{"product_id":"love-rshi-helen-j-baroni-9781438443782","title":"Love, R\u0026#333;shi: Robert Baker Aitken and His Distant Correspondents","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Baker Aitken's correspondence with Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners reveals a significant, little-understood aspect of American Buddhism.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLove, Roshi explores the relationship between Robert Baker Aitken (1917-2010), American Zen teacher and author, and his distant correspondents, individuals drawn to Zen teachings and practice through books. Aitken, founder of the Honolulu Diamond Sangha, promoted Zen to a wide audience in works such as Taking the Path of Zen and The Mind of Clover. Aitken's twentieth-century American Zen valued social justice and was compatible with work and family life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHelen J. Baroni makes use of Aitken's extensive correspondence preserved in an archive at the University of Hawaii to provide a window to view the beliefs and practices of the least-studied-and a difficult to study-segment of the Western Buddhist community, Buddhist sympathizers and solo practitioners. The book looks at the concerns of these correspondents, which included questions on meditation, dealing with isolation as a Buddhist, finding teachers and disillusion with teachers, and being a Buddhist in prison, among a myriad of other matters. The writers' letters reveal much about their notion of Zen and their image of a \"Zen master.\" Coverage of Aitken's responses provides insight into the accommodation of solo practitioners and into the development of a particular strain of American Buddhism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Helen J. Baroni\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1438443781\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438443782\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.60d","brand":"Helen J. Baroni","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48458271883519,"sku":"9781438443782","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ae68dd4b-4a5f-41c8-978b-3f7ef0a63f88.jpg?v=1777403401","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/love-rshi-helen-j-baroni-9781438443782","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}