Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | October 18, 1870 Honda-machi, Ishikawa prefecture, Kanazawa, Japan |
| Died | July 22, 1966 (aged 95) |
| Religion | Rinzai |
| Education | Waseda University |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Otani University Tokyo University Columbia University University of Kyoto Eastern Buddhist Society |
Dr. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 Suzuki Daisetsu, October 18 1870—July 22 1966) was a Japanese scholar on Japanese Buddhism and Rinzai believed to have provided the Western world with its first significant introduction to Zen Buddhism—due in large part to his three volumes of essays published from 1927 to 1934 under the title Essays in Zen Buddhism. Over his career Suzuki had published approximately thirty books on Buddhism in the English language, in addition to his journal writings and ninety-plus books in the Japanese language. A student of Imakita Kosen and Soyen Shaku—the first Zen master believed to have taught in the United States—Suzuki was highly proficient in the English language. As a visiting professor at Columbia University teaching courses on Zen Buddhism, he particularly affected the future course of Zen Buddhism in the United States.
Biography
editDaisetz Teitarō Suzuki was born as Teitarō Suzuki on October 18, 1870 in Honda-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. Raised in a religious family, he was immersed throughout his upbringing in the traditions of Zen and Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism.[1] Before attending university at today's Waseda University, Suzuki taught English to schoolchildren in primary schools and—while in college—he began receiving Zen instruction from Soyen Shaku at Engakuji in Kamakura, Japan and later translated for Shaku the speech he would give at the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions.[2] While attending the World's Parliament, Shaku befriended several individuals interested in Buddhism—in particular, the writer Paul Carus. Under the instruction of his teacher Shaku, Suzuki came to the United States in 1897 to work with Carus at Open Court Publishing Company, located in La Salle, Illinois.[3] He stayed with the Carus family until 1908, providing translations and writing his first book in English on Buddhism in 1907, titled Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism.[2] Suzuki returned to Japan in 1909, where he continued sanzen with Soyen Shaku at Engakuji and lectured at Tokyo University.[4] In 1911 he then married the American Beatrice Lane, who became his collaborator and an author of her own works concerning Mahayana Buddhism.[2] When Shaku died in 1919, Suzuki left Engakuji and began teaching philosophy and religion at the University of Kyoto.[3] In 1921, Suzuki accepted a professorship in Buddhist philosophy at Otani University located in Kyoto.[2]
Also in 1921, Suzuki founded the Eastern Buddhist Society (which publishes the journal The Eastern Buddhist)[5]—a society which proved helpful in opening dialogue between Christianity and Buddhism.[6]
Criticism
editBibliography
edit- Suzuki, D.T. (1980). The Awakening of Zen. Prajñá Press. ISBN 0877737150. OCLC 5170415.
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- Fromm, Erich (1960). Zen Buddhism & Psychoanalysis. Harper. OCLC 8595222.
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- Suzuki, D.T. (1959). Zen and Japanese Culture. Pantheon Books. OCLC 376833.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1957). Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. Harper. OCLC 881843.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1956). Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings. Doubleday. OCLC 258919.
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- Suzuki, D.T. (1935). Manual of Zen Buddhism. Eastern Buddhist Society. OCLC 601878.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1934). The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk. Eastern Buddhist Society. OCLC 15028517.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1934). An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. Eastern Buddhist Society. OCLC 2962466.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1932). The Lankavatara Sutra: A Mahayana Text. G. Routledge and Sons. OCLC 5629698.
- Suzuki, D.T. (1907). Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism. Luzac and Company, Publishers to the University of Chicago. OCLC 3791400.
Other media
editBooks
edit- Yamaguchi (1960). Buddhism and Culture: Dedicated to Dr. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in Commemoration of his 90th Birthday. The Planning Committee for the Commemoration of Dr. Suzuki's Ninetieth Birthday. OCLC 65458631.
Video
edit- A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki. Japan Inter-Culture Foundation. 2005. OCLC 69373725.
Notes
editReferences
edit- Lopez, Donald S. (1995). Curators of the Buddha: The Study of Buddhism under Colonialism. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226493083. OCLC 31295304.
- Lopez, Donald S. (2002). A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West. Beacon Press. ISBN 0807012432. OCLC 50448080.
- Nishitani, Keiji (1983). Religion and Nothingness. University of California Press. ISBN 0520049462. OCLC 21181467.
- Sentā, Shoshūkyō Kenkyū (1977). Japanese Religions. Christian Center for the Study of Japanese Religions.
- Smith, Huston (2004). Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060730676. OCLC 57307393.
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- Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro (1957). Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. Forgotten Books. ISBN 1605061328.
