The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

Two of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first two.

1. The First Noble Truth is not 'life is suffering' but simply that suffering exists and can be recognized. Thich Nhat Hanh insists you must first identify and embrace your suffering, like a mother holding a crying baby, before you can understand its roots.
2. Every mental formation has both seeds in what he calls **store consciousness** and blooms in **mind consciousness**. What you water grows: attending to seeds of anger strengthens anger; attending to seeds of joy strengthens joy. This is **selective watering**.

The other 5 — and the full 11-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 8 chapters

The whole summary runs about 11 minutes, read or listened to.

1. Entering the Heart of the Teaching
2. The Four Noble Truths, Re-Seen
3. Right View and the Practice of Looking Deeply
4. Right Thinking, Speech, and the Power of Words
5. Right Action, Livelihood, and Diligence
6. Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration
7. The Two Truths and the Three Dharma Seals
8. Interdependent Co-Arising and the Factors of Awakening