Zen baggage : a pilgrimage to China
In the Spring of 2006, Bill Porter (better known as Red Pine) traveled through the heart of China, from Beijing to Hong Kong, on a pilgrimage to sites associated with the six patriarchs of Zen. This is an account of that journey. He weaves together historical background, interviews with Zen masters, and translations of the earliest known records of Zen, along with personal vignettes. Porter's account captures the transformations taking place at religious centres in China but also the abiding legacy they have somehow managed to preserve. Porter brings wisdom and humour to every situation, whether visiting ancient caves containing the most complete collection of Buddhist texts ever uncovered, enduring a six-hour Buddhist ceremony, searching in vain for the ghost in his room, waking up the monk in charge of martial arts at Shaolin Temple, or meeting the abbess of China's first Zen nunnery
Print Book, English, 2009
Counterpoint, Berkeley, California, 2009