Robert Baker Aitken
Encyclopedia
Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi
(June 19, 1917 – August 5, 2010) was a Zen teacher
in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959
together with his wife. Aitken received Dharma transmission
from Koun Yamada in 1985 but decided to live as a layperson
. He was a social activist advocating for social justice
for gay
s, women and Native Hawaiians
throughout his life, and was one of the original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
.
Robert Aitken was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 1917, then was raised in Hawaii
from the age of five.
Living in Guam
as a civilian
working construction
—at the onset of World War II
—he was detained by the Japanese
and held in internment camps for the duration of the war. In one such internment camp in Kobe, Japan in 1944 he met the scholar Reginald Horace Blyth
, with whom he had frequent discussions on Zen Buddhism and anarchism
. At the conclusion of the war he returned to Hawaii and obtained a BA in English literature
and an MA in Japanese
from the University of Hawaii
.
In the late 1940s, while going to classes briefly at the University of California
in Berkeley, California
, he met Nyogen Senzaki
. Originally in California hoping for an encounter with Krishnamurti
, he began to study with Senzaki in Los Angeles
. It was during this period that his commitment to social issues - such as pacifism
and labor rights
- became more vocal. As a result of his advocacy, he was investigated during this period by the FBI.
In 1950 he went back to Japan
, under a grant
to study haiku
and followed Senzaki's recommendation that he study Zen there. There he took part in his first sesshin
at Engaku-ji
, a temple in Kamakura, Japan. Soon after, he met Nakagawa Soen, who convinced him to come for a stay at Ryutakuji for the next seven months. During this period Soen took over for the ailing abbot of the temple, Yamamoto Gempo. Aitken then came down with a case of dysentery, and returned home to Hawaii. He married his second wife Anne Hopkins in 1957 and made occasional trips back to Japan. In 1957 Aitken met Hakuun Yasutani and sat with him for the first time.
In 1959 he and Anne began a meditation group in Honolulu at their residence, which became known as the Koko-an zendo
. The community that gathered at this zendo were then named the Diamond Sangha by the two. The Diamond Sangha has affiliate zen centers in South America
, Australia
, New Zealand
, the United States
and Europe
and is known for making the rigors of traditional Zen accessible to lay practitioners.
In 1960 Soen Nakagawa Roshi asked young monk Eido Tai Shimano
to travel to Honolulu to assist Diamond Sangha center established by Anne and Robert Aitken.
In 1961, Aitken made an extended stay in Japan to study under Haku'un Yasutani
, eventually ending his studies with Soen. He was also teaching at the University of Hawaii
at the time, retiring from his professorship in 1969 to devote more of his time to Zen practice. He and Anne moved to Maui, Hawaii that year and founded Maui Zendo in Lahaina. Koun Yamada Rōshi was invited to lead the Diamond Sangha and he moved to Hawaii in 1971. In 1974 Aitken was given permission to teach by Koun Yamada, receiving full Dharma transmission
from him in 1985.
Robert Aitken was a social activist through much of his adult life, beginning with against nuclear testing
during the 1940s. He was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War
, and became a strong opponent of the nuclear arms race
between the United States
and the Soviet Union
. He was among the earlier proponents of deep ecology
in religious America
, and was outspoken in his beliefs on the equality of men and women. In 1978 Aitken helped found the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
, an organization that advocates for conflict resolution
globally.
Aitken Roshi died after a brief bout with pneumonia on August 5, 2010 in Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Roshi
is a Japanese honorific title used in Zen Buddhism that literally means "old teacher" or "elder master" and sometimes denotes a person who gives spiritual guidance to a Zen sangha or congregation...
(June 19, 1917 – August 5, 2010) was a Zen teacher
Roshi
is a Japanese honorific title used in Zen Buddhism that literally means "old teacher" or "elder master" and sometimes denotes a person who gives spiritual guidance to a Zen sangha or congregation...
in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959
together with his wife. Aitken received Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Koun Yamada in 1985 but decided to live as a layperson
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
. He was a social activist advocating for social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
for gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s, women and Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
throughout his life, and was one of the original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a nonsectarian international network of engaged Buddhists participating in various forms of nonviolent social activism and environmentalism with chapters all over the world...
.
Biography
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1917, then was raised in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
from the age of five.
Living in Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
as a civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
working construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
—at the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
—he was detained by the Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and held in internment camps for the duration of the war. In one such internment camp in Kobe, Japan in 1944 he met the scholar Reginald Horace Blyth
Reginald Horace Blyth
Reginald Horace Blyth was an English author and devotee of Japanese culture.-Early life:Blyth was born in Essex, England, the son of a railway clerk...
, with whom he had frequent discussions on Zen Buddhism and anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
. At the conclusion of the war he returned to Hawaii and obtained a BA in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and an MA in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
from the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
.
In the late 1940s, while going to classes briefly at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, he met Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki was a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States.-Early life:...
. Originally in California hoping for an encounter with Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti or , was a renowned writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society...
, he began to study with Senzaki in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It was during this period that his commitment to social issues - such as pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and labor rights
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
- became more vocal. As a result of his advocacy, he was investigated during this period by the FBI.
In 1950 he went back to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, under a grant
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
to study haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
and followed Senzaki's recommendation that he study Zen there. There he took part in his first sesshin
Sesshin
A sesshin , literally "touching the heart-mind" , is a period of intensive meditation in a Zen monastery....
at Engaku-ji
Engaku-ji
right|thumb|A stone carvingNot to be confused with Enryaku-ji in Kyoto., or Engaku-ji , is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa prefecture to the south of Tokyo...
, a temple in Kamakura, Japan. Soon after, he met Nakagawa Soen, who convinced him to come for a stay at Ryutakuji for the next seven months. During this period Soen took over for the ailing abbot of the temple, Yamamoto Gempo. Aitken then came down with a case of dysentery, and returned home to Hawaii. He married his second wife Anne Hopkins in 1957 and made occasional trips back to Japan. In 1957 Aitken met Hakuun Yasutani and sat with him for the first time.
In 1959 he and Anne began a meditation group in Honolulu at their residence, which became known as the Koko-an zendo
Zendo
or is a Japanese term translating roughly as "meditation hall". In Zen Buddhism, the zen-dō is a spiritual dōjō where zazen is practiced...
. The community that gathered at this zendo were then named the Diamond Sangha by the two. The Diamond Sangha has affiliate zen centers in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and is known for making the rigors of traditional Zen accessible to lay practitioners.
In 1960 Soen Nakagawa Roshi asked young monk Eido Tai Shimano
Eido Tai Shimano
is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:...
to travel to Honolulu to assist Diamond Sangha center established by Anne and Robert Aitken.
In 1961, Aitken made an extended stay in Japan to study under Haku'un Yasutani
Haku'un Yasutani
was a Sōtō Rōshi and the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist organization.-Biography:Ryōkō Yasutani was born in Japan in Shizuoka Prefecture....
, eventually ending his studies with Soen. He was also teaching at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
at the time, retiring from his professorship in 1969 to devote more of his time to Zen practice. He and Anne moved to Maui, Hawaii that year and founded Maui Zendo in Lahaina. Koun Yamada Rōshi was invited to lead the Diamond Sangha and he moved to Hawaii in 1971. In 1974 Aitken was given permission to teach by Koun Yamada, receiving full Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from him in 1985.
Robert Aitken was a social activist through much of his adult life, beginning with against nuclear testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
during the 1940s. He was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and became a strong opponent of the nuclear arms race
Nuclear arms race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He was among the earlier proponents of deep ecology
Deep ecology
Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes an inherent worth of all living beings, regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependence of organisms within ecosystems and that of ecosystems with each other within the...
in religious America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and was outspoken in his beliefs on the equality of men and women. In 1978 Aitken helped found the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a nonsectarian international network of engaged Buddhists participating in various forms of nonviolent social activism and environmentalism with chapters all over the world...
, an organization that advocates for conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
globally.
Aitken Roshi died after a brief bout with pneumonia on August 5, 2010 in Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Dharma heirs
The following individuals are Dharma heirs of Aitkenhttp://www.buddhanet.net/masters/aiken.htm:- John TarrantJohn TarrantJohn Tarrant is a Western Zen teacher, currently director of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California.-Biographical Portrait:...
- Danan HenryDanan HenryMichael Danan Henry is a Harada-Yasutani roshi practicing in the Diamond Sangha lineage of Robert Baker Aitken. The founding teacher of the , Henry received Dharma transmission from Philip Kapleau Roshi in 1989 and was subsequently recognized as a Diamond Sangha master by Robert Baker Aitken...
- Nelson Foster
- Pat Hawk
- Rolf Drosten
- Jack Duffy
- Joseph Bobrow
- Augusto Alcalde (Espanolhttp://zenenmovimiento.blogspot.com/ Englishhttp://autumnbridgedojo.blogspot.com/)
See also
- Engaged BuddhismEngaged BuddhismEngaged Buddhism refers to Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the insights from meditation practice and dharma teachings to situations of social, political, environmental, and economic suffering and injustice...
- Buddhism in the United StatesBuddhism in the United StatesBuddhism is one of the largest religions in the United States behind Christianity, Judaism and Nonreligious, and approximate with Islam and Hinduism. American Buddhists include many Asian Americans, as well as a large number of converts of other ethnicities, and now their children and even...
- Buddhism in the WestBuddhism in the WestBuddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years, but it was not until the era of European colonization of Buddhist countries in...
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...