Ebook: The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader

The Roaring Stream is the first anthology to bring together writings by the greatest teachers, poets, and practitioners in the long history of Zen Buddhism and its Chinese forerunner, Ch’an. Drawn from more than a millennium of Ch’an and Zen literature, it presents one masterpiece after another in chronological progression, conveying a vivid sense of the tradition’s sweep and evolution. It is both an ideal point of entry for those exploring Ch’an and Zen for the first time and an essential sourcebook for those with a longestablished interest.

In the forty-six chapters of this collection, readers meet a cast of characters unparalleled in the annals of world religions, people remarkable for their verve, wisdom, humor, daring, literary gifts, and diversity. Among them are the tradition’s celebrated teachers—Bodhidharma, Hui-neng, Ma-tsu, Nan-chiiian, Huang-po, Chao-chou, Lin-chi, Tung-shan, Yün-men, Dogen, Muso, Daito, Ikkyu, Bankei, and Hakuin, among others. Equally important, The Roaring Stream also introduces a set of lesser-known figures whose lives and writings illuminate facets of the tradition overlooked in conventional histories. The editors have searched the vast corpus of Ch’an and Zen especially for works that concern women and lay people, affording us an opportunity to encounter the likes of Liu t'ieh-mo, whose insight and argumentative powers won her the nickname der; the great nun and teacher Mo-shan; Layman P’ang and his family, models of the enlightened lay life; and a self-styled master of wine and song, the poet Po Chü-i.

These representatives of the Way come to life in The Roaring Stream through texts that run the gamut from two-line poems to extended disquisitions, from impromptu dialogues to finely crafted pieces of prose and poetry. Each selection is noteworthy for the clarity and creativity of the original writing and for the grace and care of its translation. The editors place both the authors and their works in historical context with brief essays that open each chapter, probing behind the canonical accounts to reveal the very human beings whose mouths and hands produced these luminous words.

With a foreword by the noted American Zen teacher Robert Aitken, and an extensive “Sources and Resources” section for those who wish to explore its subject further, The Roaring Stream is an excellent introduction to Ch’an and Zen Buddhism and a striking testament to its enduring variety and vitality.