The Heart of the Buddha’s Mentor is, in a sense, a handbook of numbered lists on core Buddhist tenets such as Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, 3 Doors of Liberation, The 7 Elements of Awakening. The chapters integrate to offer an extensive summary of the viewpoint to those initiated and uninitiated to Buddhism. They stimulate us to use Buddhist ideas such as suffering, birth, death, and mindfulness to our daily lives and follow the author’s practical standards to lead a compassionate, happy and informed life. The application requires motivation to practice whatever brings us happiness and peace. And this practice makes us realise what a miracle it is to be alive which’s a good enough factor to end our suffering.What makes The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching special is that Nhat Hanh, regardless of being a devout Buddhist himself, does not propagate Buddhism as a religion, in this book. Instead, he motivates readers to stay in their own faiths and utilize the Buddha’s mentors as a means to lead a better and tranquil life.Nhat Hanh blogs about the extensive Buddhist concepts with such simpleness that it makes reading this book a breeze. He describes the layers of mindfulness, the Noble Eightfold course with such gentility of prose and poetic expression that even the routine of unlimited lists and the recurring metaphors become bearable, and even motivating. In truth, just when you are finished with the book, will you understand that the repeating is a way of initiation into the meditative practice of Buddhism– another basic concept to obtain enlightenment.The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching motivates us to lead a disciplined
life of practice. It builds on the saying: Practice maketh a man perfect to propagate that practicing accepting and dealing with our sufferings eventually helps us change our sufferings to happiness and results in our overall wellbeing. Source