Buddhism 101

By Willy Thorn

An introductory collection of reflections on basic Buddhist philosophy.

Major principles include: the nature of the mind, the thoughts it produces, the importance of breath, methods for controlling & strengthening the mind, how to rest the mind to restore it, how to develop focus & how to use it to produce mental authority.

The book is divided into 11 sections with 52 concise pieces — all written simply & clearly, in a way that is thoughtful & explanatory & heavy on analogy & rhyme.

Individual pieces include: basic principles of the mind; things that grow in the fertile fields of the mind; understanding & controlling breath; the preciousness of thought; how the mind is like a horse - & a potting wheel; the sediment at the depths of the mind; the essence, paradox & flow of focus; developing mental authority & using it as a torch to explore; how to work happiness like a muscle & make your mind stronger; the core of inner peace & more.

Quotes from: the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh, Hluang Pau Pramote Pamojjo, Steve Jobs, H.W. Longfellow & Lee Xiaolong.

Includes photos of Buddha statues from temples in Bangkok’s Thonburi district — at Wat Arun, Wat Prayura Wongsawas, Wat Hong Rattanaram, Wat Rakhang, Wat Molio Kayaram Raja Worawiharn, Wat Taung Nopakuhn, Wat Anongkaram & Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram.

Willy Thorn is an artist, copywriter & meditation instructor in Bangkok; trained thru the renowned Wisdom Institute of Wat Dhamma Mongkoln.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Willy Thorn
• Release date: May 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463553879

Willy Thorn

Willy Thorn is a communications expert & artistic renaissance man. He is a journalist & copywriter, teacher, author & artist.He has lived many places, beginning with Milwaukee & Rome & Minnesota & central Wisconsin. Among his other homes are Washington DC & Baltimore, Chicago & the Twin Cities, St. Francis South Dakota, the Bay Area & Shanghai. He currently lives & works in Bangkok.Thorn has a Masters Degree in Journalism & has spent time as a Capitol Hill reporter & wire editor, sports writer, political columnist & arts critic. Other media endeavors include public relations campaigns, magazine feature writing, ghostwritten biographies & time on the radio – as a DJ & on-air host, play-by-play sports announcer & music promoter.He has spent nearly a decade as a language specialist for Craft Worldwide & as a copywriter & creative for McCann Worldgroup. He currently works as senior copywriter at Quo Global branding agency in Bangkok.He has won awards at Cannes Lions & been recognized for sports writing & political columns, magazine features, theatre scripts, religious publications & photography.Thorn is also a photographer & classical oil painter, trained thru the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC. His artistic c.v. includes photography gallery shows; sculpting in Mamallapuram, India; concrete statuary at Wat Xieng Mouane, in Luang Prabang, Laos; and flower petal mosaics in Cagli, Italy.He is a Buddhist meditation instructor; trained thru Thailand’s renowned Willpower Institute. And he was even the rare foreigner to complete the entire six month course in spoken & written Thai. He currently sits as an advisor on the institute’s English Foreign Language subcommittee – where he translates books, helps develop outreach programs & occasionally lectures.He is the author of more than 3o full-length books & plays & proudly notes a Master’s Degree from Marquette University & books in both Washington's Library of Congress & the Vatican Archives in Rome.His catalog is varied & he has written extensively about a number of subjects — including sports, politics, religion, Buddhist philosophy & Asian history & art. One of his largest endeavors was documenting & cataloguing several hundred temples in Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Yangon, Vientiane & Kuala Lumpur.His catalog is available thru the following distributors: Amazon // Apple iBooks // Android Aldiko // Barnes & Noble // Sony // & Smashwords.His Milwaukee-centric column of sports poetry & prose — 'Run of tha Mil' — can be found at Milticket.blogspot.com

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