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Zen Master Raven: The Teachings of a Wise Old Bird
A uniquely playful and incisive collection of Zen teaching stories from a beloved American master.
A Modern Classic. In the tradition of the great koan collections and the records of ancient masters, Robert Aitken distills a lifetime of teaching down to its essence. Intriguing and deceptively simple, Zen Master Raven is a brilliant encapsulation of Zen in over a hundred koan-like encounters alongside many charming illustrations. Featuring curious beginners like Mallard and Mole and profound teachers like Brown Bear, Moose Roshi, and Zen Master Raven himself, this classic of contemporary Zen and will inspire seekers for generations to come.
A Modern Classic. In the tradition of the great koan collections and the records of ancient masters, Robert Aitken distills a lifetime of teaching down to its essence. Intriguing and deceptively simple, Zen Master Raven is a brilliant encapsulation of Zen in over a hundred koan-like encounters alongside many charming illustrations. Featuring curious beginners like Mallard and Mole and profound teachers like Brown Bear, Moose Roshi, and Zen Master Raven himself, this classic of contemporary Zen and will inspire seekers for generations to come.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 22, 2017
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About the author
Robert Aitken
88 books47 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Robert Aitken was a retired master of the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist society he founded in Honolulu in 1959 with his late wife Anne Hopkins Aitken.
A lifetime resident of Hawai‘i, Aitken Rōshi was a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i with a BA degree in English literature and an MA degree in Japanese studies. In 1941, he was captured on Guam by invading Japanese forces, and interned in Japan for the duration of World War II. In the camp, he met the British scholar R.H. Blyth, who introduced him to Zen Buddhism. 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 Sōen Rōshi, Yasutani Haku'un Rōshi, and Yamada Kōun Rōshi. In 1974, he was given approval to teach by the Yamada Rōshi, Abbot of the Sanbo Kyodan in Kamakura, Japan, who gave him transmission as an independent master in 1985.
Aitken Rōshi 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 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.
Aitken Rōshi 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, social justice, and ecological movements, and his writing reflects his concern that Buddhists be engaged in social applications of their experience.
Aitken Rōshi 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.
As a retired master, Aitken Rōshi worked with a few long-time students, and continued to study and write. His work, Zen Master Raven: Sayings and Doings of a Wise Bird , was published by Tuttle in 2002 [review]. His more recent publications, The Morning Star: New and Collected Zen Writings , and a new edition of A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku and Zen , were released in October, 2003, by Shoemaker and Hoard.
Robert Aitken was a retired master of the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist society he founded in Honolulu in 1959 with his late wife Anne Hopkins Aitken.
A lifetime resident of Hawai‘i, Aitken Rōshi was a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i with a BA degree in English literature and an MA degree in Japanese studies. In 1941, he was captured on Guam by invading Japanese forces, and interned in Japan for the duration of World War II. In the camp, he met the British scholar R.H. Blyth, who introduced him to Zen Buddhism. 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 Sōen Rōshi, Yasutani Haku'un Rōshi, and Yamada Kōun Rōshi. In 1974, he was given approval to teach by the Yamada Rōshi, Abbot of the Sanbo Kyodan in Kamakura, Japan, who gave him transmission as an independent master in 1985.
Aitken Rōshi 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 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.
Aitken Rōshi 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, social justice, and ecological movements, and his writing reflects his concern that Buddhists be engaged in social applications of their experience.
Aitken Rōshi 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.
As a retired master, Aitken Rōshi worked with a few long-time students, and continued to study and write. His work, Zen Master Raven: Sayings and Doings of a Wise Bird , was published by Tuttle in 2002 [review]. His more recent publications, The Morning Star: New and Collected Zen Writings , and a new edition of A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku and Zen , were released in October, 2003, by Shoemaker and Hoard.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 21, 2017
I received an ARC of this title on NetGalley.
There were parts of this that I thoroughly enjoyed and a few times where I laughed at loud at how clever Raven's turns were. But there were other times that it was too ambiguous for me. Maybe I'm more of a Gray Wolf and less of a Porcupine and am not enlightened enough in my path to get it all yet.
There were parts of this that I thoroughly enjoyed and a few times where I laughed at loud at how clever Raven's turns were. But there were other times that it was too ambiguous for me. Maybe I'm more of a Gray Wolf and less of a Porcupine and am not enlightened enough in my path to get it all yet.
October 8, 2020
Zen Master Raven: The Teachings of a Wise Old Bird by Robert Aitken is a series of Zen teachings told through forest animals. Aitken was a retired master of the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist society he founded in Honolulu in 1959 with his late wife Anne Hopkins Aitken. His introduction to Zen was as a prisoner in World War II. After the war, he obtained a B.A. in English Literature and an MA in Japanese from the University of Hawaii.
Zen is not an easy subject and especially not an easy one to pick up by reading a book. Aitken uses the raven as his central character. The reason for using the forest animals was done for a few reasons. The most important reason was to allow him to modify the koans to make them a little easier to understand. The character animals play their roles further helping the reader understand. There are also brief explanations in the Notes at the end of the book.
The reader will follow the Raven from his search for meaning and through his teaching of the forest animals and interactions with others. Some of the meanings jump out the readers, some require more thought, others still left me wondering. Aitken takes his life long study and makes it accessible to the curious. His characters aid in the understanding and the language used is simple enough for most readers. A well-done work that teaches and entertains.
November 18, 2017
Zen Master Raven is an interesting and fun approach to communicating the mysteries of zen. While I found the animal characters particularly good vehicles to "explain" zen, I also came to certain realizations about the zen nature of animals as a result of this book. That in turn will continue to give me new insights in the future, and for that I am grateful!
April 10, 2021
This was something way different than what I'm used to reading and there were definitely some parts that went over my head. With that said, there were also several passages that made me stop and think for a bit. It's chock full of metaphors and life lessons and I definitely recommend this for anyone looking to delve into spirituality.
August 11, 2021
Remember that koans arose over generations and from hundreds, if not thousands, of minds. This book contains at least one, if not a few. The rest are amusing, insightful teachings of Zen none the less. Plus, beautiful sumi-e inspired illustrations.
December 12, 2024
Cute, witty, and funny. Zen Master Raven may be a little difficult to some at times, nonsensical at others, but to those who dare to see things as the forest animals do, there may be much insight to be had.
November 4, 2017
What a delightful way to introduce Zen koans. This book will never leave my library.
August 24, 2018
Otherwordly!
September 1, 2019
I guess all this Zen stuff was too over my head.
February 26, 2022
Beautifully confusing, just like zazen :)
April 9, 2018
Buddhist teacher Robert Aitken did much to introduce the West to the meditative practice of Zen Buddhism and to understanding the philosophy behind it. The Zen tradition of using koans to unlock deeper understanding within the mind has long been an accepted path for reaching a state of enlightenment and a grasp of Zen principles. In Zen Master Raven, Roshi Aitken added a degree of levity to this tradition by creating a volume of delightful animal tales with a wide cast of forest creatures whose conversations and interactions are cleverly designed to bring to light the various aspects of Zen which he wished to impart in this simple yet profound book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews