Robert Aitken's Life And Cultural Differences

Anthony Milone
Dr. David Carpenter
10/13/14
Asian Spiritualities
Research Paper
Robert Aitken Robert Aiken was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1917, and was raised in Hawaii from the age of two. Robert Aitken, an influential American Zen master and writer who emphasized a path to enlightenment through social action, died of pneumonia in a Honolulu hospital. He was 93. He went to the University of Hawaii with a BA degree in English Literature and a MA degree in Japanese studies. Aitken was one of the first Americans to be fully sanctioned as a master of Zen Buddhism and trained several generations of Zen Buddhist teachers. Aitken was a great teacher and taught many students. At his Zen training centers you could spend about eight months
of the year in serious zen training, including eight seven day retreats annually. “ if you wanted to drop everything and have a run at enlightenment, it was the place for you.”. Aitken has given full transmission as independent masters to Nelson Foster, Honolulu Diamond Sangha and Ring of Bone Zendo in Nevada City, California; John Tarrant , Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California; Patrick Hawk, Zen Desert Sangha in Tucson, Arizona, and Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Joseph Bobrow , Harbor Sangha in San Francisco, California; Jack Duffy , Three Treasures Sangha in Seattle, Washington; Augusto Alcalde, Vimalakirti Sangha, in Cordoba, Argentina and Rolf Drosten, Wolken-und-Mond-Sangha (Clouds and Moon Sangha) , in Leverkusen, Germany. He authorized Pia Gyger, One Ground Zendo in Luzern, Switzerland, as an affiliate teacher of the Diamond Sangha. He joined with John Tarrant in giving transmission as independent masters to Subhana Barzaghi in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and to Ross Bolleter in Perth, Western Australia. He established the Honolulu center as a lay community that was particularly notable for an egalitarian approach that was welcoming to women. He was Buddhist Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co- founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959 with his wife. Aitken received Dharma transmission from Koum Yamada in 1985 but decided to live as a layperson. He was a socialist advocating social justice for gays, women and native Hawaiians throughout his life, and was one of the original founders of the Buddhist peace fellowship. In the camp, he met the British scholar R.H. Blyth, who introduced him to Zen Buddhism. In 1974 he was given approval to teach by Yamada Roshi of the Sanbo Kyodan in Kamakura, who gave him transmission as an independent master in 1985.
Although he was not the first Zen leader to preach social engagement, Aitken was known for his strong commitment to social justice. The "monastery walls have broken down and the old teaching and practice of wisdom, love and responsibility are freed for the widest applications in the domain of social affairs," he wrote in a 1993 book, "Encouraging Words." One of Aitkens successors now is the current teacher Michael Kieran, at the Palolo Zen Center, he worked with Aitken for many years and began teaching at Koko-an Zendo in the 1980s. He withdrew from teaching to focus on his family and growing business. Later, after Aitken’s retirement, he began to work with Nelson Foster, a dharma heir of Aitken and the visiting teacher of Palolo Center. Michael was authorized to teach by Nelson Foster in 1999 and received transmission in 2004, ascending the Mountain Seat in 2006. He is an O’ahu resident and offers regular dokusan and sesshin at Palolo Zen Center. Aitken’s students have opened centers in Germany, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. After the war, he practiced Zen with Senzaki Nyogen Sensei in Los Angeles, and traveled frequently to Japan to practice in monasteries and lay centers with Nakagawa Soen Roshi, Yasutani Haku 'un Roshi , and Yamada Koun Roshi. In 1974, he was given approval to teach by the Yamada Roshi, Abbot of the Sanbo Kyodan in Kamakura, Japan, who gave him transmission as an independent master in 1985. Robert Aitken is the author of more than ten books on Zen Buddhism , and co-author of a book-length Buddhist-Christian dialogue .
In Hawai‘i he was instrumental in founding the Koko An Zendo, the Palolo Zen Center, the Maui Zendo, and the Garden Island Sangha. A number of other centers in Europe, North and South America, and Australasia are part of the Diamond Sangha network; Robert Aitken is co-founder of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (now with a local East Hawai‘i Chapter) and serves on its international board of advisors. He has been active in a number of peace’s, social justice, and ecological movements, and his writing reflects his concern that Buddhists be engaged in social applications of their
experience. He co-authored a book-length Buddhist-Christian dialogue. In Hawai`i he was instrumental in founding the Koko An Zendo, the Pālolo Zen Center, the Maui Zendo, and the Garden Island Sangha. A number of other centers in Europe, North and South America, and Australasia are part of the Diamond Sangha network.
The books he wrote were, Zen Wave: Basho 's Haiku and Zen The Morning Star, New and Selected Zen Writings Zen, Master Raven; Sayings and Doings of a Wise Bird, Taking the Path of Zen, The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice, Encouraging Words: Zen Buddhist Teachings for Western Student, The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan, The Ground We Share: Everyday Practice, Buddhist and Christian, Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics, Original Dwelling Place: Zen Buddhist Essays, The Practice of Perfection: The Paramitas from a Zen Buddhist Perspective, Book of Serenity, Buddhist Bible, For a Future to Be Possible: Commentaries on the Five Mindfulness Trainings, Roaring Stream.
According to John Tarrant" He was not the shiny, self-assured, clear creature that Zen masters were advertised to be. He was always feeling around for the meaning of events, and I found that to be one of his best features." John Tarrant became close with Robert Aitken in the 1970s until the 1990s when he was becoming a teacher. He says “In the internment camp a guard lent him a book called Zen in English Literature, by R.H. Blyth, an English translator in love with Japan. Aitken read the book over and over; it made him happy in dark circumstances, offering a link between his own tradition and the meaning of life.”( Tarrant). This was the main reason that Buddhist Zen Master Robert Aitken became who he is in the world today. Aitken played a great part in bringing Zen to the West.
“We have all followed the old masters up those steps, and it’s not the temple we expected. That’s the point of Zen—the day we have is the good day, that dog has Buddha nature after all. “ (Tarrant).

References
"Robert Baker Aitken." Robert Baker Aitken. N.p., 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
"Robert Aitken 's Amazing Life." Shambhala Sun. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
"Thezensite:Robert Aitken 's Amazing Life." Thezensite:Robert Aitken 's Amazing Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014
"Robert Baker Aitken." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. "Aitken, Robert Chotan." Sweeping Zen. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.