Shining Darkness

Linda Hess is Emerita faculty in Stanford University’s Department of Religious Studies, where she taught for 21 years. She is the author of The Bijak of Kabir (North Point/Oxford University Press), A Touch of Grace (Shambhala), and other books. Her major new translation of Kabir poetry is forthcoming from Harvard University Press. Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Bunting Fellowship, a Fulbright scholarship, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Before her academic career, Linda was a freelance writer whose work was published in the Village Voice, Saturday Review, and San Francisco Chronicle Magazine on topics including folk music, humanistic psychology, Indian literature, and spirituality. She has been praised for her powerful, evocative writing and remarkable translations of poetry. Her literary voice is that of a storyteller and poet. Linda has been a Zen practitioner for many years. She and her husband—artist, writer, and translator Kazuaki Tanahashi—live in Berkeley and have two adult children.

“Vivid and powerfully told...takes the reader on an arduous and courageous journey, from violence and addiction to spiritual awakening and love.” —Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion, Princeton University; author of The Origin of Satan, Why Religion?: A Personal Story, and other books

“Rich, wild, and important, this book is a journey in directions that many of us have found ourselves on. Hess’s perspective is one that is radical and wise. A must read for so many.” —Roshi Joan Halifax, Founder and Abbot of Upaya Zen Center, author of Standing at the Edge

“The stories are shimmering, and the wisdom is real. A gift to the world.” —Valarie Kaur, author of See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love, #1 LA Times bestseller, founder-director of The Revolutionary Love Project

“I was mesmerized, enchanted, heartbroken, and amazed. This work gives light to so much darkness in our lives, with deep insight into violence, suffering, and healing. The revelations about addiction are painful, evocative, and necessary. The explorations of religion, sacred texts, and spiritual practice are inspiring and brilliant. A marvelous addition to today’s new awareness of trauma, addiction, violence, and spiritual work.” —Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, abbot of The Village Zendo in New York; co-founder of Zen Peacemaker Order

“Linda Hess’s voice is completely her own; never have I heard another like it, and yet she speaks for me and to me. Her vocal range is great, from passionate to sardonic, from tender to raging, from sobbing to joking, always authentic and compassionate. She convinces me that to study violence is to study love. She inspires me with courage. She turns all obstacles into the path.” —Susan Moon, Zen teacher, author of The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women

“In these times of divisive politics, lost and bewildered souls, and systemic oppression, rarely do we hear someone acknowledge, with Solzhenitsyn, that ‘the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being . . .’ Hard-won insights emerge through her traumatic sacred journey.” —Edward Espe Brown, Zen teacher, author of bestselling books on cooking and Zen, subject of the film How to Cook Your Life