Book Question

[JohnsonCM]

I just bought Taking the Zen Path by Robert Aitken, Roshi. It's still being shipped, but I haven't seen it on any of the sangha's reading lists. Has anyone read this book and have an opinion on it?

[Jundo]

Re: Book Question

I just bought Taking the Zen Path by Robert Aitken, Roshi. It's still being shipped, but I haven't seen it on any of the sangha's reading lists. Has anyone read this book and have an opinion on it?

Hi,

Aitken Roshi is a wonderful teacher (we use another book by him as the basis for our Precepts study for Jukai), but in a flavor of Zen Practice that tends toward a Koan centered Zazen emphasizing Kensho.

If you are not familiar with the differences in various flavors of Zen Practice, here are a couple of posts or threads. Please give them a read. I emphasize this, not to say one is better one is worse (of course, I have my preferences, and different styles may suit different people), but so the aware reader of "Zen books" will know that they are often coming from rather different angles although having "Zen" as the title.

viewtopic.php?p=13652#p13652

viewtopic.php?p=24193#p24193

Also, an excellent book that any serious Zen student should read at some point is this ... a history and description of most of the several Zen styles that one finds in the West (the book covers North America well, but unfortunately, does not describe Europe very much. I am in there somewhere. 8) )

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Master-Who-Pe ... 0861715098

Same, but often very different. Different, but precisely the same.

Gassho, Jundo