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(More customer reviews)Bill LaFleur presents us with a wonderful account of the poetry of an important Japanese poet. It reminds me a little bit of Thomas Merton's draw towards writing poetry while in a monastery. Saigyo lived a very difficult life during some really horrific times in Japanese history. It was a challenge to truly detach himself from the occurrences of the daily struggle of life during his time. He struggled in his poetry with inner dilemmas that we all face. Issues surrounding sex and time spent worrying somewhat about his earlier years spent as a warrior. Saigyo believed in fusing poetry with the path of the Buddha in a life of action, or truly sincere practice. The experiment would encompass a lifetime of this monk, and the outcomes of his story are left for interpretation for us lucky readers. He had to detach himself from relationships with those who aspired to be poets, but who did not participate in actualizing their works in their daily lives. Saigyo's style is eerily reminiscent of the Chinese Taoist master Chuang Tzu in his prose and approach, and I suppose I'll end this review with a quick poem by him:
'The moon, like you,
Is far away from me, but it's our sole memento:
If you look and recall our past through it,
We can be one mind.'
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Awesome Nightfall captures the power of Saigyo's poetry and this previously overlooked poet's keen insight into the social and political world of medieval Japan. It also offers a fascinating look into the world of Japanese Buddhism prior to the wholesale influence of Zen. LaFleur's much-heralded translation and commentary make this book ideal both for the poetry lover, and for the professor and student of Asian arts and languages.
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