Some time ago I discovered Han Shan, the Zen Poet of China. I have to say, very little in the way of so-called spiritual literature has spoken to me the way Han Shan does. Han Shan means Cold Mountain. Like many figures in Ancient Chinese lore, it is debatable whether he even existed or is rather a metaphorical character. In my opinion, that matters zero. The essence of writing is a completely different matter from the history of the writer(s).
Han Shan was downright critical of the Buddhist and social norms of his day. His focus was on the natural world in his midst, the mystery of existence. One of the stories about Han Shan is that he and a contemporary fled the boring and artificial life of the monastery and went to the mountains. They travelled the countryside scribing poetry on boulders and barns with coal and cheap paint. The one day Han Shan returned to Cold Mountain and entered a cave which promptly closed on him, returning him to the source from whence he came.
Of course the best, and really only, way to appreciate Han Shan is to read Han Shan: www.amazon.com/Cold-Mountain-Poems-Tang-Han-Shan/dp/0231034504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513609399&sr=8-1&keywords=han+shan+cold+mountain
Han Shan was downright critical of the Buddhist and social norms of his day. His focus was on the natural world in his midst, the mystery of existence. One of the stories about Han Shan is that he and a contemporary fled the boring and artificial life of the monastery and went to the mountains. They travelled the countryside scribing poetry on boulders and barns with coal and cheap paint. The one day Han Shan returned to Cold Mountain and entered a cave which promptly closed on him, returning him to the source from whence he came.
Of course the best, and really only, way to appreciate Han Shan is to read Han Shan: www.amazon.com/Cold-Mountain-Poems-Tang-Han-Shan/dp/0231034504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513609399&sr=8-1&keywords=han+shan+cold+mountain
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