Caught in Fading Light Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature

by Thorp, Gary

• ISBN13: 9780802713971
• ISBN10: 0802713971
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Walker Books

Summary

A personal exploration of wildness, territory, and the elusive nature of our lives In this concise, richly contemplative book, Gary Thorp records his singularquest to see a mountain lion, or cougar--the "cat of one color"-- in the wild hills and mountains of northern California, where he lives. Using the traditional form of Japanese writing known as nikki bungaku (literary diary), Thorp recounts his meditations and adventures, from taking a one-day class on tracking animals, to visiting a mountain lion in the zoo, to his numerous forays into the hills during the day and night. The pursuit of one thing invariably leads him to discover many others: The tracks of a solitary mountain lion, for example, evoke a marvelous world of photographic imagery, literary events, dancing foxes, ocean voyages, and blind poets, all gathered together just beyond the limits of human vision. Thorp explores what it means to seek something you might not find and ponders the difference between seeing only darkness and being blind, offering as well bright glimpses into the Zen tradition. Combining an elusive and challenging pursuit with a centuries-old way of uncovering life's ultimate answers,Caught in Fading Lightwill give readers a new way of seeing, and will captivate nature lovers and Zen practitioners alike.

Author Biography

Gary Thorp began studying Zen in 1960 and was later lay-ordained in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. A former bookseller and jazz pianist, he is a full-time writer, doing research in marine biology and the ecology of mountain lions. He lives with his wife, Lura, in Marin County.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
Mountains are Just Mountains
Segaki and Driving Home	p. 3
The Cage	p. 5
Moonlight	p. 11
Setting a Goal	p. 13
Names	p. 15
Walking in Mist	p. 17
The Landscape	p. 19
New York City Report	p. 22
Manjushri	p. 23
The Tracking Class	p. 25
Devil's Gulch	p. 31
Return	p. 36
Zen Teachers and Words	p. 37
The Library	p. 39
Ravens	p. 40
Eagles	p. 42
Sekko and the Dragon	p. 43
Serpents	p. 46
The Fourth of July	p. 50
An Encounter	p. 52
The History of Cats	p. 55
Mountain Lion Anatomy	p. 57
Walking Through Grass, Finding a Fox	p. 59
The Rabbit and the Stump	p. 62
Shiki	p. 63
Looking for a Sign	p. 64
Harley	p. 64
Melville	p. 66
Sea Trip	p. 67
The Following Morning	p. 70
Ikkyu and Walking Meditation	p. 71
More Dreams	p. 72
Chiura Obata	p. 73
Looking at Art	p. 76
Mountains are Not What They Seem
McKinley	p. 81
Borges	p. 81
Juneau and Existence	p. 83
The Heart Sutra	p. 84
Blue Cliff Record	p. 85
Small Miracles	p. 86
The Chinese Sages	p. 89
Foreboding	p. 90
Darkness at Devil's Gulch	p. 91
Night Walking	p. 93
Inventory	p. 95
The Constant Secret	p. 97
Playing the Odds	p. 98
Old News and New News	p. 99
Sound and Silence	p. 100
The Hunter	p. 103
Ikkyu and Ortega y Gasset	p. 104
New Preparations	p. 105
Tomales Point	p. 107
Traveling Through the Dark	p. 113
Change of Plans	p. 117
The Grand Loop and a Surprise	p. 118
Deer Antlers	p. 119
End of the Road	p. 120
John Muir and One Breath	p. 121
Mountains are Mountains Once Again
Sunlight	p. 129
Writing in Antarctica	p. 132
Kalinka	p. 133
On Cameras	p. 133
Developments	p. 135
Lakota	p. 136
One Among Many	p. 138
Sosaku	p. 139
Chemistry	p. 140
The Degree of Hunger	p. 141
Abbey's Arrow	p. 144
Zen Baseball	p. 147
Route Finding	p. 148
The Fawn	p. 149
Lewis Carroll	p. 151
Nature Loves to Hide	p. 151
Artemis	p. 153
Drawing Lesson	p. 155
Berkeley	p. 157
Sunflowers	p. 159
The Waterfall	p. 161
Rainwater	p. 163
Envoi	p. 169
Acknowledgments	p. 173
Select Bibliography	p. 175
Index	p. 181
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