Robert Aitkens correspondence with Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners reveals a significant, little-understood aspect of American Buddhism. Love, Roshi explores the relationship between Robert Baker Aitken (19172010), American Zen teacher and author, and his distant correspondents, individuals drawn to Zen teachings and practice through books. Aitken, founder of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, promoted Zen to a wide audience in works such as Taking the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover. Aitkens twentieth-century American Zen valued social justice and was compatible with work and family life. Helen J. Baroni makes use of Aitkens extensive correspondence preserved in an archive at the University of Hawaii to provide a window to view the beliefs and practices of the least-studiedand a difficult to studysegment of the Western Buddhist community, Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners. The book looks at the concerns of these correspondents, which included questions on meditation, dealing with isolation as a Buddhist, finding teachers and disillusion with teachers, and being a Buddhist in prison, among a myriad of other matters. The writers letters reveal much about their notion of Zen and their image of a Zen master. Coverage of Aitkens responses provides insight into the accommodation of solo practitioners and into the development of a particular strain of American Buddhism.
Robert Aitkens correspondence with Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners reveals a significant, little-understood aspect of American Buddhism. Love, Roshi explores the relationship between Robert Baker Aitken (19172010), American Zen teacher and author, and his distant correspondents, individuals drawn to Zen teachings and practice through books. Aitken, founder of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, promoted Zen to a wide audience in works such as Taking the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover. Aitkens twentieth-century American Zen valued social justice and was compatible with work and family life. Helen J. Baroni makes use of Aitkens extensive correspondence preserved in an archive at the University of Hawaii to provide a window to view the beliefs and practices of the least-studiedand a difficult to studysegment of the Western Buddhist community, Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners. The book looks at the concerns of these correspondents, which included questions on meditation, dealing with isolation as a Buddhist, finding teachers and disillusion with teachers, and being a Buddhist in prison, among a myriad of other matters. The writers letters reveal much about their notion of Zen and their image of a Zen master. Coverage of Aitkens responses provides insight into the accommodation of solo practitioners and into the development of a particular strain of American Buddhism.
This is the first detailed English-language study of the Obaku branch of Japanese Zen. Beginning with the founding of the sect in Japan by Chinese monks in the seventeenth century, the volume describes the conflicts and maneuverings within the Buddhist and secular communities that led to the emergence of Obaku as a distinctive institution during the early Tokugawa period. Throughout the author explores a wide range of texts and includes excerpts from important primary documents such as the Zenrin shuheishu and the Obaku geki, translated here for the first time. She provides an impressive portrait of the founding Chinese leadership and the first generation of Japanese converts, whose work enabled the fledgling sect to grow and take its place beside existing branches of the closely related Rinzai Zen sect. Obaku's distinctive Chinese practices and characteristics set it apart from its Japanese counterparts. In an innovative investigation of these differences, the author uses techniques derived from the contemporary study of new religious movements in the West to explain both Obaku's successes and failures in its relations with other Japanese Buddhist sects. She illuminates the role of government support in the initial establishment of the main monastery, Mampuku-ji, and the ongoing involvement of the bakufu and the imperial family in Obaku's early development. Hers is a thorough and well-governed analysis that brings to the fore a religious movement that has been much neglected in Japanese and Western scholarship despite its tremendous influence on modern Japanese Buddhism as a whole.
Over 1,700 alphabetically-arranged entries cover the beliefs, practices, significant movements, organizations, and personalities associated with Zen Buddhism.
Iron Eyes focuses on the Japanese Zen master Tetsugen Doko (1630–1682), the best-known exponent of Ōbaku in Japan and the West. Ōbaku Zen arose during the seventeenth century and became the third major Zen sect in Japan. Ōbaku monks encouraged the laity to deepen their knowledge of and commitment to Buddhism. Tetsugen is credited with producing the first complete wood block edition of the Chinese Buddhist scriptures in Japan. Legend has it that Tetsugen had to raise the money for the project three times: twice his great compassion led him to give away the money he had raised to the starving victims of natural disasters. This Zen story is well-known in Japan and has gained popularity among contemporary Buddhists in the West. The first part of this book offers an introduction and a series of analytical chapters describing Tetsugen's life, work, and teachings, as well as the legends related to him. The second part comprises annotated translations of his major teaching texts, important letters and other historical documents, a selection of his poetry, and several traditional biographies.
Love, Roshi explores the relationship between Robert Baker Aitken (1917–2010), American Zen teacher and author, and his distant correspondents, individuals drawn to Zen teachings and practice through books. Aitken, founder of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, promoted Zen to a wide audience in works such as Taking the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover. Aitken's twentieth-century American Zen valued social justice and was compatible with work and family life. Helen J. Baroni makes use of Aitken's extensive correspondence preserved in an archive at the University of Hawaii to provide a window to view the beliefs and practices of the least-studied—and a difficult to study—segment of the Western Buddhist community, Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners. The book looks at the concerns of these correspondents, which included questions on meditation, dealing with isolation as a Buddhist, finding teachers and disillusion with teachers, and being a Buddhist in prison, among a myriad of other matters. The writers' letters reveal much about their notion of Zen and their image of a "Zen master." Coverage of Aitken's responses provides insight into the accommodation of solo practitioners and into the development of a particular strain of American Buddhism.
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