Five Contemplations for Daily Ethical Living
Valerie Brown, Marisela B. Gomez
A courageous call forward from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Buddhist practitioners to transform the cycle of racial, ethnic, and social suffering through ethical choices and action from a place of belonging and love—the ultimate liberation—in this companion to Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings.
The five precepts of traditional Buddhism—not to kill, steal, lie, ingest harmful substances, and to refrain from sexual misconduct—are universally applicable ethical foundations for a happy life for people of all religions and none. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Five Mindfulness Trainings reframe these guiding principles as positive steps that, followed wholeheartedly, lead to the transformation of suffering for ourselves, our communities, and the planet.
Release date: September 22, 2026
Aware of the interconnection of all people, and the truth that we are all affected if even one person lives on the knife-edge of systemic social oppression and discrimination, authors and Dharma teachers Valerie Brown and Marisela B. Gomez address the suffering of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, who face disproportionate levels of violence, poverty, sickness, displacement, and death. Sharing their contemplations on the Mindfulness Trainings, they conclude with the voices of five BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ mindfulness practitioners sharing how each Mindfulness Training impacts their daily lives, celebrating the powerful transformative potential of each training:
- reverence for life,
- true happiness,
- true love,
- loving speech and deep listening,
- and nourishment and healing.
Through sharing their lived experience of the Five Mindfulness Trainings for ethical living, the contributors to this treasure of a book call us all forward toward individual and collective awakening.
Advance Praise for Love is Liberation
“During the global crises of our time, we all need an ethical place to stand. The deep wish of the Venerable Thích Nhất Hạnh was for the human race to arrive at a global ethic: an ethic that anyone of any spiritual path could feel at home with. The Five Mindfulness Trainings are the Buddhist contribution to this ethic. The more people who have access to the Five Mindfulness Trainings, the closer we are to the collective awakening that the world needs.
This book helps bring this Buddhist contribution to a global ethic to a wide audience and makes it clear that mindfulness must always be Right Mindfulness, not a means to making more money or being more successful but a means that gives us a place to stand ethically in this confusing world.”
Bhikshuni True Virtue (Sister Chân Đức)
Plum Village France
“Love is Liberation: Five Contemplations for Daily Ethical Living offers a grounded and compassionate invitation into ethical reflection as a daily practice. The contemplations are clear, accessible, and quietly powerful—supporting readers to meet life with greater awareness, integrity, and heart. This is a meaningful contribution to the ongoing work of inner and collective liberation.”
Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out
“Love Is Liberation is a wise and timely offering that bridges personal healing and collective transformation with remarkable grace. Valerie Brown and Marisela Gomez invite us into a practice of mindfulness that does not turn away from injustice, grief, or division. In a time when we can so easily become disconnected from the realities of suffering and destruction, this book offers a powerful antidote to spiritual bypassing, grounding us in compassion, courage, and deep interdependence.”
Kazu Haga, author of Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse
“How do we choose to love in a world steeped in violence and injustice? In this fresh and profound rendering of Buddhist ethical teachings, we are guided through contemplative trainings that help us respond wisely to the polycrisis of our times. At heart, these teachings are inspiring, hopeful, and empowering. They remind us of the preciousness of this living world, our innate belonging, and the transformative power of awareness and love.”
Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance
PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY:
