Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist teacher, writer, and peace activist. He is the author of more than 100 books and lives in Plum Village, a meditation center in France. In this slight but sagacious book, he gives his reading of the Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone, the earliest teaching of the Buddha. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, to live alone does not mean to be lonely or to live apart from others. It means to live in the present moment, deeply witnessing what is going on around us and within us. "The better way of living alone" is to practice meditation and to regularly be a mindful person.

We can smile within as we live alone for we refuse to become attached to past feelings of regret or shame. Nor do we have to give in to the equally unappealing option of succumbing to our desires or fears about the future. In the sutra, Buddha ends things with a gatha:

Observing life deeply,
it is possible to see clearly all that is.
Not enslaved by anything,
it is possible to put aside all craving,
resulting in a life of peace and joy.
This is truly to live alone.

Our appointment with life is to live this moment to the fullest which is the essence of freedom.