Hakuin's Precious Mirror Cave: A Zen Miscellany

by Norman Waddell (Editor), Norman Waddell (Translator)

Overview

The two great streams of Zen Buddhism are the Soto sect, known as the School of Silent Illumination, and the Rinzai school of rigorous koan study. Dogen established Soto Zen in Japan, and his work is widely known in the West with many of his books translated into English. Hakuin is credited with the modern revival of the Rinzai sect and is its most important teacher. His life has been a great inspiration to the students and practitioners of Zen in the West, and his writings offer great authority and practical application.



Norman Waddell has devoted a large part of his life to translating and publishing work by and about Hakuin. This collection of six diverse and independent works contains five pieces never before translated into English, some of which have been—until quite recently—unknown, even in Japan. A rich and various gathering, the offerings here will be important to seasoned practitioners as well as attractive to newcomers to Zen and spiritual seekers of all faiths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582434971
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Norman Waddell born in Washington, D.C. in 1940, was attracted to Japan by the works of the legendary D.T. Suzuki and his protégée R. H. Blyth, taught at Otani University for over thirty years, and was editor of the Eastern Buddhist Journal for several decades. He has published more than a dozen books on Japanese Zen Buddhism and is considered one of the finest translators of sacred texts of our time. He is the authoritative English translator of works by and about Hakuin.

Table of Contents

General Introduction xi

1 The Tale of My Childhood 3

2 The Tale of Yukichi of Takayama 39

3 Idle Talk on a Night Boat 83

4 Old Granny's Tea-Grinding Songs 115

5 An Account of the Precious Mirror Cave 127

6 The Chronological Biography of Zen Master Hakuin Torei Enji 143

Notes 241

Glossary 285

Selected Bibliography 291

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

Hakuin, an early 18th-century patriarch of Japanese Zen Buddhism, is credited with reviving the Rinzai (koan) school of Zen Buddhism. To the benefit of generations of seekers, he was rare among Zen teachers in divulging in print the ups and downs encountered along his personal path. In this collection, respected translator Waddell (Zen Words for the Heart: Hakuin's Commentary on the Heart Sutra) presents very readable and accessible versions of five of the master's works, including the best known and most read, "Idle Talk on a Night Boat." Several focus on his personal journey to enlightenment and his central teaching that post-enlightenment work is crucial to development. In the sixth contribution, "The Chronological Biography of Zen Master Hakuin by Torei Enji," one of Hakuin's students covers the second half of the teacher's life, a career left largely untouched otherwise. Brief essays introduce each translation and place each within the context of Hakuin's opus. Hakuin's early life and his enlightenment experiences are also covered in another Waddell translation of Hakuin: Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin. VERDICT Highly recommended along with Wild Ivy for seekers wishing to tap the original teachings of the greatest masters.—James R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville Lib.

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