From bad to good. From suffering to happiness. Jesus and Buddha. Two paths for the same summit. Mark Mighty

- through Henry Oudin

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Marc Puissant invites us, in his book, From bad to good. From suffering to happiness, to an initiatory journey. It invites its readers to set themselves in motion to move forward, each, towards their own accomplishment. It is a spiritual itinerary, a quest for meaning interspersed with falls "in the mud" (wandering, depression, taking drugs) and a long inner work on oneself (Jungian psychoanalysis, painting and sculpture) that delivers to us here, unvarnished and without false modesty, Marc Puissant. A quest for the absolute that will lead to a few decisive encounters that will allow him, little by little, to regain his footing and rediscover his joie de vivre: those of Swami Chidananda,Arnaud Desjardins, by Karl Grief Durckeim and Annick de Souzenelle, followed in 1966 by that of Thich Nhat Hanh, which was for him “a great gift and a revelation”. He describes this encounter with the Vietnamese Zen monk, a peace activist and cantor of committed Buddhism, as “a breath of fresh air bringing down many fears (…) and really giving meaning to my life”. Thanks to Annick de Souzenelle and after a few immersions in his books, he rediscovered the Bible, "a path of conversion of the heart leading to the love of God and neighbour". "Good news", unfortunately dulled by Roman Catholicism, which would, in the eyes of the author, be called upon to disappear to allow the caustic message of Christ to be reborn.

Awaken from our long slumber 

The one who has become a teacher of the Dharma provides, in this work, to the reader who wants to seize it, a didactic and practical guide to progress on the way of the Buddha, which is a real path of transformation and healing. "It offers a refreshed understanding of the concept of non-duality, through a poetic approach to the themes of ascent and descent - like the angels on Jacob's ladder - and thus invites us to step out of our long sleep”, insist, in the preface, the sisters Dao Nghiem and Su Nghiem.

" Become what you are. »

It is the ignorance of our true nature that makes us believe that we are separate, cut off from our source, from others and from the world, supports Mark Mighty, in a paragraph devoted to the Three Poisons. He works in this book, as invited by his Master Thich Nhat Hanh, to build bridges between Buddhism and Christianity. In both traditions, he continues, “both evil and suffering can become a source of light”. These two traditions offer, according to him, a path – a path which for the Buddha leads from drowsiness or ignorance to enlightenment – ​​and an encounter with “a larger than our little self”.

The one who claims to have "detoxified" from the Christianity of his childhood thanks to Buddhism, offers us, in a last chapter, to take a new look at the Bible and at sin, to lighten it from its guilt-inducing and deadly burden. The sin ? "It's an error of aim", an error due to ignorance, he writes, drawing on the thought of Annick de Souzenelle, "the expression of a self-closing and a difficulty in to open up to love and to giving”

photo of author

Henry Oudin

Henry Oudin is a Buddhist scholar, spiritual adventurer and journalist. He is a passionate seeker of the depths of Buddhist wisdom, and travels regularly to learn more about Buddhism and spiritual cultures. By sharing his knowledge and life experiences on Buddhist News, Henry hopes to inspire others to embrace more spiritual and mindful ways of living.

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