Robert Aitken

En veintiún fascinantes capítulos, Robert Aitken explica de forma clara y profunda en este libro, La mente de trébol, los dieciséis Preceptos del budismo Zen. Una lectura muy inspiradora para los practicantes del Zen. Aitken nos muestra aqui como nuestra mente puede ser tan nutritiva para nuestra vida espiritual y etica como el trebol, que enriquece la tierra al crecer. El autor se centra mayormente en los Diez Preceptos, que suponen el nucleo de la etica del budismo Zen. Los interpreta desde diferentes perspectivas, ofreciendo toda una serie de posibilidades para su comprension. Pero no se detiene aqui; pasa a hablar tambien de la madre naturaleza, de la ecologia, de la guerra nuclear, del papel de la mujer en el Zen y en la sociedad, del aborto, etc. La mente de trebol es una guia que nos invita a tomar conciencia de nuestro propio potencial y a asumir cada vez mas responsabilidad en el mundo complejo y convulsivo de hoy dia.

Robert Aitken Roshi presenta en este libro las bases fundamentales para el entrenamiento Zen, una práctica que nos armoniza y ayuda a aportar compasión y sabiduría a todos los aspectos de la vida. Aitken explica, capitulo por capitulo, la postura adecuada, la respiracion correcta, la practica con los koan, la relacion entre maestro y discipulo, asi como los problemas corrientes e hitos en el Camino. Siendo un Maestro Zen americano comprende especialmente los problemas y preguntas a los que se enfrentan los practicantes occidentales del Zen.

«Robert Aitken, el más venerable de los maestros zen americanos, es autor y traductor de otros nueve libros sobre zen y práctica del zen. Un maestro zen llamado Cuervo es la conclusión de estas obras

For more than four decades, Robert Aitken Roshi has taught thousands of people the Buddhist practice of Zen meditation, and has led hundreds through their practice of the study of traditional koans. He has authored more than a dozen books, including a celebrated appreciation of Bashos haiku; volumes of commentary on sacred texts; works on ethics, daily life, and social action; and one of the bestloved introductions to Zen Buddhism, Taking the Path of Zen. After a long and remarkable lifehe will be 91 years old when this collection is publishedAitken Roshi offers a collection of 266 short texts. Some are clearly parables; others are simple stories, quotations, memories, and commentaries. Resembling Benjamin Franklins Almanac or the epigrams of Chamfort as much as it does work from ancient sages, this collection of "miniatures" distills a life devoted to teaching and awareness. Any person living a considered life, whether secular humanist or religious seeker, will find this a book of rich inspiration.

A uniquely playful and incisive collection of Zen teaching stories from a beloved American master.A Modern Classic. In the tradition of the great koan collections and the records of ancient masters, Robert Aitken distills a lifetime of teaching down to its essence. Intriguing and deceptively simple, Zen Master Raven is a brilliant encapsulation of Zen in over a hundred koan-like encounters alongside many charming illustrations. Featuring curious beginners like Mallard and Mole and profound teachers like Brown Bear, Moose Roshi, and Zen Master Raven himself, this classic of contemporary Zen and will inspire seekers for generations to come.

A poetic classic from a major figure of American Zen.Zen Vows for Daily Life is a collection of gathas, vows in verse form for daily practice, similar to prayers or affirmations for use at home, at work, and in the meditation hall itself. Reciting these poetic vows can help us be fully present in each moment and each activity of our lives. These gathas serve as gentle reminders to return again and again to our highest aspirations, with acceptance, joy, and compassionfor ourselves and all beings. Zen Vows for Daily Life will be a steadfast companion in keeping the reader inspired and committed on their spiritual path. Each act in a Buddhist monasterywashing up, putting on clothes, entering the Buddha hall, sitting down for meditation, getting up from meditationreceives its own Dharma poem. Events on pilgrimageencountering a tree, a river, a bridge, a dignitary, a mendicantlikewise offer entries into truth. My purpose in this book is similar: to show how ordinary occurrences in our modern lay lives are in fact the Buddhas own teachingsand also to show how we can involve ourselves accordingly in the practice of wisdom and compassion with family and friends, with everyone and everything.Robert Aitken, from the Preface In [Zen Vows for Daily Life], poetry and meditation always go together. Poetry is comprised of images and music, and images make the practice easy. Robert Aitken Roshi is a poet who deeply appreciates practicing with these gathas. He offers us many beautiful verses, sterling examples of this practice, that we can use to reflect more deeply on what we are doing. I am grateful to Aitken Roshi for offering us this beautiful book.from the Foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh

Nominated for the Tricycle Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Buddhism in Americaa collection of short talks and essays from a renowned meditation teacher. "The inspiration that guided monks and nuns in ancient times is our own deepest incentive as we establish our practice in a world that desperately needs new forms of kinship and love."Robert AitkenIn this inspiring collection, you will find a series of talks and essays that Aitken Rashi has offered his students at meditation retreats during the past two decades. They are arranged according to themes central to all spiritual seekersattention, emptiness, coming and going, diligence, death and the afterlife, the sacred self, and the moral path. Aitken provides guidance on pursuing religious practice in a lay context, re-casting the Dharma to include women, jobs, and family. He also charts his own quest to develop a set of moral codes in keeping with Buddhisms basic precepts and honoring the enormous ethical challenges faced in the twentieth century.

En veintiún fascinantes capítulos, RobertAitken explicade forma clara y profunda en este libro, La mente de trébol, los dieciséis Preceptos del budismo Zen. Una lectura muy inspiradora para los practicantes del Zen. Aitken nos muestra aqui como nuestra m

Robert Aiken, author of Encouraging Words and Taking the Path of Zen, is Americas most senior Zen Roshi. In this new book he presents the Ten Pramits, of Transcendental Perfectionsnamely, giving, mortality, forbearance, zeal, focused meditation, wisdom, compassionate means, aspiration, spiritual power, and knowledgetwo-thousand-year-old ideals that can serve us as both methods and goals. The Pramits are the skillful means a person may employ to nurture and develop his or her spiritual and moral life. In religious instruction we are often met be restrictions, and are told what notto do. The Pramits, explained from a Zen perspective, offer the seeker ten positive means of action, ten ways to live a life of clarity and grace in a modern world where neither seems easy or even possible. The transcendental perfections can lead us toward a life that is both spiritually invigorated and socially engaged. Aitken Roshis way of teachinganecdotal, careful, insightful, and easily accessibleleads us further along the path of harmony and balance. Each of the inspiring and instructional essays in this book is followed by a section in which Aitken answers questions most often asked by his own students in their course of study. The Practice of Perfection will be useful to seekers of all cultures and faiths.

In this, his final work, American senior Zen Roshi Robert Aitken lovingly ties together two threads, Zen practice and haiku. Spirituality & Health Known to many as the study of quiet stillness and introspection, Zen Buddhism distinguishes itself through brilliant flashes of insight and its terseness of expression. In River of Heaven these concepts and pillars lend themselves to an exploration of Haiku, one of the most delicate and interpretive poetic forms in the world. The haiku verse form, with its rigid structure and organic description is a superb means of studying Zen modes of thought because its seventeen syllables impose a limitation that confines the poet to vital experience. In Haiku as in Buddhism, the silences are as expressive as the words. In this volume, American Senior Zen Roshi Robert Aitken gives new insight into Haiku by poetic masters Basho, Issa, Buson, and Shiki. In presenting themes from Haiku and from Zen literature, Aitken illuminates the relationship between the two. Readers are certain to find this an invaluable and enjoyable experience for the remarkable revelation it offers. I am grateful for Robert Aitkens enthusiastic sharing of poems in The River of Heaven, together with his rich personal and cultural perspectives. It is a book where the author joyfully calls each of us as readers to share in the transcendent joys of haiku. Juxtapositions Aitken mines the meanings in these brief gems about nature, impermanence, travel, awareness, silence, beauty, being present, the turn of the seasons, and much more. Spirituality & Practice

El espíritu de la práctica del zen.Robert Aitken, el más venerable de los maestros zen americanos, es autor y traductor de otros nueve libros sobre zen y práctica del zen. Un maestro zen llamado Cuervo es la conclusion de estas obras, una coleccion de penetrantes historias que iluminan el Camino. Estilisticamente conectados con las fabulas Jataka de la antigua literatura budista y con los dialogos de los monjes Chan, estas historias tienen el encanto y la profundidad de la penetracion.Jack Turner, autor de The Abstract WildEl recurso literario de Aitken de utilizar animales, algo totalmente inusual en el zen, obtiene extraordinarios resultados a la hora de introducirnos en las promesas y riesgos, esperanzas y temores de la comunidad de Altoabedul, que el Roshi Cuervo comparte con sus discipulos, vecinos y amigos.Hee-Jin Kim, autor de Dogen Kigen: Mystical Realist.