Korea's premier poet, the former Buddhist monk Ko Un, presents 108 Zen poems: "Thought-stopping Koan-like mental firecrackers" - from the Foreword by Allen Ginsberg. From these poems, we can taste, hear, smell, and see the life of Ko Un, who is affectionately called "the great mountain peak" by his friends. Ko Un is a traveler on the Way. Throughout his eventful life as monk, poet, novelist, political dissident, and husband and father, Ko Un has dashed like a galloping horse, always moving and searching. When this volume first appeared in 1997 with the title Beyond Self, Ko Un and the translators were not very happy with it. In addition to now receiving a title more exactly reflecting the simple Mu_nya of the original Korean, the translations have been slightly revised to bring them closer to the originals. Also added were eleven original brush paintings by the author. It is a joy to re-introduce Ko Un, a compassionate poet, who said that "A poet should cry many days before becoming a poet. A poet must have cried for others when he was three or four years old." The poems in this volume offer 108 glimpses of Ko Un. His poems are also 108 ways to look at ourselves.
Throughout his eventful life as a monk, poet, novelist, political dissident, husband, and father, Ko Un has remained a traveler on the Way. The poems in this collection, though strictly within the true Zen tradition, are as witty and down-to-earth as they are contemplative. Described by Allen Ginsberg as thought-stopping Koan-like mental firecrackers, the poems reflect both writer and reader. First published in 1997, the new edition features a more sympathetic translation and 11 original brush paintings by the author.
