What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0938077929 ISBN 13: 9780938077923

Publisher: Parallax Press, 1994

Synopsis

With poems from spiritual teachers to jazz musicians, from the monastery to the street, What Book!? brings together a boad range of verse, expressions of living in an awakened way. " A poet once located poetry as somewhere before or after words take place. Mindfulness is the practice of finding that realm, dwelling there, and cultivating the ability to live completely in the present, deeply aware and appreciative of life." - from the author's Preface. "This enigmatically titled anthology offers numerous delights and valuable evidence that great poetic variety, from haiku and witty two liners to page-long discourses, has by now given distinct expression to Western Buddhism." - Publisher’s Weekly.

About this title

From the Publisher

Now in its third printing, this visionary project has proven an instant classic. Topics include the Three Jewels, pacifism, engagement, innovation, nature, song, and silence. Forms range from picture poems and calligraphy, guided meditations and rambling journals, to conceptual and performance art, arias, and haiku.

Its eclectic tapestry of voices includes Laurie Anderson, Reb Anderson, bell hooks, Lawsan Fusao Inada, Peter Levitt, Thomas Merton, Stephen Mitchell, Mary Oliver, Nanao Sakaki, Gary Snyder, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Derek Walcott, beats, vets, kids, and more. A marvelous gift.

From the Author

I spent five years compiling the selections -- like setting aside a huge cork board to thumbtack notes and xeroxes and hand-copies, and then standing back to see how it all might shape up.

This part of a larger revival of what was once called devotional poetry. (Think "Rumi.") Not poetry not in the sense of iambic pentameter, but rather as of each moment of life lived to the fullest.

American Buddhism has certainly been borne on wings of poetry (from The Light of Asia to The Scripture of the Golden Eternity). Here's that bird in hand, plus some in the bush.

Hear the voice of the Bard harmonize with the voice of the Buddha ... songs without words ... learnt by heart, mind, and body as one.

O taste and see!

Edition details

• Publisher: Parallax Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0938077929
• ISBN 13: 9780938077923
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Gary Gach