D. T. Suzuki

The two fine books under review represent in different but complementary ways very successful efforts to revise and reprint what can be considered modern "classic" writings on Zen Buddhist thought, with a strong emphasis on the Rinzai sect, that were produced either by an eminent Japanese scholar or an American working in collaboration with a Japanese researcher and were initially circulated in the West through the 1960s. These writings had a remarkably influential impact on the course of Zen studies at (...) the time, but in the intervening years have largely fallen into disuse or a decline in reputation. However, they are richly deserving of the current editorial exercises leading to a recovery and rehabilitation so... (shrink)

The logic of soku-hi is presented as an articulation of a post-Kantian view of reality that embraces the truths of science with the assumption of the transcendental subject. As such, soku-hi represents the philosophical posture of both the secular Zen of the Kyoto School and the new materialists of contemporary continental philosophy. It describes how material reality is not all even though there is nothing else.

En este artículo presentamos los conceptos de experiencia religiosa y misticismo en la obra del teórico japonés Suzuki Daisetsu. Asimismo, comparamos la definición de estos conceptos dada por el pensador japonés con las ideas expresadas por William James en su obra Las variedades de la experiencia religiosa y, ayudándonos de este último texto, señalamos algunos de los problemas derivados de las tesis de Suzuki.

Hsu Yun and the ring of wood Daisetsu is the modern Japanese economy were the two temporary army hall. Although Hsu Yun Chan Seng is the traditional, but eyes open, there is practicable, the meditation experience, the courage to bring personal experience. Ring of wood by a solid academic training, the wind out of their English book world, Zen for the Western understanding of a necessary media. Two people came, Experiences, writings, and gives the impression, really almost exactly north-south House. (...) This paper aims to compare the two by the enlightenment of those qualifications, the history of Zen meditation on the interpretation of the relationship between Zen and Pure Land of the discussion, revealing modern Japanese Zen Zen's differences. Xu Yun and DT Suzuki were famous modern Chinese and Japanese Linji Chan masters respectively. Though Master Xu was traditional in outlook, he was open-minded, had rich meditation experience and expressed his thought faithfully. Suzuki was world-class scholar. He made use of philosophical jargon to expound Chan wisdom and introduced it into the West through his accessible English monographs. This paper makes a comparison on their attainments of enlightenment, interpretations on Chan theory and practice, views on the relationship between Chan and Pureland teachings etc., in order to reveal the differences between modern Chinese and Japanese Chan school. (shrink)

Can contradictions be meaningful? How can one assert 'P soku not-P' or 'P and yet not-P' without sacrificing intelligibility? Expanding on previous attempts, mainly by Dilworth and Heisig, to demystify the soku connective, a formal system is presented here for the logic of soku. Through a formal distinction between internal and external negation, grammatical features of the soku connective are shown to be logically irrelevant, and the principle of non-contradiction is preserved. Disparities with traditional logic are noted, with a focus (...) on negation rather than 'soku'. The formal examination of the logic of soku is intended to present the logic in a way acceptable to more analytically minded philosophers and thereby enhance East-West and Japanese-Anglo-American interaction and criticism. (shrink)

This essay attempts to reconcile the debate between Hu Shi's historical perspective and D.T. Suzuki's practice perspective concerning Zen Buddhism.