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The Art of Power  By  cover art

The Art of Power

By: Thích Nhất Hạnh
Narrated by: Lloyd James
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Publisher's summary

In The Art of Power, world-renowned Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh offers a surprising and radical new understanding of how we attain true power.

Power is one of the central issues in our lives. From work to personal relationships, the struggle for power plays a pivotal role and, more often than not, prevents us from attaining freedom and happiness. The bottom-line mentality in our culture seeps unnoticed into every other part of our lives. Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates how our current understanding of power leads us on a never-ending search for external markers like job title or salary. This me-first approach to life may have originated in the business world, but the stress, fear, and anxiety it causes are being felt by all of us every day.

Turning the conventional understanding on its head, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that true power comes from within and that what we seek we already have. With colorful anecdotes, precise language, and concrete practices, this book will have an important and lasting legacy on how we understand our culture and choose to live our lives.

(P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
"[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal inner peace, and peace on earth." (the Dalai Lama)

What listeners say about The Art of Power

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Distilled Wisdom of a Happy Being

How highly should you recommend a book that is the distilled wisdom and insight of a 90-year old monk who has lived nearly his entire life in the service of others and while having no wife, children or money and while owning nothing and representing the complete antithesis of what our society holds up as successful, is happy down to the core of his being?

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

It seems simple but this is real power

This book is aimed at CEOs, politicians and other powerful people about how real power is not dominating others with your wealth or power, but the power to be happy in the present moment and free from addiction, despair and anger. As sometimes happens when I read his books, the advice seems almost too simplistic to work in the real word in hard situations: breathe to get in sync with your body, the present moment is a wonderful moment, realize there is no self and that others are really you too, and practice compassion toward yourself and others. But then Nhat Hanh tells of being exiled from his home country of Vietnam because the government’s thought he was a danger for teaching peace. They banned his books and kept him out for 40 years. He’s finally allowed back and the communist government tries to thwart his lectures — and he uses the techniques in this book and creates a crack in the state apparatus aligned against him, until by the end of his visit, government officials are packing his lectures to hear him speak about peace and loving kindness. Now that’s power. (It's a very small part of the book.) An anecdote stuck with me: His book “Being Peace” sold a million copies just in South Korea while his book “Touching Peace” only had 10,000 copies printed — if you’re happy with what you accomplished, then what happens afterward is inconsequential. There’s a long appendix where the creator of Patagonia tells about his business philosophy, which fits perfectly with Nhat Hanh’s advice, and how these principles made Patagonia such a power house today. Quote: "Protesting is a kind of help, but it should be done skillfully, so people see it as an act of love and not an attack." Grade: A-

The narration is solid.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great Message

This was my second TNH book and the message (while still amazing) was really a rehashing of the first book. Still, its an incredibly important message and if this would be your first TNH book its probably a great choice. The book has a western narrator, which is both good (definately easier to understand) and bad (lack's TNH's incredible charm). I highly recommend this book - but if it's a second TNH book, be prepared for lots of overlap.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not everyone should write books.

I'm sure that in person Hanh is impressive. I just don't think his ideas were worth a book this long. It sounds like the essays I used to write in high school when I didn't have much to say, but did have a required length. Eckart Tolle's books are close to this in philosophy, but for me are far superior in depth and content.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great practice to mindfulness in the real world

Many people complain that the author repeats information found in other books. However, as a musician, we learn that repetition equals mastery. This book offers very practical and insightful information in maintaining mindfulness when running a business or working for a business. This book can apply to everyone who must interact with Society to earn a living. I loved the Patagonia story in the appendix. I recommend this book for anyone who thinks they have to sacrifice a bit of their peace, love, and compassion to earn a living in the real world.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

grateful read

thoughtful wisdom and a depth of connection to the ordinary that will surprise you and push you to lead an examined life

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Prefer His Collected Works

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe - some really good parts just slow to arrive at the point

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I like the mindful joy and deliberate approach but it felt very slow at parts and took a long time to get there. Maybe that was the point.

What about Lloyd James’s performance did you like?

It was mellow and soothing with being boring or sleepy

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Treating others with empathy

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome reader and content

What made the experience of listening to The Art of Power the most enjoyable?

The content is awesome. I have listened to it three times. It is not a self help book but more of an instruction manual on how to experience every moment of your life.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very compatible with libertarianism

this book covers the basics of buddhism, along with its relation to action in the world, particularly business and a little bit of politics

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

mindful

a good read reminds us that when life gets crazy to stop and breathe that's never bad advice

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1 person found this helpful