{"product_id":"a-zen-harvest-japanese-folk-zen-sayings-haiku-dodoitsu-and-waka-9780865473287","title":"A Zen Harvest: Japanese Folk Zen Sayings (Haiku, Dodoitsu, and Waka)","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the vital aspects of traditional Rinzai Zen koan study in Japan is \u003ci\u003ejakugo\u003c\/i\u003e, or capping-phrase exercises. When Zen students have attained sufficient mastery of meditation or concentration, they are given a koan (such as the familiar \"What is the sound of one hand clapping?\") to study. When the student provides a satisfactory response to the koan, he advances to the \u003ci\u003ejakugo \u003c\/i\u003eexercise-he must select a \"capping phrase,\" usually a passage from a poem among the thousands in a special anthology, the only book allowed in the monastery. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne such anthology, written entirely in Chinese, was translated by noted Zen priest and scholar Soiku Shigematsu as \u003ci\u003eA Zen Forest: Sayings of the Masters. \u003c\/i\u003eEqually important is a Japanese collection, the \u003ci\u003eZenrin Segosh\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eu, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich Mr. Shigematsu now translates from the Japanese, including nearly eight hundred poems in sparkling English versions that retain the Zen implications of the verse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAitken, Robert:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eRobert Aitken\u003c\/b\u003e (1917-2010) was Roshi of the Diamond Sangha in Honolulu and the author of \u003ci\u003eTaking the Path of Zen\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Mind of Clover\u003c\/i\u003e. 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\u003ci\u003e Zen in English Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.","brand":"North Point Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50330110427410,"sku":"9780865473287","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0a24f149-1f9a-40ee-9ddf-9bb48b7d87e8.jpg?v=1727792017","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-zen-harvest-japanese-folk-zen-sayings-haiku-dodoitsu-and-waka-9780865473287","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}