Beyond Zen: D. T. Suzuki and the Modern Transformation of Buddhism

Description

Beyond Zen: D. T. Suzuki and the Modern Transformation of Buddhism is an accessible collection of multidisciplinary essays, which offer a genuinely new appraisal of the great Zen scholar-practitioner, D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966). Suzuki’s writings and lectures continue to exert a profound influence on how Zen, Buddhism more broadly, and indeed Japanese culture as a whole, are understood in the United States, Europe, and across the globe. With the publication of Beyond Zen, we have at last in a single volume a comprehensive assessment of Suzuki that locates him and his legacy in the context of the turbulent age in which he lived. Now is the perfect moment for reflection and stocktaking. The fiftieth anniversary of Suzuki’s death passed just a few years ago, the copyright on his literary output has expired, and his selected works have recently been published by a major American university press. The work comprises twelve essays by some of the best Zen scholars in the world, Anglophone and Japanese, seasoned and young. They take a fresh look at Suzuki, his life and legacy, and their themes range broadly. Readers will find here explorations of Suzuki as he engaged with Zen and Mahāyāna Buddhism; nationalism and international relations; war and peace; religion, literature, and the media; the individual and society; and family, friends, and animals. Beyond Zen is structured chronologically to reveal the development in Suzuki’s thought during his long and eventful life. All in all, this collection offers a compelling, provocative, and multidimensional reappraisal of an extraordinary man and his times. Contents Preface Abbreviations Introduction Part I - D. T. Suzuki at the Turn of the Century (c. 1890–c. 1920) Chapter 1. From Postpantheism to Transmaterialism: D. T. Suzuki and New Buddhism Chapter 2. Suzuki Daisetz Attempts a Mahāyāna Protestant Buddhism: Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism as True Religion Part II - D. T. Suzuki in the Interwar Years (c. 1920–c. 1941) Chapter 3. The Suzuki Contribution to the Anglophone Press of Interwar Japan Chapter 4. Was D. T. Suzuki a Nazi Sympathizer? Chapter 5. D. T. Suzuki and the Welfare of Animals Part III - D. T. Suzuki during and after the War (c. 1941–c. 1946) Chapter 6. D. T. Suzuki and the Two Cranes: American Philanthropy and Suzuki’s Global Agenda Chapter 7. Transnationalizing Spirituality: D. T. Suzuki’s Zen Textuality Chapter 8. How to Read D. T. Suzuki?: The Notion of “Person” Column 1. Suzuki Daisetsu, Spirituality, and the Problem of Shinto Part IV - Postwar D. T. Suzuki (c. 1946–c. 2000) Chapter 9. Suzuki Daisetz’ “Spiritual Japan” and Buddhist War Responsibility: An Alternative History of the Allied Occupation of Japan, 1945–1952 Chapter 10. D. T. Suzuki’s Theory of Inspiration and the Challenges of Cross-Cultural Transmission Chapter 11. D. T. Suzuki’s Literary Influence: Utopian Narrative in American and European Memoirs of Zen Life Column 2. D. T. Suzuki and American Popular Culture Bibliography Contributors Index