Waubonsee Community College

Encouraging words, Zen Buddhist teachings for western students, Robert Aitken

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

non fiction

Encouraging words

bibliography

26356466

Robert Aitken

Zen Buddhist teachings for western students

As the senior Zen master in the West, Aitken Roshi stands at the forefront of a pursuit both unprecedented and complex: the creation of an American Zen. Through his writings and teaching he provides an introduction to Zen practice at once faithful to Eastern tradition and responsive to Western problems and attitudes. His writings are remarkable for their clarity and insight. Encouraging Words is a collection of short talks and brief essays that Aitken has offered hisStudents at extended meditation retreats during the past two decades. These essays and talks are arranged according to themes central to all spiritual seekers, such as "Attention," "Coming and Going," "Emptiness," "Diligence," "Death and the Afterlife," "The Sacred Self," "The Moral Path." Aitken Roshi provides guidance on pursuing religious practice in a lay context, "re-casting the Dharma to include women, jobs, and family, a fascinating course with many pitfalls." HeAlso charts his own quest to develop a set of moral codes in keeping with Buddhism's basic precepts and honoring the enormous ethical challenges faced in the twentieth century. Also included is The Syllabus, containing a "Lattice of the Dharma," which includes the major tenets of Buddhism articulated in their shortest forms as vows and promises, a section of important evocations and sutras, an extended annotated glossary of Buddhist terms, and an annotated reading listEncouraging Words offers itself as a manual of instruction and inspiration, encouragements along the intertwined paths of life and spiritual growth

Words in the Dojo. The First Night. Coming Home. The World Does Zazen. Emptiness. Condition. The Single Point. Carry Your Practice Lightly. Attention. Coming and Going. Patience. The Sacred Self. Becoming Settled. Switch-Back to Mu. Diligence. The Dark Night. Simple and Clear. Like a Dream. The Last Night. Afterword -- Words from the Roshi. The Middle Way. Using the Self. Ordinary Mind Is the Tao. Cycles and Stages. The Moral Path. Dreams and Archetypes. Impermanence. The Lay Sangha. Koan Study and Its Implications. Integrity and Nobility. The Net of Indra. Nonviolence within the Zendo and Outside. About Practice. Death and the Afterlife -- The Syllabus. Lattice of the Dharma. Wu-men kuan: Case I. The Zen Buddhist Sutra Book. Schedule of Services. The Gathas. The Sutras and a Dharani. The Dedications and the Evening Message. Mealtime Sutras. The Jukai Ceremony. Roshi's Introduction. The Three Vows of Refuge. The Three Pure Precepts. The Ten Grave Precepts. Verse of the Rakusu. Dedication. The Sesshin. Daily Schedule. Leadership. The Three Essentials. Dojo Percussion Instruments -- A Glossary of Buddhist Terms and Usages