The Practice of Perfection: The Paramitas from a Zen 
Buddhist Perspective

Penny Spoke

Booklist
Vol.90 No.22
August 1994
p.1996

COPYRIGHT American Library Association 1994 

            Based in Honolulu, Aitken is the most senior American Zen master and 
            an author and translator of books on Zen, especially the practice of 
            lay Buddhism in the West. Here he explicates the 10 paramitas 
            ("perfections," or guides to conduct) of Mahayana Buddhism. Each 
            discussion is followed by responses to his students' most-asked 
            questions, addressing not only the topic at hand, but also the role 
            of the teacher, the transformation of the self through sitting 
            meditation (zazen), koan study, and the Mahayana tradition of 
            responsibility for the welfare of others. Though known as a rigorous 
            and traditional Zen master of both Rinzai and Soto lineages, Aitken 
            calls the paramitas "inspirations, not fixed rules" and eschews 
            perfectionism. This will be a good companion to The Mind of 
            Clover(1984), Aitken's beautifully written exploration of Zen's Ten 
            Grave Precepts (the uniquely Buddhist commandments). Both will 
            appeal to those interested in Buddhist practice and ethics and, more 
            broadly, to those who look to books for help with that perennial 
            question: how to live. Glossary and extensive notes follow the text.