The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery by Janwillem van de Wetering  (18)
$12.95
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Afterzen: Experiences of a Zen Student Out on His Ear by Janwillem van de Wetering  (15)
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Nearly 30 years ago, van de Wetering, who would later achieve fame as a mystery novelist, published The Empty Mirror, about his experiences at a Zen monastery in Japan in the mid-60s. In 1975, he published a sequel, A Glimpse of Nothingness, about his stint at the Moon Springs Hermitage in Maine. Now the author has written a follow-up, AfterZen, told from the perspective of an aging soul who dropped most formal Zen practice years ago but still carries an abiding respect for the gut truths of the teaching and for at least some of its teachers. Much of the book has the air of the classic Zen saying, "If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him": with humor and occasional crankiness, van de Wetering knocks koans, meditation and some of the trappings of the monastic Zen life. There are many flashbacks, to Japan, to his American experiences, to meetings with fellow ex-students, and the book has a somewhat chaotic feel, rather more like life than art. Throughout, van de Wetering's voice is sincere, if iconoclastic. Those looking for composed wisdom should read Basho; those looking for an honest memoir by a perhaps wise man will find this to their taste. One Spirit alternate. (June) FYI: Also in June, van de Wetering's two earlier books, which have been out of print, are being reissued by St. Martin's/Dunne; Empty Mirror: $10.95 paper 160p ISBN 0-312-20774-3; Glimpse: $11.95 paper 192p ISBN -20945-2).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
See all Editorial Reviews
Nearly 30 years ago, van de Wetering, who would later achieve fame as a mystery novelist, published The Empty Mirror, about his experiences at a Zen monastery in Japan in the mid-60s. In 1975, he published a sequel, A Glimpse of Nothingness, about his stint at the Moon Springs Hermitage in Maine. Now the author has written a follow-up, AfterZen, told from the perspective of an aging soul who dropped most formal Zen practice years ago but still carries an abiding respect for the gut truths of the teaching and for at least some of its teachers. Much of the book has the air of the classic Zen saying, "If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him": with humor and occasional crankiness, van de Wetering knocks koans, meditation and some of the trappings of the monastic Zen life. There are many flashbacks, to Japan, to his American experiences, to meetings with fellow ex-students, and the book has a somewhat chaotic feel, rather more like life than art. Throughout, van de Wetering's voice is sincere, if iconoclastic. Those looking for composed wisdom should read Basho; those looking for an honest memoir by a perhaps wise man will find this to their taste. One Spirit alternate. (June) FYI: Also in June, van de Wetering's two earlier books, which have been out of print, are being reissued by St. Martin's/Dunne; Empty Mirror: $10.95 paper 160p ISBN 0-312-20774-3; Glimpse: $11.95 paper 192p ISBN -20945-2).
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"This is a book that deserves serious attention . . . eminently readable, easy to relate to on several different levels, and a fascinating and encouraging tale of human communal endeavor."--The New York Times Book Review
"I was pleasantly surprised to find the book enjoyable . . . the main virtue of this book is van de Wetering's skill for re-creating places, feelings, scenes, and encounters. The book is relaxed, alternately serious and humorous, and insightful."--The Shambhala Review
"The most down-to-earth account of the Zen discipline ever written for Westerners . . . van de Wetering clears away the thicket of intellectualization and mannered inscrutability and gets down to the ordinariness of Zen. Even those who normally refect spiritual trips . . . will find this dogged, bourgeois seeker hard to ignore."--Kirkus Reviews
"I was pleasantly surprised to find the book enjoyable . . . the main virtue of this book is van de Wetering's skill for re-creating places, feelings, scenes, and encounters. The book is relaxed, alternately serious and humorous, and insightful."--The Shambhala Review
"The most down-to-earth account of the Zen discipline ever written for Westerners . . . van de Wetering clears away the thicket of intellectualization and mannered inscrutability and gets down to the ordinariness of Zen. Even those who normally refect spiritual trips . . . will find this dogged, bourgeois seeker hard to ignore."--Kirkus Reviews
See all Editorial Reviews
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Look Inside This Book
Citations
(learn more)
6
books
cite this book:
- You're Not Old Until You're Ninety: Best to Be Prepared, However by Rebecca Lattimer on page 108, and Back Matter
- The Zen Monastic Experience by Robert E., Jr. Buswell in Back Matter
- The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace by Jack Kornfield in Back Matter
- The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism by Anthony Molino on page 342
- Awakening and Insight: Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy by Young-EisE