The Poetry of Zen

A wonderfully diverse collection of Zen poetry from China and Japan—including works by Lao Tzu and Han Shan—presented by two of America’s premier poet-translators

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 i...