ROBERT AITKEN (1917–2010) was first introduced to Zen in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. R. H. Blyth, author of Zen in English Literature, was imprisoned in the same camp, and in this setting Aitken began the first of several apprenticeships. After the war, Aitken often returned to Japan to study. He became friends with Daisetz T. Suzuki and studied with Nakagawa Sūen Rōshi and Yasutani Haku’un Rōshi. In 1959 he and his wife, Anne, established the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist society with headquarters in Hawaii. Aitken was given the title Rōshi and was authorized to teach by Yamada Kōun Rōshi in 1974; he received full transmission from Yamada Rūshi in 1985.

Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv

WORDS IN THE DŌJŌ
Introduction 1
The First Night 6
Coming Home 9
The World Does Zazen 11
Emptiness 14
Condition 17
The Single Point 22
Carry Your Practice Lightly 24
Attention 27
Coming and Going 30
Patience 33
The Sacred Self 35
Becoming Settled 38
Switch Back to Mu 40
Diligence 43
The Dark Night 48
Simple and Clear 51
Like a Dream 53
The Last Night 54
Afterword 56
Notes 57

WORDS FROM THE RŌSHI
Introduction 63
The Middle Way 65
Using the Self 68
Ordinary Mind Is the Tao 73
Cycles and Stages 79
The Moral Path 76
Dreams and Archetypes 94
Impermanence 105
The Lay Sangha 107
Kōan Study and Its Implications 118
Integrity and Nobility 123
The Net of Indra 127
Nonviolence within the Zendō and Outside 131
About Practice 136
Death and the Afterlife 147
Notes 148

THE SYLLABUS
Introduction 157
Lattice of the Dharma 161
Wu-men kuan: Case I
The Zen Buddhist Sutra Book 168
The Gāthās 170
The Sutras and a Dhāranī 172
The Dedications and the Evening Message 180
Mealtime Sutras 185
The Jukai Ceremony 189
Rōshi’s Introduction 189
The Three Vows of Refuge 190
The Three Pure Precepts 191
The Ten Grave Precepts 191
Verse of the Rakusu 194
Dedication 195
The Sesshin 197
Daily Schedule 197
Leadership 198
The Three Essentials 200
Dōjō Percussion Instruments 202

A Glossary of Buddhist Terms and Usages 205
An Annotated Bibliography 224