Road to Heaven Encounters with Chinese Hermits - 5 Star Review
Road to Heaven: Encounters with
Chinese Hermits
Road To Heaven : Encounters With Chinese Hermits
From 1966 to 1976 the malevolent rage of the Chinese Cultural
Revolution struck a devastating blow to all religions in China, destroying
countl...
Road to Heaven: Encounters with
Chinese Hermits
Road To Heaven : Encounters With Chinese Hermits
From 1966 to 1976 the malevolent rage of the Chinese Cultural
Revolution struck a devastating blow to all religions in China, destroying
countless temples and shrines that had stood for centuries and forcibly
returning thousands of monks and nuns to lay life. Bill Porter had been
told that the venerable hermetic tradition in China had also succumbed,
but he went looking anyway. What he found, Taoist and Buddhist monks
and nuns living in huts and caves deep in the mountains of central China,
is more than a revelation, it is a glimmer of hope for the future of religion in
China.
Personal Review: Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese
Hermits
I read this book twice between 2003 and 2009. It is a wonderful book to
read and re-read if one is perpetually intrigued by the idea of escaping the
pressures of our daily lives in search of a more quite and reflective one.
This is a theme that recurs since ancient China. The book chronicles the
experience of Bill Porter (aka Red Pine) in his search of hermits in China.
Not only does he find them, he interviews them as well. However, not all
the persons interviewed are hermits (who by nature shun contact with the
outside world). A number of the interviews involve questions about how
they are affected by the Chinese government's actions. The more
interesting questions and answers pertain to the views of these hermits on
Buddhism and Taoism. The book also works on another level - something
akin to a spiritual travel guide. The book is not only about hermits - Porter
describes his journey and reflects on the historical significance of the
places he visited as well. The photographs of people and places in the
book is another plus point as they help us visualize the trip that Porter has
taken. One thing that emerges from the book is that the life of a hermit is
not an easy one. But for those of us living in cities, the last sentence in the
book provides some consolation: "The small hermit lives on a mountain.
The great hermit lives in a town." This is also similar in spirit to the words
of the zen master Ikkyu: "Entering the realm of Buddha is easy, Entering
the realm of the devil is difficult." My final verdict - this is an excellent book
that is certainly worth reading if you are still 'searching'.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest
Price!
本文档为【Road to Heaven Encounters with Chinese Hermits - 5 Star Review】，请使用软件OFFICE或WPS软件打开。作品中的文字与图均可以修改和编辑，
图片更改请在作品中右键图片并更换，文字修改请直接点击文字进行修改，也可以新增和删除文档中的内容。
该文档来自用户分享，如有侵权行为请发邮件ishare@vip.sina.com联系网站客服，我们会及时删除。
[版权声明] 本站所有资料为用户分享产生，若发现您的权利被侵害，请联系客服邮件isharekefu@iask.cn，我们尽快处理。
本作品所展示的图片、画像、字体、音乐的版权可能需版权方额外授权，请谨慎使用。
网站提供的党政主题相关内容(国旗、国徽、党徽..)目的在于配合国家政策宣传，仅限个人学习分享使用，禁止用于任何广告和商用目的。
浙公网安备 33021202002483