Robert Baker Aitken

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Robert Baker Aitken
University of Hawaii
University of California
Senior posting
TeacherSoen Nakagawa
Nyogen Senzaki
PredecessorYamada Koun
Websitewww.robertaitken.net

Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken

Harada-Yasutani
lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959 together with his wife,
women and Native Hawaiians throughout his life, and was one of the original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.[1][2]

Biography

Robert Baker Aitken and Anne Hopkins Aitken

Robert Aitken or Bob, as he liked to be called, was born to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He was raised in Hawaii from the age of five.[3] He was the son of a war enthusiast and was a rebel and loner in the 1930s and 40s before the war.[4]

Living in

University of Hawaii. He would write for two hours each morning and even read aloud his work to make sure it was his distinctive style.[6]

In the late 1940s, while going to classes briefly at the

FBI. Because he was against the war in Vietnam and against the arming the military, he decided to not pay his percent of taxes that went to the Defense Department of the U.S.[3]

In 1950 he went back to Japan, under a grant to study

Yamamoto Gempo.[8] 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.[7][9][10][11][12]

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.[13][14]

In 1960 Soen Nakagawa Roshi asked young monk Eido Tai Shimano to travel to Honolulu to assist at the Diamond Sangha center.[15]

In 1961, Aitken made an extended stay in Japan to study under

Koun Yamada, receiving full Dharma transmission from him in 1985.[7][16]

He also was a major inspiration for the ‘System Stinks’ movement, where they drew inspiration from his famous photograph protesting with a sign. In the picture the sign said 'The System Stinks' and was in protest of the Iraq War, while in his wheelchair. The photo was taken in Hawaii.[17]

Robert Aitken was a social activist through much of his adult life, beginning with protesting 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 conflict resolution globally. In the discussion that led to the founding of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, most of the other people had less experience than him when it came to political activism. This gave him the most influence on what the organization should be about. Many of the first 100 people who were sent invitations to join were recommendations from Robert Aitken.[4] He was also the guest speaker at the first two institutes that the Buddhist Peace Fellowship held. He did have anarchist beliefs, which is why even when he helped found the organization, he didn't take any control due to distrusting all authority or control even when it was his own.[4]

Aitken Roshi retired in 1996 and spent some of his final years in Palolo, Hawaii, where he could be looked after and interact with some of his students.[18] He died after a brief bout with pneumonia on August 5, 2010, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was working on his fourteenth book before his passing.[19]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-231-10868-0
    .
  2. ^ Woo, Elaine (August 10, 2010). "Robert Aitken dies at 93; American Zen master". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Kahn, Roshi Paul Genki. "Remembering Robert Aitken Roshi". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  4. ^
    OCLC 955611187
    .
  5. ^ "Robert Aitken dies at 93; American Zen master". Los Angeles Times. 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  6. ^ "Robert Aitken Roshi — A Personal & Biographical Reflection". Clear View Project. 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-520-21697-0
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-87773-631-6
    .
  9. ISBN 1-57062-103-9
    .
  10. ISBN 1-55643-381-6
    .
  11. ISBN 1-59376-008-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  12. ISBN 0-86171-159-9
    .
  13. ^ "Honolulu Diamond Sangha".
  14. ^ "Affiliates of the Diamond Sangha". Archived from the original on 2010-01-10.
  15. ISBN 0-86171-509-8.[permanent dead link
    ]
  16. ISBN 0-86171-167-X
    .
  17. ^ Baroni, Helen (March 5, 2017). "The System Stinks: Sources of Inspiration for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship" (PDF).
  18. ^ "About Us |". Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  19. ^ The Christian Century, 127 no 18 Sep 07 2010, p 19

External links

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