Abstract
Beatrice Erskine Lane Suzuki (1878–1939) is mainly known for being the wife of D.T. Suzuki鈴木大拙 (1870–1966), the Japanese religious studies scholar and intellectual who promoted the popularization of Buddhism in the Western world.
However, she was also an active researcher and prolific writer in the same field, boasting deep theoretical and practical knowledge of the subject and an original, brilliant interpretative style. Her research led her to appreciate and assimilate cultural values quite different from those of her Scottish and American background influenced by Catholicism.
The fact that she left her homeland to research an entirely different culture was what she had in common with Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), her contemporary and eclectic intellectual and philosopher who left Alsace to engage in religious and anthropological studies in Africa.
Although she dedicated numerous enthusiastic reflections to Schweitzer in her writings, those refuting Schweitzer's theories assume great relevance. In his comparison between Western and Eastern spirituality, Schweitzer fiercely attacked the latter, expressing the absolute superiority of the Christian doctrine, which he fervently supported. Lane, on the contrary, was strongly fascinated by Buddhism, and found in it a source of faith and a creed to live by.
This article aims to retrace the analysis made by both authors to outline their different perspectives, despite their shared cultural background.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Algeo, A. S. (2005). Beatrice Lane Suzuki and Theosophy in Japan. Theosophical History, (11), 4–5, 28
Gale, R. M. (2005). The Philosophy of William James: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Govindacharlu, A. (1898). Inspiration. A philosophical Study. Graduates’ Association Press.
James, W. (1902). The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. Being the Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion Delivered in Edinburgh in 1901–1902. The Modern Library Press.
Moriya, T. (2006) 守屋 友江. 鈴木大拙におけるビアトリス・レーンの意義. 没後四十年記念寄稿集.
Radhakrishnan, S. (1974). East and West in Religion. Oxford University Press.
Schweitzer, A. (1914). Out of my life and thought. Henry Holt and Company Press.
Schweitzer, A. (1929). Civilization and Ethics. Macmillan London Press.
Schweitzer, A. (2013). Indian Thoughts and Its Development. Read Book Limited Press.
Schweitzer, A. (1993). Reverence for Life. Sermons 1900–1919. Irvington Publisher.
Schwitzer, A. (1931). The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle. Henry Holt & Company Publisher.
Suzuki Lane, B. (1938). Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Buddhist Lodge Press.
Suzuki Lane, B. (1940). Impressions of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Luzac and Company Press.
Tweed, T. A. (2005). American Occultism and Japanese Buddhism: Albert J. Edmunds, D. T. Suzuki, and Translocative History. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 32(2), 249–281.
Yokogawa, K. (2009). Beatrice Lane Suzuki. Yokogawa Publisher.
Yoshinaga, S. (2005) 吉永進一. 大拙とスウェーデンボルグ:その歴史的背景 宗教哲学会 編 (22), 33–50.
Yoshinaga, S. (2016) 吉永進一. 神智学ネットワークと仏教: 鈴木ビアトリス蔵書から見えるもの(第六部会,研究報告,<特集>第74回学術大会紀要) 宗教研究 (89), 270–271.
Yoshinaga, S. (2018) 吉永進一. Beatrice Lane Suzuki研究について(報告) 公益財団法人松ケ岡文庫研究年報 (The annual report of researches of the Public Interest Matsugaoka Bunko Foundation) (32), 1–12.
Yoshinaga, S. (2019) 吉永進一. 大拙夫妻と神智学: 大拙英文日記とビアトリス資料を参照して公益財団法人松ケ岡文庫研究年報 (The annual report of researches of the Public Interest Matsugaoka Bunko Foundation) (33), 1–24.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The author has no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.
Additional information
See Algeo A. S., “Beatrice Lane Suzuki and Theosophy in Japan,” Theosophical History (11) 4-5, 28 2005; Yokogawa K., Beatrice Lane Suzuki, Yokogawa, 2009, California; Moriya T. 守屋 友江, 鈴木大拙におけるビアトリス・レーンの意義, 没後四十年記念寄稿集, 2006 and Yoshinaga Shin'ichi吉永進一, 大拙夫妻と神智学: 大拙英文日記とビアトリス資料を参照して公益財団法人松ケ岡文庫研究年報 (The annual report of researches of the Public Interest Matsugaoka Bunko Foundation) (33) 1-24, 2019, Beatrice Lane Suzuki研究について(報告) 公益財団法人松ケ岡文庫研究年報 (The annual report of researches of the Public Interest Matsugaoka Bunko Foundation) (32) 1-12 2018 and 神智学ネットワークと仏教: 鈴木ビアトリス蔵書から見えるもの(第六部会,研究報告, < 特集 > 第74回学術大会紀要) 宗教研究 (89) 270-271 2016.See also 大拙とスウェーデンボルグ:その歴史的背景 宗教哲学会 編 (22) 33-50 2005.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sgarbi, F. Ethics between East and West: Beatrice Erskine Lane Suzuki and Albert Schweitzer. Journal East Asian Philosophy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43493-024-00031-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43493-024-00031-0