There is a fine art to presenting complex ideas with simplicity and insight, in a manner that both guides and inspires. In Taking the Path of Zen Robert Aitken presents the practice, lifestyle, rationale, and ideology of Zen Buddhism with remarkable clarity. The foundation of Zen is the practice of zazen, or mediation, and Aitken Roshi insists that everything flows from the center. He discusses correct breathing, posture, routine, teacher-student relations, and koan study, as well as common problems and milestones encountered in the process. Throughout the book the author returns to zazen, offering further advice and more advanced techniques. The orientation extends to various religious attitudes and includes detailed discussions of the Three Treasures and the Ten Precepts of Zen Buddhism. Taking the Path of Zen will serve as orientation and guide for anyone who is drawn to the ways of Zen, from the simply curious to the serious Zen student.

Examines the fundamental principles of Zen Buddhism, discusses how to put these beliefs in practice in everyday life, and describes Zen customs and ceremonies.

Examines the fundamental principles of Zen Buddhism, discusses how to put these beliefs in practice in everyday life, and describes Zen customs and ceremonies.

In this collection of twenty-three essays, Robert Aitken retraces the origins of American Zen Buddhism and provides readings of influential texts. Reflecting on death, on marriage, and on Zen practice, Aitken always points out the path to pleasure in the everyday dewdrop world. There is a fine art to presenting complex ideas with simplicity and insight in a manner that both shepherds and inspires. Robert Aitken's Original Dwelling Place: Zen Buddhist Essays succeeds in doing just this, offering twenty-three essays from Americas senior Zen roshi and author of the bestselling, groundbreaking primer Taking the Path of Zen. Just as Taking the Path of Zen is the definitive handbook for Zen practice, the essays gathered in Original Dwelling Place are essential for the light they shed on Aitken Roshi's own journey and the effect he has had on American Zen Buddhism. Gathered here are essays about the Zen texts Aitken has studied with avidity and close attention throughout the years; texts that were early and lasting influences.

Robert Aiken, author of Encouraging Words and Taking the Path of Zen, is America’s most senior Zen Roshi. In this new book he presents the Ten Pãramitãs, of Transcendental Perfections—namely, giving, mortality, forbearance, zeal, focused meditation, wisdom, compassionate means, aspiration, spiritual power, and knowledge—two-thousand-year-old ideals that can serve us as both methods and goals. The Pãramitãs 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 not to do. The Pãramitãs, 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 Roshi’s way of teaching—anecdotal, careful, insightful, and easily accessible—leads 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.

A Compassionate and Spiritual Approach to Rediscovering Joy Using easy-to-follow techniques and practical advice, Philip Martin shows you how to ease depression through the spiritual practice of Zen. His lessons, full of gentle guidance and sensitivity, are a product of his experiences in using Zen practices and wisdom to alleviate his own depression. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of depression and recommends a meditation or reflection. With these tools, coping with depression becomes a way to mend the spirit while enriching the soul.

This engaging contemplation of maturity addresses the long neglected topic of what it means to grow up, and provides a hands–on guide for skilfully navigating the demands of our adult lives. Growing up happens whether we like it or not, but maturity must be cultivated. Challenged to consider his own sense of maturity while mentoring a group of teenage boys, Fischer began to investigate our preconceptions about what it means to be "an adult" and shows how crucial true maturity is to leading an engaged, fulfilled life. Taking Our Places details the marks of a mature person and shows how these attributes can help alleviate our suffering and enrich our relationships. Discussing such qualities as awareness, responsibility, humour, acceptance, and humility, Fischer brings a fresh and at times surprising new perspective that can turn old ideas on their heads and reinvigorate our understanding of what it means to be mature.