The Novice

A devoted student and diligent worker at the Dharma Cloud Temple monastery, Kinh Tam is not who he appears to be. And yet the novice’s true identity cannot be revealed without Kinh paying a terrible price. To continue on the path to enlightenment, Kinh must suffer false accusations, physical hardship and public humiliation without complaint. With absolute grace, astounding compassion and unwavering resolve, the novice perseveres in the face of every challenge. Ultimately, Kinh Tam’s moving fate will transform lives and offer hope for us all. In these pages, Zen master, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh retells an ancient Vietnamese folk tale, sharing Kinh’s story as a teaching and proposing a real way of being in the world that is utterly relevant now, in the twenty-first century.