Wonder: Where Science meets Zen
About this audiobook
In alternating chapters, Thich Nhat Hanh and his monastic student, Brother Spirit – a Cambridge University-trained mathematician and composer – share their insights on how Zen techniques can be used to enhance mental clarity, intuition and focus, essential qualities for achieving significant scientific and creative breakthroughs.
Thich Nhat Hanh addresses the roots of global crises and their solutions, predicting a new age of understanding and discovery if the next generation of scientists and innovators can transcend dualistic thinking. Meanwhile, Brother Spirit offers a raw and emotional account of his journey from excessive rationalism and scepticism to embodied spirituality.
Drawing on the insights of both science and Buddhism, The Art of Unknowing explores how Zen practices can help us face the challenges of a rapidly destabilising world, offering a radical path to becoming happier, kinder and more free.
© Thich Nhat Hanh and Brother Phap Linh 2027 (P) Penguin Audio 2027
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About the author
Born in Hue, Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh was a Buddhist Zen Master, poet, scholar and human rights activist. In 1967, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. He founded the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon, the School of Youth and Social Service and the Plum Village Buddhist community and meditation centre in France, where he lived for many years. He was the author of many acclaimed books including The Miracle of Mindfulness, Old Path White Clouds and Fear, which have sold millions of copies around the world. In 2018, he returned to Vietnam to live at the Tu Hieu Temple, where he was first ordained when he was sixteen years old. He died on 22 January 2022, at the age of 95.
Brother Phap Linh (Author)
Brother Phap Linh (Brother Spirit) is a Zen Buddhist monk and cellist, ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2008. Before entering monastic life he studied mathematics at Cambridge and worked professionally as a composer. Soon after his ordination Thich Nhat Hanh entrusted to him the creation of a new Buddhist liturgy in English and French, and he has since composed many of the community's best-loved chants. He has also edited several of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books. Today he divides his time between training the next generation of teachers at Plum Village, contemplating the nature of reality and leading retreats for scientists, artists and climate leaders around the world.
