Orient: Two Walks at the Edge of the Human

Orient:

Two Walks at the Edge of the Human

Join renowned author David Hinton on two walks into the wild beauty and archaeological ruins of the desert Southwest, where he maps the edges of consciousness and our place in the Cosmos.

Walks in the desert, and journeys through Ch’an (Zen) enlightenment. Meditations on the nature of perception, and on the nature of ruins. Topographies of mind, and of space-time itself. Poetry and prose. This talismanic book is all of these and more. It is the culmination of Hinton’s philosophical adventure, deeply informed by his nearly forty years translating and contemplating China’s ancient poets, Taoist sages, and Ch’an masters. Like Henry David Thoreau and other great literary walkers, Hinton joins his profound philosophical worldview with a keen eye for the slightest of nature’s details. In following these walks, readers wander through open landscapes of scintillating and even ecstatic clarities.

— from the book jacket

Shambhala (Spring, 2025)

Praise for David Hinton's Writing:

Hinton is after . . . depth and boundlessness.

—The New York Review of Books

I couldn’t put this guidebook down, into the night, a diamond moon over my shoulder and suddenly it was radiant dawn. A unique and dazzling achievement.

—Anne Waldman

A national treasure . . . Hinton cracks open the cosmos and takes you into the depths of the mind.

—Lion’s Roar Magazine

A gorgeous book, a book of power.

—Bill McKibbon

One of the best books about mountains ever written.

—NPR

A pellucid gem of a book—I couldn’t put it down.

—David Abram

Orient:

Two Walks at the Edge of the Human

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