Love Is Liberation

The five precepts of traditional Buddhism—not to kill, steal, lie, ingest harmful substances, and to refrain from sexual misconduct—are universally applicable ethical foundations for a happy life for people of all religions and none. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings reframe these guiding principles as positive steps that, followed wholeheartedly, lead to the transformation of suffering for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.

Aware of the interconnection of all people, and the truth that we are all affected if even one person lives on the knife-edge of systemic social oppression and discrimination, authors and Dharma teachers Valerie Brown and Marisela B. Gomez address the suffering of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, who face disproportionate levels of violence, poverty, sickness, displacement, and death. Sharing their contemplations on the Mindfulness Trainings, they conclude with the voices of five BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ mindfulness practitioners sharing how each Mindfulness Training impacts their daily lives, celebrating the powerful transformative potential of each training:

• reverence for life,
• true happiness,
• true love,
• loving speech and deep listening,
• and nourishment and healing.

Through sharing their lived experience of the Five Mindfulness Trainings for ethical living, the contributors to this treasure of a book call us all forward toward individual and collective awakening.