The Empty Mirror

Seen by many as a contemporary classic, janwillem van de wetering's small and admirable memoir records the experiences of a young dutch student―later a widely celebrated mystery writer―who spent a year and a half as a novice monk in a japanese zen buddhist monastery. as chogyam trungpa rinpoche, author of cutting through spiritual materialism, has written, the empty mirror "should be very encouraging for other western seekers."it is the first book in a trilogy that continues with a glimpse of nothingness and afterzen. review “this small and memorable memoir records the experiences of a young dutch student who spent a year and a half as a novice monk in a japanese zen buddhist monastery . . . what makes this account extraordinary is that the book contains none of the convert's irritating certitude.” ―time magazine“what is accessible is the day-to-day description of life, of the monks themselves and of the others he met, of the jokes they played and the food they ate, of the moments of satori, the explosive moment of an understanding surpassing understanding.” ―los angeles times "it seems obvious that van de wetering's eight months in a kyoto monastery still affect the course of his existence." </br>the boston globe "a vivid, humorous, and slightly disillusioning account of a dutchman's frustrating struggle toward enlightenment in a japanese zen monastery. insightful, funny." </br>carl rogers "as might be expected, the author shows a deep respect for the teachings of zen. what makes this account extraordinary, however, is that the book contains none of the convert's irritating certitude, and no suggestion that the reader rush to follow the author's example." </br>time "what is accessible is the day-to-day description of life, of the monks themselves and of the others he met, of the jokes they played and the food they ate, of the moments of satori, the explosive moment of an understanding surpassing understanding." </br>the los angeles times "what emerges is a work of nonfiction told through the ingenuous persona of van de wetering, that is as enjoyable to read as a well-crafted novel." </br>east west journal janwillem van de wetering has lived with his wife on the maine coast for twenty years, but before that he lived literally all over the world </br>holland, south africa, london, japan, south america. he is the author of a successful mystery series.