Sky Above, Great Wind

The Life and Poetry of Zen Master Ryokan

By: Kazuaki Tanahashi

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

Ryokan (1758-1831) is, along with Dogen and Hakuin, one of the three giants of Zen in Japan. But unlike his two renowned colleagues, Ryokan was a societal dropout, living mostly as a hermit and a beggar. He was never head of a monastery or temple. He liked playing with children. He had no dharma heir. Even so, people recognized the depth of his realization, and he was sought out by people of all walks of life for the teaching to be experienced in just being around him. His poetry and art were wildly popular even in his lifetime. He is now regarded as one of the greatest poets of the Edo Period, along with Basho, Buson, and Issa. He was also a master artist-calligrapher with a very distinctive style, due mostly to his unique and irrepressible spirit, but also because he was so poor he didn't usually have materials: His distinctive thin line was due to the fact that he often used twigs rather than the brushes he couldn't afford. He was said to practice his brushwork with his fingers in the air when he didn't have any paper. There are hilarious stories about how people tried to trick him into doing art for them, and about how he frustrated their attempts. As an old man, he fell in love with a young Zen nun who also became his student. His affection for her colors the mature poems of his late period. This collection contains more than 140 of Ryokan's poems, with selections of his art, and of the very funny anecdotes about him.

©2012 Kazuaki Tanahashi (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Take the Time to Enjoy this.

loved it, easy to finish, free, and introspective to the seeker. Narrator was well spoken.

Wonderful book

If you want Zen explained to you buy books by D.T. Suzuki. If you want to see it through the eyes of someone that lived it, this is the book

Simple, Thoughtful

This 2 1/2 hour audiobook is bookended with an hour long biography of Zen Master Ryokan and 15 minutes of anecdotes. In between are his simple Zen "poems that are not poems." Ryokan was a Buddhist monk, a Shinto temple keeper, and by most accounts a very unkempt and dirty individual. You'd never know it by his poetry. This is the sort of thing that makes me wish I could experience it in its original form, understanding the original language, and admiring the original calligraphy. An audiobook just doesn't do it justice, but for those of us who aren't multilingual, it's acceptable enough to let us know just how much we might be missing.

Words within words...

It's a journey through the present moment seen from Ryokan's perspective. Great experience and makes me see the world in a more zen way for sure. A very practical image of Taoism and buddhism with the humour of human nature. Will listen once more...

wonderful

loved the poems the story and the narrator ! would love to see the actual. the writings

The Great Fool

Ryokan, "The Great Fool," is, perhaps, the scruffiest of the great Zen Master poets. His writings, and in particular, Kazuaki Tanahashi's translation, convey the experiences of a breathing person, irreverent and humorous while holding deep sorrow, loneliness, and wisdom. He portrays a universe playing tricks on us all.

Brian Nishii is a fantastic narrator. He is clear, has a good sense of timing and his enthusiasm for the reading is evident.

Excellent

Beautifully written and narrated. A window into a past life of peace and wisdom. I am sure that future listens will reap further rewards.
I enjoyed listening to it at 0.85x speed.

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be intelligent and further highly interesting. I found great relation with the author and I further highly recommend this book.

Insightful poems

Interesting, wise and insightful poems full of humor and feeling. Listening to them made me smile and made me feel sorrow. Hearing the book several times only makes it better.

Very interesting and peaceful

Listening to this gives you a good perspective on life and provides a peaceful feeling