Books with author Rafe Martin

When is a tiger not a tiger?When is a mountain more than a mountain?What is the sound of one hand clapping?The stories of this collection come from the Zen Buddhist tradition-- from tales told by the Buddha himself to anecdotes from the lives of the Zen masters of China and Japan who helped pass on the Buddha's teachings. These stories reflect the wisdom, directness, and spontaneity of which Zen is known.Zen stories delight as they challenge, enchant as they point towards a different way of seeing things. In the simple language of stories passed down over hundreds of years, this collection can point us toward our own natural Mind of wisdom, insight, peace, and compassion. They help us see past our seeming differences into what is the same for all of us.Rafe Martin, a student of Zen for over 25 years, introduces these tales, providing both background and insight into the collection. Junko Morimoto's beautiful illustrations reflect the tranquility, wit, and power of these stories.

A boy marked by physical difference--one arm is an enchanted wing--finds his strength and purpose in this stirring fantasy. A Washington Post Best Kids Book of 2005 and Book Sense Winter Pick. Once upon a time, a girl rescued her seven brothers from a spell that had turned them into swans. But one boy, Ardwin, was left with the scar of the spell's last gasp: one arm remained a wing. And while Ardwin yearned to find a place in his father's kingdom, the wing whispered to him of open sky and rushing wind. Marked by difference, Ardwin sets out to discover who he is: bird or boy, crippled or sound, cursed or blessed. But followed by the cold eye of a sorceress and with war rumbling at his kingdom's borders, Ardwin's path may lead him not to enlightenment, but into unimaginable danger.

The author of THE ROUGH-FACE GIRL creates a magical coming-of-age novel built from thousands of years of Seneca legend. Now in paperback!Crow is a Seneca boy, coming of age in a time of war, in a time before stories. Cast out of the Seneca tribe, Crow and his grandmother struggle merely to find enough food to make it through the harsh winter. Then Crow finds a boulder in the woods that startles him by speaking. The Storytelling Stone tells Crow the great legends of the Seneca--tales of the Long Ago Time, when the Sky Women trod the Above World and a child could alter the ways of a people. Crow comes to realize his own power to effect change and his destiny as a Seneca man. But can the Stone be trusted?

Rafe Martin and David Shannon reunite in this folktale interpretation of a dramatic flood myth set amidst the unmatched beauty of the Hawaiian Islands.In a country whose ruler is cruel and whose people are hardened, two children remain warm-hearted and exuberant. One day after freeing a shark trapped in the shallows, the children are so excited that they touch the King's forbidden drum. They are thrown into prison, and no one will listen to their parents' pleas for mercy. So, at great risk, they go to the Shark God himself, and he takes retribution on the island, causing a great flood that leaves only the good family behind and clears the way for a better, kinder future.

A boy marked by physical difference -- one arm is an enchanted wing -- finds his strength and purpose in this stirring fantasy.Once upon a time, a girl rescued her seven brothers from a spell that had turned them into swans. But one boy, Ardwin, was left with the scar of the spell's last gasp: one arm remained a wing. And while Ardwin yearned to find a place in his father's kingdom, the wing whispered to him of open sky and rushing wind. Marked by difference, Ardwin sets out to discover who he is: bird or boy, crippled or sound, cursed or blessed. But followed by the cold eye of a sorceress and with war rumbling at his kingdom's borders, Ardwin's path may lead him not to enlightenment, but into unimaginable danger.