Zen Poems [Hardcover]

The appreciation of Zen philosophy and art has become universal, and Zen poetry, with its simple expression of direct, intuitive insight and sudden enlightenment, appeals to lovers of poetry, spirituality, and beauty everywhere. This collection of translations of the classical Zen poets of China, Japan, and Korea includes the work of Zen practitioners and monks as well as scholars, artists, travelers, and recluses, ranging from Wang Wei, Hanshan, and Yang Wanli, to Shinkei, Basho, and Ryokan.Foreword

Xie Lingyun(385–433)
Written on the Lake on my Way Back to the Retreat at Stone Cliff
On Climbing the Highest Peak of Stone Gate
Setting out at Night from the Pavilion at Stone Pass
On Founding a Retreat for the Sangha at Stone Cliff

Huineng(638–713)
Bodhi originally has no tree
If evil flowers bloom in the mind-ground
Deluded, a Buddha is a sentient being

Wang Wei(?701–761)
Enjoying the Cool
An Autumn Evening in the Hills
Seeking a Night’s Lodging at the Monastery of the Chan Master Daoyi
The Wang River Collection
In my Lodge at Wang Chuan after a Long Rain
Light Lines on a Flat Rock
Green Creek
Suffering from the Heat
Living in the Hills: Impromptu Verses
Stone Gate Monastery on Mount Lantian
Visiting the Forest Pavilion of the Recluse, Cui Xingzong, with Lu Xiang
Farm House on the Wei Stream
In the Hills
Weeping for Ying Yao
Zhongnan Retreat
Lines
On Missing my Way to the Monastery of Heaped Fragrance
Sitting Alone on an Autumn Night

Liu Changqing(?710-?85)
On Parting with the Buddhist Pilgrim Lingche
Rejoicing that the Zen Master Bao Has Arrived from Dragon Mountain

Hanshan(?8th century)
A thousand clouds among a myriad streams
When men see Han-shan
When the men of the world look for this path amid the clouds
Men ask the way to Cold Mountain
Cold cliffs, more beautiful thelãŠ