The Novice: A Story of True Love
Written by Thich Nhat Hanh
Narrated by Dan Woren
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Fans of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peace is Every Step and Anger, and Deepak Chopra’s Buddha, will appreciate Hanh’s wisdom and storytelling in his novel The Novice, which contains universal themes that transcend all boundaries of faith, creed, country, and era.
Through the parable of a young woman who stays true to herself and her faith in the face of adversity, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist master and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh enables readers to embark on their own path of introspection and self-discovery.
With his trademark insight, Hanh presents a path to greater awareness of the means to manifest peace both inside oneself and in the world at large.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned Buddhist Zen master, poet, author, scholar, and activist for social change, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was the author of many bestselling books, including the classics Peace Is Every Step and The Art of Living. Through his books and retreats at the monasteries he has founded in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia, he became a pre-eminent figure in contemporary Buddhism, offering teachings that are both deeply rooted in ancient wisdom and accessible to all. Sister Chan Khong is Thich Nhat Hanh’s most senior monastic disciple and lifelong collaborator. A leading force in his engaged Buddhism programs and humanitarian projects, her books include Learning True Love and Beginning Anew. Sister True Dedication is a former journalist and monastic Dharma Teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh.
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Reviews for The Novice
59 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I have to confess: I didn't finish this one. I didn't even make much headway into it because the writing was so amateurish and annoying. The author has written several books and is a poet, so I don't know what went wrong here.An example of what I mean by amateurish writing, pages 1 and 2:Waves of turbulent feelings arose rapidly within. Novice Kinh Tam reviewed the precarious situation. "I've taken the monastic vows of a novice. I've just been accused of having a sexual affair with Thi Mau, making her pregnant, and not owning up to the alleged offense." The thoughts tumbled on. "Who can possibly understand the predicament I'm facing? Doesn't anyone see the great injustice being done to me? Even though my teacher, the abbot of my temple, loves me, even though my two Dharma brothers care deeply for me, who knows whether they have doubts about my heart? And now the baby is here. Stubbornly refusing to bring the newborn to its true father, Thi Mau has brought it here to the temple. Everyone who already suspected that I'm the child's father will surely misconstrue my taking in the newborn. They will say I've admitted my guilt. What will my teacher think? How will my Dharma brothers react? And the people in the village?"Talk about telling rather than showing. Talk about slamming the reader upside the head with a huge chunky summary that would have better been dished out slowly. People don't think that way, in any case.I tried to go on, but I can't get into the book, finding the signs of bad writing all over the place.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's content and presentation has made it a wonderful book to read
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A folktale written with a message for us all...thought provoking
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fabulous and insightful book about that love is life.It.was 7th audiobook by Thich Nhat Hanh that i have listened.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An excellently told tale of a real person. The way the quality of practice was played out in real time by monks and nuns in Thich Nhat Hanh's organization was amazing and a surprise after the story ended. It's another story all by itself. I highly recommend this book. Spiritual aspirants will be able to dive beyond the surface of a folktale.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Novice was the perfect example of how a Real Buddhist Practitioner should practice ??❤️
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a short book with a story of holy person who went through unfair treatment without retaliating. After this story, there follows the story of people in Vietnam who were helping those in need, but were persecuted for this. Their story follows that of the holy person in the book. The author of this book is one of those people, a monk, who went through those persecutions and was such a great influence on them. The story of the Novice is not an exciting tale, but especially when put together with the experiences of Thich Nhat Hanh, it has a powerful and lasting meaning for all of us.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I liked this. It's a love story, but not romantic love.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a wonderful book.Written in Thich Nhat Hanh's characteristic uncomplicated prose, the story of novice Kinh Tam comes from Vietnamese Buddhist legend. A young woman living at a time when women were forbidden from taking monastic vows, she hid her gender and practised as a male novice for eight years. In her lifetime she was twice accused of great wrongs and learned to bear injustice with equanimity and compassion. Her commitment to monastic life paved the way for women monastics in Vietnam, and her commitment to magnanimity is an inspiration for those of us living under less than easy conditions today.The Novice works on all levels--legend, personal story, and Dharma teaching. A moving and beautiful piece which I stumbled upon by accident, to my great delight.Two nonfiction sections follow the novel: a short piece by Thich Nhat Hanh about the bodhisattva of compassion known as Avalokita, Kuan Yin, or in Vietnam, Quan Am. The novice in this story is a manifestation of that bodhisattva. Sr Chan Khong, Thich Nhat Hanh's student over fifty-two years, writes about the early years in Vietnam when they and other monastics and lay people did the work of this bodhisattva in bringing aid to people on both sides of the war, despite threats, torture, and killings. Immensely interesting and inspiring.