I greatly enjoyed talking with author Alex Kerr about his new book, Finding the Heart Sutra, on our WIK Zoom session on Sunday Nov. 29th. (A recording is available here—thanks to Lisa Wilcut and Rick Elizaga for their technical support!) As an additional reference I had intended to mention that our most recent issue (KJ 98 ‘Ma: a Measure of Infinity’) contains two pieces directly connected with the Heart Sutra, by long-time contributor Leanne Ogasawara. An essay, ‘The Heart of the Matter: Translating the Heart Sutra’ traces the fabled “journey to the west” of Xuanzang, the Chinese pilgrim priest who gathered and translated important scriptures including the Heart Sutra, and an interview, ‘Between Form and Emptiness’ explores how contemporary sculptor Maya Ando incorporated the philosophy of the sutra into her recent show, ‘Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form,’ including a large installation piece based on the Ryoanji karesansui garden.
We selected the theme of ‘Ma’ before coronavirus redefined social dynamics, but its premise of “space between” and “pause” held resonance for contributors; what might otherwise have been a rather abstract philosophical concept became much more personal. Articles, essays and stories delve into myriad aspects of ma: architecture, garden design, overtourism and empty Kyoto, a Zen enigma, isolation and figurative cave-dwelling, calligraphy, the contemplative gaze, VR and the formless mind, ma in music, and in da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper,’ lost landmarks, and even photographer Hoshino Michio’s search for totem poles. If you have not yet encountered this issue, you can find it here [https://kyotojournal.org/current-issue-print-edition/]. Since various Covid-related factors made it impossible to print, it is a digital issue. Over 200 pages, downloadable for around 500 yen or US$5.
At present we are finalizing our next issue, which will also be in digital format: KJ 99 ‘Travel, Revisited’ — which includes a review (also by Leanne) of both Alex’s book and another recently-released commentary on the Heart Sutra by translator Frederik Schodt, better known for his defining 1983 publication, Manga! Manga! Other contributors to this post-Covid reassessment of the urge to discover fresh horizons include (in random order) Rebecca Otowa, John Brandi, Renée Gregorio, Hans Brinckmann, Pico Iyer, Chad Kohalyk, Nigel Triffitt, Elliot Rowe, Jeff Fuchs, Natalie Goldberg, Kimberly Hughes, Bernhard Kellerman, Naoko Fujimoto, Yuyutsu RD Sharma, Greg Pape, Robert Brady. Luo Ying, Amy Uyematsu, Siddharth Dasgupta, Robert van Koesveld, Prairie Stuart-Wolff, Yahia Lababidi, Edward J. Taylor, Roger Pulvers, Teo Wei Ger, Matthew Krueger, Rachelle Meilleur, Matthew Krueger, Winifred Bird and Joji Sakurai. Publication in (hopefully) mid-December, to be announced on KJ’s Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kyoto.journal/. Recommended kotatsu reading for the New Year break…
Alternatively, anyone in Kansai inspired by Alex’s invocation of Manjusri, the lion-riding, sword-wielding Bodhisattva of Wisdom, could consider a trip out to Abemonju-in in Sakurai, to visit a superb tableaux (including Sudhana, the boy-pilgrim who entered the jewel-cave of Maitreya’s Tower) clearly derived from classic representations in “Manjusri Mecca,” Wutai-shan in Shanxi province, China.
Photo below courtesy of Mark Schumacher’s excellent www.onmarkproductions.com site (thanks Mark for attending the Zoom session!)
