Thich Nhat Hanh - Go Slowly, Breathe and Smile: Dharma Art by Rashani Réa with the Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh

Praise for Go Slowly,
Breathe and Smile

This beautiful book is a feast for the senses and pure nourishment for the soul.

Tara Brach , author of Radical Acceptance

These simple and deep words from Thich Nhat Hanh interwoven into the delightfully tender and colorful collages by Rashani Ra have made the living dharma available to the mainstream.

Peter Russell , author of The Global Brain

I am very happy Rashani has put together this wonderful book of her art with Thys sayings for you to benefit from and enjoy.

Sister Chn Khng , author of Learning True Love

Thich Nhat Hanh said, The more you understand, the more you love. The more you love, the more you understand. Seeing Rashanis stunning collages, I have the distinct feeling that Im understanding and loving the moment in a way I hadnt before. Her art and this book will grow your capacity to understand, and your capacity to love.

Dawna Markova , author of Living a Loved Life

What a rare treat when the delicacy of images amplifies an already profound message! Rashanis extraordinary collages perfectly mirror Thich Nhat Hanhs simple yet powerful teachings. An exquisite collection.

James Baraz , author of Awakening Joy

Thich Nhat Hanh writes, Our own life has to be the message. Thys life has touched millions in this worlda message of peace, interbeing, love, and present-moment awareness. Rashanis life, like her art, also conveys a beautiful message of truth. This book is a celebration of the beauty and radiance of each expression, each grain of true golden sand.

Dorothy Hunt , author of Ending the Search: From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness

Thich Nhat Hanhs message is not only deceptively simple and deeply true, its also beautiful, elegant, and poetic. Rashanis art perfectly complements Thys poetic words. Both tap deeply into the web of life that underlies and connects all. In Go Slowly, Breathe and Smile , Thy and Rashani lift the veil a little and offer us a glimpse of the Way.

Paul Tingen , author of Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis

Go Slowly, Breathe and Smile is simply beautiful. As a profoundly co-creative interaction, it touches my heart, inspires my spirit, and gives me faith in existence.

Carol Stewart , The Mystery School, Nelson, British Columbia

Go slowly, breathe and smile; and allow Rashanis beautiful art and Thich Nhat Hanhs deeply wise sayings to accompany you along the way.

Joan Halifax , author of Standing at the Edge

go slowly,

breathe

and smile

Also by Thich Nhat Hanh

Also by Rashani Ra

Copyright 2022 by Rashani Ra and Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, Inc.
Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

Cover Design: Rashani Ra & Elina Diaz
Cover Photo/illustration: Rashani Ra
Interior Artwork: Rashani Ra
Photo of Thich Nhat Hanh Dana Gluckstein
Photo of Rashani Ra Kim Rosen
Layout & Design: Elina Diaz

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Go Slowly, Breathe and Smile: Dharma Art by Rashani Ra with the Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2021943211
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-719-5, (ebook) 978-1-64250-720-1
BISAC category code REL092000, RELIGION / Buddhism / Zen

Printed in the United States of America

To my partnera luminous, loving gift of grace,

my parents who taught me the difference

between looking and seeing,

my brother who taught me to question,

my son who taught me to listen

and to Thich Nhat Hanh

who taught so many of us how to love.

Rashani Ra

Table of Contents

Joan Halifax

When we walk slowly, the world appears more clearly. We see the fine detail of fern and flower, as well as devastation and disruption. We often hurry because we dont want to see. Were afraid to let our senses touch the body of suffering or the body of beauty. Too often we feel as if we have to exhale all the time. The inhale is essential, but then we can exhale.

Our culture celebrates activity. The public performance of busyness is how we demonstrate that were important. The more people see us as tired and over-stretched, the more they think we must be indispensable. The truth is the opposite. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do. If we just practice this, we find ourselves in each moment. This is where we discover wholeheartedness and true freedom.

One day in Joshua Tree, an artist turned to me and, with a certain amount of wonder, said, Everything is in the right place. Maybe as an artist she had some kind of impulse to change things artistically. Or maybe she recognized the miracle of this moment, and had let go into the perfection of that moment just as it was. She let go into the music of the natural world and, in her surrender, experienced that she too was a part of it, that she was in the right place. We cant be forced into this deep experience of letting go. We only arrive there by relaxing into what Thich Nhat Hanh calls the miracle of being awake.

In the mid-1960s in the midst of war and social breakdown, I was inspired reading Lotus in a Sea of Fire , by Thich Nhat Hanh, about his efforts to broker an understanding between both sides of the Vietnam War. Then in March 1966, I was one of the 20,000 people who marched for peace down New York Citys Fifth Avenue, as was Thich Nhat Hanh. Twenty years later, I traveled to Plum Village, his community in France, to meet him, and later that year, he came to the Ojai Foundation, the retreat center in California where I was director. He came again in 1987 to lead a retreat for artists.

I met Rashani around the same time. She attended a shamanic council at the Ojai Foundation, during which I facilitated an adoption ceremony for her with Brooke Medicine Eagle. She was vibrantly alive with a love for the dharma and wanted to share it through her art and music. Afterward, she hand-lettered a small book of my words, titled Dance Awake the Dream , and printed a few hundred copies. Rashani is an artistic pioneer, gracing the world with her prolific dharma art. Since we met in the early 1980s, she has continued to bring timeless wisdom teachings alive. The latest is this lovely book of her dharma art with Thich Nhat Hanhs wise sayings.