The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature (SUNY series in Buddhism and American Culture)

The encounter between Buddhism and American literature has been a powerful one for both parties. While Buddhism fueled the Beat movement's resounding critique of the United States as a spiritually dead society, Beat writers and others have shaped how Buddhism has been presented to and perceived by a North American audience. Contributors to this volume explore how Asian influences have been adapted to American desires in literary works and Buddhist poetics, or how Buddhist practices emerge in literary works. Starting with early aesthetic theories of Ernest Fenollosa, made famous but also distorted by Ezra Pound, the book moves on to the countercultural voices associated with the Beat movement and its friends and heirs such as Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Giorno, Waldman, and Whalen. The volume also considers the work of contemporary American writers of color influenced by Buddhism, such as Maxine Hong Kingston, Charles Johnson, and Lan Cao. An interview with Kingston is included. Literature As Vehicle: Transmission And Transformation. The Emptiness Of Patterned Flux : Ernest Fenollosa's Buddhist Essay The Chinese Written Character As A Medium For Poetry / Jonathan Stalling -- Gary Snyder's Selective Way To Cold Mountain : Domesticating Han Shan / Yuemin He -- John Giorno : Buddhism, Poetry, And Transgression / Marcus Boon -- Buddhadharma And Poetry Without Credentials / Michael Heller -- Zen, Vajrayana, And The Avant-garde : A Pluralistic Poetics. Finger Pointing At The Moon : Zen And The Poetry Of Philip Whalen / Jane Falk -- Keeping Vision Alive : The Buddhist Stillpoint In The Work Of Jack Kerouac And Allen Ginsberg / Erik Mortenson -- Illumination Through The Cracks : The Melting Down Of Conventional Socio-religious Thought And Practice In The Work Of Gary Snyder / Tom Lavazzi -- The American Poetic Diamond Vehicle : Allen Ginsberg And Anne Waldman Re-work Vajrayana Buddhism / Jane Augustine -- Widening The Circle : Buddhism And American Writers Of Color. Buddhism, Chinese Religion, And The Ceremony Of Writing : An Interview With Maxine Hong Kingston / John Whalen-bridge -- A Bridge Between Two Worlds : Crossing To America In Monkey Bridge / Hanh Nguyen And R.c. Lutz -- 'opening The Hand Of Thought' : The Meditative Mind In Charles Johnson's Dr. King's Refrigerator And Other Bedtime Stories / Gary Storhoff. Edited By John Whalen-bridge, Gary Storhoff ; Foreword By Maxine Hong Kingston And Afterword By Charles Johnson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature 5 CONTENTS 9 FOREWORD 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13 Introduction 15 PART I. Literature as Vehicle: Transmission and Transformation 33 1. The Emptiness of Patterned Flux: Ernest Fenollosa’s Buddhist Essay: “The Chinese Writt en Character as a Medium for Poetry” 35 2. Gary Snyder’s Selective Way to Cold Mountain: Domesticating Han Shan 59 3. John Giorno: Buddhism, Poetry, and Transgression 77 4. Buddhadharma and Poetry without Credentials 97 PART II. Zen, Vajrayana,and the Avante-Garde: A Pluralistic Poetics 115 5. Finger Pointing at the Moon: Zen and the Poetry of Philip Whalen 117 6. Keeping Vision Alive: Th e Buddhist Stillpoint in the Work of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg 137 7. Illumination Through the Cracks: The Melting Down of Conventional Socio-Religious Thought and Practice in the Work of Gary Snyder 153 8. The American Poetic Diamond Vehicle: Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman Re-work Vajrayana Buddhism 169 PART III. Widening the Circle: Buddhism and American Writers of Color 189 9. Buddhism, the Chinese Religion,and the Ceremony of Writing: An Interview with Maxine Hong Kingston 191 10. A Bridge between Two Worlds: Crossing to America in Monkey Bridge 203 Afterword 243 CONTRIBUTORS 257 INDEX 261 A 261 B 261 C 263 D 263 E 263 F 264 G 264 H 264 I 265 J 265 K 265 L 265 M 266 N 266 O 266 P 266 R 267 S 267 T 268 U 268 V 268 W 268 X 269 Y 269 Z 269 Literature as vehicle: transmission and transformation. The emptiness of patterned flux: Ernest Fenollosa's Buddhist essay, "The Chinese written character as a medium for poetry" / Jonathan Stalling Gary Snyder's selective way to Cold Mountain: domesticating Han Shan / Yuemin He John Giorno: Buddhism, poetry, and transgression / Marcus Boon Buddhadharma and poetry without credentials / Michael Heller Zen, Vajrayana, and the avant-garde: a pluralistic poetics. Finger pointing at the moon: Zen and the poetry of Philip Whalen / Jane Falk Keeping the vision alive: the Buddhist stillpoint in the work of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg / Erik Mortenson Illumination through the cracks: the melting down of conventional socio-religious thought and practice in the work of Gary Snyder / Tom Lavazzi Ginsberg, Trungpa, and the American poetic diamond vehicle: Anne Waldman re-works Vajrayana Buddhism / Jane Augustine Widening the circle: Buddhism and American writers of color. Buddhism, Chinese religion, and the ceremony of writing: an interview with Maxine Hong Kingston / John Whalen-Bridge A monkey bridge between two worlds: A Vietnamese Buddhist's crossing to America / Hanh Nguyen and R.C. Lutz Opening the hand of thought: the meditative mind in Charles Johnson's Dr. King's refrigerator / Gary Storhoff. Looks at Buddhist influences in American literature and how it has shaped the reception of Buddhism in North America.