"Death can be a destabilizing force. And when it touches you closely, you must somehow discover a way to find and rebuild your secure home," popular yoga instructor Mary Paterson writes. With the death of her father, she felt as if she had no place to stand. She had lost her home.

Paterson's response to this life crisis, was to embark on a pilgrimage to Plum Village, the retreat of Nobel Prize-nominated Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. This wonderfully frank and funny chronicle of her 40-day sojourn offers readers the 40 Buddhist precepts that she learned. The primary theme is the necessity of discovering how to "take refuge" or find a permanent home within ourselves--without taking oneself too seriously.

With chapters such as The Lesson in a Bad Fish, The Man Who Nicked My Headphones, How a Monk Washes His Face, and How Not to Be Sneaky, this lyrical, wise, and witty personal journey book is inspirational and a joy to read. Paterson's sensibility is grounded, realistic, and engaging.
The Monks and Me: How 40 Days at Thich Nhat Hanh's French Monastery Guided Me Home, Mary Paterson, Hampton Roads Publishing, Paperback, 234 pp, $16.95

Mary Paterson is the founder and director of Toronto's Lotus Yoga Centre. Certified in Kundalini and Hatha yoga, Mary also holds a Bachelor of Arts and teaches internationally. She has been interviewed for numerous magazines and newspapers, including Elle Canada, the Toronto Star, and the Globe and Mail, and has regularly contributed celebrity health profiles to online journals. Mary is often invited by a wide variety of diverse companies to teach and speak about the transformational powers of yoga and meditation. Trained in classical ballet, Mary also performed professionally in theatre and film. She has traveled throughout India and now lives in Toronto, Canada. Visit Mary at www.lotusyogacentre.com

CONTENTS: The Monks and Me
	Author's Note		xiii
	Introduction Leaving home to Find Home		xv
	Entering the Monastery
Day	1	Body Taking Refuge Within My Wise Self	5
	2	Beginner's Mind Conquering My Boredom	13
	3	Ethical Mind (Sila) Lobsters, Sharks, and Me	20
	4	Focused Mind (Samadhi) The Day the Monk Lit Up My Spine	26
	5	Insightful Mind (Prajna) The Lesson in a Bad Fish	34
	6	Stopping The Message in the Ringing Bell	43
	7	Effort How Not to Become Superwoman	50
	8	Silence How Not to Build a Fire	56
	9	Action Why Saving a Bunch of Ants Is Good	61
	10	Patience How to Skin a Nut	66
	11	Joy Cooking with the Boys	70
	12	Humility Brazil Against Germany	74
	13	Tranquility The Nun Who Sang a French Lullaby	78
	14	Stability The Man Who Nicked My Headphones	82
	15	Clarity An "Enemy" Helps Me See the Truth of Inter-Being	88
	16	Faith Beginning Anew	94
	17	Kindness The Woman Who Made Me Soup	100
	18	Humility Losing a PhD	106
	19	Authenticity How Not To Be Sneaky	110
	20	Courage Meeting the Other Pilgrim with No Parents	114
	21	Impermanence How To Be with Everything as It Changes	119
	22	Earth I Am the Hungry Child	125
	23	Water How a Monk Washes His Face	131
	24	Fire The Happy Irishman	136
	25	Air How a Fat Suitcase Taught Me to Surrender	141
	26	Reverence The Willem Dafoe Lookalike Monk	147
	27	Engagement Looking Suffering in the Eye	155
	28	Grace The Beauty of a Dying Man, a Gliding Monk, and a Unique Baby	160
	29	Breath How Come We Take Our Breath for Granted?	164
	30	Catalysts Tsunamis, Wars, and Burning Monks	168
	31	Expansion GET OUT OF YOUR SMALL SELF	172
	32	Interdependence No Shit, No Flower	178
	33	Transcendence The Angel Who Came to Me	185
	34	Non-Self The Damning of the Ego	190
	35	Space The Day I Looked Between the Tree Branches	197
	36	Transformation An Eighty-Four-Year-Old Monk Becomes a Five-Year-Old Child	203
	37	Work The Lawyer Who Became a Nun	208
	38	Gratitude What a Single Pomegranate Seed Taught Me	213
	39	Prayer The Day the Monks Sang	219
	40	Love Floating on a Lotus Leaf	224
	Going Home		229
	Acknowledgments		233
	Resources		234