Making Space by Thich Nhat Hanh: Summary and Practices to Try

Some books ask you to change your life. This one asks you to clear a corner. Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice is short enough to read in an afternoon and practical enough to use for a year. This guide tells you what is in it, what to try from each chapter and how to read it so that it actually changes something at home.

About the book

Making Space is published by Parallax Press, the publishing arm of the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, and carries the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. The introduction is by Brother Phap Dung of Deer Park Monastery in California, a practice center in the Plum Village tradition. He trained as an architect, and his opening pages look at a home the way a designer would: every room has an intention. There are ten short chapters and an appendix called “Our True Home”.

The book in three ideas

• Stop, then look deeply. The book names stopping as the first part of meditation. Once you are calm, you can look into your difficulties and understand them.
• Give stopping a place. Your mind, body and space are connected, so make a corner where the busyness ends.
• Use small reminders. Bells, signs, flowers and short verses help you pause many times a day.

Chapter by chapter

1. Stopping. The idea: happiness needs awareness, and awareness needs you to stop. The book says the foundation of happiness is mindfulness, and gives the example of a toothache: you only notice how good it is not to have one when you do. Try: put a small note by your bed or your front door as a reminder. Related: How to Create a Meditation Space at Home.

2. Breathing. The idea: the breath is a bridge between body and mind. Try: one minute of naming the in-breath and out-breath. Related: Mindful Breathing Exercise.

3. Sitting. The idea: a stable body helps a stable mind, and you do not need to be a contortionist. Meditation is not hard work. It rests the mind. Try: pick a seat and use it daily.

4. A Breathing Room. The idea: every home can have a corner for breathing, with agreements that keep it safe for whoever is inside. Try: the fifteen-minute setup in our guide.

5. Inviting the Bell. The idea: a sound can bring you home. You do not strike a bell. You invite it. Try: a phone bell at midday. Everyone in the house stops for three breaths.

6. The Cake in the Refrigerator. The idea: a playful phrase can pull a family out of an argument. Try: agree on your own phrase this week. Related: The Cake in the Refrigerator.

7. Making an Altar. The idea: a small display of things you love reminds you of what you value. The objects are reminders of your own capacity to be mindful, warm and accepting. Try: one stone and one flower.

8. Metta Meditation. The idea: love begins with accepting yourself. Try: five minutes of wishes for yourself. Related: Loving-Kindness Meditation for Beginners.

9. Cooking and Eating. The idea: a meal is a meditation, from chopping to washing up. Try: three breaths before dinner. Related: Mindful Eating.

10. Sleeping. The idea: rest is a practice too, and a body scan can calm a busy night. Try: jaw, shoulders, feet before sleep. Related: Deep Relaxation Before Sleep.

Appendix: Our True Home. The idea: home is not a place you reach after a long journey. It is available in this breath and this step. The appendix returns to the theme that happiness is not somewhere in the future.

Three ideas that stay with you

• Stopping is not laziness. It is what makes good action possible.
• You can arrive in a single step. You do not need a retreat to feel at home.
• Ordinary tasks are practice. Cooking, washing up and going to bed are not obstacles to meditation. They are meditation.

How to read it: a ten-week plan

The book works best slowly. Read one chapter a week and do one small practice from it:

• Week 1. Stopping: place one reminder in your home.
• Week 2. Breathing: one minute a day.
• Week 3. Sitting: choose your seat.
• Week 4. A breathing room: set up your corner.
• Week 5. The bell: invite it once a day.
• Week 6. The cake: agree a phrase with your household.
• Week 7. The altar: choose one object.
• Week 8. Metta: five minutes for yourself.
• Week 9. Cooking and eating: three breaths before every dinner.
• Week 10. Sleeping: a body scan each night.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It suits beginners who want concrete steps and people who share a home. It is less suited to readers looking for scientific evidence about meditation, because it is a practice guide from a Buddhist tradition and it does not cite studies. Some suggestions use incense, a statue or a bell. You can leave those out if they do not suit you.

Our verdict

The book's strength is that every chapter is something you can try the same day. Its limit is brevity, so it says little about why the practices work or what to do when they feel difficult. That is why we wrote the guides linked above: to fill in the practical details. Use the book as a starting point and go slowly.

This article is our own summary and commentary based on the book. Please buy or borrow the book to read the practices and verses in full.