Reddit mentions: The best asian poetry books

I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's Peaceful Action, Open Heart, which is wonderful, concurrently with A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, by Nikkyo Niwano, that gives a concise overview of each chapter. It also helps to have an introduction, in the form of a talk or short articles. There's a short chapter in Cultivating the Mind of Love on this Sutra.

I was at a retreat with TNH in the 1990's where he spoke about the Avatamsaka and Lotus Sutras, that's since been issued by Sounds True as The Ultimate Dimension.

Most of the talks were on the foundational practices for entering into the kinds of experiences described in these Sutras, and I found that his framing them in this way actually made them accessible. Remarkable!

These are good places to start.

As Thay said in his commentary, these are not so much works to be studied with the rational part of ourselves as they are to be received as inspired poetry, lived with and enjoyed. Then meaning of these sutras and the truth they speak of can reveal themselves to us gradually.

He says, in the beginning of The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching:

“When we hear a Dharma talk or study a sutra, our only job is to remain open. Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. If we read or listen with an open mind and an open heart, the rain of the Dharma will penetrate the soil of our consciousness.

“The gentle spring rain permeates the soil of my soul.
A seed has lain deeply in the earth for many years just smiles.

“When reading or listening, don’t work too hard. Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth only has to open herself up to the rain. Allow the rain of the Dharma to come in and penetrate the seeds that are buried deep in your consciousness.

“A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You only need to open yourself - body, mind, and heart - so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work.”

Best wishes to you in your practice.

> "Nothing came into being at my birth, nothing will cease to be when I die... I can face all that may come with laughing equanimity, never sure that a change for the so-called worse (including death) will not turn out to be a change for the so-called better. If it does not turn out that way, that's fine too, for a realized Taoist is too wise to take opposites such as better or worse at all seriously.
> I am soon to become an emperor-ha-ha-ha-ha! I am destined to be a lousy beggar – ha-ha-ha-ha! It’s all a game. Any part will suit me fine. You are going to give me a thirty-two course (plus side dishes) Chinese banquet? Thanks, I’ll enjoy that. We have only a bowl or two of inferior-quality boiled rice for dinner? That will go down very nicely. We have nothing on which to dine? Splendid, we shall have more time to sit outside and enjoy the moonlight, with music provided by the wind in the pines.
> ...Youth passes – so does spring. Old age comes – so do winter’s lovely snowscapes and the kettles bubbling over glowing charcoal. I’m bursting with energy, so I’ll jog or climb Mount Hua. I’m too ill to move, so I’ll enjoy my warm bed and meditate. My wife loves me; “O what joys behind hibiscus curtainsl” My wife has left me; how peaceful it is now. Old Wang has a delicious concubine. I have a charming blue-eyed cat. Reagan is delighted with his new aeroplane. I have fun with my old bamboo raft. I find that I can sleep in only one bedroom at a time and that my old wadded gown sits lighter than fur. While you sit watching pictures on your color TV set, I stand gazing at ripples in a moonlit pond, thanking the gods for not interrupting with commercials. You are a funny creature; so am I- ha-ha! Who isn’t?"

-The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain

Alright, so I'm not sure where to begin with this one. Personally, I'm Agnostic. I have all of the qualifications for Atheism except that I like the idea that there's something after life. So sue me. (Don't, please.) Anyway, I know Atheists, Pagans, Wiccans, Christians, and my mother calls herself a "Recovering Catholic". I've met a Buddhist turned Christian, and Christians turned Buddhist. It's a crazy world out there, and tolerance is a great place to start, because these are all great people in my life.

Now, I suggest letting her explore her beliefs, but all parents want to help, so if you're leaning that way, I suggest, when she's old enough to understand them, give her 3 things to read.

1.) Plato's Euthyphro

2.) The Way of Chuang Tzu

3.) The Gospel According to Thomas

Yes, in this order. You can sit down and talk with her after each.

1.) The Euthyphro argument is basically, if something is good because Gods says so, then there is no good, because can change it on a whim. Yet if something is inherently good, we don't need God to tell us, and he becomes an arbitrary figurehead.

2.) The Way of Chuang Tzu is mostly parables. There's a lot of verse, and was my first introduction to Buddhism and Taoism. I actually have an old version that belonged to my great grandmother. Some are really easy to understand. The general message is that you should be yourself, but be a good person, but they are each a different lesson in how one should act.

3.) The Gospel According to Thomas was one of the "Lost" versions of the gospel. If she's really researching, she'll probably have stumbled onto the bible. It's pretty hard not to. The point of this one is to say, "This was cut from the bible for not being close enough to its teachings." The way it's written is something much more closely resembling the Buddhist/Taoist writings from the Far East. It still conveys the bible's message, but with a different view. You use this one to show that everyone's beliefs are different, but sometimes they overlap. It's the message, and not the doctrines that are really important, and she should be free to believe whatever she chooses.

Alternatively, you could give her Plato last. Those are just some research suggestions.

You can begin reading to understand the history of the Kashmir conflict.
So here are some suggestions, based on where I began my own reading, and drawing on easily available publications by Kashmiris.

1. The good old Tracts For The Times booklet by Bajraj Puri - http://www.amazon.in/Kashmir-Towards-Insurgenc…/…/0863113842
   
   
2. AG Noorani's volumes on Kashmir (you can also find many articles by him, from Frontline, online) http://www.amazon.in/Kashmir-Dispute-1947-2012…/…/9382381155
   
   
3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer - http://www.amazon.in/Curfewed-Night-Kashmiri-J…/…/1439109109
   
   
4. A Long Dream of Home - The Persecution, exile and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits by Siddhartha Gigoo and Varad Sharma http://www.amazon.in/Long-Dream-Home-persecuti…/…/9385436201
   
   
5. Until My Freedom Has Come - a collection of short fiction, reportage, essays, news reports, interviews and a rapper’s song by Kashmiris, edited by Sanjay Kak http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/…/until-my-freedom-has-com…
   
   
6. BURIED EVIDENCE: Unknown, Unmarked, and Mass Graves in Indian-Administered Kashmir - a report by International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir (IPTK) http://www.kashmirprocess.org/reports/graves/toc.html
   
   
7. Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? http://www.amazon.in/Remember-Kunan-Poshpora-Z…/…/9384757667
   
   
8. You can read updates from the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) http://apdpkashmir.com/ and JKCCS http://www.jkccs.net/ - these groups post Facebook updates also, regularly
   
   
9. Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths of Peace by Sumantra Bose - https://kashmirebooks.files.wordpress.com/…/sumantra-bose-k…
   
   
10. Some other good readings are included in this list compiled by HT http://www.hindustantimes.com/…/story-PKmPCQ5WtigTwp85vvSpR…
    
    
11. An interesting article by Yoginder Sikand in EPW traced the shifts in the Kashmiri movement in the 1980s http://www.epw.in/…/…/changing-course-kashmiri-struggle.html
    
    
12. Agha Shahid Ali - The Country Without A Post Office (poetry) http://www.amazon.in/Country-Without-Post-Offi…/…/0393317617
    
    
13. Jashn-e-Azaadi - How We Celebrate Freedom - a documentary by Sanjay Kak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJnwGEk1fzQ
    
    Start where you like, these are not in any particular order. It is most encouraging that so many, ignoring the ugly trolling and hate-filled propaganda, are asking to know more on Kashmir. Yesterday's silent march also saw many come forward to ask to know more. Silence can break the media-scripted cacophony, a space of quiet can allow voices of good sense, especially Kashmiri voices, to be heard, and make for a path to empathy and solidarity.

I'll do classical works, since those are what I know best.

Classical works:

Kojiki. One of the recent translations is highly readable. It contains the major native myths and legends, which you will see referenced over and over again in your modern works.

Manyoshu: Earliest surviving collection of native poetry. A partial translation done in the 50s is the one I recommend, as the final English was worked over by an actual English language poet, making it by far the most accessible one around. Poets and topics range far and wide, especially when compared with later classical works.

Tales of Ise: Another one with a recent translation. Provides a good look at the noble aesthetic, romance in classical Japan, etc.

Kokin Wakashu: There are no easy to find translations of this, unfortunately. However, if you were to ask a Japanese scholar what the definitive Japanese classic is, this would be it. All later aesthetics, from literature to art, derive in large part from it in one way or another. It is a collection of poetry from 905 (approx) that epitomizes the new noble aesthetic of the age, and as I said, sets the tone for the next millennium and beyond.

Tale of Genji: The definitive prose classic. Courtly love and romance, political intrigues, all that. There are several full-length English translations (and a few that aren't full length). There are still many adherents to the Arthur Waley version, despite its age. The newer Royall Tyler translation is more thorough and scholarly accurate, however.

Tale of the Heike: Several translations exist, but the recent one by Royall Tyler does a good job of projecting the lyrical quality of the original while maintaining accuracy. Several others exist as well, but the Tyler is probably the easiest to both find and read. Tale of war and upheaval at the end of the 12th century, showing the decline of the nobility and rise of the new warrior class. Probably hard to go from cover to cover with, as there are many names/events/places that are hard to follow for most readers. Spot reading recommended.

Confessions of Lady Nijo: There are a few translations, but the one I have linked is probably the easiest to find. Discusses the life of a woman who served in the imperial courts of the late 13th/early 14th C. and all the trials and tribulations she faced by receiving the favors of the emperor.

Hope this is a good start for you all.

Formatted version:

1. The good old Tracts For The Times booklet by Bajraj Puri - http://www.amazon.in/Kashmir-Towards-Insurgency-Tracts-Times/dp/0863113842
   
2. AG Noorani's volumes on Kashmir (you can also find many articles by him, from Frontline, online) http://www.amazon.in/Kashmir-Dispute-1947-2012-1-2/dp/9382381155
   
3. Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer - http://www.amazon.in/Curfewed-Night-Kashmiri-Journalists-Frontline/dp/1439109109
   
4. A Long Dream of Home - The Persecution, exile and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits by Siddhartha Gigoo and Varad Sharma http://www.amazon.in/Long-Dream-Home-persecution-Kashmiri/dp/9385436201
   
5. Until My Freedom Has Come - a collection of short fiction, reportage, essays, news reports, interviews and a rapper’s song by Kashmiris, edited by Sanjay Kak http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/content/until-my-freedom-has-come%3Frate=1Jem0gUhLZKCLEzVRSto4bwhTDJWqJHs63AmYuUPQyo.html
   
6. BURIED EVIDENCE: Unknown, Unmarked, and Mass Graves in Indian-Administered Kashmir - a report by International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir (IPTK) http://www.kashmirprocess.org/reports/graves/toc.html
   
7. Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora? http://www.amazon.in/Remember-Kunan-Poshpora-Zubaan-Violence-Impunity/dp/9384757667
   
8. You can read updates from the Association of Parents of Displaced persons (APDP) http://apdpkashmir.com/ and JKCCS http://www.jkccs.net/ - these groups post Facebook updates also, regularly
   
9. Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths of Peace by Sumantra Bose - https://kashmirebooks.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/sumantra-bose-kashmir_-roots-of-conflict-paths-to-peace-harvard-university.pdf
   
10. Some other good readings are included in this list compiled by HT http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/the-kashmir-reading-list-11-books-to-understand-the-conflict/story-PKmPCQ5WtigTwp85vvSpRM.html
    
11. An interesting article by Yoginder Sikand in EPW traced the shifts in the Kashmiri movement in the 1980s http://www.epw.in/journal/2001/03/special-articles/changing-course-kashmiri-struggle.html
    
12. Agha Shahid Ali - The Country Without A Post Office (poetry) http://www.amazon.in/Country-Without-Post-Office-Shahid/dp/0393317617
    
13. Jashn-e-Azaadi - How We Celebrate Freedom - a documentary by Sanjay Kak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJnwGEk1fzQ
    
    >Start where you like, these are not in any particular order. It is most encouraging that so many, ignoring the ugly trolling and hate-filled propaganda, are asking to know more on Kashmir. Yesterday's silent march also saw many come forward to ask to know more. Silence can break the media-scripted cacophony, a space of quiet can allow voices of good sense, especially Kashmiri voices, to be heard, and make for a path to empathy and solidarity.

Hi there! Yeah I am super happy you are interested in both TK and Hán-Nôm studies.

Re: The use in the context of military strategies. I am not sure if there is specific academic research on that. So little information survives. It is was for sure the written language of governing structures so its extension to military seems reasonable. I have heard it discussed a number of times.

Here is one of the best resources for academic stuff. John Phan is just about the only young professor in the world who is a Nôm expert. https://columbia.academia.edu/JohnPhan

Also, http://www.nomfoundation.org/ is a great resource.

What you wrote in this part "In regards to Truyện Kiều, ..." is, I believe, very accurate. Nguyễn Du also wrote poetry under the pseudonym Tố Như. There you really get a sense of the anguish in his life - but also his resolution to accept and move on. His poems are spectacular. Here is a huge resource https://www.thivien.net/Nguy%E1%BB%85n-Du/author-ZRyB2U-4oqfhcjZ7xrf1_A

As far as English goes, make sure you read this one. https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Ki%C3%AAu-bilingual-Nguyen-Truy%C3%AAn/dp/0300040512/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2TUG02AULY27S&keywords=truyen+kieu&qid=1571648091&sprefix=truyen+%2Caps%2C354&sr=8-2

Huỳnh Sanh Thông was a master. Had I made a couple different academic choices I could have studied with him at Yale. But then my life would have unfolded totally differently and I probable been stuck being a professor which is what I was so anxious to escape in the first place.

Anyway best of luck with stuff !!! I am so happy for you.

-ARR

Still learning. I've taken three years of formal Mandarin classes during undergrad (with more to come next fall), more rigorous classes while in China, and supplemented these with a shit-ton of personal study through books, podcasts, apps, and good old language cds. As for classical, along with personal study from the standard text books, I've had a couple of professors who've sat down with me for translation roundtables. Other than that, I make a conscious effort when I read a translated text or academic study, to look up characters for important names, and find the original texts. I find it invaluable to refer to them for clarification, or to just check to see If I can correctly guess a specific term or reference. I also like to just buy random ancient texts, flip open a page, and see if I find something interesting. Once you get your head around the basics, it becomes a matter of finding the right dictionary, grammar handbook, or reference guide. All the stuff I've translated here has been more of less for fun. I'd spend about a week or more perfecting a translation before including it in a conference paper or potential journal article.

If you are looking for recommendations on where to start, I'd point you towards Chinesepod (I've heard there is an awesome torrent of their episodes floating around) and Chinese Through Poetry: An introduction to the language and imagery of traditional verse.

Took me a while to remember it exactly but here's the Amazon link to the love haiku book. There's a gazillion books of love haiku out there as well if you want more.

Thich Nhat Hanh: "In 1976, the communist government of Vietnam wanted to set up a government-supported Buddhist organization to replace the Unified Buddhist Church, and they spread a rumor that I had died of a heart attack in Paris. The young monks and nuns in Vietnam had strong faith in me. They knew I was doing my best to help and protect them. In Paris, through our office at the Peace Delegation of the Unified Buddhist Church, we stayed in touch with Amnesty International and other humanitarian organizations, and every time there were human rights violations by the government, such as the arrests of monks or nuns, we informed the press and others so they would intervene. That is one of the reasons the government decided to close down the Unified Buddhist Church and set up their own Buddhist organization. They had already arrested Thich Quang Do and Thich Huyen Quang, the leaders of the Unified Buddhist Church and they wanted to confuse people and undermine the support that the people felt from us in Paris." https://www.amazon.com/Cultivating-Mind-Love-Thich-Nhat/dp/1888375787

This is really cool of you :)

So, you say you like sci-fi... But do you like haiku? And more importantly, do you like both at the same time? Because if you don't, you'll hate this scifaiku book I published.

Not an answer, but I just wanted to comment on this huge book entirely dedicated to sea slug haiku: Rise, ye sea slugs!. Pretty solid book too, I recommend it.

"If Not, Winter" ~by Sappho <3

"Basho's Haiku" by Matsuo Basho (and translated by David Landis Barnhill) I did my college thesis on Basho, and Barnhill is definitely the best translator, imho~ his other translated work,"Basho's Journey", is also wonderful if you're looking for a more diary-style, year in the life, work <3

If that was a stranger, just randomly interrupting you, he was just being obnoxious. If it was a friend, I hope you actually got to hash out what it was you meant and maybe learn a better way to conceptualize your dislike in less stark, generalizing terms.

Incidentally, my dissertation was in Indian literature, so I've got to throw in a few recommendations for you to give the region another go:

• for realism with humor, Raag Darbari by Shrilal Shukla
  
• for comedy of manners, The Windfall by Diksha Basu
  
• for short stories, Bombay Stories by Manto
  
• for brilliant poetry, Arun Kolatkar (sample poem)
  
• for (trashy, guilty-pleasure) genre fiction, check out mythological fiction by Ashok Banker or Amish Tripathi, chick lit by Anuja Chauhan, or this fun anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction.
  
• and I second the Vikram Chandra recommendation above (but I'd add Red Earth And Pouring Rain)

I have been practicing a little less than a year, so I am a relative newbie. The most important thing is support from your sangha, which is your Buddhist community. Find one and spend time with them. Learn how others react to specific situations and deal with everyday problems that way. Without the sangha, all the books, tapes etc in the world are of little use.

My teacher is Thich Nhat Hanh. My sangha is Deerpark monastery in Escondido, Ca. A good place to start reading is here

Good luck to you!

It's my pleasure and I hope you enjoy it!

After that, if you haven't already, maybe you can check out Cold Mountain

DOOOD, i just bought The Way of Chuang Tzu. Its all Taoist poetry, and its fucking awesome so far.

Ill share my favorite quote from a parable that was inside (most of it is poetry and not parables btw)

"look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light. Being full of light it becomes an influence by which others are secretly transformed"

-Chuang Tzu

If you are not averse to having both English and Japanese, this version is lovely. It has translations in front, and the original Japanese in the back, as well as literal word-for-word translations. The Japanese print is small, however, and somewhat dominated by the English text visually, so if you are going for a "hey, look! this is is Japanese!" effect, you'll want to look elsewhere.

I found a copy of 'Selected Poems' by Xu Zhimo, so that's a start. I think a lot of the other works you're looking for haven't been translated yet. I did a quick search but it doesn't look like there's an English translation of 象牙戒指. There's copies of Shi's work on amazon but none in English. You might be out of luck for some of them, there isn't a huge market for Chinese to English translations of poetry, especially.

edit: just as a side note, amazon suggests "shipping men" for shi pingmei. um, no, amazon, i most definitely did not mean that

You could check out the Hsin Hsin Ming, but there are some issues with relying on only a single text. If you treat it as an explanation of your own life, and then bring your own ideas into it, you end up with a modified version of your own ideas, which isn't what Zen talks about.

So, I'd recommend you try and read many different authors that talk about the same thing, in the form of Zen Essence, or just by buying a bunch of different Zen Master books and studying until you see the common theme outside of words.

Thich Nhat Hanh's 'Call Me By My True Names' is a great collection of his poems.

http://www.amazon.com/Call-Me-True-Names-Collected/dp/1888375167

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm enjoying Chinese Through Poetry quite a bit.

This is a really cool book of sci-fi haikus (I know, odd right?) that I really enjoyed. Written by a Redditor.

http://www.amazon.com/white-noise-haiku-space-ebook/dp/B004S7EP84/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Yoda-Based-Upon-Ching/dp/0983309922/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458380046&sr=8-2&keywords=the+dharma+of+star+wars

Bonus!

Speaking of alternative reading material, I picked up a copy of The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain. The introduction is really good. Each poem written in Chinese and English with footnotes. A short video about their visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3OWTwGdGmo

Good point, thanks! I don't actually know that much about Chinese and Japanese, sadly. Most of my knowledge is from my Japanese Linguistics book(let).

As for the poem: I saw it on a poster in the Japanology building on Campus in Vienna, actually! If I remember correctly, it was from Tawada Youko's Abenteuer der deutschen Grammatik, 2009 or 2010. The whole book's available on Amazon, but I'll see if I can find a picture of the poster somewhere.

edit: Found it

John Blofeld's introduction to Red Pine's The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain.

It's a bit different from other suggestions, but you might try Chinese Through Poetry by Archie Barnes.

http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Mountain-Mandarin-Chinese-English/dp/1556591403/

I think Asian poetry should be your go to for this.
Chinese:
[Hanshan] (https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Mountain-Mandarin-Chinese-English/dp/1556591403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519439&sr=8-1&keywords=hanshan)
[Libai and Dufu] (https://www.amazon.com/Li-Po-Tu-Translated-Introduction/dp/0140442723/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519506&sr=8-3&keywords=li+po)
[Tao Yuanming] (https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Poems-Tao-Chien/dp/1556590563/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519544&sr=8-1&keywords=Tao+qian)
and Japanese:
[Saigyo] (https://www.amazon.com/Saigyo/dp/023107493X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519595&sr=8-1&keywords=Saigyo)
[Basho] (https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Road-Interior-Writings-Shambhala/dp/1570627169/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519621&sr=8-3&keywords=Basho)
[Ryokan] (https://www.amazon.com/Dewdrops-Lotus-Leaf-Poems-Ryokan/dp/1590301080/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481519642&sr=8-4&keywords=Ryokan)

Thomas Merton's book The Way of Chuang Tzu has Chuang Tzu using Lao Tzu as a character to illustrate many ideas. There's "mythic" stories of his wake, or one of his disciples Keng Sang Chu coming to visit him for advice for example. Not sure if this is what you're after?