Richard Hunn: Wordsworth and the Zen Mind

[Shi Da Dao]

In 1996, Professor of English John G Ruby of Indiana University, published his book entitled ‘Wordsworth and the Zen Mind – The Poetry of Self-Emptying’, and quoted Richard Hunn’s description of master Xu Yun (1840-1959) on page 104:

‘Indeed, the cloud image is so powerful among Buddhists that the Chinese patriarch Xu Yun (1840-1959) adopted the term Empty Cloud as his name. “Like all the great Masters of Ch’an before him,” writes Upasaka Wen Shu of Xu Yun, “he laid stress on the non-abiding mind which is beyond reach of all conditioned relativities; even as they arise within it, a paradox that only the enlightened truly understand.” Commenting on Xu Yun’s name, which conveys the very essence of sabi or non-attachment to the conditions of one’s mind, Wen Shu continues: “He symbolises the ‘great man’ hidden in ourselves and his name ‘Empty Cloud’ reminds us of that greater, ‘undiscovered Self’ that we are all fated to explore.”’

Richard Hunn gave me a copy of this book many years ago, but did not mention his inclusion within its pages. As he used to occasionally discuss the poetical (and spiritual) merits of the British poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) with me, many years after his passing, I embarked upon a study of Wordsworth. It was not until early 2014 that I discovered Richard Hunn’s inclusion in this book. Professor Ruby apparently requested permission from Richard Hunn to quote from his 1987 Introduction contained within Charles Luk’s English translation of Empty Cloud – the autobiography of Xu Yun.

[Shi Da Dao]