Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change

Learn to harness the principles of nonviolence, peace, and reconciliation through this inspiring collection of 16 essays and an evocative play by Zen master, peace activist, and refugee advocate Thich Nhat Hanh.
"The essence of nonviolence is love," Thich Nhat Hanh says. "Out of love and the willingness to act selflessly, strategies, tactics, and techniques for a nonviolent struggle arise naturally." Collecting fifty years of Thich Nhat Hanh's thinking on social transformation, Love in Action is an important resource for anyone engaged in social work, community organizing, political action, and cause-oriented movements. Reflecting on the grief and devastation of war, Thich Nhat Hanh makes the strong argument that ethics and altruistic love based on mindfulness and insight are the only truly sustainable bases for political action. Having played a central role in the Buddhist nonviolent movement for peace in Vietnam during the 1960s and serving as Chair of the Buddhist Peace delegation to the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, Thich Nhat Hanh speaks with the voice of experience: "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." Rich with Thich Nhat Hanh's essays on the connections between outer engagement and the inner work for peace, this anthology also features poetry and the script of a hauntingly beautiful play, The Path of Return Continues the Journey. The play's characters are drawn from the author's own life, the young men and women of his School of Youth for Social Service--many of whom were killed for their social actions. An elegy and a prayer for peace, the script shows a less-known side of the young Thich Nhat Hanh: grieving, profoundly in touch with his sorrow and pain, and transforming his anguish into a form to be shared, inspired by love.