Japan's capital city of Kyoto was devastated by earthquake, storm, and fire in the late 12th century. Retreating from -this unkind world, - the poet and Buddhist priest Kamo-no-Chomei left the capital for the forested mountains, where he eventually constructed his famous -ten-foot-square- hut. From this solitary vantage point Chomei produced Hojoki, an extraordinary literary work that describes all he has seen of human misery and his new life of simple chores, walks, and acts of kindness. Yet at the end he questions his own sanity and the integrity of his purpose. Has he perhaps grown...
Japan's capital city of Kyoto was devastated by earthquake, storm, and fire in the late 12th century. Retreating from -this unkind world, - the poet a...
New to Penguin Classics: two of the most important Buddhist tracts from Japan Both of these works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each represents a different worldview. In Essays in Idleness, his lively and sometimes ribald collection of anecdotes, advice, and observations, Kenko displays his fascination with earthly matters. In the short memoir Hojoki, however, Chomei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of...
New to Penguin Classics: two of the most important Buddhist tracts from Japan Both of these works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddh...
