Red Pine

For this new translation of the most influential Buddhist text into English, an award-winning translator has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication.

The Heart Sutra

Diamond Sutra

"Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen.  Zen's First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book.  Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha.  Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words.  In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as "have a cup of tea" and "taste the tea."   This is the first translation into English of the original text used by Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever since. In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries, explanations and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the basis of which the Chinese translation was made.  This promises to become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding or knowledge of Zen. "--

Lankavatara sutra

Literary Nonfiction. Asian & Asian American Studies. In ZEN ROOTS, Red Pine has gathered nine texts from the first thousand years of Zen. Dating from the middle of the second century BC to the middle of the ninth century AD, they include the Heart, the Diamond, and the Platform sutras, selections from the Vimalakirti and Lankavatara sutras, Bodhidharma's Principles & Practice, Sengcan's Trusting the Mind, and Huangbo's Transmission of the Mind. The translations are accompanied by introductions and enough notes to explain what needs explaining but not so many as to get in the way. This is meant to be a companionable volume, something a reader would enjoy carrying around, taking on trips, introducing to the higher elevations, or the backyard. Published by Empty Bowl Press, the book is in a handy 5"x7" format, bound in Japanese silk, and the binding sewn so when open it lays fairly flat. And there's a ribbon, for marking your place. A regular trade edition is planned for publication in 2022.

Zen Roots: The First Thousand Years

P'u Ming's Oxherding Pictures and Verses, 2nd Edition

Del Sutra del Corazón se ha dicho que es el budismo condensado en unas pocas líneas. También conocido como Sutra de la esencia de la sabiduría es uno de los textos fundamentales del budismo, especialmente para la escuela Mahayana y forma parte de lo que se denomina literatura Prajnaparamita. El mantra final que contiene es. sin duda, el más conocido por el budismo chino, el zen y el buidsmo tibetano. Un texto fundamenta en una versión extensamente comentada debida a un especialista de la talla de Red Pine que ha hecho que sea considerada como imprescindible para acceder a la más pura esencia del budismo.

El seno de los Budas

El sutra del corazón

Bodhidharmanin Zen Ögretisi

Mike O'Connor

Presents the translated verse of fourteen Chinese Buddhist poet monks who wrote between the T'ang Dynasty and the early twentieth century

Buddhist Poet Monks of China

The Clouds Should Know Me By Now

The three most venerated sutras of Zen in a true pocket-sized edition from a legendary practitioner and translator of Buddhist teachings. These three Sutras, often linked to form a trio of texts that have been revered and studied for centuries, are now available together in this single volume. Red Pine, whose acclaimed translations these particular Buddhist texts are considered canon, provides a sensitive and assured treatment of the classic triumvirate in a gift-sized volume, perfect for sharing with anyone seeking guidance and peace. The Heart Sutra, with its profound and wide-reaching influence on Buddhism, offers the Prajnaparamita teaching of emptiness. The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism, outlines the bodhisattva path followed by the Buddha. And The Platform Sutra is an autobiography of Hui-neng, the controversial 6th Patriarch of Zen. His understanding of the fundamentals of a spiritual and practical life has served as the introduction to the teachings of Zen that students have been putting into practice for the past 1300 years. In addition to new translations of all three texts, Red Pine has included an introduction that ties all three together and just enough footnotes to explain what needs explaining but not enough to get in the way.

The Heart, The Diamond, and The Platform Sutras

Three Zen Sutras

Poetry is China’s greatest art, and for the past eight centuries Poems of the Masters has been that country’s most studied and memorized collection of verse. For the first time ever in English, here is the complete text, with an introduction and extensive notes by renowned translator, Red Pine. Over one hundred poets are represented in this bilingual edition, including many of China’s celebrated poets: Li Pai, Wang Wei, Tu Fu, Wang Po, and Ou-yang Hsiu. Poems of the Masters was compiled during the Sung dynasty (960–1278), a time when poetry became the defining measure of human relationships and understanding. As Red Pine writes in his introduction: "Nothing was significant without a poem, no social or ritual occasion, no political or personal event was considered complete without a few well-chosen words that summarized the complexities of the Chinese vision of reality and linked that vision with the beat of their hearts . . . [Poetry’s] greatest flowering was in the T’ang and Sung, when suddenly it was everywhere: in the palace, in the street, in every household, every inn, every monastery, in every village square." "Chiupu River Song" by Li Pai My white hair extends three miles the sorrow of parting made it this long who would guess to look in a mirror where autumn frost comes from Red Pine (the pen name of writer and independent scholar Bill Porter) is one of the world’s most respected translators of Chinese literature, bringing into English several of China’s central religious and literary texts: Taoteching, The Diamond Sutra, Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma, and Collected Songs of Cold Mountain. He lives near Seattle, Washington.

China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse

Poems of the Masters



Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen. Zen’s First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui–k’o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as “have a cup of tea” and “taste the tea.”

This is the first translation into English of the original text used by Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever since.

In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries, explanations and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the basis of which the Chinese translation was made. This promises to become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding or knowledge of Zen.

Translation and Commentary

The Lankavatara Sutra

"A travel writer with a cult following."—The New York Times "There are very few westerners who could successfully cover so much territory in China, but Porter pulls it off. Finding Them Gone uniquely draws upon his parallel careers as a translator and a travel writer in ways that his previous books have not. A lifetime devoted to understanding Chinese culture and spirituality blossoms within its pages to create something truly rare."—The Los Angeles Book Review To pay homage to China's greatest poets, renowned translator Bill Porter—who is also known by his Chinese name "Red Pine"—traveled throughout China visiting dozens of poets' graves and performing idiosyncratic rituals that featured Kentucky bourbon and reading poems aloud to the spirits. Combining travelogue, translations, history, and personal stories, this intimate and fast-paced tour of modern China celebrates inspirational landscapes and presents translations of classical poems, many of which have never before been translated into English. Porter is a former radio commentator based in Hong Kong who specialized in travelogues. As such, he is an entertaining storyteller who is deeply knowledgeable about Chinese culture, both ancient and modern, who brings readers into the journey—from standing at the edge of the trash pit that used to be Tu Mu's grave to sitting in Han Shan's cave where the Buddhist hermit "Butterfly Woman" serves him tea. Illustrated with over one hundred photographs and two hundred poems, Finding Them Gone combines the love of travel with an irrepressible exuberance for poetry. As Porter writes: "The graves of the poets I'd been visiting were so different. Some were simple, some palatial, some had been plowed under by farmers, and others had been reduced to trash pits. Their poems, though, had survived... Poetry is transcendent. We carry it in our hearts and find it there when we have forgotten everything else." In praise of Bill Porter/Red Pine: "In the travel writing that has made him so popular in China, Porter's tone is not reverential but explanatory, and filled with luminous asides... His goal is to tell interested foreigners about revealing byways of Chinese culture."—New York Review of Books “Porter is an amiable and knowledgeable guide. The daily entries themselves fit squarely in the travelogue genre, seamlessly combining the details of his routes and encounters with the poets’ biographies, Chinese histories, and a generous helping of the poetry itself. Porter’s knowledge of the subject and his curation of the poems make this book well worth reading for travelers and poetry readers alike. It’s like a survey course in Chinese poetry—but one in which the readings are excellent, the professor doesn’t take himself too seriously, and the field trips involve sharing Stagg bourbon with the deceased.”—Publishers Weekly "Red Pine's out-of-the-mainstream work is canny and clearheaded, and it has immeasurably enhanced Zen/Taoist literature and practice."—Kyoto Journal "Bill Porter has been one of the most prolific translators of Chinese texts, while also developing into a travel writer with a cult following."—The New York Times "Red Pine's succinct and informative notes for each poem are core samples of the cultural, political, and literary history of China." —Asian Reporter Poets’ graves visited (partial list): Li Pai, Tu Fu, Wang Wei, Su Tung-p’o, Hsueh T’ao, Chia Tao, Wei Ying-wu, Shih-wu (Stonehouse), Han-shan (Cold Mountain). Bill Porter (a.k.a. "Red Pine") is widely recognized as one of the world's finest translators of Chinese religious and poetic texts. His best-selling books inc

Visiting China's Poets of the Past

Finding Them Gone

The Heart Sutra, The Diamond Sutra, and The Platform Sutra

Pat Nolan

Tangram Press

Red Pine's Red Dust

A Zen Buddhist masterpiece, winner of the 2018 Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation. The Platform Sutra occupies a central place in Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist instruction for students and spiritual seekers worldwide. It is often linked with The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra to form a trio of texts that have been revered and studied for centuries. However, unlike the other sutras, which transcribe the teachings of the Buddha himself, The Platform Sutra presents the autobiography of Hui–neng, the controversial 6th Patriarch of Zen, and his understanding of the fundamentals of a spiritual and practical life. Hui–neng’s instruction still matters—the 7th–century school of Sudden Awakening that he founded survives today, continuing to influence the Rinzai and Soto schools of contemporary Zen. Red Pine, whose translations of The Heart Sutra and The Diamond Sutra have been celebrated and widely received, now provides a sensitive and assured treatment of the third and final sutra of the classic triumvirate. He adds remarkable commentary to a translation that, combined with the full Chinese text, a glossary, and notes, results in a Mahayana masterpiece sure to become the standard edition for students and seekers alike.

The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng

The Platform Sutra

千家诗

Crossroads Ranch Series

Second Chance Cowboy

In 1989, Bill Porter, having spent much of his life studying and translating Chinese religious and philosophical texts, began to wonder if the Buddhist hermit tradition still existed in China. At the time, it was believed that the Cultural Revolution had dealt a lethal blow to all religions in China, destroying countless temples and shrines, and forcibly returning thousands of monks and nuns to a lay life. But when Porter travels to the Chungnan mountains — the historical refuge of ancient hermits — he discovers that the hermit tradition is very much alive, as dozens of monks and nuns continue to lead solitary lives in quiet contemplation of their faith deep in the mountains. Part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and part religious study, this record of extraordinary journeys to an unknown China sheds light on a phenomenon unparalleled in the West. Porter's discovery is more than a revelation, and uncovers the glimmer of hope for the future of religion in China.

Encounters with Chinese Hermits

Road to Heaven

Bill Porter

A fast-paced travelogue to modern China with Red Pine, who searches for poets' graves and pays homage with Kentucky bourbon.

Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of mind–to–mind transmission without reliance on texts ––in fact, some great teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the perfection of wisdom and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice. As Red Pine explains: The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It's no mind. And yet because it's no mind, it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind, born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that teach this teaching, this is the diamond.

Red Pine

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