Wind and Rain: the Life of Ikkyu

by Ven. Miaoyou, Yan Kaixin (Illustrator)

Few Buddhist monks throughout history are as well-known as the eccentric, clever Ikkyu. Wind and Rain tells the story of the legendary quick-witted monk. This unusual monk devoted himself to helping others, bringing relief to refugees and clearing delusion from the minds of those tied to the material. His unorthodox and cunning methods dispelled ignorance from commoners and nobles alike, bringing Chan and Buddhism to all.

With whimsical art by Yan Kaixin and a script both light-hearted and poignant by Ven. Miaoyou, Wind and Rain is an unforgettable graphic novel biography of this one-of-a-kind teacher.

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

Reviews

[Pho Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read for young children because it's censored a lot of this Zen Master's sexual degeneracies
But it also highlighted his many attributes and his cunning wit. This is a highly age appropriate comic book for young children around elementary school. Perhaps even middle school age with some innuendos here in there but nothing too damning. Maybe there was one joke at the beginning. That was a little much for a grade school kid but overall I think this is a solid read for its intended audience.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The visual element really adds to the story, which otherwise is a very standard tale of a boy who becomes a monk, then becomes Enlightened, then teaches people that they should be good and not bad because they're going to die someday, then dies. I really liked the book. It was a little frustrating that even though its in English, they didn't flip the images, so the comic reads right to left instead of left to right, the way comic panels are read in English. So I got lost every once in a while.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully illustrated comic book that emphasises creativity and thinking positively. Although some parts of the book can be hard to understand if you are not too familiar with buddhism or its history.

Recommended for all ages.

[Christian Grobmeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice in general, but misses a lot of important things around Ikkyu. He was also a sexually very active person, drinking, enjoying and practicing arts and music and so on. His erotic poems are spectacular. Feels like this book is only half.