Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.7 / 5.0

Yes, he exists and has just come back from a trip to China:

I supposed it's also good to have a Chinese reader confirming the reality of Tsung Tsai. Yes, he exists and has just come back from a trip to Inner Mongolia, trying to get the building project of the little temple going. It's not a done deal yet.

I met Tsung Tsai for the first time in May, 1999, in the Bronx. In June, I visited him in his little hermitage in Woodstock when I was on my way to a Chan retreat. He cooked delicious noodle for me and "chided" me for doing a perfunctory job washing the dishes.... more info

Author's Subject Takes Charge:

First, let me say that this is a very well written, sad, poignant and occasionally funny book. Author George Crane brings life to his subject, Tsung Tsai, by presenting this story in a very "conversational" style. He captures Tsung's broken English in a way that is not only charming, but becomes curiously congruent with Zen philosophy -- great meaning with few words. Thus, this book is a quick read, but you may need to go back and re-read passages and reflect upon them, for the profundity may escape you the... more info

Too Bad The Monk Didn't Write The Book:

I found the writer, Crane, dying to interpose his bad poetry, bad jokes and whining, obnoxious self into what could have been a thoughtful story about a monk and his religious beliefs. Too bad!

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