Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder

Author:Gary Snyder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Counterpoint

In later centuries much of Chinese Buddhism developed into something like a single sect, each large temple complex offering the choice of halls dedicated to devotional practices, textual scholarship, or organized meditation practices. The same was true in Korea.

In Japan, where devotional Buddhism and wisdom-oriented Buddhism stayed on separate tracks, the Zen tradition managed with considerable skill to walk a path that was ragged and carefree but simultaneously meticulous and high-status. The Zen paintings mostly reflected the skill and freedom; the elaborate ceremonies and elegant manners demonstrated the attention to forms. At the heart of it all was the Zen training hall where the young monks lived in both summer heat and winter cold, a bit hungry and short on sleep, for several years. They were continually being thrown into untenable situations one after another (called “koans”). It was and still is the perfect balance of freedom and necessity. Kanzan is a kind of human icon of this life; the myth-figure who represents it is Fudo Myo-O, the funny, fierce, almost demonic character who lurks off to the side in many temples, surrounded by rocks and flames.

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