The Light of the Ancient Buddhas - Ballads of Emptiness and Awakening

Keizan's thirteenth century 'Denkoroku', The Transmission of the Lamp, is a sophisticated Zen fairytale about enlightenment and the empty ground of Being. Keizan uses archetypal myths, legends, and dreams to describe the luminous and awakened Zen mind. Zen Priest and Poet Tai Sheridan transforms eighteen of the stories into lyrical ballads that focus on the light of the Universal Self. Although the ballad form is usually associated with the chivalrous and romantic love tradition of Renaissance Europe, the spiritual subject matter of this book is clearly neither romantic nor chivalrous, but a deep expression and inquiry into the essence of existence-Being. These mythic ballads shed light on the wisdom of the early Buddhist masters, and serve as inspiration for those inquiring into their own Buddha Nature and Universal Self.