Back to this Cold Mountain thing... Han Shan didn't live in a monastery. He lived near a monastery. I don't know how far a day's walk is in that context, but I would guess eight miles or so. (Or in my case, eight blocks.)
For me, the point is that Han Shan somehow managed to survive in that environment unemployed, out of the system, off of what constituted "the grid" in those days. And he was happy with that life, as I suspect I would be today.
And Han Shan was not without friends whom he occasionally visited, just as Thoreau would do 1100 years later while living in seclusion at Walden Pond. Neither lived in total isolation.
It's a little after 6 a.m.; I've been up since 4, obsessing.
1 comment:
I, too, think I would be happy living a similar existence as Han Shan and Thoreau did. I certainly understand the desire and believe it is quite possible if one so chooses to exist in such a way.
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