One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan

Rating:
Summary: Buy Several Copies - They Will Disappear
Review: John Stevens not only provides masterful translations of the work of Ryokan - he distills the life of the man in the concise introduction.

The translations of these poems dealing primarily with daily life capture the depths seemingly without effort. Between that and the compassion that translates with the work, this volume has to be in the curriculum of all lovers of poetry.

Truly zen in action.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully touching and profound
Review: My favorite book of all time. Hauntingly beautiful poetry.

Rating:
Summary: "Look around! There is nothing besides this."
Review: ONE ROBE, ONE BOWL : The Zen Poetry of Ryokan, translated and introduced by John Stevens. 85 pp. New York and Tokyo : Weatherhill, 1977 and reprinted.

If you have already read John Stevens 'Mountain Tasting : Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda,' you will certainly want to read 'One Robe, One Bowl.' And if you haven't yet read Stevens translations of Santoka, you'll want to after reading the present work. Both are beautiful books, and it's a pity that more people don't seem to find their way to them.

John Stevens, who was born in Chicago, has lived in Japan since 1973. He is an ordained Soto Zen priest, has served as a member of the Buddhist Studies Department and as an akido instructor at Tohoku College in Sendai, and is competent in both Japanese and Chinese.

Stevens tells us in his brief, interesting, and informative Introduction that Ryokan's "verses are fresh and direct, without ornamentation or ostentation" (page 18), and that he has tried to reproduce this in his translations. He seems to me to have succeeded brilliantly. Of the approximately 1000 Chinese and 400 Japanese-style poems that Ryokan left, Stevens has given us wonderfully readable translations, in a spare and colloquial English, of 100 of the former and 103 of the latter. Once having read them, I don't think you'll ever forget them.

Ryokan (1758?-1831) is one of Japan's best-loved poets, and Stevens has managed to pack an awful lot about him into his brief 10-page Introduction. He tells us that Ryokan was born in the "snow country" of Echigo Province on the west coast of Japan. His family was fairly prosperous, the atmosphere in his home was literary and religious, and at the age of about nineteen, possibly as the result of some inner spiritual crisis, he decided to become a Buddhist monk and entered the local Zen temple, Kosho-ji.

It was at this time that he took the name 'Ryokan' - 'ryo' signifying good; 'kan' signifying generosity and largeheartedness. It would be difficult to think of a more appropriate name than 'Good Heart' for the kind of person that Ryokan was, and it goes a great way towards explaining the great love the Japanese have for him. In him we find the heart of the mother - one who doesn't judge, one who understands, one who accepts and loves us as we are and for what we are - but in Ryokan's case one whose love extended to the whole universe and its myriad beings, whether human, animal, or plant, even the inanimate.

After twelve years of Zen training, Ryokan left Kosho-ji and began a series of pilgrimages that lasted five years. He then returned to his native village, found an abandoned hermitage nearby, and was to spend most of the rest of his life there, meditating, writing, and interacting with the world around him. Stevens writes:

"While his hermitage was deep in the mountains, he often visited the neighboring villages to play with the children , drink sake with the farmers, or visit his friends.... He respected everyone and bowed whenever he met anyone who labored, especially farmers. His love for children is proverbial among the Japanese. Often he spent the entire day playing with the childen or picking flowers, completely forgetting his begging for that day.... He was continually smiling...." (page 12).

The poems he wrote are largely concerned with events in his daily life, and can be read with enjoyment by anyone. Seemingly simple, they conceal real depths, depths that will be apparent to those familiar with Zen and with Buddhist ideas such as 'no-mind' and 'impermanence,' and with certain Buddhist symbols. But a knowledge of these is not really necessary to enjoy the poems, since Ryokan's main appeal is to our humanity, something we all share. Here is an example of one of the Chinese poems, with my slash marks added to indicate line breaks:

"Once again, the children and I are fighting a battle using spring grasses. / Now advancing, now retreating, each time with more refinement. / Twilight - everyone has returned home; / The bright, round moon helps me endure the loneliness" (page 35).

Here is one of the Japanese poems:

"Awakened by the cold - a light snow falls; / the sound of wild geese. / They also are returning home with hardship and suffering" (page 59).

Sometimes it seems to me that much of modern literature is a literature of confusion. But what Ryokan has to offer is a literature of clarity.

Ryokan was fully human. He had established contact with reality. His love and compassion were infinite. In this he becomes a model for us all.

Rating:
Summary: If I owned just one book, this would be it
Review: This book has to rate as one of the most beautiful I have ever read. John Stevens does a masterly job of turning into English the original Japanese poetry. Ryokan's compassion and simplicity are retained, along with his penetrative insight into the human condition.

Rating:
Summary: 10 Stars is not enough
Review: This is my favorite book of all time... beautiful, deep, touching poetry... I usually buy 10 copies , as it goes out of print from time to time.. and my friends keep taking mine... down to two now...

if you like, zen... and nature... you'll love this