Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits

Title: Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits
Author: Red Pine
ISBN: 9781582435237
Publisher: Counterpoint
Published: 2009
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Illustrated
Number of Pages: 240
Condition Note: Clean, unmarked copy with some edge wear. Good binding. Dust jacket included if issued with one. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
D: 1698849
Section: Religion | Buddhism | Zen (see also Philosophy - Zen)
Publisher Description: A preeminent translator of Chinese poetry and Buddhist texts explores the traditions of Chinese hermits in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution.

A fascinating slice of Chinese life for armchair travelers--with insights into the history of Taoism, Buddhism, and Zen in modern China.

In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life.

But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains--the historical refuge of ancient hermits--he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains.

Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter's discovery is more than a revelation and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.