Each chapter starts with a little introduction on the subject from a Zen view which is unique to the author, and then continues with small concentrated paragraphs, full of meaning and moving. There is a simple way to test the veracity of the Buddha’s teachings. Find the most comfortable posture. Remain in that posture for thirty minutes. The most comfortable posture soon becomes the most uncomfortable. Everything is impermanent, including the world’s most comfortable posture.” Don't struggle to heal your wounds. Just pour time into your heart and wait. When your wounds are ready, they will heal on their own." Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.” —MAHATMA GANDHI (Note: See what inspired Gandhi’s simple living transformation at age 23)

Some may think that life in such a community is repressed, strict, and difficult, but that is not the case. A monastic life is characterized by simple beauty and unexpected joy. Monks find happiness in things that may seem trivial to those who pursue the material trappings of success. Watching the seasons change—the blossoming of the magnolias, the dazzling fall foliage, the first snowfall—brings indescribable joy and gratitude. A simple meal made with fresh ingredients from the nearby mountains is a source of great contentment. Because our monastic brothers are our friends, teachers, and family, we are never lonely.” (Note: Reminds me of life in the Blue Zones where people consistently live to be over 100 years old — even if you can’t live like that, get outside frequently) Where you live shapes you. Do you live in a place conducive to the pursuit of your dreams?” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 177 If you look for love, in pursuit of what it can give you, it will hide itself. If you ask love to arrive because you are now ready, it will skip your door. Love is like an uninvited guest. Love will come when it wants to. Love will leave when you ask more of it.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 150are even thinking about us in the first place. Secondly, you don't have to be liked by everyone. It is human nature to like and Many of the questions are about family life. “I encourage people to have a very intimate and close relationship with their child, when the child is one, two, three, four and five. You should pour your attention and love into them. But when the child has grown up, it’s different. Often parents are so much in love with their child that they want to do everything – even when the child is in their 20s. I say, ‘Maybe you can let your child know that he is already an adult. Say, “I love you very much but it’s time for you to grow up.” Focusing less on him, and more on yourself, your partner, and the people around you, will bring benefits to your child.’” Do not turn down too many opportunities. If you insist you need more preparation, you may not be invited again when you finally feel ready. You are ready. You can take up the challenge.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 214

Nearly three million copies of the book have been sold worldwide since its publication in 2012, and it has been translated from its original Korean by Chi-Young Kim in collaboration with the author himself. This year, in fact, marks the publication of its first English translation. It is essentially a guide to mindfulness, of how to make the most of oneself despite outside factors sometimes wishing to throw us off course. The subtitle of The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, 'How to Be Calm in a Busy World' will, I am sure, speak to many of us in the modern world. I am personally a very calm person, and rarely get stressed out, but I find books like this lovely to dip in and out of; they are soothing, almost. Born in South Korea and educated at Berkeley, Harvard, and Princeton, he received formal monastic training from Haein monastery, South Korea and taught Asian religions at Hampshire College in Massachusetts for seven years. When you keep clashing with someone, it may be the world’s way of asking you to look closely at yourself. When you don’t like someone, try to figure out what it is you don’t like; see whether you have a similar flaw within yourself.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 130 Those who embody humility and peace are the ones that can understand the purpose of what religion is about, Things I liked when I was young but now couldn’t care less about: Airplane rides, all-you-can-eat buffet, horror movies, staying up all night. Things I enjoy now that I am older: Mozart, brown rice, meditation, spending time alone, regular exercise. We change without realizing it. We are in the midst of change even now.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 52

Universal truths, beautifully expressed, lovingly illustrated Mark Williams, co-author of 'Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World'

My dear young friend, please don’t feel discouraged just because you are slightly behind. Life isn’t a hundred-meter race against your friends, but a lifelong marathon against yourself. Rather than focusing on getting ahead of your friends, first try to discover your unique color.” (Note: Speaking of running, how about LSD, Long Slow Distance, in running and life?) Sunim offers the advice that slowing down is the key to self-reflection and better understanding our emotional state of mind on a more complex and deeper level. If we help someone in the hope of getting something in return, this is not giving but lending. True giving is done without expecting anything in return. It also means we relinquish control over what we have given.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 117 You are beautiful not because you are better than others but because these is only you who can smile like that. May you fall in love with your unique self.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 160 too much pride can be a source of conflict. If we treat people with humility and respect, conflicts can be avoided. It is often our pride that encourages us to stand up straight and wage a battle of wills. While fighting to determine who is right and who is wrong, we end up causing physical and emotional pain.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 107Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2023-01-12 09:39:33 Associated-names Kim, Chi-Young, translator; Lee, Youngcheol, 1959- illustrator Boxid IA40277206 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier Some say they don’t really know what they are looking for in real life. This might be because, instead of getting in touch with how they feel, they have led their lives according to other people’s expectations. Live your life not to satisfy others, but to fulfill what your heart desires.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 206 Ancient Buddhist philosophy for the modern age . . . Profound but relatable wisdom on coping with the daily grind—and on keeping sight of what really matters. Leave this book on your nightstand to clear your head before bed.”— Real Simple To be honest, I sometimes wonder whether a Zen monk should keep to such a full schedule. But then I realize it isn’t the outside world that is a whirlwind; it is only my mind. The world has never complained about how busy it is.” companion. It is with this that Sunim realized that maintaining good relationships was like sitting near a fireplace.

urn:oclc:record:1392035564 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier thingsyoucanseeo0000hyem Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t1fk5776s Invoice 1652 Isbn 9780143130772 An ordinary person mainly notices particular things he likes or dislikes. A wise person notices both the whole and the particulars.” - Haemin Sunim, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, p. 195 The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm in a Busy World” is a mindfulness guide written by Haemin Sunim, a South Korean Zen Buddhist monk.

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When you are so busy that you feel perpetually chased, when worrying thoughts circle your head, when the future seems dark and uncertain, when you are hurt by what someone has said, slow down, even if only for a moment. Bring all of your awareness into the present and take a deep breath.” More often than not, it’s our perception of things that happened in the past or things that may happen in the future that drives negative thoughts and emotions. But we can’t control or change the past or the future. So why worry about them? Why allow our perception of them to make us unhappy?