The clouds should know me by now Buddhist poet monks of China

This refreshing collection brings together the poetry of 14 eminent Chinese Buddhist poet monks, much of it presented here in English translation for the first time. The translations are preceded by historical introductions by Burton Watson, J.P. Seaton, Paul Hansen, James Sanford, and the editors; the original Chinese accompanies the translations. The useful notes to each section illuminate the contexts and the Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist allusions. For a sense of the flavor of this work, here is a stanza from Chia Tao's "Auspicious Arrival of Yung T'ao": "Not having to be alone / is happiness; / we do not talk / of failure or success." And this fragment from Han-shan Te-ch'ing: "If the realm of dust was an endless dream / how then did heroes reach the land of peaks." And this from Ching An: "I had ten fingers. Now, just eight remain. / Did I really think I could become a Buddha / one slice at a time?" These translations will stand alongside those of Pound, Rexroth, Snyder, and R.H. Blyth. Andrew Schelling provides an informative introduction. Additional material includes an index of first lines and notes about the contributors. A valuable addition to collections of Buddhist poetry. Recommended for all collections. L. Berk; Ulster County Community College

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 beautiful 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.