Table of Contents

Introduction; Nyogen Senzaki; Remembering Soen Roshi; Remembering Blyth Sensei; Openness and Engagement; The Legacy of Dwight Goddard; The Brahma Viharas; Emmei Jikku Kannon Gyo; The Virtue of Abuse; The Way of Dogen Zenji; Ultimate Reality and the Experience of Nirvana; Ritual and Makyo; Koans and Their Study; Marriage as Sangha; Death: A Zen Buddhist Perspective; The Path Beyond No-Self; Envisioning the Future; The Experience of Emptiness; Brahmadanda, Intervention, and Related Considerations; About Money; Herald Birds; Wallace Stevens and Zen; Play; Uphill Downhill.

About the Author

Robert Aitken is the author of more than a dozen books about Buddhism, including A Zen Wave, Encouraging Words, and Taking the Path of Zen. A dedicated Buddhist for most of his life, he is a former abbot and roshi of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in Hawaii, which he co-founded with his late wife Anne Hopkins Aitken in 1959. He now lives in retirement at the Palolo Zen Center in Honolulu.

Reviews

Aitken, the first American Zen Roshi (master) and, since 1959, a teacher at the Diamond Sangha in Hawaii, continues to be one of the most articulate American presenters of Zen Buddhism. This collection of some of his previously published essays clearly shows why he has this reputation. In the first section, entitled "Ancestors," Aitken offers a marvelous look into his own spiritual development as he recalls some of the important things about his early teachers. In the second section, "The Classical Discourses," Aitken discusses three important Zen texts, including the Brahma Viharas, or "Four Noble Attitudes of Conduct." Though the texts may be unfamiliar to many, Aitken provides enough background to lead even the casual reader to a deeper understanding of their meaning and their importance in Zen. In the remaining two sections, "Practice" and "Taking Pleasure in the Dharma," Aitken discusses such diverse topics as koans, marriage, money, and "Wallace Stevens and Zen." A marvelous, wide-ranging collection; recommended for public and academic libraries.‘David Bourquin, California State Univ., San Bernardino