The Buddha Tree (Tuttle Classics)

The Buddha Tree (Tuttle Classics) by Niwa, Fumio. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780804832540.

The Buddha Tree tells the story of Soshu, an effete and handsome Buddhist priest whose hypocrisy and addiction to sensual pleasures lead him to carry on an affair with his own mother-in-law, even as he offers pious counseling to his parishioners. Ridden with guilt, Soshu tries to reform after his wife leaves him but becomes enmeshed in his own web of deceit. Throughout The Buddha Tree Niwa reveals remarkable insight into human weaknesses and casts a keen eye at the materialism of the modern Japanese Buddhist church.