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Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenkō
Contributor(s): Keene, Donald (Translator)
ISBN: 0231112556     ISBN-13: 9780231112550
Publisher: Columbia University Press
OUR PRICE:   $31.68  
Product Type: Paperback
Published: May 1998
Qty:
Annotation:

-- "The Asian Student"

Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Religion | Buddhism - History
- History | Asia - Japan
- Literary Criticism | Asian - General
Dewey: 895.642
LCCN: 67-23566
Series: Translations from the Asian Classics
Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.34" W x 8.68" (0.63 lbs) 235 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Japanese
- Religious Orientation - Buddhist
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Despite the turbulent times in which he lived, the Buddhist priest Kenkō met the world with a measured eye. As Emperor Go-Daigo fended off a challenge from the usurping Hojo family, and Japan stood at the brink of a dark political era, Kenkō held fast to his Buddhist beliefs and took refuge in the pleasures of solitude. Written between 1330 and 1332, Essays in Idleness reflects the congenial priest's thoughts on a variety of subjects. His brief writings, some no more than a few sentences long and ranging in focus from politics and ethics to nature and mythology, mark the crystallization of a distinct Japanese principle: that beauty is to be celebrated, though it will ultimately perish. Through his appreciation of the world around him and his keen understanding of historical events, Kenkō conveys the essence of Buddhist philosophy and its subtle teachings for all readers. Insisting on the uncertainty of this world, Kenkō asks that we waste no time in following the way of Buddha.

In this fresh edition, Donald Keene's critically acclaimed translation is joined by a new preface, in which Keene himself looks back at the ripples created by Kenkō's musings, especially for modern readers.