A once-in-a-generation translation of the definitive Ch’an (Zen) koan collection from preeminent translator David Hinton.The Blue-Cliff Record, a collection of Ch’an (Zen) koans stemming from the eleventh century, is a remarkable masterwork of classical Chinese literature, a philosophical text of profound power, and an active practice guide in use by Ch’an and Zen Buddhists all over the world. Rendered with his trademark lyricism and philosophical rigor, t...

Exploring the confluence of ancient Chinese spirituality and modern Western environmental thought, Wild Mind, Wild Earth reveals the unrecognized kinship of mind and nature that must be reanimated if we are to end our destruction of the planet.Earth is embroiled in its sixth major extinction event—this time caused not by asteroids or volcanos, but by us. At bottom, preventing this sixth extinction is a spiritual/philosophical problem, for it is the assumpt...

A new translation of one of the great koan collections--by the premier translator of the Chinese classics--that reveals it to be a literary and philosophical masterwork beyond its association with Chan/Zen.A monk asked: “A dog too has Buddha-nature, no?” And with the master’s enigmatic one-word response begins the great No-Gate Gateway (Wu-Men Kuan), ancient China’s classic foray into the inexpressible nature of mind and reality. For near...

David Hinton breathes new life into a foundational text of Taoism and Chinese philosophy in this poetic translation for the modern reader looking to go beyond the Tao Te Ching.Witty, engaging and spiced with the lyricism of poetry, Chuang Tzu’s Taoist insights in the Inner Chapters are timely and eternal. The only sustained section of text widely believed to be the work of Chuang Tzu himself, these chapters date to the 4th century B.C.E and are profoundly ...

A beautifully compelling and liberating guide to the original nature of Zen in ancient China by renowned author and translator David Hinton.Buddhism migrated from India to China in the first century C.E., and Ch'an (Japanese: Zen) is generally seen as China's most distinctive and enduring form of Buddhism. In China Root, however, David Hinton shows how Ch'an was in fact a Buddhist-influenced extension of Taoism, China's native system of spiritual philosoph...

Learning to see with the eyes of the ancient Chinese sages can change your view of the universe, as David Hinton demonstrates. He takes us on a series of walks up Hunger Mountain, a wilderness area near his home in Vermont. What he sees and describes about these outings is informed by the cosmos-view he's imbibed from his many years of translating Chinese poetry: a way of looking at nature, and our place in it, and a particular way of regarding the relationship between ourselves and the un...

Renowned in ancient China’s artistic tradition, the Wheel-Rim River poems and paintings come to life in exquisite translations and 40 full-color reproductions.The famed T’ang-Dynasty poet Wang Wei once said that his poems were paintings and his paintings poems. This book presents a legendary instance of that conjunction. One autumn in eighth century China, Wang’s friend P’ei Ti came to visit, and the two of them wandered the mountain landscape around Wang’...

In this radical new translation of a classic Ch’an (Zen) koan collection, David Hinton illuminates the Taoist dimensions of “carefree-ease,” the effortless joy of the enlightened mind in harmony with earth and cosmos.First collected by the Ch’an master Wisdom-Expanse (Hung-Chih) in the twelfth century, this collection of one hundred kung-ans, or koans, is an essential text for students of Ch’an and Zen. These miniature masterpieces of Chinese philosophy an...

"A magisterial book" of nearly five hundred poems from some of history's greatest Chinese poets, translated and edited by a renowned poet and scholar ( New Republic).The Chinese poetic tradition is the largest and longest continuous tradition in world literature. This rich and far-reaching anthology of nearly five hundred poems provides a comprehensive account of its first three millennia (1500 BCE to 1200 CE), the period during which virtually all its land...

A selection of poems by the ancient Chinese poet and statesman Wang Ah-Shih, translated by David Hinton.Wang An-shih (1021-1086 C.E.) was a remarkable figure—not only one of the great Sung Dynasty poets, but also the most influential and controversial statesman of his time. Although Wang had little interest in the grandeur of high office and political power, he took the responsibility of serving the people seriously. He rose to become prime minister, and in this po...

Join renowned author David Hinton on two walks into the wild beauty and archaeological ruins of the desert Southwest, where he maps the edges of consciousness and our place in the Cosmos.Walks in the desert and journeys through Ch’an (Zen) enlightenment. Meditations on the nature of perception and on the nature of ruins. Topographies of mind and of space-time. Poetry and prose. This talismanic book is all of these and more.In this poetic odyssey of nature w...

Discover 4 seminal masterworks of Chinese thought—Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, the Analects of Confucius, the Chuang Tzu, and the Mencius—presented in one volume for the first time in nearly 2 centuriesAward-winning translator David Hinton offers fresh insights on the most influential texts on Taoism, Zen Buddhism, Chinese philosophy, and moreHinton’s award–winning experience translating a wide range of ancien...