From Korea's most revered author comes the tale of a small boy's 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 Korea�s 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 Un�s 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