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Orient: Two Walks at the Edge of the Human
Join renowned author David Hinton on two walks into the wild beauty and archaeological ruins of the desert Southwest, where he maps the edges of consciousness and our place in the Cosmos.
Walks in the desert and journeys through Ch’an (Zen) enlightenment. Meditations on the nature of perception and on the nature of ruins. Topographies of mind and of space-time. Poetry and prose. This talismanic book is all of these and more.
In this poetic odyssey of nature writing that blurs the line between observer and landscape, Hinton’s project is nothing less than to map our place in the cosmos and awaken to our interconnectedness with the wild spontaneity of the natural world. It is the culmination of Hinton’s philosophical adventure, deeply informed by his nearly forty years of translating and contemplating China’s ancient poets, Taoist sages, and Ch’an masters. Like Henry David Thoreau and other great literary walkers, Hinton joins philosophical meditations with a keen eye for the slightest of nature’s details. In following these walks, we journey into wondrous and even ecstatic clarities about the nature of mind and existence itself.
Walks in the desert and journeys through Ch’an (Zen) enlightenment. Meditations on the nature of perception and on the nature of ruins. Topographies of mind and of space-time. Poetry and prose. This talismanic book is all of these and more.
In this poetic odyssey of nature writing that blurs the line between observer and landscape, Hinton’s project is nothing less than to map our place in the cosmos and awaken to our interconnectedness with the wild spontaneity of the natural world. It is the culmination of Hinton’s philosophical adventure, deeply informed by his nearly forty years of translating and contemplating China’s ancient poets, Taoist sages, and Ch’an masters. Like Henry David Thoreau and other great literary walkers, Hinton joins philosophical meditations with a keen eye for the slightest of nature’s details. In following these walks, we journey into wondrous and even ecstatic clarities about the nature of mind and existence itself.
101 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 8, 2025
David Hinton goes deeper
This book echoes the Chan poets of old. The ten thousand things arising out of absence / emptiness and falling back into absence. While the author and reader also become empty and thererfore everything.
I read this book early each morning sat in a nearby deer park in my car. Very slowly , pausing regularly. The book is a form of meditation, a pathless path. I have been trying to walk Hintons path of Chan for a few years now and this book is a new level, channelling ancient Chan poetry and absence mind into 2025. I thank you Mr Hinton.
This book echoes the Chan poets of old. The ten thousand things arising out of absence / emptiness and falling back into absence. While the author and reader also become empty and thererfore everything.
I read this book early each morning sat in a nearby deer park in my car. Very slowly , pausing regularly. The book is a form of meditation, a pathless path. I have been trying to walk Hintons path of Chan for a few years now and this book is a new level, channelling ancient Chan poetry and absence mind into 2025. I thank you Mr Hinton.
May 17, 2025
Very Deep
Think I Will Read This Again
it's A Short But, With Deep Meaning
Recommended
Think I Will Read This Again
it's A Short But, With Deep Meaning
Recommended
July 20, 2025
Sublime. The perfect book to read on a June (or December) afternoon.
August 3, 2025
I loved this book. Talismanic, indeed! Like Desert Father wisdom, but Daoist, maybe Buddhist.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews