The novel Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh shows how the world can be made a better place through the application of Buddhism and meditation in our daily lives. Thich Nhat Hanh describes practices and suggestions that the everyday person can immediately apply in their daily lives to create peace in their lives and in the world. Thich Nhat Hanh begins by stating that we are often aware of suffering, but this is not enough. We must be aware, have peace and happiness to create peace. He also mentions that humans today have difficulty living in the present moment. We constantly look to the future to identify our next goal or next to-do list to make us happy. We always say: “I will be happy when…” looking ahead of ourselves. According to Hanh, we need to refocus on ourselves and one way to do this is through meditation. Through meditation we can be with ourselves, breathe, smile and become peace, everything that brings peace to the world, unlike war and violence. Hanh says that those who sit still and smile have the ability to save the world because they have the ability to meditate and create peace. Therefore, one way to make the world better is to be a Buddha. “Buddha” means to awaken, understand and love and anyone who practices this is considered a Buddha. Therefore, if we want to practice Buddhism, we can work for the betterment of society. In Buddhism there are three gems: Buddha (the awakened), Dharma (the way of understanding and loving) and Sangha (the community that lives in harmony and awareness). By incorporating all three gems of Buddhism into our daily lives, we can all awaken within ourselves, be more understanding and love… the middle of paper… the dining room, practice breathing a little each morning with your children and practicing walking meditation every evening. By following all these teachings the world can transform into a more peaceful place. This book offers an excellent glimpse into a world of meditation for achieving peace. I think you don't even have to be interested in the practice of Buddhism to appreciate this novel because of its real-life applicability. I truly believe that everyone can benefit from the concepts of breathing, understanding and peace. We can all take ten minutes of our lives to breathe and think, as this book has shown. Especially with our ever-busy schedules, it's easy to move on and forget about the present. It is important for us to stop and engage with the world around us to transform civilization for the better.