The Clouds Should Know Me By Now: Buddhist Poet Monks of China

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 208 pages
• Published by: Wisdom Publications November 25, 1998
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0861711432
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0861711437
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 12.6 ounces

Product Review
Gary Snyder brought the Chinese Zen poet Han-Shan (Cold Mountain) to prominence through translations that struck a cord with Zen enthusiasts and back-to-nature mystics alike. Now Red Pine, Mike O'Connor, and four other translators have breathed life into the literary descendants of Han-Shan, poet monks who are most at home in misty hills, contemplating "crimson leaves" and "azure depths." Like its Japanese cousin, the haiku, Chinese Zen poetry conveys pregnant images in spare structures that cascade into layers of emotion and rich associations. The Buddhism itself lies offstage, the poems recalling more of Thoreau or Whitman than Hui-neng or Nagarjuna. The translations here pause and flow like the originals, with poet-painter Paul Hansen's renderings of early Sung monks especially brilliant, outshining even the celebrated Burton Watson's translations of the Tang poet Ch'i Chi. For that trip to your mountain hermitage or when simply hiding out in the backyard, you'll find sure companionship in The Clouds Should Know Me By Now. --Brian Bruya

From Library Journal
The witty introduction to this volume invites us to "take a walk with the Ch'an Buddha-ancestors, these cranky, melancholy, lonely, mischievous poet-ancestors." These poets, Chinese monks of the Ch'an (Zen) tradition who spanned the ninth to the 19th centuries, lived in intimacy with the physical world, many of them in caves or huts in the mountains, and their poems reflect a deep connection to nature. In the 1950s, Gary Snyder made the poetry of the Ch'an poet Han-Shan popular in the West; this volume introduces us to the writings of several others, most of them newly translated into English. The Chinese texts are included. The struggle to quiet the mind, even for these masters, is continually present?and from this struggle come achingly gorgeous poems: "Flat Lake cold penetrates water-lily clothes/ the mountain by the lake is neither right nor wrong." In their haunting simplicity, the poems collected here remind us of our oneness with the environment. Highly recommended for all libraries.?Judy Clarence, California State Univ. Lib., Hayward
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reader Reviews
Red Pine, Mike O'Connor, and four other translators have opened for us the world of the literary descendants of Han-Shan, poet monks who are most at home in misty hills, wandering with the rivers, enjoying tea over a fire of leaves. Like Japanese haiku, Chinese Zen poetry evokes imagination and layers of depth with the sparest of poetic structures. The poets' Buddhism is not put on show or even obvious; it quietly underlies their love of nature, their deep connectedness, their insight into the human experience of being alive. A ten page introduction by Andrew Schelling provides the historical, cultural, religious, and philosophical backdrops for these poets. Then you let your imagine meander through the poems of Chia Tao (779-843), Chi-chi (864-937), The Nine Monks and Chih Yuan (late 10th century), Han-shan Te-ch'ing (1546-1623), Shih-shu (late 17th century) and Ching An (1851-1912). Each section is comprised of an introduction to the poet and his context, the poems, and helpful notes. I appreciate the very helpful Index of First Lines provided at the end of the book, as well as the information about the contributors.