A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered [Paperback]

Masao Abe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki was a remarkable man. Throughout his long life he worked untiringly to bring the message of Zen, and Buddhism in general, to the West, and his reputation as a scholar and gifted teacher was internationally recognized.

Above and beyond his scholarship, however, Suzuki touched in some special way everyone who met him. He embodied the satori—awakening—that he had experienced while still a young man studying with his own Zen master; his simplicity in the midst of complexity and his utter lack of intellectual snobbery combined to create an extraordinary impression of warmth, yet quiet authority. And indeed, he touched the lives of many—from theologians and philosophers to psychologists, poets, musicians, and artists the world over; thinkers as diverse as Thomas Merton, Paul Tillich, Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Dr. Hu Shi, Allen Ginsberg, and Bernard Leach—to name a few.

A Zen Life: D. T. Suzuki Remembered is a heartfelt tribute to this man. A very personal collection of essays, it provides an intimate view of what Suzuki meant to those who knew him. In the present volume Masao Abe, in collaboration with photographer Francis Haar, brings together some of the many accolades paid to Dr. Suzuki after his death in 1966. Several contributions were written especially for this volume, or appear here for the first time in English; these include the reminiscences of Mihoko Okamura, Suzuki's assistant and traveling companion for many years, as well as autobiographical essays of great interest by Suzuki. Most important, all the pieces, old and new, are now available in this volume for the broader reading public Suzuki deserves.

In all the contributions one thing shines through—the sheer presence of D. T. Suzuki. Francis Haar's sensitive photographic portraits, counterpoised to the text, make this book one to treasure if you are already acquainted with Suzuki's life and work and a wonderful place to start, if you are not.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0834802139
• ISBN-13: 978-0834802131
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,125,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Zen Life Remembered is a Zen life shared, December 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered (Paperback)

A man comfortable in the cultures of both the east and the west, D.T. Suzuki has made a unique contribution by explaining Zen in a way that a western trained mind can grasp. Suzuki died in his 90's, and this book contains an initial essay on Zen written by him during his life time. The remainder of the book consists of a series of essays by notable Zen scholars about Suzuki, as well as the practice of Zen. This is an excellent place for the beginning student of Zen to approach this mysterious yet simple view of life.

A particularly interesting essay is by the late Trappist priest Thomas Merton. Merton, who had corresponded with Suzuki reconciles the practice of Zen with the practice of mysticism in the Roman Catholic Church.

This is a tremendous book about a wonderful and simple man who possessed a powerful intellect and a gift of understanding.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We all owe this man a debt, November 21, 2004

By 

Hakuyu "Ikeda" (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered (Paperback)

The essays in this book bear ample testimony to the creative influence D.T. Suzuki exerted upon those came within the orbit of his mind. He was the man who gave the West its first taste of 'Zen' - and, for many years, any mention of this Far-eastern form of Buddhism was almost synonymous with the name of D.T. Suzuki. Some Japanese roshis deemed Suzuki's approach too bookish, referring to it as 'Suzuki-Zen' to qualify the difference between their own approach - and Suzuki's own. But - the traits which made some roshis suspicious of Suzuki's work - were the very traits which enabled Suzuki to communicate his ideas with such success. He helped shape the thought of a whole generation - perhaps two, paving the way for other things to follow - which would not have been possible, had Suzuki adopted a narrow, parochial outlook. We all owe Suzuki a debt in that respect, and one of the first things the reviewer did - after arriving in Japan, years ago, was to visit the Suzuki family-grave in Kita-Kamakura, to offer a heart-felt 'gassho'!

Of late, attention has been drawn to the more problematic aspects of Suzuki's thought - namely, his support of 'Imperial way' Buddhism and the nationalistic spirit that drove Japan down the road to WW2. Brian Victoria has touched on this mat-ter in his 'Zen at War.' These dubious traits are more evident in Suzuki's Japanese writings. Even so, odd passages in Suzuki's English writings have given the reviewer pause - at times. On close reading, isolated passages in 'Zen & Japanese Culture' (ZJC)smack of 'Nihon-shugi' - as against the more innocent 'Nihon teki rei-sei.' Though little was said on the matter, parts of ZJC digressed on the 'fact' that China had 'lost' its Zen culture' - whereas Japan had preserved it, making it permeate every facet of life, probably an allusion to the nascent 'Imperial way' Buddhism. But - was Suzuki really so 'anti-Chinese' at the time? Paradoxically, Suzuki's most well known writings - the 'Zen essays' trilogy - focus almost entirely on Chinese T'ang sources - rarely mentioning the Japanese Zen schools at all - hardly the trait of a Japanese Buddhist writer obsessed with nationalism.

In the 'Essentials of Zen' - we find Suzuki declaring that Zen might 'find itself wedded to fascism . . .' - almost as if it were a matter of indifference. For a while, at least, it seems that Suzuki allowed himself to be seduced by nationalist ferver, not altogether in keeping with his Buddhist principles. This issue is complex, for Suzuki otherwise embodied a certain internationalism. He was working for Paul Carus - in America, before the turn of 20th c. - and later married an American woman - Beatrice Lane. Suzuki had lifelong ties with Christmas Humphreys, the English Q.C. (High Court Judge) who founded the Buddhist Society, London, and served as its president. As is well known, throughout his long life, Suzuki spent many years as a guest lecturer in American universities, with extended lecture-tours in Europe, besides. I remain wary of the 'wobbly bits' in Suzuki's work - but, whatever we may deem culpable in it, he certainly redeemed himself in the post-war years and became a firm friend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real DT's, April 9, 2011

By 

Fred Evans - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered (Paperback)

If you are a frequenter of the unwritten word then this might interest you. These are with one exception all essays in remembrance and sincere regard and respect for the world's foremost conveyor of the Buddhadharma. The one exception is a reprint of Dr. Suzuki's experienced and beautiful essay on Satori. This essay alone is priceless and yet makes the cost inconsequential. Though not really 'required reading', it is by any measure a rememberance of a most loved and loving friend. I am grateful to have this book.