How to Love (Mindfulness Essentials)

The most popular book in the "How To" series: advice, practices, and food for thought from a Zen Master on our most universal emotion. 

The third book in the bestselling Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice.

Nhat Hanh brings his signature clarity, compassion, and humor to the thorny question of how to love. He distills one of our strongest emotions down to four essentials: you can only love another when you feel true love for yourself; love is understanding; understanding brings compassion; deep listening and loving speech are key ways of showing our love.

Pocket-sized, with original two color illustrations by Jason DeAntonis, How to Love shows that when we feel closer to our loved ones, we are also more connected to the world as a whole. With sections on Love vs. Need, Being in Love, Reverence, Intimacy, Children and Family, Reconciling with Parents, and more, How to Love includes meditations you can do alone or with your partner to go deep inside and expand your own capacity to love.

Scientific studies indicate that meditation contributes tremendously to well-being, general health, and longevity. How to Love is a unique gift for those who want a comprehensive yet simple guide to understanding the many different kinds of love, along with meditative practices that can expand the understanding of and capacity for love, appropriate for those practicing in any spiritual tradition, whether seasoned practitioners or new to meditation.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Dec 1, 2014

128 pages

Average rating: 9.36

11 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

raeallic
Oct 09, 2025
8/10 stars
really liked this insighful view of mindfulness practices in love... pg 11 reads

'Recognizing True Love'
"True love gives us beauty, freshness, solidity, freedom, and peace. True love includes a feeling of deep joy that we are alive. If we don't feel this way when we feel love, then it's not true love."

Much of the book reads like this and is something as the human race we all should be striving for.
littlemissalto
Jun 16, 2023
10/10 stars
Surprisingly simple and yet so complex, there is so much to learn from this small book!

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.