From Korea's most revered author comes the tale of a small boyÕs quest for enlightenment. Loosely following the last chapter of the Avatamsaka sutra, Little Pilgrim relates the heroic journey of Sudhana, who sets out on a grand adventure. Along the way, he encounters fifty-three teachers -- including men, women, children, animals, and heavenly beings -- as he travels mountains, valleys, deserts, and forests in his search for truth. A spiritual tale in the tradition of Siddhartha, this novel is now available to English audiences for the first time. A passionate and lively epic, Little Pilgrim takes its readers on a fantastical journey.
Little Pilgrim, Ko Un, Parallax Press, Paperback, 2005, 377 Pages, $18.95
Born in 1933, Ko Un is acknowledged as KoreaÕs foremost contemporary poet. Following firsthand encounters with the horrors of war, he became a Buddhist monk and a Zen master, later leaving the order to become a full-time writer. In his native Korea, Ko Un has published over a hundred volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, and drama. He has been short-listed for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 and 2004. Little Pilgrim is the first release of Ko UnÕs fiction available in English.
7. Editor's Note
9. Author's Note
LITTLE PILGRIM
15. Dawn Over the Son River
19. The Little Pilgrim's First Steps
23. Night at Ajay Ferry
27. Climbing the Mountain
33. Alone Beside the Brahman Sea
37. One Grain of Sand
43. A Secret Lake
49. Seiya Returns to LIfe
53. A Sad Song
59. A Very Long Journey
63. Love in the Mist
67. The Sleep I Produce
71. Twelve Years of Dreams
75. The Valley of Fire
79. Maitrayani Dances
83. Eyes Like a Lotus
87. Journey to Shramanamandala
91. Two Boys Together
97. A Generous Welcome
101. The Eater of Ashes
107. No Meeting Without First Parting
111. Every Song Yields a Flower
117. Old Myohyang
125. The Executioner
133. Free Yourself from Life and Death
137. Your Light's Tomb
143. Journey Down an External River
147. In Quest of Nandihara
157. Sumera and Sanuita
163. Sunlight Park
173. A Hairy Fellow
181. The Song of Avalokiteshvara
189. Cloud-net the Giant
197. The Place of Enlightenment
203. Night Goddess
209. The Grove of Never-Closing Eyes
217. A Cloud Rising From Every Pore
225. Fruit Both Sour and Sweet
231. An Ugly Face
239. A Mountain Demolished
249. Night Spirits by Night
253. Journey through the Void
259. Returning North
267. With the Bandits
273. Transcending Death
281. Gopa, At Last
289. In Indra Heaven
295. The Brat
297. A Very Old Child
305. Crossing Rivers
313. Fresh Water For the Thirsty
321. A Night with Ajitasena
329. A Conversation Undergroung
337. A Teacher from the Next World
343. Meeting While Far Apart
349. One Drop of Water in the Sea
357. For the Unknowing World
365. The World of Little Pilgrim
368. Sudhana's Literary Home
372. The Avatamsaka Sutra
378. Glossary
382. For Further Reading
