Wild Ways Paperback – July 14, 2015

The title of the book "Wild Ways" is apt for the legendary Japanese Zen Monk Ikkyu (1394 - 1481)who wrote poetry, drank frequently, found truth in brothels, and was deadly serious about Zen meditation. He was disgusted with the hypocrisy of fame-and-fortune Zen and frequently ridiculed them. He shunned temple life and mingled with all manner of people. But at age 80 he was asked to become the head abbot of the most important Zen Temple of Japan Daitoku-ji which he succeeded in rebuilding after it had been destroyed in a war. He died at age 87 while sitting in a lotus pose.His Rinzai Zen master Kaso gave him the name "Ikkyu" which roughly means "one pause" after he penetrated and understood a koan at age 24. He achieved enlightenment at age 26. But Ikkyu preferred to call himself "crazy cloud" and his master Kaso concurred when he said " Ikkyu is my true heir, but his ways are wild".A Crazy Cloud, out in the openBlown about madly, as wild as they come!Who knows where this cloud will go, wherethe will will still?The sun rises from the eastern sea, and shinesover the land."Wild Ways" is a selection of more than a thousand poems he wrote. He writes freely about sex which comes across as raw and in your face, his beloved Mori, and struggles of hermit life. In the end, it contains the famous "Skeleton" poem in its entirety with pencil sketches which adds a beautiful touch. Skeleton is the haunting expression of the classical Buddhist theme No beginning, no end, emptiness of emptiness.MemoriesFlee andAnd are no more:All are empty dreamsDevoid of meaningIf you enjoy this translation by John Stevens, you will enjoy my other favorite Japanese poet Ryokan, also translated by John Stevens.If Ryokan was a gentle curling fog on the mountain side, Ikkyu was the lashing storm.

This little book of poems and drawings by Ikkyu is a total delight. A wild free sensuous crazy Zen monk left us these terrific drawings and poems of his unemcumbered life, yet he was , in my view, a very deep Zen Buddhist living every moment, savoring it, suffering through it, and moving on. The last part is a long famous poem Skeletons worth reading and rereading.

If Ikkyu is of interest to you, this book is a must.It contains multiple, short poems by the master. Also, it contains some of his very best work -- inspiring, beautifully written and well translated.Artists of any kind will like this book a great deal.

I am a huge fan of Ikkyu. I totally enjoyed reading these poems, however it is merely not my favorite collection, having a lot fewer of those poems which instantly strike you to yr core. However, I have come to enjoy the creative, different formatting of the book--and to be accurate--there are several gems of thought to be found here.

I was excited to get this, as there are only two versions of Ikkyu's poetry in English currently in print, the other being Crow With No Mouth, translated by Stephen Berg. The Berg translation definitely set me up for a letdown with this. These translations are written in a form that is alien to Japanese poetry, and have so much superfluous language that the spirit of Ikkyu, resilient as it is, ends up buried beneath it all. Take, for example, this translation by Stevens:Ten days in this temple and my mind is reeling!Between my legs the red thread stretches and stretches.If you come some other day and ask for me,Better look in a fish stall, a sake shop, or a brothel.Compared with Berg's version:Ten fussy days running this temple all red tapeLook me up if you want to in the bar whorehouse fish marketNot only is Berg's infinitely more beautiful and sensitive, but you can see that Stevens actually totally mistranslates the line about red tape. The "red thread" he is referring to is the red thread school of Zen, which viewed sexual intimacy as a religious rite (Ikkyu was known to wear his monk's robe in brothels). But clearly Ikkyu is not referring to the red thread here, and it completely alters the meaning of the poem.These translations completely miss the mark. Luckily enough of Ikkyu's extralingual sensibility shines through to make it not a total waste of money, but only for the few poems in here that are not available in the Berg translation.Long story short: this is not the poetry of Ikkyu. Get Berg's translation, or better yet, learn Japanese!

I have very much been enjoying the book. It is a great representation of Ikku Zen Poetry. Well translated, and adapted for the west. If you like Ikkus zen poetry I recommend the book.

My favorite Zen master

There are 8 reviews in this book's other listing. But none here. So, I'll add the first in its new listing home. (And maybe urge the amazon reviews-reviewer to somehow link or transfer them to this listing.) This is a wonderful small book, one of the White Pines Companions. There's a small introduction. About 75 poems. Also, the complete Skeletons, a zen prose and poem treatise. Also, there are several poor quality black and white woodblock prints from older Japanese editions. Currently, this is one of two books of translations reasonably available for purchase. There is also a popular book of transliterations. There are a few older books available if you're willing to pay close to a hundred dollars or if you can find them in a library (good luck). I'd suggest this is the one to buy first though. And enjoy. For Ikkyu is a singularity.