The Novice by Thich Nhat Hanh

building codes—we were too poor or uninformed to have built a fire road, to have certain types of doors, the kitchen built a certain way, and so on. But when that happened, we didn’t suffer too much, because we had our true home inside.
    If they come and burn your hut and chase you away, of course you suffer; but if you know how to go back to your true home, you will not lose your faith. You know that if your true home is still there inside, you will be able to build another home outside, as when we rebuilt Tra Loc village four times. It is only if you lose your home inside that you lose hope.
    Dear friend, please do your best to live your life like Quan Am Thi Kinh. Come back to your true home, the island of your true self. Help your family, your friends, your coworkers to restore their hope, their joy, their peace, and their happiness and reconcile with their family and society. I have great hope that you will be a continuation of the Buddha and bring the light, the practice, joy, and peace to many people. I deeply feel that the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and all our spiritual teachers of many generations are behind you, supporting you, and would like you to continue their work into the future for the sake of all the living beings on this planet.

Thich Nhat Hanh has retreat communities in southwestern France (Plum Village), New York (Blue Cliff Monastery), and California (Deer Park Monastery), where monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen practice the art of mindful living. Visitors are invited to join the practice for at least one week. For information, please write to:
    Plum Village
13 Martineau
33580 Dieulivol
France
[email protected] (for women)
[email protected] (for women)
[email protected] (for men)
www.plumvillage.org

For information about our monasteries, mindfulness practice centers, and retreats in the United States, please contact:
    Blue Cliff Monastery
3 Hotel Road
Pine Bush, New York 12566
Tel: (845) 733-4959
www.bluecliffmonastery.org
    Â 
    Deer Park Monastery
2499 Melru Lane
Escondido, CA 92026
Tel: (760) 291-1003
Fax: (760) 291-1172
www.deerparkmonastery.org
[email protected]

About the Author
    THICH NHAT HANH is a Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, scholar, and peace and human rights activist. He is the author of many books including the classics Peace Is Every Step and The Art of Power . Hanh speaks and writes extensively on meditation, mindfulness, and peace, and he leads retreats worldwide on the art of mindful living. Hanh lives in Plum Village, his meditation center in France.
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ALSO BY THICH NHAT HANH
    No Death, No Fear
    Living Buddha, Living Christ
    Fragrant Palm Leaves
    Being Peace
    For a Future to Be Possible
    The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching
    The Heart of Understanding
    The Long Road Turns to Joy
    Love in Action
    The Miracle of Mindfulness
    Old Path, White Clouds
    Peace Is Every Step
    Anger
    True Love
    Art of Power
    Savor
    Peace Is Every Breath

Credits
    Front cover design: Claudine Mansour Design spiritual path.
    Front cover image: Jupiterimages © Getty Images

Copyright
    THE NOVICE: A Story of True Love. Copyright © 2011 by Unified Buddhist Church. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
    FIRST EDITION
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
    ISBN : 978–0–06–200583–0
    EPub Edition ©