Customer Reviews (2)

Not what you might think
This book isa work of considerable erudition and depth on the historical dimension of classical Tibetan. It may be of great interest to anyone who already has a sound knowledge of the classical Tibetan language, but any potential buyer should be aware of what it is not. It is NOT an introduction to the classical Tibetan language. It is NOT a Tibetan grammar. As a matter of fact, the only Tibetan characters you will find in this books are in tables reproducing classical texts. All the textual examples are transliterated into Latin characters, which I personally find very irritating. For anyone interested in learning classical Tibetan the most appropriate first buy is, in my opinion, Wilson's "Translating Buddhism from Tibetan".

A must-read for anyone interested in Classical Tibetan.
It's not a typical grammar text.It won't give you prescriptive rules and exercises and it doesn't try to force Tibetan into procrustean bed of grammatical categories of European languages. Instead it aims at helpingthe reader to develop an intuition about the language and is verysuccessful at that.Abundant examples with clear and thorough explanationslead you through all aspects of the Classical Tibetan from alphabet topoetry.This book will definitely help you crystallize your understandingof Tibetan grammar. ... Read more

Book Description
poems of the past 40 years, w/commentaries, illus ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Calm and clear dignity
There are many wonderful introductions to the work, life and ideas of Thich Nhat Hanh, and this is both one of the more unexpected, and one of the finest.

CALL ME BY MY TRUE NAMES is a comprehensive collection of Thich Nhat Hanh's poetry, presented here with occasional brief comments from the author following many of the poems.I initially purchased this for the comparatively famous title piece, which is a work of extraordinary moral power, and also of extraordinary literary control.

From start to finish here, the writing is economical and plainspoken - but not 'plain': to draw feeble Western connections, this is a distant stylistic cousin to the likes of Dickens, or perhaps Steinbeck - rather than resort to gimmicks, or technical flash, Thich Nhat Hanh has the respect or confidence in his own voice (or the voices of characters) to allow that voice clear expression.

Thus, a collection of dignity and skill.The Vietnamese Zen ideals and ideas Thich Nhat Hanh has been developing, exploring and living for decades are expressed with precision and grace, and he doesn't have to ask for a readers' interest - this work sparkles with calm dignity and life.

-David Alston

I Saw Thich
We were there the day Thich Nhat Hanh gave his lecture at Grace Cathedral. We were there, simply enough, praying in thebold Cathedral at the top of Nob Hill, having just stopped in to get out of the chilly fog on a windswept afternoon. People with dark suits and lengths of lavender ribbons were festooning the nave and aisles of the church with color and flowers, and placed a large jar of proteus on the podium floor. We later discovered that proteus was the favorite flower of Thich Nhat Hanh, and you can hear him croon with pleasure on the tape about the flowers, and if you do not understand the reference immediately, he's talking about how he sees proteus all over the world, so it's like a universal symbol of love.

We soon found out that Thich Nhat Hanh and his organization had sold tickets to hear this lecture but miracle of miracles, they did not kick us out, but allowed us to stay even though we did not pay the minimal fees charged. And what a lecture, filled with poetry and the pedagogy of love. By the time we went outside, the sun had burst out, and you could see a rainbow towering over Nob Hill with one end buried in the Mission and the other by Coit Tower. Afterwards we saw Thich Nhat Hanh, accompanied by two children, scampering through the famous maze in the pavement in front of Grace Cathedral. With glee they negotiated the twists and turns that baffle Western man.

Everything is Here
As many of us may (or may not) be aware, Nhat Hanh is at once a renowned Buddhist monk, a poet, and activist for peace; especially peace sought after during war time. This particular book brings together a collection of 100+ poems he has written and orated over 40 years. Each one gives the reader a glimpse into the very heart of this real life bodhisattva. Call Me By My True Names is perhaps one of his most profound and important, for it penetrates one's dualistic mode of thinking to the point of acknowledging all nature is within my own nature. True understanding stems from realizing there is no other in a traditional sense. What there should only be is, "How can I help this world?" Call Me By My True Names is awe-inspiring, one of the most powerful texts on interconnection and being I've ever happened to read. And simple, so clear.

This book covers practically every aspect of a spiritual life in it's contents, and it is my wish you will buy it. It should be on all beings shelves, for it's prose is delivered deep from the heart of a modern bodhisattva.

The voice of Buddha
This book is something special. Call me by my true names is more than a collection of poems by some crusty old Zen guy. The author's clarity and enlightening style have cut through my muddy mind like a knife through butter. I sit here covered in Goosebumps because Thich Nhat Hahn's poetry resonates with the voice of Buddha.

Call me by my true names is nothing short of spectacular.

Plain & Powerful from Tich Nhat Hanh
His simple words reveal an ocean of truth of miseries, hopes, memories & dreams a normal citizen had, when Vietnam was bleeding.It also has all the good things that we have ever heard from elders or read somewhere.Simple yet powerful this collection is a close encounter with nature andlife. ... Read more

Book Description
In this raw and moving memoir, Claude Thomas tells the dramatic story of his service in Vietnam, his subsequent emotional collapse, and how he was ultimately able to find healing and peace. Thomas went to Vietnam at the age of eighteen, where he served as a crew chief on assault helicopters. By the end of his tour, he had been awarded numerous medals, including the Purple Heart. He had also killed many people, witnessed horrifying cruelty, and narrowly escaped death on a number of occasions. When Thomas returned home he found that he continued to live in a state of war. He was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, fear, anger, and despair, all of which were intensified by the rejection he experienced as a Vietnam veteran. For years, Thomas struggled with post-traumatic stress, drug and alcohol addiction, isolation, and even homelessness. A turning point came when he attended a meditation retreat for Vietnam veterans led by the renowned Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Here he encountered the Buddhist teachings on meditation and mindfulness, which helped him to stop running from his past and instead confront the pain of his war experiences directly and compassionately. Thomas was eventually ordained as a Zen monk and teacher, and he began making pilgrimages to promote peace and nonviolence in war-scarred places around the world including Bosnia, Auschwitz, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and the Middle East. At Hell's Gate is Thomas's dramatic coming-of-age story and a spiritual travelogue from the horrors of combat to discovering a spiritual approach to healing violence and ending war from the inside out. In simple and direct language, Thomas shares timeless teachings on healing emotional suffering and offers us practical guidance in using mindfulness and compassion to transform our lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

A flawed butimportant book
It took me two attempts to finish this book and I am glad I did.

The book is somewhat disorganized and muddled. I gave up on it the first time because it was a little too preachy and the initial description of the author's suffering and frequent crying was a little surpising since he just told us Vietnam finally gave his life a purpose.

But then I gave it a second try. After learning later in the book more of his experience in vietnam, I had a better understanding of his pain. I realized what I'd been reading was a vivid account of his post traumatic stress disorder. This book is important and powerful because it shows a way the author found after 20 years of pure misery to alleviate his pain and suffering . Anyone who's troubled or depressed or plain just stressed out can benefit from his messages.

A Compelling Account of Personal Transformation
Claude Thomas' inspiring account of his hellish journey and his eventual path to personal growth is one of the most profound stories I've read. From a life that many would just as soon end, he found a tiny crease of light led him to take all that had transpired in his life and draw upon it as a basis for learning and growth. Truly admirable, with insights and practices well worth emulating.

A peddle in the ocean
I bought 13 copies of this book from Amazon and gave the same gift to everyone this last christmas, and intend to do the same next year and from here on out. They sent me 4 of the 13 as autographed copies which was a nice surprise.

I am going to deliver the last one tonight to a friend who is having a difficult time right now.

This book has brought me a clearer understanding of myself, not by the cleverness of the author but through his simple bare humanity which he shares freely here. Sending this book out into this world can only make it a better place, creating small ripples that could affect and change a great many things over time.

From There To Here
Once a highly decorated war hero, Claude Thomas had been sexually abused as a child and carried the scars of this abuse to VietNam, where he commanded an elite helicopter unit for fourteen months at the height of the American incursion there.He wound up with a chestful of medals (27) and a burnt-out shell of a man, returning to the US, a girl spat on him.One thing led to another and Thomas began questioning his own claims to his life.It wasn't until he met the famous Vietnamese sage, Thich Nhat Hanh, that he began to get a clue as to his spiritual path.Through mindfulness he became aware that he was a victim of Vietnam just as we all were, and just as generations unborn during the war continue to suffer from its political and cultural fallout.Today he is a Zen priest and has written an interesting memoir.

Like Claude AnShin Thomas, when we saw Thich Nhat Hanh we burst into tears on the spot.And not because of any identification with his pain.I think I was just feeling emotional that day.Thomas has an amazing story to tell, but it is not all that well written, and has many Buddhist cliches that spoil the thrust of the tale for me.

And could they have picked a scarier looking portrait of Claude AnShin Thomas for the cover?I've seen him in person, he isn't that bad looking, he has sort of the look of Nelson Rockefeller, you know, not a matinee idol, but not a face from Creature Features either.I think Shambhala was definitelyu trying to go for the macho market here, making Thomas look like he was a serial killer come out of the shadows to slit your throat then creep away.We know that Buddhism can sometimes be a dangerous practice, for you're standing in the middle of the fire trying to confront the real, but enough is enough, and this is a kind of visual crime if you ask me.

A powerful spiritual autobiography
"At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace," by Claude Anshin Thomas, is the memoir of a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who suffered great personal torment after returning from war.He ultimately found healing and hope in Buddhism and became a monk.This book recounts his spiritual, geographic, and emotional journeys.

Thomas writes about his military basic training, his combat time in Vietnam, and the serious personal problems he had afterwards.He writes how his life changed dramatically after he met Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk.Thomas tells how he came to be ordained as a Buddhist monk.He also writes of his global travels, of a remarkable walking pilgrimage he took across the United States, and of his relationship with his son.

Along the way Thomas discusses teachings and practices that helped transform his life: meditation, the importance of community, the key concept of "mindfulness."He also discusses his commitment to nonviolence.Thomas' writing style is simple and clear, and often quite eloquent and moving.He notes, "Everyone has their Vietnam"--some source of great pain.The book contains some fascinating scenes from the author's journeys; I found the vignettes from his walk across the U.S. to be particularly resonant.This is a thought-provoking book, and a valuable addition to the canon of spiritual autobiographies. ... Read more

Book Description
During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Buddhist peace activists made extraordinary sacrifices—including self-immolation—to try to end the fighting. They hoped to fashion a neutralist government to broker peace with the Communists and expel the Americans.

In the first study in English of this vitally important mass movement, Robert J. Topmiller describes Buddhist efforts to create a non-aligned Third Force. He explores South Vietnamese attitudes toward the war, the insurgency, and U.S. intervention, and lays bare internal dissension in the U.S. military. Far from being ineffective or weak, the Buddhist peace movement caused a crisis within the United States government. The Lotus Unleashed is one of the few studies to illuminate the impact of internal Vietnamese politics on U.S. decision-making and to examine the power of a nonviolent movement to confront a violent superpower. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Sheds new light on a crucial point in our history
Few Americans, who lived in the 1960's, will ever forget the grotesque spectacle appearing on the evening television news as Vietnamese Buddhist monks (and nuns) regularly burned themselves to death in protest of government policies they believed were bringing about the destruction of their country.In The Lotus Unleashed, an absorbing account of those times, Dr. Robert J. Topmiller examines the complex political climate in then-South Vietnam during the years immediately leading up to the massive increase in U.S. ground troops there. The author provides a plethora of new information about this popular Buddhist led-movement which was intent on establishing a freely-elected government in South Vietnam; one free of American occupying forces. In addition to his meticulous research, Topmiller interviewed surviving leaders of the Buddhist Peace Movement; an often difficult and risky task, since many were at the time still under suspicion, or house arrest, by the current government.

The Lotus Unleashed makes sense of the chaos occurring within South Vietnam in the mid-1960's, as seen not only in the bitter dissension between, and within, South Vietnam's political, religious and military organizations, but also between the U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces stationed there.

Lessons, seemingly relevant to our current foreign policy, leap from the pages. Perhaps the most important of these derives from a consistent misinterpretation and mistrust by U.S. policymakers with regard to the motives of the Buddhist protesters, and other non-communist nationalist factions, who opposed the government in Saigon. This lesson, in its simplest form, might read: Because a faction does not support us, it does not necessarily mean it supports our enemy.

Topmiller sheds much new light on this crucial point in our history and presents a compelling argument that the Buddhist Peace Movement, far from being an inconsequential player in the larger struggle between the United States and Soviet Union for hegemony in the region, may well have been the last practical opportunity to avoid the ensuing tragedy that eventually cost the lives of over 58,000 Americans and nearly 3 million Vietnamese.As I finished this extraordinary book, the words of the American poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier came to mind:

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: It might have been!"

Fresh Perspective on the Issues
Dr. Topmiller examines the Vietnam War and the subsquent US involvement not solely from the stance of a proxy US vs. Communism war, but allows for the agency of the Vietnamese people in respect to their own history.

His illustration of the Buddhist movement in Vietnam, not as a sideshow, but as a legitamite third force in the struggle allows Americans today a deeper understanding of this very emotional episode in our history.

Dr. Topmiller's study of the conflict between USMC and US Army leadership throughout the conduct of the American military action adds a further vital lesson for the American people in our current age of increased military intervention.The most notable praise this book received was from Daniel Ellsburg who noted that Dr. Topmiller was able to find material about the war that Ellsburg himself was unaware of.

Any serious student of the history of Vietnam, the American War in Vietnam or American History needs to read this book.

This is an important book on the American-Vietnam War
This new book on the American-Vietnam War, writes Robert J. Topmiller, "contains few American heroes but focuses instead on the enormous sacrifices of Vietnamese Buddhists to halt the conflict." In the end, the conflict caused 58,000 American and 3 million South and North Vietnamese deaths.

"The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964-1966" marks the culmination of one historian's decade-long endeavor to tell the story of America's longest war from the perspective of those South Vietnamese Buddhists "who risked everything for peace." The author, an alumnus of Central Washington University, is a Vietnam War veteran and a history professor at Eastern Kentucky University.

Topmiller asserts that America's defeat in Vietnam ultimately resulted from the illegitimacy and unpopularity of successive South Vietnamese governments, which aside from being dictatorial were dependent on and subservient to a warring foreign power, the United States. Above all, he writes, most South Vietnamese wanted peace and independence.

Examination of the Buddhist Peace Movement, Topmiller argues, typifies both "the ambiguity felt by Vietnamese over the American [Cold War] crusade" and "America's frustration over its inability to influence events in South Vietnam." The Buddhists, who hoped to establish peace and democracy and to eradicate poverty and injustice, represented the most significant non-communist group that challenged the South Vietnamese government.

The Buddhist Movement's first defining moment came in June 1963 when an elderly monk protested his government's religious persecution by setting himself on fire. Photographs of the self-immolation and the government's repression of Buddhist protesters galvanized American and world opinion against South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was assassinated in a November coup.

As Topmiller emphasizes, the toppling of Diem did not work in favor of the Buddhists' drive for peace and nationalism. Instead, it created a political power vacuum filled by South Vietnamese generals, who permitted increased American intervention and an expansion of the war against communist North Vietnam. Washington secretly opposed the Buddhist objective of a populist government because it risked instability and possible cooperation with local communists, and at best, such a course would lead to a "neutralist" approach to the Cold War.

The United States found it increasingly difficult to maintain stability in South Vietnam, a country plagued by interest group factionalism and regional divisions.

Topmiller illustrates this vividly by reconstructing the 1966 Buddhist Crisis in Danang, where U.S. Marines attempted to prevent fighting between their military ally, the South Vietnamese Marines and Air Force, and Buddhist and student protesters, who were aided by dissident South Vietnamese army units. At one point, South Vietnamese fighter planes "accidentally" strafed and injured eight U.S. marines in Danang. A livid U.S. Marine general ordered American fighters to fly over the Vietnamese planes to forestall further strafing. Upset with this adverse action, the South Vietnamese launched additional planes to fly over the American jets. This retaliation only caused more U.S. planes to take to the air. Finally, "after more stern warnings" from the Americans, the Vietnamese Air Force "backed down."

Nevertheless, by the end of 1966, the U.S-backed government in South Vietnam forcefully subjugated the Buddhist Peace Movement. Topmiller suggests that the Buddhist Crisis may have represented a missed of opportunity for peace and a chance for the United States to avoid a humiliating and tragic defeat.

His well-written narrative and nuanced understanding of South Vietnamese and American motives and actions are the result of painstaking research in the United States and Vietnam, including interviews and correspondence with key actors.

With the United States at war in the Middle East, Topmiller's book serves to remind us of the challenges and pitfalls of American involvement in far-flung conflicts. ... Read more