
Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun
Kim Iry?p(Author)
University of Hawai'i Press
Will be published approx. on 31. March 2014
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-8248-3878-2 (ISBN)
Description
The life and work of Kim Iry?p (1896-1971) bear witness to Korea's encounter with modernity. A prolific writer, Iry?p reflected on identity and existential loneliness in her poems, short stories, and autobiographical essays. As a pioneering feminist intellectual, she dedicated herself to gender issues and understanding the changing role of women in Korean society. As an influential Buddhist nun, she examined religious teachings and strove to interpret modern human existence through a religious world view. Originally published in Korea when Iry?p was in her sixties, Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun (?n? sudoin ?i hoesang) makes available for the first time in English a rich, intimate, and unfailingly candid source of material with which to understand modern Korea, Korean women, and Korean Buddhism.
Throughout her writing, Iry?p poses such questions as: How does one come to terms with one's identity? What is the meaning of revolt and what are its limitations? How do we understand the different dimensions of love in the context of Buddhist teachings? What is Buddhist awakening? How do we attain it? How do we understand God and the relationship between good and evil? What is the meaning of religious practice in our time? We see through her thought and life experiences the co-existence of seemingly conflicting ideas and ideals-Christianity and Buddhism, sexual liberalism and religious celibacy, among others.
In Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun, Iry?p challenges readers with her creative interpretations of Buddhist doctrine and her reflections on the meaning of Buddhist practice. In the process she offers insight into a time when the ideas and contributions of women to twentieth-century Korean society and intellectual life were just beginning to emerge from the shadows, where they had been obscured in the name of modernization and nation-building.
Throughout her writing, Iry?p poses such questions as: How does one come to terms with one's identity? What is the meaning of revolt and what are its limitations? How do we understand the different dimensions of love in the context of Buddhist teachings? What is Buddhist awakening? How do we attain it? How do we understand God and the relationship between good and evil? What is the meaning of religious practice in our time? We see through her thought and life experiences the co-existence of seemingly conflicting ideas and ideals-Christianity and Buddhism, sexual liberalism and religious celibacy, among others.
In Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun, Iry?p challenges readers with her creative interpretations of Buddhist doctrine and her reflections on the meaning of Buddhist practice. In the process she offers insight into a time when the ideas and contributions of women to twentieth-century Korean society and intellectual life were just beginning to emerge from the shadows, where they had been obscured in the name of modernization and nation-building.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Honolulu, HI
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
662 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8248-3878-2 (9780824838782)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jin Y. Park is associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University, USA.