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In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life.
But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains — the historical refuge of ancient hermits — he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains.
Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter’s discovery is more than a revelation, and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.
- Sales Rank: #324046 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Counterpoint
- Published on: 2009-09-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x 6.00" w x .75" l, .75 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 220 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Amazon.com Review
From 1966 to 1976 the malevolent rage of the Chinese Cultural Revolution struck a devastating blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines that had stood for centuries and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to lay life. Bill Porter had been told that the venerable hermetic tradition in China had also succumbed, but he went looking anyway. What he found, Taoist and Buddhist monks and nuns living in huts and caves deep in the mountains of central China, is more than a revelation, it is a glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.
From Publishers Weekly
Porter, a Hong Kong-based writer whose previous books were published under the pen name Red Pine ( The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma ), lived in a Taiwanese monastery for three years in the 1970s and later translated works of some Chinese hermits long admired for their virtue. When travel to China opened up in the late 1980s, Porter began to search for hermits who might have survived under years of communism. His story is unusual, but his "encounters"--actually, brief interviews--produce not subtle observations but statements of gnomic profundity: " . . . the Tao is empty. It can't be explained." Still, Porter showed undeniable bravery as he trekked through the Chungnan Mountains in central China to interview more than 20 male and female hermits. Some hermits are circumspect about politics, having suffered under the Cultural Revolution, while others, like an 85-year-old monk who had lived in a cave for 50 years, are oblivious to the political changes. Porter's historical and literary reflections show sensitivity to his subject, but this book seems aimed only at those interested in such spiritual quests. Some of the photographs are starkly spectacular.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In this first-person narrative, the author relates his journey to seek out the religious hermits of China, who left civilization and chose to live alone as monks in the mountains of China, quietly practicing their Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian faith. Sprinkled with Eastern religious philosophy, Chinese current affairs, and personal observations, this travel book reveals a secluded world very few people believed survived the purges of the Chinese Communists. The author wisely includes transcripts from conversations with many of the hermits, both men and women, and through their words the reader comes away with a better understanding of their lives and their reasons for deciding to live their harsh existence. This is not intended to be a scholarly study but an invitation to the public to discover this relatively unknown aspect of Chinese religious culture. Recommended for public libraries.
- Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Trudging the mountains of China in search of Taoist and Buddhist hermits.
By jwild
This is a great book about Taoist and Buddhist hermits living in the mountains of China after the Cultural Revolution. In 1989, the author trudged the mountains of China searching for hermits, and he found many monks and nuns living a solitary contemplative life. Most of them lived in austere living conditions that would be unbearable for Western culture people to tolerate. But, as long as the hermits could do their daily Taoist or Buddhist practices, then they tolerated the harsh living conditions that they encountered living in the mountains of China. The author interviewed several of the monks and nuns, and the spiritual depth of these devote individuals is profound. After reading this book about the hermit monks and nuns that live on so little, with almost no material conveniences, but yet are so dedicated to the spiritual life; I gained a new understanding of --- SPIRITUAL DEDICATION.--- Also, I am very grateful to the Divine for letting me be born and live in the USA, with all the modern comforts and conveniences that we have in this country.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
This book is almost unique, in that there are ...
By Father Brendan
This book is almost unique, in that there are not many similar accounts. Very few westerners (or, for that matter, Chinese) have ventured into the mountains of far-west China to meet the Buddhist and Taoist hermits there. Bill Porter records their perspectives as they spoke to the author first-hand, in his arduous attempts to locate them even after being told multiple times that they do not exist. His account includes opinions here and there which Americans should probably heed ("If your roots aren't deep and you practice Zen, you can practice all your life and never get anywhere"--Sheng-lin). Having spent a decade in China with a few visits with similar monks--though without climbing vertical mountains or icy passes--I found I wanted to hear more from these renunciates, and probably less from Porter. But this is a diary of his travels as much as an account of Buddhist thought in its various forms, and deserves to be read by students of modern China.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A pleasant read for the spirit.
By C.N.
A story of a Westerner exploring the mysterious hermit lifestyle of the Taoists priests and Buddhists monks. As I was reading through each chapter, each words and paragraphs took my imagination on an appreciative-spiritual journey along with the author and his companions.
The reader will travel along side and understand the author's great effort in his search of meanings of the East from traversing through chaotic political difficulties and harsh geographical terrains in order to meet with spiritual masters and their disciples whom dedicated their whole life in finding Truths about Life, soul, spirit, body and mind through material meagerness, seclusion and meditation in deep forests and high mountains; a pleasant read for those who wishes to escape the physical weariness and mundane-ness of society and modern life.
Existentially, because of the language barrier, meanings were lost through western linguistic translations, the author didn't fully grasp the concepts of what is eastern-ly spiritual; as science is more of the West and Spirit is of the East.
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