Jeanine Cogan and Mary Hillebrand’s new anthology on grief is titled Tears Become Rain: Stories of Healing and Transformation Inspired by Thich Nhat Hahn. Correlating to a number of Thich Nhat Hahn’s lessons and philosophies, Cogan and Hillebrand assemble a number of diverse stories to explore finding meaning in one’s darkness.
As evidenced by the introductory statement by both authors, this is not just a professional feather in Cogan and Hillebrand’s caps. It’s a project with deep personal ties. Tears Become Rain is sort of the perfect articulation of the mindset each story promotes. Not downplaying one’s pain, but not being overwhelmed, nor ruled by it either. Using it as a force for good, regardless of the bad hand you have been dealt. “‘We have to learn the art of stopping,’ says Thầy, as Thích Nhất Hạnh’s students call him. ‘Stopping our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, the strong emotions that rule us.
When an emotion rushes through us like a storm, we have no peace.’… So often, we instead push away what is. We resist sitting with the present moment because what we find there is uncomfortable, perhaps filled with doubt or even intense suffering. Afraid to feel it, we may try to block it with dis- tractions and diversions… As Thầy teaches, clarity comes when we calm ourselves, look closely, and listen deeply. Sitting peacefully with our beautiful friend, who would have made an excellent editor for this book, Mary finally figured out what to do: join Jeanine on this project and, in doing so, carry Susan with us. What an opportunity to deepen our practice and create a gift that all three of us would want to give Thầy and the world: a book by regular human beings, just like us, who had been transformed by his presence and teachings.”
Cogan and Hillebrand’s expertise in Thich Nhat Hahn’s teachings is evident in the way they structure the read. Each set of chapters are divided into a series of ideological factions and sections of the book, starting with Part One encapsulating The Power of Community and Belonging, the second being christened as Interbeing: We Are One, the third being thematically structured about Coming Home to Ourselves, the fourth – Reconciliation: Coming Back to Each Other. The fifth focuses on facing one’s fear(s), the sixth on the pain of loss and grief. The seventh and final section of chapters is titled Being Here Now: The Wonders of the Present Moment. Thich Nhat Hahn was a master in the theological fields of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Tears-Become-Rain-Transformation-Inspired-ebook/dp/B0BS2VYJ47
The Taoist element is particularly on display thematically in the book’s seventh part. One of the stories that most inflammatorily displays this is the simple but effectively titled Thank You for Being Late, written by author Nicole Dunn. “Through his teaching, his many poems and books, and Engaged Buddhism, Thích Nhất Hạnh gave his life to helping other people suffer less, even while he continued to sit with his own suffering,” Cogan and Hillebrand write.
Garth Thomas