Cuong Lu

Pause, find connection, and choose peace rather than harm when you feel overwhelmed in the crashing ocean of life. You are the calm of the ocean, not the pounding wave. The tumultuous, confusing, and unbearable feelings that arise in life will never overtake your true essence and the peace you can find below the surface. Written as a love letter to those in pain, Wait encourages us to seek out a path to peace and freedom from suffering. Cuong Lu, a long-time disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh, personally witnessed a shooting while fleeing Vietnam in 1975. The memory of this trauma prompted him to dedicate his life to sharing the wisdom of deep listening, finding understanding, and in his words, "defusing the bombs in our hearts." We have waited long enough for the violence to stop. Now is the time to help turn the tide, interrupt the cycle of violence, and create a world where love and understanding thrive.

A Love Letter to Those in Despair

Wait

Simple Lessons on Finding Meaning in Each Moment

Happiness Is Overrated

The Buddha in Prison

Stop chasing happiness and reconnect to the meaning of each moment through this practical guide, told through vignettes of life training as a Buddhist monk under world-renowned spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh. We spend so much time in pursuit of happiness—trying to purchase it, experience it, meditate our way toward it—but happiness is elusive and doesn’t last. According to the teachings of the Buddha, Cuong Lu writes, “Suffering is not a problem to be solved. It is a truth to be recognized.” Happiness Is Overrated invites us to look deeply at the truths in our lives—not glossing over or denying our suffering—and to focus on the meaning and value already within us. Each chapter of Happiness Is Overrated shares a lesson drawn from Buddhist psychology, accessible for all readers. Short practices at the end of each of the 30 short chapters help readers apply the teachings on their own. Happiness Is Overrated helps us get in touch with our true selves and our true minds, through meditation and mindfulness practices that include paying attention to the breath, observing our minds, connecting with our hearts, practicing “interbeing” with others and the Earth, and more.

This is a book of 52 vignettes—stories and teachings about Cuong Lu’s six years as a prison chaplain. Lu shares insights into the prisoner’s mindset, something with implications for us all, whether or not we are in a conventional jail. As a prison chaplain, Cuong discovered that when the men inside allowed themselves to feel their pain—including remorse from committing crimes—knowing and feeling the truth became a source of strength for them. And when the inmates felt listened to, understood, and not judged, it transformed their sense of who they are, and as a result changed their attitudes and their behavior. This book is not just about the prisoners. It’s about all of us. We’re each caught in distorted and limiting ideas of ourselves. We don’t believe freedom and happiness are attainable. But when we come to believe in ourselves, we discover the freedom and happiness already within. Cuong Lu, Buddhist teacher, scholar, and writer, was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1968. He majored in East Asian studies at the University of Leiden, and in 1993 was ordained a monk at Plum Village in France under the guidance of Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2000, he was recognized as a teacher in the Lieu Quan line of the Linji School of Zen Buddhism. In 2015, he received a master’s degree in Buddhist Spiritual Care at Vrije University in Amsterdam. Lu is the founder of Mind Only School, in Gouda, the Netherlands, where he teaches Buddhist philosophy and psychology, specializing in Yogachara Buddhism combined with the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) School of Nagarjuna.

Restoring Lives, Finding Hope and Freedom

The Buddha in Jail

Een boek vol hoop en levenslessen. 'Wanneer de gevangenen met wie Cuong werkte het gevoel kregen dat ze gehoord en begrepen werden in plaats van veroordeeld, veranderde hun gevoel over zichzelf en als gevolg daarvan hun houding en gedrag enorm.' – Roshi Joan Halifax, auteur en zenboeddhist De boeddhistisch geestelijk verzorger Cuong Lu bezocht zes jaar lang elke week vier Nederlandse gevangenissen om te praten en mediteren met gevangenen. In De Boeddha in de bajes deelt hij 52 verhalen en lessen die hij daar heeft opgedaan. Hij laat zien dat hoe diep iemand ook gevallen is, het altijd weer mogelijk is om op te staan en opnieuw te beginnen. Vooral als je iemand een helpende hand biedt. Hoe mooi zou het zijn als iemand niet alleen in de gevangenis zit om gestraft te worden, maar om ook weer hoop te voelen? Deze aanpak werkt niet alleen in de gevangenis, maar ook in ons dagelijks leven. Want allemaal kunnen we gevangenzitten in negatieve ideeën over onszelf. Wanneer je weer in jezelf gaat geloven, is het mogelijk om vrij en gelukkig te zijn – zelfs achter tralies. Cuong Lu (1968) is boeddhistisch leraar en schrijver. Hij is geboren in Vietnam en emigreerde in 1980 met zijn familie naar Nederland, waar hij Oost-Aziatische studies studeerde aan de Universiteit van Leiden. Onder leiding van Thich Nhat Hanh werd hij ingewijd als monnik in Plum Village. Cuong is oprichter van de Mind Only School in Gouda, waar hij boeddhistische filosofie en psychologie doceert.

Cuong Lu

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