Endless Vow - by Soen Nakagawa (Paperback)

About the Book

Soen Nakagawa (1907-1984) was one of the greatest Zen masters of the modern era and a key figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from Japan to the Western world. Endless Vow is the first major collection of the literary works of this remarkable teacher--a Japanese monk, a world traveler, a poetic genius, and a superb artist and calligrapher. Photos.

Book Synopsis

Endless Vow is the first English-language collection of the literary works of Soen Nakagawa Roshi. An intimate, in-depth portrait of the master of Eido Tai Shimano, his Dharma heir, introduces the poems, letters, journal entries, and other writings of Soen Roshi, which are illustrated with his calligraphies. In a postscript, some of his best-known American students--including Peter Matthiessen and Ruth McCandless--reminisce about this legendary figure of American Buddhist history.

About the Author

Soen Nakagawa Roshi (1907-1984) was an extraordinary Zen master and a key figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from Japan to the Western world. A man of many faces, he was a simple Japanese monk, a world traveler, a spiritually realized being of the highest order, a poetic genius, a creator of dynamic calligraphy--and a notorious eccentric teacher who, for example, was known to conduct "tea ceremonies" using instant coffee and Styrofoam cups.