Bill Porter, who publishes under the pen name Red Pine, is an accomplished translator of Chinese poetry and Buddhist scripture. He is the one who first taught me the true meaning of the word prognosis, and his translation and commentary on The Diamond Sutra was the first that made me understand this notoriously challenging text. Other books of his include a translation of The Heart Sutra, The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching, and his poetic ethnography Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits.

Bill will be making an informal visit to the Atlanta Soto Zen Center Wednesday evening November 30 during our usual service (7:30-8:30 p.m.). There will be an opportunity for discussion following zazen. Bill is a lot of fun to talk to and has a wealth of experience with Zen and Buddhist practice in China and Taiwan, and has the sensibility of a poet and practitioner. Please come join me at the center to sit and meet with him.