Robert Baker Aitken
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Baker Aitken (born 1917 in Philadelphia) is an American teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Harada-Yasutani (or Sanbo Kyodan) tradition, a blending of Soto and Rinzai schools. He was a student of Nyogen Senzaki, Sōen Nakagawa, and Haku'un Yasutani and was a disciple of Koun Yamada.
The grandson of astronomer Robert Grant Aitken, he attended the University of Hawai'i before and after World War II, earning degrees in English and Japanese Studies. During these studies, he worked closely with a number of academic teachers, including D.T. Suzuki. His involvement in Zen academia would continue throughout his life.
While in a wartime Japanese prison camp (he had been captured as a civilian in Guam), he met the British scholar R. H. Blyth, who introduced him to Zen Buddhism. In 1950, Aitken made the first in a series of ongoing trips to study Zen as a spiritual student, beginning with Sõen Nakagawa at Ryutaku-ji monastery. Over the next twenty-four years, he would travel to Japan. to study with Zen masters, and to Los Angeles to study with Nyogen Senzaki
In 1959, Robert Aitken and his wife Anne Hopkins Aitken moved to Hawai'i to be near his young son Thomas Laune Aitken. There they established a Zen Center, the Diamond Sangha , which had two zendos in Hawai'i. Aitken was authorized to teach by Kõun Yamada in 1974. He was given full transmission by Yamada in 1985.
His most well-known book is Taking the Path of Zen, published in 1982, a practical guide to zazen and Zen practice. He has since published numerous works, including several translations, teishos and commentaries on koans.
In 1984, he published The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics, which was the first major book dealing with the application of the Ten Cardinal Precepts for Western Zen adherents.
Aitken has been a noted peace activist, demonstrating against nuclear arms, the Vietnam War and violence in general. He was a participant in founding the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and the Hawai'i chapters of the ACLU and AFSC, and has always been an advocate of interfaith dialogue. He is notable in his teachings and writings for his views on the moral implications of Zen.
Today, the Diamond Sangha has affiliate zen centers in South America, Australia, the United States and Europe, while Aitken continues to publish and enjoy his semi-retirement in Honolulu.
[edit] Selected works
- (1982) Taking the Path of Zen. North Point. ISBN 0-86547-080-4.
- (1984) The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics. North Point. ISBN 0-86547-158-4.
- (1991) The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-menkuan (Mumonkan). North Point. ISBN 0-86547-442-7.
- (1992) The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice. Parallax. ISBN 0-938077-60-0.
- (1994) Encouraging Words: Zen Buddhist Teachings for Western Students. Pantheon; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-679-75652-3.
- (1996) The Ground We Share: Everyday Practice, Buddhist and Christian. with David Steindl-Rast, Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-219-1.
- (1997) The Practice of Perfection: The Paramitas from a Zen Buddhist Perspective. Counterpoint. ISBN 1-887178-40-6.
- (1997) Original Dwelling Place: Zen Buddhist Essays. Counterpoint; Reprint edition. ISBN 1-887178-41-4.
- (2002) Zen Master Raven: Savings and Doings of a Wise Bird. Tuttle; 1st ed edition. ISBN 0-8048-3473-3.
- (2003) A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku and Zen. Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-008-6.
- (2003) The Morning Star: New and Selected Zen Writings. Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-001-9.
- (2006) Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from the Ming. with Daniel W.Y. Kwok, Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-091-4.
