Drifting Skandhas is a poetic and philosophical tribute to the Heart Sutra, one of the most profound texts in Mahayana Buddhism.
Li Sen synthesizes academic, philosophical, artistic, literary, and poetic modes to transcend traditional boundaries. Using his innovative "drift" language - a theory and style of poetic prose - he invites readers to engage with the sutra not as argument, but as experience, imagery, and reflection.
"The cock crows, drinking in the remnants of the sun. The cock coos, drinking in fleeting time. Its crows are chained together like the peaks of mountains, as swarms of incipient rainclouds hanging in the sky." - Li SenWith over thirty ancient Chinese paintings, extensive footnotes, and contributions from scholars and translators such as Bill Porter (Red Pine) and Deng Zhihui, the book bridges traditional Buddhist thought, contemporary philosophy, and poetic literature.
Li Sen draws on more than thirty years of research and teaching in Chinese culture, literature, and Buddhist philosophy to create a work that is simultaneously academic, literary, and deeply spiritual.
