The night was so cold, the ground was covered with frost by the morning. She walked out of town and up a hillside and slept under a cherry tree. One story I remember from my prior ownership of this book is the story of a nun who sought shelter for the night in a village but the villagers turned her down. But this is a collection of stories that I think will resonate with, if not move, most modern Western readers. In collections of Jataka Tales (from India), or even in folktales from Japan, China or other Asia cultures, you may encounter stories and fables whose morality does not necessarily translate into today's values, and/or into Western morality. Each tale is a self-contained page or two, written in simple, elegant language, with beautiful illustrations. If you like Jon Muth's "Zen Shorts" for children, about the panda named Stillwater and his interactions with 3 children, you will love "One Hand Clapping." "One Hand Clapping" came out in 1995, much earlier than "Zen Shorts" and is unsurpassed in the story selection and the beauty of its illustrations. Junko Morimoto's beautiful illustrations reflect the tranquility, wit, and power of these stories. Rafe Martin, a student of Zen for over 25 years, introduces these tales, providing both background and insight into the collection. They help us see past our seeming differences into what is the same for all of us. In the simple language of stories passed down over hundreds of years, this collection can point us toward our own natural Mind of wisdom, insight, peace, and compassion. Zen stories delight as they challenge, enchant as they point towards a different way of seeing things. These stories reflect the wisdom, directness, and spontaneity of which Zen is known. The stories of this collection come from the Zen Buddhist tradition- from tales told by the Buddha himself to anecdotes from the lives of the Zen masters of China and Japan who helped pass on the Buddha's teachings.
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