for preparing a discussion topic or just a wonderful, easy book that reads like a movie screenplay.
This book is the first book i read to learn details of life of Gautam Buddha.Not only it gives idea about budhism, it make one feel as if he is going along the Budhha , while finising all the chapters.
It is really a marvelous book written by Thich Nhat Hanh and i reccomend , every one should finish the book at least once with contemplation.His another book " The path of Emancipation " is also equally nice .
It is really a marvelous book written by Thich Nhat Hanh and i reccomend , every one should finish the book at least once with contemplation.His another book " The path of Emancipation " is also equally nice .
From page one I fell in love with this book and I'm not even a Buddhist! Reading this book felt like therapy. The author weaves a beautiful story with valuable lessons and teachings from the Buddhist religion. It is a long book, but it goes by fast because it is so good. I have purchased two more books by this author because there is so much to be learned from him no matter what religion a person is! Well worth reading!
Amazing book that retraces the life and teachings of the Buddha through the eye of Svasti, a cattle herd boy and partly through the eyes of the Buddha himself. Each page retraces not only the incidents but also the trials, tribulations and diffficulties faced by the Buddha. A must read for everybody who wants to have a basic taste of Buddhist teachings..."
This is so much more than a book. It's absolutely an experience. I have walked alongside the Buddha for 572 blissful pages. Thich Nhat Hanh delivers a beautiful narrative of the Buddha's life, including his path to enlightenment and all his teachings in the years that follow. Imbedded within the Buddha's story are many stories about other followers, monks, and nuns, how they struggled, and how they came to follow the Buddha. Many of the Buddhas teachings are contained within this text and explai...more
I would say that this is a much better narrative of the life of the Buddha than Hesse's Siddhartha, but I'll refrain from that since the two books have different approaches in mind. Hanh writes from the engaged perspective of a practioner of zen and that shows in the elegant simplicity of the language he uses.
Always wanted to read Buddha's biography, this one is a good account of the man. Writing is very simple.. too simple infact.. maybe because its a translation. Good book to read if you wish to know Buddha better, a demystifying account of his life and the social revolution he led
This book was a vivid telling of the life of Buddha that provides the reader with an appreciation of his life and teachings regardless of his/her religious affiliation. This book is a commitment at over 500 pages, but it becomes more and more engrossing as you read.
Very boring, but teaches alot about the whole story of Buddha and Buddhism. If you are interested in this religion and its' history-origin, then i recomend you to read it. I am personally a buddhist yet i do not like it - probably because i am still too young?!
A nice introduction to what Buddhism is about, without taking a scholarly approach. The biography of Buddha and the basic tenets of Buddhism are explained in a simple, albeit in a random, fashion.
Not just this, but every book of Thich Nhat Hanh is a good read.
Not just this, but every book of Thich Nhat Hanh is a good read.
To me, this book was so many different things. Part biography. Part philosophy book. Part "self improvement" book. Part fable and part history. It's a time consuming read, partly because of its size and partly because, for me, I wanted to re-read some areas before going on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a great deal while reading this book. As a Buddhist, I enjoyed seeing some of the teachings "come to life" as the Buddha himself learned them.
The characters are interesting and uniq...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a great deal while reading this book. As a Buddhist, I enjoyed seeing some of the teachings "come to life" as the Buddha himself learned them.
The characters are interesting and uniq...more
This book needs to be read and pondered leisurely, mindfully and with awareness, by monastics as well as those interested in dialogue in Buddhism .
in pdf this is available in box net
https://www.box.com/s/c394200f7bc820d...
in pdf this is available in box net
https://www.box.com/s/c394200f7bc820d...
This book is an excellent piece of historical fiction, that tells the story of the life of Siddhartha (Buddha), while skillfully weaving in the primary tenets of Buddhism. It's movingly told, interesting, and informative.
One of the most profound books I ever read. I just happened to pick it up at an airport while killing time and just could not stop reading until I had finished it. Led me to places I did not know existed.
This book tells the life of Buddha from the viewpoint of a buffalo boy who becomes a monk. I read one short chapter every morning for several months before I meditated. It was quite helpful in my growth.
A nice introduction to what Buddhism is about, without taking the scholarly approach. The biography of Buddha and the basic tenets of Buddhism are explained in a simple, albeit in a random, fashion.
An incredibly well written book on the Buddha and a fabulously simple introduction to BUddhism. Everyone should read it at least once - itll transform the way you look at the world.
Amazing book. This is one book every one who is curious about Buddha should read. Very simple langauge. I have read it twice and keep on going back to different chapters again and again.
Of the many biographies/histories of spiritual leaders, this ranks at the top. I've always enjoyed Thich Nhat Hanh's writing style and this is some of his best work. For those who follow the middle path, this is a great addition to your reading and study.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who now lives in southwest France where he was in exile for many years.
Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary...more
More about Thich Nhat Hanh...
Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path.”
—
58 people liked it
More quotes…
May 03, 2012 02:54pm