Customer Reviews

The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice

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Robert Aitken was for many years the head teacher at the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist community in Honolulu. First coming in contact with Zen in 1944 while a civilian internee in Japan, Roshi continues his practice today in retreat in Puna of Hawaii. The book we have here is a wonderful accent to our daily practice of zazen. "The Dragon Who Never Sleeps" is a compilation of gathas, basically short axioms that help us all stay more focused in our life. With an openness and sincere commitment to help all beings, Aitken Roshi succeeded in this book to bring forth a sense of authenticity and everyday wisdom. Read this work first thing in the morning before sitting in zazen, then perhaps recite it periodically as the day goes by. These sayings help to settle a mind which is adrift instead of clear, while ironically once clarity is realized then the mind being adrift is no longer oppositional; so long as you realize it`s adrift that`s enough. This book furthers our Great Vow, or the way of the bodhisattva. Through reading it with a sincerity to hear instead of already knowing, this work will open the heart that is naturally present within us all. I will end the review with a wonderful gatha in this book written by Aitken Roshi:

"Whenever I'm feeling discouraged
I vow with all beings
to remember how Ling-yun saw peach trees
bloom after thirty hard years."

Great book!