Nine-headed Dragon River [Paperback]

Peter Matthiessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1987

The author chronicles his quest for spiritual roots, describes his early Zen experiences and his gradual reawakening to life through Zen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Matthiessen took his Himalaya trek, recreated in The Snow Leopard, he secretly hoped that a "great clarity" would emerge from his ordeal in the snowy mountains. A disciple of Zen Buddhism since 1970 when his wife introduced him to meditation, he plunged more deeply into Zen after her death. This moving, highly personal story attempts to convey the essence of the Zen experience as the journal shuttles between an account of modern Zen masters in America, details of the Buddha's life, lyrical introspection and poetic recollections of Nepal, Tibet, India and Japan. Matthiessen excells at detailed descriptions of inner mental states ("In zazen, one is one's present self, what one was, and what one will be, all at once"). Zen helps him to live in the present, unencumbered by regret of the past or daydreams of the future, and this intensely felt journal communicates his faith. The log concludes with Matthiessen's 1982 pilgrimage to Japan to visit his 75-year-old former teacher.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The author of the best-selling The Snow Leopard tells here of his travels on the path of Zen. Quotes from his private journals from 1969 to 1982 are loosely linked together with a collection of Zen poems, stories, and teachings. The first half of the book uses dated passages to chronicle the beginnings of his interest in and struggles with Zen and vividly describes a pilgrimage to the Himalayas. The second half is mainly about a recent pilgrimage to Japan, and includes some fascinating thoughts on Japanese culture and history from a Zen perspective along with the author's spiritual experiences. The book is well written and full of memorable incidents and impressions of various important Zen teachers. This authentic account by a Western seeker is recommended for public libraries. C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., formerly with W. Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1St Edition edition (June 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877734011
• ISBN-13: 978-0877734017
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,710,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, strong and beautiful, August 3, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Hawkesbury, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982 (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

I read this book four years ago on the path back to zen after 16 years away from serious practice. Three facets of this jewel of a book stand out in memory. Firstly, Matthiesson's story of his wife's illness and death was truly affecting. At the same time, his own openings and softenings in zen practice were a call to me from something very deep. You could call it a three-hanky beginning to the reading of Mathiesson's tale of zen, zen journeys and the world he sees around him. Secondly, the birds are everywhere. PM's observation and description of those creatures which punctuate our lives with their song and flight sharpened my looking and hearing at the time and still do. Thirdly, the journal of the Japanese pilgrimage and stories of his Japanese roshi were full of flavour and feeling. Many thanks to Mr. Mathiesson for this book. Read it if you love zen, birds, Japan, a true true story.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual autobiography and document of American Zen, August 8, 2001

By 

Algernon D'Ammassa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982 (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

This is core reading. It may even be the equivalent, for American Zen Buddhism, of Thomas Merton's SEVEN STORY MOUNTAIN - although there are no signs Matthiessen will later distance himself from his autobiography, as Merton did.

As a spiritual autobiography, it is magnificently compelling. It is some of Matthiessen's finest prose, and he writes with complete openness about the cruel death of his wife, Deborah Love (who became a Zen student while he looked on skeptically, only later trying zazen for himself), his own demons, and his practice without imposing on the reader. It is a fine model of autobiographical writing.

It is also a valuable document of the planting of the Zen seed in America. Matthiessen begins as a student of Eido Shimano Roshi in New York, and provides a truthful and valuable portrait of that sangha as they built the Dai Bosatsu monastery and established one of the major places of Zen training in the United States. Later, Matthiessen becomes a student of Bernard Glassman and the portrait of their friendship as well as the beginning of their student/teacher rapport is such a gift.

Finally, this provides maybe the best portrait in print of what it was to sit retreat with Soen Roshi, the Japanese roshi and renowned haiku artist who defies brief descriptions. (Other accounts do exist: to some extent in ENDLESS VOW, a collection of Soen's haiku; and in the New York Zen Studies Society's SOEN ROKU.)

This is highly suited for people already practicing, but Matthiessen provides plenty of background material on Zen Buddhism as well as his own introduction to the practice, such that any general reader can appreciate and enjoy this marvelous work.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best Book on Zen Buddhism, January 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals 1969-1982 (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

I believe this work by Matthiessen is simply the best written, most accessible and enlightening work on Zen Buddhism out there. For those who disagree, please post your own recommendation. It's a huge challenge (if not a Mission Impossible) to write a powerful, poetic and insightful autobiography on Zen Buddhism. We are very fortunate to have someone of Matthiessen's genius to introduce Zen to the Western world in a such powerful way. I am very grateful to the author for this treasure of a book.