Zen / Chan Poets and Poetry

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Sacred Poetry from Around the World

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Traditions : Buddhist :
Zen / Chan

Poets in the Zen / Chan tradition
Books - Links

Known as Zen in Japan and Chan in China.

This tradition of Buddhist spiritual practice largely rejects ritualism in favor of simplicity, focused meditation, and constant awareness of the mind leading toward sartori or spontaneous awareness of the true nature of reality.

Chan often overlaps Taoism in China, with many individuals practicing both, as though they are aspects of the same path. Zen/Chan practices and philosophy can also be compared to the Advaita non-dualist tradition within Yoga.

Poetry is often composed as part of Zen practice, emphasizing being fully present, awareness of the spontaneous moment, and a lack of verbal embellishment. Some of the great poetry of the East comes to us through the Zen tradition.

In America, the Beat poets of the 1950s and 1960s discovered and introduced many of the great Zen poets to the West.

Poets in the Zen / Chan Tradition

Adyashanti (1962 - )

Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694)

Hogen Bays (Contemporary)

Buson (1716 - 1784)

Jusammi Chikako (14th Century)

Eihei Dogen (1200 - 1253)

Feng-kan (Big Stick) (750? - 850?)

Hakuin (1686 - 1768)

Han-shan (Cold Mountain) (730? - 850?)

Thich Nhat Hanh (1929 - )

Meng Hao-jan (689 - 740)

Hsuan Chueh of Yung Chia / Yoka Genkaku (665 - 713)

Hui K'o (4th Century)

Hung-chih Cheng-chueh (1091 - 1157)

Ikkyu (Ikkyu Sojun) (1394 - 1481)

Kobayashi Issa (1763 - 1828)

Jakushitsu (1290 - 1367)

Chiao Jan (730 - 799)

Jack Kerouac (1922 - 1969)

Ko Un (1933 - )

Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931 - 1995)

Masahide (1657? - 1723)

Yuan Mei (1716 - 1798)

P'ang Yun (Layman P'ang) (740? - 808)

Po Chu-i (772 - 846)

Ryokan (1758 - 1831)

Ryuzan (1274 - 1358)

Seng-Ts'an (520? - 606?)

Shih Shu (1660? - 1740?)

Shih-te (Pickup) (780? - 850?)

Izumi Shikibu (974? - 1034?)

Gary Snyder (1930 - )

Muso Soseki (1275 - 1351)

Natsume Soseki (1867 - 1916)

Shinkichi Takahashi (20th Century)

Tu Fu (712 - 770)

Tung-Shan (Tozan) (806 - 869)

Wu Men (Hui-k'ai) (1183 - 1260)

Yamei (17th Century)

Yung-ming Yen-shou (904 - 975)

Hsu Yun (1839 - 1959)

Recommended Books

	Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanh, by Thich Nhat Hanh
	The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, Translated by Red Pine
	Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan, Translated by John Stevens
	A Drifting Boat: Chinese Zen Poetry, Edited by J. P. Seaton / Edited by Dennis Maloney
	Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series, by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki
	The Golden Age of Zen: Zen Masters of the T'ang Dynasty, by John C.H. Wu
	Heart of Bamboo: Poems in the Zen Tradition (Audio Book), by Sam Hamill
	The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan, by William R. LaFleur
	The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton
	Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader, Edited by Nelson Foster / Edited by Josh Shoemaker
	Sun at Midnight: Muso Soseki - Poems and Sermons, Translated by W. S. Merwin / Translated by Soiku Shigematsu
	Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki
	The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine
	Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk / Translated by Takashi Ikemoto

Related Links:

	Zen and the Art of Haiku http://westernchanfellowship.org/zen-and-art-of-haiku.html An insightful article on the relationship between Zen and haiku.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World