D. T. Suzuki 730735 225507334 2008-07-14T01:37:44Z Wikiklrsc 176710 /* External links */ fix broken link {{buddhism}} '''Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki''' (鈴木 大拙 ''Suzuki Daisetsu'', [[October 18]], [[1870]] – [[July 12]], [[1966]]<ref>Stirling 2006, pg. 125</ref>) was a famous [[Japan]]ese [[author]] of books and essays on [[Buddhism]], [[Zen]] and [[Jodo Shinshu|Shin]] that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin (and Far Eastern philosophy in general) to the West. Suzuki was also a prolific [[Translation|translator]] of [[Chinese literature|Chinese]], [[Japanese literature|Japanese]], and [[Sanskrit literature]]. == Early life == D. T. Suzuki was born Teitarō Suzuki in Honda-machi, [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], the fourth son of physician Ryojun Suzuki. (The Buddhist name "Daisetz", meaning "Great Simplicity", was given to him by his Zen master Shaku Soen<!---see below-->.) Although his birthplace no longer exists, a monument marks its location. The [[Samurai]] class into which Suzuki was born declined with the fall of [[History of Japan#Feudal Japan|feudalism]], which forced Suzuki's mother, a [[Jodo Shinshu]] Buddhist, to raise him in impoverished circumstances after his father died. When he became old enough to reflect on his fate in being born into this situation, he began to look for answers in various forms of religion. His naturally sharp and philosophical intellect found difficulty in accepting some of the [[cosmologies]] to which he was exposed.<ref>D.T. Suzuki “Introduction: Early Memories” in ''The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk''. New York: University Books. 1965</ref> Suzuki studied at [[Tokyo University]] and simultaneously took up Zen practice at [[Engakuji]] in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]] studying with [[Soyen_Shaku|Shaku Soen]] (1859–1919).<ref>Esben Andreasen ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'', p.56, University of Hawaii Press, 1998 ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref> Shaku Soen was an exceptional Zen monk. In his youth, Kosen and others recognized him to be naturally advantaged. Three years after he had received "[[Dharma transmission]]" from Kosen at age 25, Shaku Soen took the unique step of traveling to Ceylon to study [[Pāli|Pali]] and [[Theravada]] Buddhism and live the alien life of the ''[[bhikkhu]]'' for three years. Under Shaku Soen, Suzuki's studies were essentially internal and non-verbal, including long periods of sitting meditation (''[[zazen]]''). The task involved what Suzuki described as four years of mental, physical, moral, and intellectual struggle. During training periods at Engaku-ji, Suzuki lived a monk's life. He described this life and his own experience at Kamakura in his book ''The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk''. Suzuki was invited by Shaku Soen to visit the [[United States]] in the 1890s. Suzuki acted as English-language translator for a book written by him (1906). Though Suzuki had by this point translated some ancient Asian texts into English (e.g. [[Awakening_of_Faith_in_the_Mahayana#English_Translations|Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana]]), his role in translating and ghost-writing aspects of this book was more the beginning of Suzuki's career as a writer in English.<ref>Rick Fields 1981 Chapter Ten, ''How the Swans Came to the Lake: a Narrative History of Buddhism in America''. Boulder, CO: Shamballa 1981 ISBN 0394521471</ref> == Career == While he was young, Suzuki had set about acquiring knowledge of [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Pāli|Pali]], and several European languages. Shaku Soen was one of the invited speakers at the [[World Parliament of Religions]] held in Chicago in 1893. When a German scholar who had set up residence in [[LaSalle, Illinois]], Dr. [[Paul Carus]], approached Shaku Soen to request his help in translating and preparing Eastern spiritual literature for publication in the West, the latter instead recommended his disciple Suzuki for the job. Suzuki lived at Dr. Carus’s home, the [[Hegeler Carus Mansion]], and worked with him, initially in translating the classic [[Tao Te Ching]] from ancient Chinese. In Illinois, Suzuki began his early work ''Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism''. Carus himself had written a book offering an insight into, and overview of, Buddhism, titled ''The Gospel of Buddha''. Shaku Soen wrote an introduction for it, and Suzuki translated the book into Japanese. At this time, around the turn of the century, quite a number of Westerners and Asians (Carus, Soen, and Suzuki included) were involved in the worldwide Buddhist revival that had begun slowly in the 1880s. Besides living in the United States, Suzuki traveled through [[Europe]] before taking up a professorship back in Japan. Suzuki married Beatrice Erskine Lane, a [[Theosophist]] and [[Radcliffe College|Radcliffe]] graduate, in 1911. Later Suzuki himself joined the [[Theosophical Society Adyar]] and was an active Theosophist.<ref>Adele S. Algeo: ''Beatrice Lane Suzuki and Theosophy in Japan''. in ''Theosophical History''. Volume XI, Fullerton, July 2005.</ref> Dedicating themselves to spreading an understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, they lived in a cottage on the Engaku-ji grounds until 1919, then moved to [[Kyoto]], where Suzuki began professorship at [[Otani University]] in 1921. While he was in Kyoto, he visited Dr. [[Hoseki Shinichi Hisamatsu]], a famous Zen Buddhist scholar, and discussed Zen Buddhism together at [[Shunkoin temple]] in the Myoshinji temple complex. In the same year he joined Otani University, he and his wife, Beatrice, founded the Eastern Buddhist Society; the Society is focused on [[Mahayana Buddhism]] and offers lectures and seminars, and publishes a scholarly journal, ''The Eastern Buddhist''. Suzuki maintained connections in the West and, for instance, delivered a paper at the World Congress of Faiths in 1936, at the [[University of London]] (he was an exchange professor during this year). Besides teaching about Zen practice and the history of Zen (or [[Zen|Chan]]) Buddhism, Suzuki was an expert scholar on the related philosophy called, in Japanese, [[Kegon]] – which he thought of as the intellectual explication of Zen experience. Still a professor of Buddhist philosophy in the middle decades of the [[twentieth century]], Suzuki wrote some of the most celebrated introductions and overall examinations of Buddhism, and particularly of its Chinese Chan school (though he usually referred to this sect by the term "Zen," which is the Japanese pronunciation of its name). He went on a lecture tour of American universities in 1951, and taught at [[Columbia University]] from 1952 to 1957. Suzuki was especially interested in the formative centuries of this Buddhist tradition, in China. A lot of Suzuki's writings in English concern themselves with translations and discussions of bits of the Chan texts the ''[[Biyan Lu]]'' (Blue Cliff Record) and the ''[[The Gateless Gate|Wumenguan]]'' (Gateless Passage), which record the teaching styles and words of the classical Chinese masters. He was also interested in how this tradition, once imported into Japan, had influenced Japanese character and history, and wrote about it in English in ''Zen and Japanese Culture''. Suzuki's reputation was secured in England prior to the U.S. In addition to his popularly oriented works, Suzuki wrote a translation of the ''Lankavatara Sutra'' and a commentary on its Sanskrit terminology. Later in his life he was a visiting professor at [[Columbia University]]. He looked in on the efforts of Saburo Hasegawa, Judith Tyberg, [[Alan Watts]] and the others who worked in the California Academy of Asian Studies (now known as the [[California Institute of Integral Studies]]), in San Francisco in the 1950s. Suzuki is often linked to the [[Kyoto School]] of philosophy, but he is not considered one of its official members. Suzuki took an interest in other traditions besides Zen. His book ''Zen and Japanese Buddhism'' delved into the history and scope of interest of all the major Japanese Buddhist sects. In his later years, he began to explore the [[Jodo Shinshu]] faith of his mother's upbringing, and gave guest lectures on [[Jodo Shinshu]] Buddhism at the [[Buddhist Churches of America]]. D.T. Suzuki also produced an incomplete English translation of the [[Kyogyoshinsho]], the ''magnum opus'' of [[Shinran]], founder of the [[Jodo Shinshu]] school. However, Suzuki did not attempt to popularize the Shin doctrine in the West, as he believed Zen was better suited to the Western preference for Eastern mysticism{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, though he is quoted as saying that [[Jodo Shinshu]] Buddhism is the "most remarkable development of [[Mahayana]] Buddhism ever achieved in East Asia".<ref>{{cite book | last = Suzuki | first = Daisetz T. | title = Buddha of Infinite Light: The Teachings of Shin Buddhism, the Japanese Way of Wisdom and Compassion | publisher = Shambhala; New Ed edition | year = 2002 | isbn = 1570624569 }}</ref> Suzuki also took an interest in Christian mysticism and in some of the most significant mystics of the West, for example, [[Meister Eckhart]], whom he compared with the [[Jodo Shinshu]] followers called [[Myokonin]]. Suzuki was among the first to bring research on the Myokonin to audiences outside Japan as well. D.T. Suzuki's books have been widely read and commented on by many important figures. A notable example is ''An Introduction to Zen Buddhism'', which includes a thirty page commentary by famous [[analytical psychologist]] [[Carl Jung]]. Other works include ''Essays in Zen Buddhism'' (three volumes), ''Studies in Zen Buddhism'', and ''Manual of Zen Buddhism''. Additionally, [[William Barrett]] has compiled many of Suzuki's articles and essays concerning Zen into a volume entitled ''Studies in Zen''. Suzuki's Zen master, Shaku Soen, who also wrote a book published in the United States (English translation by Suzuki), had emphasized the [[Mahayana Buddhist]] outlook of the Zen tradition. Contrasting with this, to a degree, was Suzuki's own view that in its centuries of development in China, Zen (or Chan) had absorbed much from indigenous Chinese [[Taoism]]. Suzuki believed that the Far-Eastern peoples had a sensitivity or attunement to nature that was acute, by comparison with either the people of Europe or the people of Northern India, generally speaking. Suzuki subscribed to the idea that religions are each a sort of organism, an organism that is (through time) subject to "irritation" — hence, showing the capacity to change or evolve. It was Suzuki's contention that a Zen ''[[satori]]'' (awakening) was the goal of the tradition's training, but that what distinguished the tradition as it developed through the centuries in China was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In India, the tradition of the mendicant (holy beggar, ''bhikku'' in Pali) prevailed, but in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration (or community direction), and the practice of folk medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Zen had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.<ref>D.T. Suzuki ''Studies in Zen'', pp. 155-156, Delta, 1955</ref><ref>D.T. Suzuki ''Zen and Japanese Culture'', Bollingen/Princeton University Press, 1970 ISBN 0-691-09849-2</ref> Interestingly, later in life Suzuki was more inclined to Jodo Shin (True Pure Land) practice on a personal level, seeing in the doctrine of Tariki, or other power as opposed to self power, an abandonment of self that is entirely complementary to Zen practice and yet to his mind even less willful than traditional Zen. D. T. Suzuki received numerous honors, including Japan's national Cultural Medal. Despite Suzuki's pioneering efforts, he has sometimes been criticized by some, on the grounds that (1) he was not an ordained Zen monk (2) he was not an academic historian working within an academic institution (3) his conceptions of Zen were often overly inclusive and general, and (4) his work merely employed the Zen Buddhist tradition to rewrite nativist [[Kokugaku]] ideas characteristic of Shintoist studies, and use these ideas to define Japanese identity as a unique one (cf.[[nihonjinron]]). However, some clearly credible Western scholars, such as [[Heinrich Dumoulin]], have acknowledged some degree of debt to Suzuki's published work, and, most significantly, some of the most important figures of the twentieth century have praised him unreservedly (see below — "About D. T. Suzuki") Nevertheless, Suzuki's view of Zen Buddhism is certainly his very own; as philosopher [[Charles Alexander Moore|Charles A. Moore]] said: "Suzuki in his later years was not just a reporter of Zen, not just an expositor, but a significant contributor to the development of Zen and to its enrichment." This is echoed by [[Nishitani Keiji]], who declared: "…in Dr. Suzuki's activities, Buddhism came to possess a forward-moving direction with a frontier spirit… This involved shouldering the task of rethinking, restating and redoing traditional Buddhism to transmit it to Westerners as well as Easterners… To accomplish this task it is necessary to be deeply engrossed in the tradition, and at the same time to grasp the longing and the way of thinking within the hearts of Westerners. From there, new possibilities should open up in the study of the [[Buddhism|Buddha Dharma]] which have yet to be found in Buddhist history… Up to now this new Buddhist path has been blazed almost single-handedly by Dr. Suzuki. He did it on behalf of the whole Buddhist world". == Comments about D. T. Suzuki == -[[Thomas Merton]] "Though perhaps less universally known than such figures as [[Einstein]] or [[Gandhi]] (who became symbols of our time) Daisetz Suzuki was no less remarkable a man than these. And though his work may not have had such resounding and public effect, he contributed no little to the spiritual and intellectual revolution of our time".<ref>Merton, Thomas, (1968), Zen and the Birds of Appetite, The Abbey of Gethsemani, New Directions, p. 59 ISBN 0-8112-0104-X</ref> -[[Lynn Townsend White, Jr.]] "Prophecy is rash, but it may be that the publication of D.T. Suzuki's first ''Essays in Zen Buddhism'' in 1927 will seem to future generations as great an intellectual event as [[William of Moerbeke]]'s Latin translations of [[Aristotle]] in the thirteenth century or [[Marsiglio Ficino]]'s of [[Plato]] in the fifteenth".<ref>Whaite, Jr., Lynn (1956), The Changing Canons of our Culture", in Lynne White, Jr., ed., Frontiers of Knowledge in the Study of Man, New York: Harper & Bros., pp. 304-305</ref> -[[Carl Jung]] "Suzuki's works on Zen Buddhism are among the best contributions to the knowledge of living Buddhism… We cannot be sufficiently grateful to the author, first for the fact of his having brought Zen closer to Western understanding, and secondly for the manner in which he has achieved this task."<ref>Suzuki, D. T. (1964), An Introduction to Zen Buddhism , Foreword by C. Jung, Grove Press, New York, p.9 ISBN 0-8021-3055-0</ref> -[[Philip Kapleau]] "That there are today Zen training centers in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Europe]], [[Mexico]], and [[South America]] is a tribute to the comprehensive and illuminating works of D.T. Suzuki. And that there is scarcely an educated person in the West today that has not heard of Zen or who hasn't some acquaintance with its tenets is also due to the prodigious labors of this man who, at the age of eighty, came to America to explain this arcane philosophy. In this he evokes the spirit of the redoubtable [[Bodhidharma]]."<ref>citation & quote-check needed. See discussion page for an accuracy query.</ref> -[[Abe Masao]] "It was not merely a sense of mission… or even scholarly drive which provided Suzuki [[Sensei]] with his real internal motivation. I believe that behind his activities resided a religious Awakening. As a youth, under the guidance of Zen Master Shaku Soen, he had become deeply realized through penetrating into the root-source of the universe of life-and-death. His "motivation" derived from no other than this realization… This Awakening functioned within Suzuki Sensei as an overwhelming Buddhist spirit of 'vow', aimed at bringing everyone to awaken to the same Reality. His scholarly study of Buddhism was undertaken in order to further this work, it was not the other way around."<ref>citation needed</ref> -[[Robert H Sharf]] "The ''nihonjinron'' [cultural exceptionalism] polemic in Suzuki’s work—the grotesque caricatures of “East” versus “West”—is no doubt the most egregiously inane manifestation of his nationalist leanings.<ref>Sharf, Robert H. (1995), Who's Zen: Zen Nationalism Revisited, in Rude Awakenings: Zen, the Kyoto school & Zen nationalism, J. W. Heisig & J. C. Maraldo eds., Nanzen Institute for Religion and Culture, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu</ref> ==See also== *[[Cambridge Buddhist Association]] *[[Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States]] *[[Zen Studies Society]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== *Stirling, Isabel. "Zen Pioneer: The Life & Works of Ruth Fuller Sasaki" (2006) Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 978-1-59376-110-3 ==Bibliography== These essays were enormously influential when they came out, making Zen known in the West for the very first time: * ''Essays in Zen Buddhism: First Series'' (1927), New York: Grove Press. * ''Essays in Zen Buddhism: Second Series'' (1933), New York: [[Samuel Weiser, Inc.]] 1953-1971. Edited by [[Christmas Humphreys]]. * ''Essays in Zen Buddhism: Third Series'' (1934), York Beach, Maine: [[Samuel Weiser, Inc.]] 1953. Edited by Christmas Humphreys. * Dr. Suzuki also completed the translation of the ''[[Lankavatara Sutra]]'' from the original Sanskrit. Boulder, CO: Prajña Press, 1978, ISBN 0-87773-702-9, first published Routledge Kegan Paul, 1932. Shortly after, a second trilogy followed: <!-- Second trilogy of what? I see four works above. --> * ''An Introduction to Zen Buddhism'', Kyoto: Eastern Buddhist Soc. 1934. Republished with Foreword by C.G. Jung, London: Rider & Company, 1948. * ''The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk'', Kyoto: Eastern Buddhist Soc. 1934. New York: [[University Books]], 1959. * [http://consciouslivingfoundation.org/ebooks/new2/ManualOfZenBuddhism-manzen.pdf ''Manual of Zen Buddhism''], Kyoto: Eastern Buddhist Soc. 1934. London: Rider & Company, 1950, 1956.A collection of Buddhist sutras, classic texts from the masters, icons & images,including the "Ten Ox-Herding Pictures". After WWII, a new interpretation: * ''The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind'',London: Rider & Company, 1949. York Beach, Maine: [[Red Wheel Weiser Conari|Red Wheel/Weiser]] 1972, ISBN 0-87728-182-3. * ''Living by Zen''. London: [[Rider & Company]], 1949. * ''Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist: The Eastern and Western Way'', Macmillan, 1957. "A study of the qualities Meister Eckhart shares with Zen and Shin Buddhism". Includes translation of ''myokonin'' Saichi's poems. * ''Zen and Japanese Culture'', New York: [[Pantheon Books]], 1959. A classic. Miscellaneous: * An anthology of his work until mid-50's: ''Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings of D.T. Suzuki'', Doubleday, New York: 1956. Edited by William Barrett. * Very early work on Western mystic-philosopher.''Swedenborg: Buddha of the North'', West Chester, Pa: Swedenborg Foundation, 1996. Trans. by Andrew Bernstein of ''Swedenborugu'', 1913. * Transcription of talks on Shin Buddhism.''Buddha of Infinite Light''. Boston: [[Shambala]], 1998. Edited by Taitetsu Unno. * Tribute; anthology of essays by great thinkers.''D.T. Suzuki: A Zen Life Remembered''. Wheatherhill, 1986. Republished by Shambala. * See also the works of [[Alan Watts]], [[Paul Reps]] et al == External links == * [http://web.archive.org/web/20050204223509/http://web.otani.ac.jp/EBS/dts.html Biography of D.T. Suzuki at Otani University (archived)] * [http://web.otani.ac.jp/EBS/ Eastern Buddhist Society] * [http://www.shunkoin.com/ Shunkoin Temple] * [http://www.azenlife-film.org/ D.T. Suzuki Documentary] * [http://www.netowne.com/eastern/buddhism// Biographical Sketch] * [http://www.threewheels.co.uk/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=42/ Talk by D.T.Suzuki's last attendant and disciple - Jodo Shinshu priest Kemmyo Taira Sato] * [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20061116a1.html "An ambassador of enlightenment: The man who brought Zen to the West"], Japan Times, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006. * [http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/whose%20zen_sharf.pdf Who's Zen? Zen Nationalism Revisited by Robert H. Sharf] {{buddhism2}} {{ModernDharmicWriters}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro}} [[Category:1870 births]] [[Category:1966 deaths]] [[Category:20th century philosophers]] [[Category:Anglophone Japanese writers]] [[Category:Buddhism in the United States]] [[Category:Buddhist philosophers]] [[Category:Buddhist teachers]] [[Category:Buddhist translators]] [[Category:Japanese Indologists]] [[Category:Japanese philosophers]] [[Category:Japanese Theosophists]] [[Category:Japanese writers]] [[Category:Modern Buddhist writers]] [[Category:People from Ishikawa Prefecture]] [[Category:Zen Buddhism writers]] [[Category:Japanese Zen Buddhists]] [[cy:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[de:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[es:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[fr:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[ja:鈴木大拙]] [[pl:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[pt:Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki]] [[sk:Daisetz Suzuki]] [[sv:D. T. Suzuki]] [[vi:Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz]] [[zh:鈴木大拙]]