From Booklist
Hamill, founding editor of Copper Canyon Press, and J. P. Seaton, a professor of Chinese, unite forces to translate and edit this collection of Zen poetry from China and Japan. More than an anthology, this is a little Zen primer with brief bios of all of the poets and insightful introductions that illuminate the collection in the context of Buddhist history and practice. As Hamill explains, poetry has long been part of Zen practice, and it seems not only to express deep philosophical and spiritual questions, but also to provoke them. Poignantly summarizing the "why" of creating this collection, Hamill states, "A good poem says more than the sum of its words, leading the reader into the practice of understanding the great unsaid that is contained, framed in a poem's rhythms, words, and silences." These poems indeed lead one to meditate on the quality of the mind, the nature of life. This may be a little book, but it is a major collection.
Janet St. JohnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
A Zen poem is nothing other than an expression of the enlightened mind, a handful of simple words that disappear beneath the moment of insight to which it bears witness. Poetry has been an essential aid to Zen Buddhist practice from the dawn of Zen—and Zen has also had a profound influence on the secular poetry of the countries in which it has flourished. Here, two of America's most renowned poets and translators provide an overview of Zen poetry from China and Japan in all its rich variety, from the earliest days to the twentieth century. Included are works by Lao Tzu, Han Shan, Li Po, Dogen Kigen, Saigyo, Basho, Chiao Jan, Yuan Mei, Ryokan, and many others. Sam Hamill and J. P. Seaton provide illuminating introductions to the Chinese and Japanese sections that set the poets and their work in historical context. Short biographies of the poets are also included.
