Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Zen Vows for Daily Life
    Zen Vows for Daily Life
    Zen Vows for Daily Life
    Ebook78 pages43 minutes

    Zen Vows for Daily Life

    By Robert Aitken and Thich Nhat Hanh

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A poetic classic from a major figure of American Zen.

    Zen Vows for Daily Life is a collection of gathas, vows in verse form for daily practice, similar to prayers or affirmations for use at home, at work, and in the meditation hall itself. Reciting these poetic vows can help us be fully present in each moment and each activity of our lives. These gathas serve as gentle reminders to return again and again to our highest aspirations, with acceptance, joy, and compassion—for ourselves and all beings. Zen Vows for Daily Life will be a steadfast companion in keeping the reader inspired and committed on their spiritual path.

    “Each act in a Buddhist monastery—washing up, putting on clothes, entering the Buddha hall, sitting down for meditation, getting up from meditation—receives its own Dharma poem. Events on pilgrimage—encountering a tree, a river, a bridge, a dignitary, a mendicant—likewise offer entries into truth. My purpose in this book is similar: to show how ordinary occurrences in our modern lay lives are in fact the Buddha’s own teachings—and also to show how we can involve ourselves accordingly in the practice of wisdom and compassion with family and friends, with everyone and everything.”—Robert Aitken, from the Preface

    “In [Zen Vows for Daily Life], poetry and meditation always go together. Poetry is comprised of images and music, and images make the practice easy. Robert Aitken Roshi is a poet who deeply appreciates practicing with these gathas. He offers us many beautiful verses, sterling examples of this practice, that we can use to reflect more deeply on what we are doing. I am grateful to Aitken Roshi for offering us this beautiful book.”—from the Foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWisdom Publications
    Release dateAug 28, 2018
    ISBN9781614294016
    Zen Vows for Daily Life
    Author

    Robert Aitken

    Robert Aitken (1917-2010) was Roshi of the Diamond Sangha in Honolulu and the author of Taking the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover. His introduction to Zen came in a Japanese prison camp during World War II, after he was captured as a civilian in Guam. R. H. Blyth, author of Zen in English Literature, was imprisoned in the same camp, and in this unlikely setting Aitken began the first of several important apprenticeships. After the war Aitken returned often to Japan to study. He became friends with D. T. Suzuki, and studied with Nagakawa Soen Roshi and Yasutani Hakuun Roshi. In 1959 Robert Aitken and his wife, Anne, established a Zen organization, the Diamond Sangha. Aitken was given the title "Roshi" and authorized to teach by Yamada Koun Roshi in 1974.

    Read more from Robert Aitken

    Related to Zen Vows for Daily Life

    Related ebooks

    Buddhism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Beginner’s Mind

      Nov 19, 2019

      ACCORDING TO BUDDHISM, our basic problem is not sin. It’s more like a giant mistake. Because we misunderstand the true nature of ourselves and what we experience, we create poisons that cause ourselves and others endless suffering. These are the many

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Next Generation

      Nov 19, 2019

      The Next Generation
      19 min read

    • Article

      The Mindful Bodhisattva

      Jan 18, 2022

      The Mindful Bodhisattva
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Dying

      Feb 4, 2019

      The Art Of Dying
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Teacher for Our Time

      Nov 19, 2019

      A Beacon of Light What Thich Nhat Hanh means to people of color, by bell hooks. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT when I first encountered Thich Nhat Hanh at a retreat, which focused on Vietnam and the survivors of the war there. But unlike most Buddhist

      9 min read

    • Article

      A Cloud Never Dies

      Mar 22, 2022

      A Cloud Never Dies
      12 min read

    • Article

      Thich Nhat Hanh

      Nov 23, 2021

      Thich Nhat Hanh
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ajahn Chah

      Nov 23, 2021

      Ajahn Chah
      2 min read

    • Article

      What A Good Horse You Are!

      Jan 24, 2023

      What A Good Horse You Are!
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Spirit of Plum Village

      Mar 22, 2022

      The Spirit of Plum Village
      5 min read

    • Article

      2. Don’t steal

      Jan 19, 2021

      2. Don’t steal
      2 min read

    • Article

      Thich Nhat Hanh, Home at Last

      May 7, 2019

      Thich Nhat Hanh, Home at Last
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Three Minds of Zen

      Mar 2, 2021

      The Three Minds of Zen
      8 min read

    • Article

      Open, Awake & TRULY SAFE

      May 18, 2021

      Open, Awake & TRULY SAFE
      1 min read

    • Article

      Ultimately The Same

      Sep 27, 2022

      Ultimately The Same
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Vipassana Revolution

      Jul 20, 2021

      The Vipassana Revolution
      6 min read

    • Article

      Enlightenment Is a Male Fantasy

      Nov 6, 2018

      Enlightenment Is a Male Fantasy
      7 min read

    • Article

      No Self, No Suffering

      Jul 19, 2022

      No Self, No Suffering
      13 min read

    • Article

      Attachment: My Big Mistake

      Mar 23, 2021

      Attachment: My Big Mistake
      2 min read

    • Article

      Pema Chödrön

      Nov 23, 2021

      Pema Chödrön
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ten Years After My Accident

      Jan 18, 2022

      Ten Years After My Accident
      8 min read

    • Article

      Smile At Fear

      May 18, 2021

      When we look at the world around us—our immediate world and the world beyond—we see a lot of difficulty and dysfunction. The news we hear is mostly bad news, and that makes us afraid. The fear these days seems so palpable, so atmospheric. You can alm

      2 min read

    • Article

      Life, Loss, And Connection

      Jul 20, 2021

      Life, Loss, And Connection
      4 min read

    • Article

      My Two Religions

      Jan 18, 2022

      My Two Religions
      4 min read

    • Article

      Mahaprajapati’s Daughters

      Nov 23, 2021

      Mahaprajapati’s Daughters
      9 min read

    • Article

      Who Are You, Really?

      May 18, 2021

      Who Are You, Really?
      4 min read

    • Article

      What Buddhist Quote Have You Put Up In Your Home Or Office?

      Jul 23, 2019

      “With our thoughts we make our world. The mind is central. It precedes our deeds. Speak and act with a pure mind and happiness will follow you like a shadow that never leaves.” This prayer from the Dalai Lama is part of my daily meditation practice.

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Zen Vows for Daily Life

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Zen Vows for Daily Life - Robert Aitken

      To my parents and grandparents:

      Gladys Baker and Robert Thomas Aitken,

      Jessie Thomas and Robert Grant Aitken,

      and

      Florence Page and James Bartlett Baker —

      who bred ethics into my bones.

      My heart was full; I made no vows, but vows

      Were then made for me.

      WORDSWORTH

      The Prelude

      Foreword

      Introduction

      The Gathas

      Acknowledgments

      Glossary

      Index of Occasions for Practice

      About the Author

      Foreword

      When I entered the monastery as a novice, the first book I studied was Gathas for Everyday Life, compiled by the Chinese Zen master Du Ti. Gathas are short verses we can recite during the day to help us dwell in mindfulness and look more deeply at what we are doing. Today I still practice many of the gathas from that book — when I wake up, when I put on my shoes, when I wash the dishes, when I enter the meditation hall. I have even compiled a handbook of forty-nine gathas to use for practicing in modern times.

      In 1985, I met Robert Aitken, roshi at his zendo in Hawaii, and I was pleased to discover that he is a poet who deeply appreciates practicing with gathas. In the Zen tradition, poetry and meditation always go together. In China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, everyone likes poetry, and we use poetry to make the practice of meditation enjoyable. Poetry is comprised of images and music, and images make the practice easy.

      In this book, Aitken Roshi offers us many beautiful verses that we can use to reflect more deeply on what we are doing. What is going on is very important. Life in society is complex, and it is easy to lose ourselves in regrets about the past or anxieties about the future. The only moment we can be alive is this moment, and gathas, simple verses that state our intention to dwell in mindfulness, can bring us back to life. If we only dwell in the past or the future, we are like a ghost, and if our little boy or girl comes up to us and presents us with a beautiful smile, we will miss it. What a pity!

      Practicing mindfulness with gathas helps us develop concentration. In Buddhism, meditation means looking deeply into the heart of reality, and concentration is the basic condition for this practice. In itself, concentration contains the seeds of the kind of insight that frees us from afflictions and reveals to us the nature of reality.

      I hope this book will inspire many readers to continue the Zen tradition of using verses to better enjoy daily life and cultivate concentration and insight. I hope you will use Aitken Roshi’s verses throughout the day and that one day

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1