Book Summary
Buddhism was introduced to Korea via China in the fifth century and similar to China and Japan a long tradition of Zen poetry developed. This collection spans 1,500 years of this tradition with a selection of the key poets and teachers starting with Great Master Wonhyo the founder of Korean Zen Buddhism. Christopher Merrill is directs the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Poetry. Asian Studies. Translated from the Korean by Won-Chung Kim and Christopher Merrill. This selection of Korean Zen poems, spanning twelve centuries, distills the essence of Korean Buddhism. The poets range from Great Master Wonhyo (617-686), the founder of Korean Buddhism, to Choeui Eusoon (1786-1866), a hermit-monk whose poems address the monk's primary goal of seeking enlightenment. Although the age of traditional Buddhism ended in Korea by the early twentieth century when the country was exposed to the relentless flow of Western culture, the poets writing in Korea today have a deep respect for those who went before them and incorporate Buddhist lore into their work, thus enabling the Zen poets to continue to contribute to the development of Korean literature.
Book Details
| Book Name | Because Of The Rain: A Selection Of Korean Zen Poems |
| Author | Christopher Merrill, Daljin Kim, Won-chung Kim |
| Publisher | White Pine Press (ny) (Jan 2005) |
| ISBN | 9781893996441 |
| Pages | 96 |
| Language | English |
| Price | 523 |
