Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa [Paperback]

Kazuaki Tanahashi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 1996

Endless Vow is the first English-language collection of the literary works of Soen Nakagawa Roshi. An intimate, in-depth portrait of the master of Eido Tai Shimano, his Dharma heir, introduces the poems, letters, journal entries, and other writings of Soen Roshi, which are illustrated with his calligraphies. In a postscript, some of his best-known American students—including Peter Matthiessen and Ruth McCandless—reminisce about this legendary figure of American Buddhist history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The late Soen Nakagawa was indisputably one of the most influential Renzai Zen masters of our era. (His students, Robert Aitken and Phillip Kapleau, to name only two of the better known, are among the leading American teachers of Zen today.) Endless Vow focuses mostly on the poetic works that Soen Roshi himself suppressed during his lifetime. Nakagawa's classic hybung places him in the great tradition of Japanese Haiku masters. Nakagawa's hybung embodies some of the most powerful states of Renzai Zen. That is to say, this is potent reading: transformative and illuminative. For the general reader, the biographical portrait by Shimano introduces the master in more personal terms. But it is the postscript by Roko Sherry Chayat that introduces the reader to Nakagawa's "wild and crazy teaching" methods. This is an integral book for those who would come to know Soen Roshi's role in the transmission of Zen to America; but it is a must for serious students of Zen.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; First Edition edition (June 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570621624
• ISBN-13: 978-1570621628
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly, one of the greatest zen stories of our era, October 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] ([e-mail]) (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa (Paperback)

I love this book. It is for me, a book that strips away stereotypes about zen and zen monks, and shows the compassionate suffering and enlightenment of a rare being dedicated to dharmma and to life. This book is highly reccommended for anyone considering zen practice, or even for the sound novice who may consider monastic life. So much compassion comes from this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars zen path, February 15, 2009

By 

Luis H. Lopez "natazen" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa (Paperback)

Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa. Besides your sitting if you are searching for inspiration, truly devotion and involvement in zen practices this is the book for you. A masterpiece about the life of this eccentric zen teacher of the 20th century.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent artist - outre Zen master, February 7, 2005

By 

Toho "J. Sabater" (Kelowna, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa (Paperback)

Nakagawa Soen was marvellous artist and a poetic genius. He was one of the first spokesmen of Zen Buddhism in America, and one of the most eccentric. However it would be incorrect to call this wonderful character an exceptional master in the Japanese Rinzai line. Nakagawa Soen's "Inka" (authorization to teach) came from a single Japanese master of the Sozan Genkyo line. It was never independently verified. Consequently those who studied with this magnificent eccentric and themselves teach Zen tend to pass on his unusual views. The Zen master who best exemplifies the no-nonsense spirit of Rinzai Zen in America is Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, founder of Rinzai-Ji. Joshu Roshi's Zen is as solid as Nakagawa Soen's was ethereal. Nevertheless for breathtaking haiku and unforgettable images, graphic and verbal, there is no one like Nakagawa Soen.