Review by Library Journal Review
Porter (Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits) has carved out a niche as a translator of classic Zen poetry, sometimes under the name Red Pine. He has lived and traveled extensively in Asia, pursuing his understanding of Zen Buddhism. In his 2006 trip, he visited (and revisited in some cases) several rather remote historical sites that were key to the spread of Buddhism in China. He writes of a China that is not only embracing the future but also regenerating its heritage. Temples and monasteries are being repaired and expanded, and more people are returning to traditional religious practices. Porter takes the reader to places far off the tourist track and far from the economic and political frenzy of major cities, traveling on buses and sleeping rough in monasteries. He does it without pedantry or zeal and with some humor. This book reveals another China and will provide balance to public library travel collections.-Harold M. Otness, formerly with Southern Oregon Univ. Lib., Ashland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Peripatetic journalist and translator Porter (Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits, 1993) ventures again deep into the mountainous reaches of China, seeking the remote paths of the first six patriarchs of Zen Buddhism. The author's folksy, seemingly spontaneous day-by-day travelogue invites the reader along on an arduous ten-week trek into China, where during the first century CE Buddhist monks sought refuge from persecution. From the Yunkang caves near Tatung, 225 miles west of Beijing, to various monasteries in Loyang, Wuhan and Shaokuan, by bus, train or taxi, the author revisited the places sacred to Chinese Buddhists. Although his style is casual, the history Porter explores is dense. He traces the growth of Zen from the spiritual roots planted by the Prajnaparamita scriptures, which arrived in China in the second and third centuries, to its establishment as a separate school of Buddhism by the Indian monk Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch, who brought it to China around 475. Traveling to the places associated with these historic developments, Porter offers intriguing glimpses of a stunning and (to Westerners) little-known countryside and monuments, including the Nanhua Temple near Shaokuan, where Hui-neng lived for 40 years after he became the Sixth Patriarch in 677. The author penetrated many working monasteries severely repressed during the Cultural Revolution that are only now making a comeback. Porter titles his chapters to reflect the concept of "the life of no-mind" dear to Buddhistsand difficult for others to graspsuch as "No Home," "No Dust or Mirrors," "No Day Off" and so forth. Fluent in Chinese, the author brings a freshness to the snippets of ancient texts he translates here. An erudite backpacking journey by a true dharma bum. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
